Funny old world: the week's offbeat news

A sense of dread spread across the Middle East after talks between the US and Iran collapsed, as fears of renewed fighting rattled an already tense region with Donald Trump ordering a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Following more than 20 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, US Vice President JD Vance admitted the yawning differences between the US and Iran proved to be insurmountable for the moment. 

Questions about what would come next and whether the two sides would continue to respect a two-week ceasefire was anybody's guess as both the Iranian and American delegations departed Pakistan without a deal. 

"Things could change at any moment," said Aishah, a 32-year-old economic consultant based in Doha. 

"It's more about taking each day as it comes."

The failure of the talks however did not surprise many in the region. 

"I didn't have a lot of hope for them going in, because the two sides want completely opposite things," Laura Kaufman, a 38-year-old school teacher in Tel Aviv, told AFP. 

“There didn't seem to be anyone willing to actually negotiate."

A recent poll found that only 10 percent of the Israeli public believe the war against Iran had constituted a "significant success, compared to 32 percent who view it as a failure".

In Iran, a brief spell of hope that talks would end the hostilities between the long-time foes were quickly dashed. 

"I really wanted them to make peace," said Mahsa, a 30-year-old employee of an export company in the Iranian capital.

"It's been almost 45 days now that I've seen everyone stressed. It's a bad situation."

- 'Worried' -

Elsewhere in the Middle East, the negotiations' failure only seemed to guarantee more uncertainty. 

"I am worried about the continuation of the situation and the return of attacks again, because they were causing me tension," said Imam, an Egyptian housewife living in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi.

"I was making a great effort not to pass my tension on to the children."

With nerves already battered, President Trump on Sunday ordered an immediate naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, vowing to intercept any ship that pays tolls to Tehran while also preventing Iran from earning future oil revenues. 

"Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!" he wrote. 

The news came as many in the region were hoping for a return to normality. 

Earlier Sunday, Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said its key east-west oil pipeline and other major energy facilities had been restored following attacks by Iran on targets across the Gulf. 

"Of course I am worried that the war will return again," said Amin, a pharmacist living in Saudi Arabia's eastern province, who asked to use a pseudonym for security reasons.   

Back in Iran, a sense of the inevitable had begun to sink in for many there. 

"I would have preferred peace, but I think there is no other way but war and confrontation," said Hamed, 37. 

"Based on what I see and hear, unfortunately we are going to war again and it seems like we will have a long war."

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When US Vice President JD Vance disembarked his plane ahead of high-stakes talks with Iran in Islamabad on Saturday, he was greeted by the powerful Pakistani army chief, his civilian attire blending in with those around him.

The image illustrated what many experts say is Field Marshal Asim Munir's growing role at the centre of Pakistan's foreign relations.

"He is a soldier, a statesman and a diplomat," Islamabad-based political analyst Qamar Cheema told AFP. "Munir has created a momentum for Pakistan at a global level to change Pakistan's perception."

Pakistan's push to get Iran and the United States to the negotiating table for their highest-level face-to-face talks in decades to end weeks of war has garnered international praise -- and some surprise.

In Islamabad, Munir was at the centre of the action -- greeting both delegations on their arrival and displaying remarkable bonhomie with Vance.

During the historic face-to-face trilateral talks, Munir and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar helped "mediate" the talks, as per the civilian official.

It is a long way to have come for a country that has had a stop-start alliance with Washington, which has often admonished Islamabad when military leaders have toppled civilian governments -- even as it has worked with them.

US President Donald Trump frequently refers to Munir as his "favourite field marshal", after a rapport built during US efforts to defuse a short but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and rival India last year.

Pakistan heaped praise on Trump in the wake of that conflict, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. India has downplayed any US involvement in resolving the crisis.

This weekend's marathon talks ended with Vance announcing he was leaving without a deal, but Pakistan said it would continue to facilitate dialogue.

