​ Trump seeks to delay meeting with Xi in China. 5 hours ago. Osmond ChiaBusiness reporter. Getty Images. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he is planning to delay a high stakes visit to China later in March by about a month because of the Iran war.. “We’ve requested that we delay it a month or so,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that it was important that he remained available to oversee the war.. The meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently set to take place between 31 March to 2 April, following their last face to face talks in October last year.. The Chinese embassy in Washington told the BBC that it had seen the reports regarding the meeting but did not have any information to provide.. The Iran war has eclipsed most of Trump’s other foreign policy priorities, faced with an intensifying conflict and disruptions to the global oil supply, which has threatened to raise prices in the US.. Trump said he had proposed the delay solely to make sure he was around to manage the war.. “I’m looking forward to being with him,” he said, referring to Xi. “We have a very good relationship.”. “There’s no tricks to it either,” Trump added. “It’s very simple. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.”. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that the meeting’s delay would not be due to Washington’s request that Beijing help in the Gulf, or any trade disagreements.. Bessent said: “The President wants to remain in DC to coordinate the war effort… Travelling abroad at a time like this may not be optimal.”. The latest development comes a day after Trump told the Financial Times that he might postpone the meeting if China did not help unblock the Strait of Hormuz – a critical waterway for the Gulf’s energy shipments.. He also called on other nations to help ships transit safely through the channel.. Trump’s remarks come as frictions between the world’s two largest economies have grown, fuelled by the Iran war.. Beijing is a major buyer of Iranian energy exports and has criticised the US and Israeli strikes against the country.. Washington also announced it would investigate trade practices among a list of countries, including China, after Trump’s signature tariff policy was struck down by the Supreme Court in February.. Representatives from the US and China have met in Paris in recent days for negotiations, such as over investments, tariffs and economic sanctions.. The sides reached consensus on some issues and will carry on with negotiations, Chinese trade representative Li Chenggang was quoted as saying in state media outlet Xinhua on Monday.. US representatives briefed their Chinese counterparts on changes to Washington’s tariff measures, said Li.. Chinese negotiators expressed “serious concern” about Washington’s plans to probe the country’s trade practices and urged the US to maintain economic stability, he said.. ‘What is the game plan?’: The Iran war is unsettling China an  

​ Dozens killed after Afghanistan rehab centre struck. 2 hours ago. Yama Bariz,BBC Afghan, Kabuland. Kathryn Armstrong. Reuters. Dozens of people are feared dead or injured at a drug treatment centre in Afghanistan’s capital after an air strike that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan.. The centre in Kabul was hit on Monday evening, killing some people and injuring others, the government’s spokesman said on X.. Pakistan denied striking any healthfacility, saying it “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure” in Kabul and the eastern province of Nangahar.. The BBC visited the centre, parts of which were still on fire, and saw more than 30 bodies being carried out on stretchers.. EPA/Shutterstock. Some 2,000 people were being treated there, according to officials at the facility, who believe there could be hundreds of casualties.. The Afghan health ministry’s spokesman, Sharafat Zaman Amarkhail, told the BBC there were no military facilities near the rehabilitation centre.. Residents reported hearing loud explosions across Kabul at around 20:50 local time (16:20 GMT), followed by the sound of aircraft and air defence systems.. Family members of those being treated at the centrewere gathered outside, desperately trying to find information about their loved ones.. A Taliban government spokesperson claimed the death toll reached at least 400, but the BBC has not independently verified the numbers.. Pakistan’s information ministry said the strikes were “precise and carefully undertaken to ensure no collateral damage is inflicted”.. It dismissed Afghanistan’s claim as a “misreporting of facts… [that] seeks to stir sentiments, covering illegitimate support to cross-border terrorism”.. Formerly a US military base, the area where the strike occurred was a notorious hangout for drug users. When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, they turned the space into a drug rehabilitation centre, housing users rounded up from across the capital.. Rescuers continued to search for survivors into Tuesday. In the morning, the extent of the damage – flattened debris littered with blankets and shoes beside charred, blown-out windows – was visible.. Reuters. AFP via Getty Images. The ongoing conflict between the neighbouring countries re-erupted in February, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups, something the Taliban government denies.. At least 75 people have been killed and 193 injured in Afghanistan as a result of continuing cross-border fighting between the countries since 26 February, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).. It follows months of clashes, despite the two sides agreeing to a fragile ceasefire in October.. China, which has tried to cool tensions, said its foreign minister Wang Yi has spoken to his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts over the phone in the past week.. Calling for a ceasefire “at the earliest opportunity”, Beijing on Monday urged  

