Bahrain cracks down on Shia dissent as Iran war tests kingdom

Cubans on Monday cautiously welcomed the imminent arrival of a Russian oil shipment, with some warning it would do little to ease an energy crisis after US President Donald Trump granted a reprieve from an oil blockade.

The Anatoly Kolodkin, a tanker under US sanctions carrying 730,000 barrels of crude, was due to arrive by Tuesday with the first shipment of oil to the communist-ruled island since January.

Trump's decision to let Russia deliver oil to Cuba avoids a confrontation with Moscow and provides a potential lifeline to a country that has endured blackouts, fuel rationing and dwindling public transportation.

"It's wonderful. Of course it's going to be a huge help given the situation we're facing in our country," Miriam Joseph, a 65-year-old government worker in Havana, told AFP.

Others said it was not enough to solve Cuba's crisis.

"It's a drop in the bucket compared to what this country needs. It means next to nothing," said Raul Pomares, a 56-year-old gardener waiting for a taxi in the capital.

"It's a symbolic gesture that won't have any real impact on the economy for ordinary Cubans," he added.

Moscow said Monday it was "pleased" that the tanker had reached Cuban waters.

"Russia considers it its duty to step up and provide necessary assistance to our Cuban friends," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov said Moscow and Washington had been in touch over the shipment.

"We don't mind having somebody get a boatload, because they need -- they have to survive," Trump said on Sunday.

"I told them, if a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem with that. Whether it's Russia or not," he said.

But he predicted that the oil delivery would have no impact as he renewed his threats against the Cuban government.

"Cuba's finished, they have a bad regime, they have very bad and corrupt leadership, and whether or not they get a boat of oil it's not going to matter," Trump said.

Cuba lost its main regional ally and oil supplier in January when US forces captured Venezuela's socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.

Trump subsequently threatened to impose tariffs on any country sending oil to Cuba and has mused about "taking" the island of 9.6 million people.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, whose country last sent crude to Cuba in January, said Monday that there are talks with private companies about buying oil from Mexico's state-owned energy company to sell it to private entities in Cuba.

Washington slightly eased the blockade last month to allow oil sales to Cuba's small private sector.

- Diesel for buses or power? -

The Anatoly Kolodkin was just north of central Cuba on Monday and is estimated to arrive at the western port of Matanzas by Tuesday morning, according to shipping tracker MarineTraffic.

It would take about 15-20 days to process the oil and another 5-10 days to deliver its refined products, according to Jorge Pinon, an expert on Cuba's energy sector at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Russian shipment could be converted into 250,000 barrels of diesel, enough to cover the country's demand for around 12.5 days, Pinon told AFP.

The government would have to decide whether to use the fuel for backup power generators or for buses, tractors and trains needed to keep the economy going for two weeks, he added.

"This little diesel that they have, which is not a lot, where do they prioritize it?" Pinon said.

The oil would likely not be used for Cuba's aging thermoelectric power plants, which rely on the country's own crude production.

Cubans have endured regular outages as the power plants struggle to meet demand, with seven nationwide blackouts since 2024, including two this month.

The blackouts as well as persistent shortages of food, medicine and other basics, have fueled public frustration and some rare protests.

Orlando Ocana, a 76-year-old retiree, said the Russian shipment was a "Band-Aid."

"It's a relief, but it's not the solution," he said. "The real solution to our problems is building new thermoelectric power plants."

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The US-Israel strikes against Iran have triggered a series of retaliations and military escalation in the Middle East that have sent shockwaves through global financial markets.

The conflict, now more than a month old, has disrupted trade and energy markets, with stocks around the globe facing diverging effects based on how exposed they are -- or how much they benefit from -- the chaos.

Here are some of the winners and losers from the conflict so far.

- Attracting investors: Oil and gas -

Iran has imposed a virtual blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil and gas supplies pass, causing energy prices to skyrocket.

The price shock has also lifted the valuations of major energy producers.

These producers' profit margins have increased because as oil prices climb, the costs of extraction has remained relatively steady, said Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers.

As a result, investors have poured money into companies that look set to profit from a sustained high-price environment.

"They see the conflict continuing for a while," Torres said. "That means oil prices are going to be structurally higher for the next year or two."

