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US It For It It’s hard to know if this is reality speaking, or the voice of an impatient man, anxious to remove Iran from his most urgent to-do list before King Charles arrives in Washington for a state visit next Monday – and Trump’s much anticipated visit to China not long afterwards.Iran dismissed the president’s suggestion that he was giving Tehran time to come up with a “unified position”, but it seems unlikely that the regime, already bruised and battered by the war, will break the ceasefire, thus inviting more punishment from the air.In the meantime, what are we to make of the Iranian delegation’s reluctance to get on a plane for the short ride to Islamabad?Iran accuses the US of a “breach of commitments” and cites what it called Washington’s “contradictory behaviour”.Donald Trump’s wildly conflicting public pronouncements – threatening apocalyptic punishment one moment and offering an olive branch the next, claiming all the while that Iran has already made significant concessions – have muddied the waters.Iran still complains that it has entered negotiations twice in the past year, only to be attacked by Israel and the United States.But Donald Trump’s Truth Social post announcing the ceasefire extension, lacking its usual bombast, spoke of an Iranian regime that is “seriously fractured, not unexpectedly”.For a man who has trumpeted the fact that he has already achieved regime change in Iran, was this an admission that Washington is struggling to know who it’s dealing with?Has “regime fracture” made the business of diplomacy with Iran – never the easiest art to master – that much more difficult?Deliberately or not, the president, through his choice of words, briefly joined a debate that has been raging among seasoned Iran watchers in recent days: who’s in charge in Iran now that so much of the old leadership is gone?Why and how is US blockading Iranian ports in Strait of Hormuz?The insider trading suspicions looming over Trump’s presidencyIran sees mass redundancies from war with US and IsraelMiddle EastIranUnited StatesIran war

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Fuel prices are on the rise and airlines are cutting flights and raising fares. The Gulf is the largest source of aviation fuel in Europe, accounting for around 50% of its imports. The majority of the fuel is imported through the Strait of Hormuz which Iran has closed as a result of US and Israeli attacks. The increase in jet oil prices reflects this. According to Energy Intelligence, the Al-Zour refinery, located in Kuwait, provides 10% of Europe’s imports of jet fuel. The International Energy Agency warned that Europe could run short of jet fuel within weeks, although the UK government and airlines claim that they are not experiencing a disruption. Due to the increased jet fuel prices, it will be done much more efficiently. It said that this would save “approximately 40 000 metric tons” of jet fuel. The announcement on Tuesday follows the firm’s announcement last week that it was speeding up its permanent closure of the European flight offering CityLine. Lufthansa announced that “the first 120 flights” were cut on Tuesday. Routes affected include those from Frankfurt to Poland and Norway.Europe has ‘maybe six weeks of jet fuel left’, energy boss warnsAir fares soar by nearly 25% as Iran war forces flights to re-routeCompaniesTravelFuelAir travelIran war

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EU decides on key EUR90bn Ukraine loan after pipeline deadlock ends1 hour agoPaul KirbyEurope digital editorReutersEuropean Union ambassadors are meeting in Cyprus with expectations high that a EUR90bn (PS78bn) EU loan seen as vital support for Ukraine can finally be paid out after months of deadlock.The funding was agreed last December, but Hungary’s Viktor Orban slapped a veto on the payment in February in a row over supplies of Russian oil that came to a halt through a pipeline in Ukraine.Ukraine said an oil hub on the Druzhba pipeline was damaged in Russian strikes, but Orban demanded the oil start flowing again before the loan could be paid out.The EU believes the deadlock is about to end as Ukraine says the pipeline has been repaired.Orban’s election defeat last Sunday has also cleared the air for the EU, bringing to an end his 16-year era as Hungarian prime minister. Peter Magyar has made it a priority to reset Budapest’s strained relations with Brussels. Kaja Kallas, EU’s chief of foreign policy, said that she expected positive decisions on the EUR90bn loans ahead of the meeting with ambassadors. “Ukraine needs this loan, and it’s a sign that Russia can’t outlast Ukraine. “We will no longer block the loan approval as soon as oil is delivered through the pipeline,” said Orban, acting as caretaker until early next month. In the lead-up to Hungary’s bitterly contested elections this month, Orban had accused Ukraine of imposing a “oil blockade”. He claimed that the EU worked with Kyiv to work against him. Satellite images at the time indicated substantial damage to a large oil tank in Brody, western Ukraine, in late January. Kyiv had said that repairs would take time, and added that its engineers were under Russian attack. Meanwhile, Ukraine has targeted oil facilities in Russia, including a Samara region pumping station linked to the Druzhba Pipeline this week. Zelensky was portrayed alongside Magyar on campaign posters in Hungary with the message “They are dangerous!” “Zelensky said that late on Tuesday, he had discussed the unblocking of the loan with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, head the European Council who represents the 27 members states. Zelensky stated that there was no reason to block the loan any longer. “The EU asked Ukraine for the repair of the Druzhba Oil Pipeline, which was destroyed by Russia. We have repaired it. We hope that the EU will also fulfill its commitments. The Ukrainian media reported that even if the EU loan was finally agreed, it would still take several weeks for funding to arrive in Kyiv.

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Report finds that South Korean fighter jets crashed because pilots snapped pictures. The pilot wanted to take pictures to commemorate his final flight with his unit. Taking photos of significant flight was “a common practice among pilots during that time”, according to a report released on Wednesday. He was flying the wingman plane and was following the leading aircraft during the mission. He began taking pictures with his mobile phone as they flew back to the base. The pilot of the lead plane then asked a pilot on his aircraft to film a video showing the wingman’s aircraft. The wingman pilot then abruptly flipped his jet and flew it higher so that it could better be captured on camera. The two aircraft were very close together. To avoid a collision, the lead aircraft attempted to rapidly descend. But the two F-15K jets eventually collided, damaging the lead aircraft’s left wing and the wingman aircraft’s tail stabiliser.South Korea’s air force suspended the wingman pilot, who has since left the military to work for a commercial airline.Subsequently, the air force sought to fine the wingman pilot 880 million won to cover the full amount of the repair costs. The pilot appealed the fine and it prompted an audit board investigation. He acknowledged that his sudden manoeuvre caused the collision but argued that lead aircraft’s captain had “tacitly agreed” to this manoeuvre because he knew that filming was being done.

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Phone ” ” ” The The The The The He is based in the UAE and has been sanctioned by the US and UK governments for recruiting Colombians to fight in Sudan.The Desert Wolves were paid and employed by a UAE-based company with documented ties to senior Emirati government officials, according to La Silla Vacia and documents obtained by the CIG, the report says.The CIG also says it identified devices with Spanish-language settings at a port in Somalia with links to the UAE, and at a town in south-eastern Libya believed to be a logistical hub for the flow of weapons to the RSF, allegedly facilitated by the Emirates.The number of Colombian fighters in Sudan has previously been estimated in the low hundreds.The US has twice sanctioned Colombian nationals and associated companies for recruiting mercenaries to fight in Sudan, in December and again last week.The US Treasury Department has said that Colombian fighters supported the RSF capture of el-Fasher but has stopped short of making a direct connection to the UAE.More BBC stories on Sudan war:’I saw them driving over injured people’ – the terrifying escape from war in SudanThree years of messages at once – a chronicle of Sudan’s war pours in as trapped reporter’s phone turns on’I can’t afford to save both twins’: Sudan’s war left one mother with an impossible choice’The weapons were loud, but there was always music’: Sudanese band play on through the warGetty Images/BBCGo to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafricaBBC Africa podcastsFocus on AfricaThis Is AfricaUnited Arab EmiratesSudanAfricaColombia