​ And the burger goes to… Michael B Jordan marks Oscars win at In-N-Out. 2 hours ago. Ottilie Mitchell. After he was handed a statuette for best actor at the Academy Awards, Michael B Jordan received another golden prize – a cheeseburger.. The actor, who won for his performance in the vampire-blues film Sinners, stopped by fast food chain In-N-Out Burger after the Hollywood ceremony.. Still dressed in his black suit from the red carpet, the star ate with his award sitting on the table and grinned as he signed paper hats for staff.. Jordan is one of several stars, including Hilary Swank and Julia Roberts, to wrap-up Oscars night with a fast food burger over the years.. The Oscars ceremonies are long, and he must have been hungry, because looking at photos, Jordan appears to have ordered the 3×3 burger – three beef patties and three slices of cheese.. It was far from a relaxing or private meal, however, with a huge crowd of photographers and screaming fans surrounding Jordan.. In 2005, actress Hilary Swank headed to Astro Burger in West Hollywood, still in her gown, after winning the Oscar for Million Dollar Baby.. “She walked in with a big smile, raised the statue over her head and everybody burst into applause,” the restaurant’s owner Dino Andrianos told The New York Post at the time.. Both Julia Roberts and Jamie Lee Curtis ate at In-N-Out Burger after presenting awards at the ceremony, in 2019 and 2024 respectively.. Celebrities are a common sight at the popular US fast food chain, perhaps in part due to its relationship with the Oscars – Vanity Fair, which hosts the now-legendary afterparty, has served In-N-Out burgers at the event since 1994, according to US media.. In 2024, director Steven Spielberg was seen taking photos of his burger, and models Emily Ratajkowski and Adwoa Aboah posed for the cameras mid-chomp.. Key Oscars moments as snubbed Chalamet becomes butt of jokes. Oscars 2026: Winners list in full. Oscars red carpet: Stars and fashion in pictures. The Oscars. Film. United States. Hollywood  

​ Sri Lanka declares Wednesdays off as Asian countries try to conserve fuel. 5 hours ago. Kelly Ngand. BBC Sinhala,Colombo. Getty Images. Sri Lanka has declared every Wednesday a holiday for public institutions to conserve fuel as the island nation grapples with possible shortages in the wake of the US and Israel’s war with Iran.. “We must prepare for the worst, but hope for the best,” President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said at an emergency meeting with senior officials on Monday.. This is the latest in a series of belt-tightening measures undertaken by Asian countries since the war choked off the Strait of Hormuz, which used to carry millions of barrels of oil from the Gulf into the region.. Nearly 90% of all the oil and gas flowing through the strait last year was bound for Asia, which is the world’s largest oil-importing region.. What are other Asian countries doing?. Elsewhere in Asia, authorities have resorted to a variety of austerity measures.. In Thailand, for example, the government is urging people to swap suits for short-sleeved tees to reduce reliance on air conditioning, while in Myanmar, private vehicles are allowed only to operate on alternates days depending on their licence plate numbers.. Bangladesh has brought forward Ramadan holidays in universities and introduced planned blackouts across the nation to conserve energy.. In the Philippines, some government offices have mandated that staff work from home at least one day a week, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has banned non-essential travel in the public sector.. Marcos also announced cash assistance to tricycle drivers, farmers and fishermen to help them cope with rising oil prices, ranging from 3,000-5,000 pesos ($50-$84; £38-63).. And Vietnam is strongly encouraging citizens to stay at home more to conserve fuel. The government also called on people to “ride bicycles, carpool, use public transport, and “restrict personal vehicle use when unnecessary.”. What else is Sri Lanka doing?. Sri Lanka’s new four-day week will also apply to schools and universities, but it will not affect state institutions providing essential services, such as the health and immigration authorities, officials say.. Authorities picked Wednesday instead of Friday as the additional off day so that government offices would not be closed for three days in a row, they added.. Motorists are also now required to register for a National Fuel Pass which rations the amount of fuel that people can buy.. This has sparked some unhappiness among some Sri Lankan who feel that the fuel quotas – 15 litres for private cars and five litres for motorcycles – are too low.. The rationing mechanism was first implemented in 2022 during the country’s worst economic crisis which saw it run out of foreign reserves and unable to import essential items and buy enough fuel.. Oil prices have soared since the US and Israel started bombarding Iran late last month, and is currently hovering at around $100 a barrel.. How Iran war la  

​ Millions without electricity as Cuba’s power grid collapses. 5 hours ago. Koh Ewe. AFP via Getty Images. Millions in Cuba have been left without power after the national electric grid collapsed on Monday, the country’s power operator says.. This is the latest in a series of widespread power outages to hit the country, whose chronic fuel shortages have been exacerbated by a recent US blockade on oil shipments to the island.. UNE, Cuba’s grid operator, said it was gradually restoring electricity in provinces and cities around the country.. Cuba, an island of around 10 million people, has battled widespread blackouts in recent years – a persistent source of public discontent that has triggered rare protests.. Cuba relies heavily on imported fuel, and Venezuela was believed to have sent around 35,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba – accounting for about half of the island’s oil needs.. But these shipments have been halted since the US captured Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in January.. Since then, the US has ramped up pressure on Cuba by seizing a number of oil shipments bound for the island. US president Donald Trump has also threatened tariffs on any country that supplies oil to Cuba.. No oil shipments have arrived in Cuba in the last three months, according to Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel.. Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that he believed he would have the “honour of taking Cuba”.. “Whether I free it, take it, I could do anything I want with it, you want to know the truth. They’re a very weakened nation right now.”. He previously threatened a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, a long-time foe of the US since communist leader Fidel Castro overthrew a US-backed government in 1959.. Last week, President Diaz-Canel confirmed his government was in the initial stages of talks with the Trump administration to resolve differences.. Widespread power outages – caused by the fuel shortages and faults in its power grid – have triggered protests among Cubans in recent years.. Last week, a Communist Party building in the city of Moron was stormed by protesters after a rally over steep food prices and persistent power cuts.. A Havana resident told Reuters the recent power blackout “didn’t surprise” her. “We’re getting used to living like this,” she said.. Cuba