In the European markets, BP led the surge with a gain of 22.3 percent in the one-month period from February 27 -- the last trading day before strikes were launched -- to March 27.

TotalEnergies rose 16.7 percent and Shell climbed 13.3 percent in the same period.

- Pulling back: Defense sector -

Global conflict is usually a boon to defense contractors, and overall, 2026 has seen large gains for weapons makers.

On a shorter timescale, several major defense companies have seen their stock prices slip since the Iran war began, as the market grapples with potential supply chain bottlenecks.

Though munitions are being deployed at a rapid pace, due to long lead-in times for procurement and production, there is a lag until any increased demand can be met.

Investors "don't see a lot of new technology being produced," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. "We are in a sense still using up a lot of residual bombs"

German company Rheinmetall saw its shares tumble 17 percent between February 27 and March 27, while Thales dropped 6.7 percent and RTX -- formerly Raytheon Technologies -- fell 6.4 percent.

- Facing headwinds: Aviation -

The airline industry has emerged as one of the hardest-hit sectors, as the war forces mass flight cancellations and significant rerouting around contested airspace.

Compounding the operational difficulties is the surge in jet fuel prices, which has squeezed profit margins across the board.

The increased cost of fuel is the top concern, but far from the only one, said Stovall.

"Close behind is consumer confidence that is being affected by higher prices at the pump for their automobiles, higher prices when attempting to book summertime travel," he told AFP.

Stovall also pointed to the long lines for security checks at US airports, and heightened travel safety concerns, as reasons that many people are cutting down on nonessential travel.

Lufthansa experienced a sharp decline of 19 percent, while International Airlines Group (IAG, which includes British Airways and Iberia) saw its shares fall 15.9 percent. 

Low-cost carrier Ryanair was also down 10.2 percent.

- Systemic pressure: Financial sector -

Banking and financial services have also faced downward pressure as the conflict heightens global economic uncertainty, and the effects of rising fuel prices filter through the economy at all levels.

Torres, of Interactive Brokers, noted a pattern in some countries lowering interest rates despite the jump in oil prices.

"I think folks are increasingly worried about an economic slowdown, and they're pricing in now more of the demand destruction effects of higher crude oil prices, as well as how higher interest rates make private credit situations worse," he said.

A recent boom in private credit lending, where non-bank institutions like private equity firms make loans to companies, has sparked concerns that growing rates of default on these loans would have knock-on effects across the economy.

HSBC, which maintains significant exposure to global trade routes and emerging markets, saw its stock price decline by 13.9 percent.

US banks JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America all saw share prices fall a few percentage points compared to the start of the war, as investors brace for a period of lower lending activity and increased credit risk.

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Congestion at US airports is expected to ease this week after President Donald Trump ordered security officers be paid despite a partial government shutdown.

Funding for the Department of Homeland Security expired on February 14 because of a budget standoff in Congress over controversial immigration enforcement operations carried out by its component agencies.

Since then, thousands of federal employees have been placed on unpaid leave, while those deemed essential are working without pay.

Air travel had been hard-hit, with passengers waiting hours at checkpoints due to high rates of absenteeism and resignations at the Transportation Security Agency (TSA).

Trump on Friday signed an executive order to ensure TSA agents get paid, skirting Congress and its power of the purse. On Monday, the union that represents federal workers said pay had started flowing.

"They haven't received all their back pay, but they have started seeing their payments," said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees TSA Council 100

The DHS funding lapse entered its 45th day on Monday, a record in the United States, although government shutdowns typically impact broader segments of the federal workforce. 

The shutdown looks set to drag on: members of Congress began a two-week vacation after failing to end the partial shutdown on Friday.

In the Senate, lawmakers from both parties approved funding for all DHS agencies except Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 

Republicans in the House of Representatives rejected the Senate text, reaffirming their support for ICE and CBP and passing a bill that would fund the entire DHS for 60 days, allowing time for continued negotiations with the Democrats.

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(The Center Square) – Pressure is mounting for Iran to come to a deal and open the Strait of Hormuz, or risk destruction, despite President Donald Trump being optimistic a deal will be reached soon.

Trump confirmed the U.S. is engaging in “serious discussions” with a “new, and more reasonable regime” inside Iran in hopes of ending the month-long conflict.

In the Monday morning post, the president said “great progress is being made,” though warning the Islamic Republic that if a deal isn’t made soon and the Strait of Hormuz isn’t “immediately” opened, the U.S. will destroy all the country’s “electric generating plants, oil wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants).”

Trump argues the actions would be in “retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old regime’s 47 year ‘reign of terror.’”

The post comes as Trump told reporters Sunday evening onboard Air Force One that the ‘new regime’ is agreeing to “most” of the 15-point proposed peace plan, backing it up with Iran gifting the U.S. with several boats of oil that have passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that progress is being made with the Strait of Hormuz, as the Trump administration indicates U.S. or multinational control over the vital oil shipping passage linking the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

“We are seeing more and more ships go through on a daily basis…but over time, the U.S. is going to retake control of the straits, and there will be freedom of navigation, whether it is through U.S. escorts or a multinational escort,” said Bessent.

The secretary’s comments come amid reports that Iran wants to implement a steep toll for ships to pass the straits safely, a notion the Trump administration is opposed.

The president told the Financial Times that he would like to seize Iran’s oil, specifically from Kharg Island, which Trump says the U.S. could “take it very easily” amid reports thousands of ground troops could be deployed inside Iran, with the president acknowledging the U.S. possibly occupying the island.

Trump says that since Operation Epic Fury began, the U.S. has bombed 13,000 targets, with about 3,000 left.

A scrubby island in the Gulf that is roughly one third the size of Manhattan, Kharg Island is the nerve centre of the Iranian oil industry -- and at the heart of US President Donald Trump's latest efforts to pressure Tehran.

On Monday Trump vowed that a failure by Iran to agree a deal to end the war could see the United States "completely obliterating" the export hub. 

A day earlier, he had said the United States could take the island, eyed by the Pentagon for ground operations, "very easily".

So what are Trump's options, and how might Iran react if he presses on this pressure point?

- What is Kharg Island? -

It may be a mere scrap of land, but Kharg  handles around 90 percent of Iran's crude exports, according to a report by US bank JP Morgan.

Located in the north of the Gulf, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Iranian coast and more than 500 kilometres from the Strait of Hormuz, it has no oil wells.

But it has Iran's largest oil terminal, oil pipelines, storage tanks and related infrastructure.

It also has military facilities, some of which have already been hit by Israeli-US strikes.

On March 13, "US forces executed a large-scale precision strike on Kharg Island", Centcom, the US military command for the region, said.

"The strike destroyed naval mine storage facilities, missile storage bunkers and multiple other military sites. US forces successfully struck more than 90 Iranian military targets on Kharg Island, while preserving the oil infrastructure."

Sources close to US intelligence services told US broadcaster CNN Iran had deployed additional troops and defence systems to the area in recent weeks, including MANPAD-type surface-to-air missiles and mines.

- Trump's options? -

There appear to be three routes for US forces wishing to seize the island -– an airborne attack; an amphibious operation; or a combination of the two.

The Pentagon is currently moving US paratroopers and Marines into the area.

"(The) US combat force build-up sets the stage for (a) potential ground offensive in Iran," said US think tank Soufan.

Centcom former commander General Joseph Votel told The War Zone website this month it would not take that many soldiers to seize Kharg.

"On a small island like Kharg, I imagine you'd need a battalion of Marines. We are therefore talking about a force of 800 to 1,000 men, perhaps a little fewer, certainly not much more," he said.

But taking Kharg and holding onto it "are two different things", stressed Professor Phillips O'Brien of the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

He said the US military would struggle to retain the island within range of Iranian missiles and drones.

Just 60 kilometres away is the city of Bushehr, an important military centre "from which the Iranians defend the entire northern part of the Gulf, including Kharg", noted Pierre Razoux of French research centre FMES.

- Why do it? -

Trump's war goals remain hazy. It is unclear whether he primarily wants to force Iran to reopen shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz; force regime change in Tehran; coerce the Iranians into concessions on their nuclear or ballistic missile programmes.

In the short term, capturing Kharg could give Washington leverage to force Iran to negotiate -– presumably on Trump's terms, given the country's dependence on oil revenue, the Soufan Center said.

It might not have much effect in reopening the Gulf to shipping, however, because Iran controls a string of other islands in the Strait of Hormuz.

And if the Iranians choose not to cede to Trump's demands, "What does the US do?", O'Brien wondered.

"Does the US then, out of spite, level all the economic facilities on Kharg?

"That could easily boomerang back in American faces. It means oil prices skyrocket even more and stay high for much longer," he said.

"It also means Iran will be incentivised to shut down the traffic in the Straits for even longer. If they cannot get their own oil out, why let anyone else's?"

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India on Monday declared the country free of the Maoist insurgency, fulfilling a long-standing deadline to defeat the decades-long rebellion.

Home Minster Amit Shah told parliament India was "free" of the rebels, known as Naxals.

"I can say it openly, that we have become Naxal-free -- there is no hesitation in saying this," Shah told parliament, adding that "once the entire operation is completed, I will also inform the country."

India in the last two years stepped up its campaign against the last remnants of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the Himalayan foothills where the Maoist-inspired insurgency began nearly six decades ago.

The rebellion controlled nearly a third of the country with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 fighters at its peak in the mid-2000s, but had been dramatically weakened in recent years.

Most armed insurgents were limited to central Chhattisgarh state's Bastar region, a vast mineral-rich sprawl of dense forests and hills, roughly the size of The Netherlands.

"Bastar is now Naxal-free," Shah told the parliament during a 90-minute speech detailing the history and tactics employed by security forces to end the insurgency.

"The days of those who commit Maoist violence, of those who perpetrate Naxalism's violence, are over now," Shah added.

In 2025, security forces killed 364 insurgents, arrested 1,022, and another 2,337 surrendered, including senior leaders, according to statistics tabled in India's parliament.

Civilian and security force deaths have dropped by 90 percent since 2010, and annual Maoist attacks have fallen from more than 1,900 to roughly 200 last year.

Shah said the government strengthened the capacities of local police forces in the states affected by the insurgency and intensified coordination between security forces.

"We adopted an all-agency approach, not just weapons," Shah said, adding all but two of the Maoist commanders have either been killed or have surrendered.

"They will also surrender soon."

Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma told AFP earlier the state was entirely free of insurgents.

"Their entire armed cadre has been eliminated," he said.

All armed militants had been killed or had surrendered, Sharma said, adding that the movement "no longer has any organisational format".

The Maoists said they were fighting for the rights of marginalised indigenous people in forest regions, where mining companies also eye valuable resources.

More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have died in the conflict since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords in 1967.

Former Maoist rebel Vishnu Madvi, 26, surrendered in January after seven years  with the guerrillas.

"My commander was killed in 2025 in a police operation -- that I barely survived," Madvi told AFP on Monday, speaking from a rehabilitation camp.

"Our top leaders were all gone, the police was all over us -- so there was no option but to give myself up."

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over an oil and gas pipeline running through part of the state. 

The case, Whitmer v. Enbridge Energy, challenges a separate lawsuit the Canada-based energy company brought against the state for revoking allowance of the pipeline to be run through part of Michigan. 

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Enbridge Energy's lawsuit against the state policy to continue. Whitmer argued Michigan has a right to decide how its public lands can be used and should be allowed to revoke the company's pipeline access. 

"The Sixth Circuit nonetheless allowed this dispute over a perpetual physical occupation of the State of Michigan’s sovereign lands to proceed in federal court without the State’s consent, adopting an incorrect rule that sovereign immunity does not apply unless the requested relief would divest the State of full ownership and eliminate all regulatory power over the lands," lawyers for Whitmer wrote. 

Lawyers for Enbridge Energy argued that Whitmer did not go about the proper termination route when revoking the company's access to the public lands on which the pipeline ran through. 

"Enbridge 'seeks only to bring the State’s regulatory activities into compliance with federal law and the Constitution,'" lawyers wrote. 

The high court heard arguments in a separate case on a procedural issue over the pipeline lawsuit. The denial of this case, however, likely reveals little on the justice's decision making. 

Several recently elected far-right mayors have taken down European Union flags from the facades of their town halls, in a move the French government denounced as "populism".

Marine Le Pen's anti-immigration, eurosceptic National Rally (RN) party is on the rise and hopes to win the country's top job in next year's presidential election. 

During this month's polls to elect mayors, the far-right party notched wins in small and mid-sized towns, even though it failed to take any major urban centres.

Far-right mayors in several towns wasted no time in taking down the EU flags.

"Out with the European flags at the town hall! Make way for the French flags," Christophe Barthes, the mayor of the southern town of Carcassonne, said on X on Sunday.

He posted footage showing him personally taking down the European flag and leaving only the French tricolour and the regional flag of Occitania.

Bryan Masson, the new mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, a seaside resort near the southern city of Nice, and Anthony Garenaux-Glinkowski, the far-right mayor of the northern town of Harnes, followed suit.

Garenaux-Glinkowski also took down the Ukrainian flag that French city halls have been flying in a gesture of solidarity after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

France's Europe minister Benjamin Haddad denounced the move as "populism."

"Will they also refuse the European funds received by our farmers, our businesses for re-industrialisation, and our regions? Will they hand back their European Parliament allowances?" Haddad said in a statement to AFP.

"This is populism that shows the RN hasn't changed," he added.

No law requires the European symbol to be displayed on town hall facades, except on May 9, Europe Day. 

RN officials have justified the removal of the EU flag.

In 2022, French authorities took down a temporary installation of the EU flag from the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris, after right-wing opponents of President Emmanuel Macron accused him of "erasing" French identity.

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Air Canada said Monday that CEO Michael Rousseau will retire later this year, an announcement following controversy over his failure to issue condolences both in English and French for a fatal airport disaster.

Rousseau had sparked controversy by issuing an English-only video message to express condolences after a deadly collision late on March 22 between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

Canada has two official languages -- English and French --  and media reports noted that one of the pilots killed in the accident was from French-speaking Quebec.

Rousseau has informed the company's board that he will retire by the end of the third quarter, the airline said, adding that work is underway to choose his successor.

"The Board will consider a number of performance criteria in assessing candidates including the ability to communicate in French," Air Canada said in the statement.

Until he steps down, Rousseau is set to continue leading the company and serving on its board.

Air Canada is the country's largest airline and is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec -- Canada's traditionally French-speaking region. The company is required to offer services in both languages.

- 'Lack of judgement' -

Rousseau had earlier issued an apology over his English-only message, saying he was saddened that his limited French "has diverted attention from the profound grief of the families."

"Despite many lessons over several years, unfortunately, I am still unable to express myself adequately in French," he said in a statement.

He added: "I sincerely apologize for this, but I am continuing my efforts to improve."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has also criticized the CEO's conduct, saying he was "very disappointed, as others are, rightly so, in this unilingual message."

Carney added that the message showed a "lack of judgement and a lack of compassion."

Similarly, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand told AFP on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in France that all Canadian leaders, including corporate bosses, should speak both official languages.

"Canada is a bilingual country," she said.

In 2021, Rousseau also issued an apology over his lack of French proficiency.

At the time, he apologized for causing offense by giving a speech almost entirely in English, pledging to improve his French.

After remarks to business groups and comments to journalists that he had managed to get by without French for years, Rousseau faced backlash from politicians.

Quebec is the only Canadian province that is primarily Francophone.

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a case over pregnancy discrimination. 

The Georgia case, Younge v. Fulton Judicial District Attorney's Office, centers around Jasmine Younge, a woman who alleged pregnancy discrimination after she was fired from her position as deputy chief of staff and director of programs for Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard. 

The District Attorney's office argued that Younge was a member of Howard's "personal staff" and was exempt from protections against pregnancy discrimination. However, the District Attorney's office did not include that claim in its original pleading. 

Under Title VII, Younge had the right to file a lawsuit on the basis of sex discrimination. 

However, as a member of Howard's personal staff, Younge would not have the right to file a lawsuit for pregnancy discrimination. Instead, she would have to go through an adjudication process under the Government Employees Rights Act. 

"The critical decisions by Younge that channeled this case into district court had been made in 2019, more than two years before the defendant first asserted that Younge’s claim was not covered by Title VII," lawyers for Younge wrote in a petition to the high court. 

Lawyers for the Fulton County District Attorney's office argued Younge was aware throughout her employment that she was a member of his personal staff as she was the second highest ranking member in the office. 

"[The] District Attorney’s Office provided express and unequivocal notice in its Answer that Younge was a member of the district attorney’s personal staff," lawyers wrote. 

Justices on the high court will likely hear arguments for this case in the fall, and release a decision in 2027.