"Field Marshal Munir through tireless effort, played a key and historic role in extinguishing the flames of war and in bringing both parties to the negotiating table," Sharif said in a televised address a few hours before the talks began.

- 'Hands-on' role -

Munir's rise to represent his country's interests on the global stage has coincided with a consolidation of military power in Pakistan, which has seen the field marshal given unprecedented legal immunity and an extended term. The military as a whole has taken a more prominent role in governance.

Critics and the political opposition say the moves and sweeping constitutional reforms have eroded democracy in the country, with former premier Imran Khan -- who has been outspoken against the military he had earlier worked closely with -- now jailed.

The military has repeatedly denied involvement in Khan's legal cases or meddling in the civilian domain.

"The military now has the deepest ever penetration and control of the economy and judiciary," said Shuja Nawaz, Atlantic Council fellow and author of "The Battle for Pakistan: The Bitter US Friendship and a Tough Neighbourhood".

Pakistan has been directly ruled by its military for nearly half its existence via a series of coups since gaining independence in 1947.

Under both civilian and military governments, foreign affairs has traditionally been considered a domain of interest for Pakistan's military.

Foreign diplomats and dignitaries have long seen a meeting with the military chief in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near the capital to be a key item on their schedules.

Munir, a former intelligence chief, took up his tenure as army chief in 2022 with a lower profile in the diplomatic community than his loquacious predecessor General Qamar Javed Bajwa -- an impression that has since changed in key capitals.

"Field Marshal Asim Munir appears to be far more hands-on in matters of governance and foreign policy than his predecessors," Nawaz told AFP.

"He has proven his ability as an influencer on the global stage largely by his ability to make coherent arguments for Pakistan," he said, adding the close ties Munir had nurtured with regional heavyweights Iran and Saudi Arabia had impressed Trump.

Munir accompanied Sharif during a visit to Washington in June, lunching with Trump. 

That meeting led to the burgeoning relationship between the Pakistani military leader and Trump, who told media "they know Iran very well, better than most" when asked if he'd asked Munir for advice on Iran and Israel, who were then locked in an earlier conflict and trading strikes. 

"Asim Munir's diplomatic status was boosted by the war with India primarily and then his outreach in Washington DC," said Hassan Abbas, a Pakistani-American author of several books on the region's politics and security.

"His pictures and his lunch meeting with President Trump was the factor that changed his international profile," he said. 

As the US and Iranian delegations left Pakistan, Munir was once again on the tarmac to see off the visitors. 

They may not have reached a deal, but both thanked their hosts profusely -- especially Field Marshal Munir.

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Co-leaders Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young were among those set for an afternoon showdown at firm and fast Augusta National as players began Sunday's final round of the Masters.

A back-nine shootout was set to unfold for the green jacket and a record top prize of $4.5 million from a record $22.5 million purse.

Defending champion McIlroy and third-ranked Young, last month's Players Championship winner, were on 11-under par 205, one stroke ahead of Sam Burns with Ireland's Shane Lowry two adrift.

McIlroy is trying to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only back-to-back winners in Masters history.

England's 45-year-old Justin Rose, a three-time Masters runner-up who lost a playoff last year to McIlroy, was on eight-under with Australian Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner.

Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, a four-time major winner seeking his third Masters crown in five seasons, was four off the pace on seven-under with China's Li Haotong.

Young and McIlroy were set to tee off in the final pairing at 2:25 p.m. (1825 GMT).

Even with lightning-fast greens baked intensely over a rain-free week, traditional Sunday pin placements were expected to help produce sensational shotmaking and typical closing drama with spectator roars through the Georgia pines.

World number two McIlroy, a five-time major winner, has struggled off the tee but scrambled his way to a share of the lead despite squandering a 36-hole record six-stroke edge.

The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland leads in driving distance at 337.3 yards but ranks last in driving accuracy, having missed half the fairways over 54 holes.

Young, the 2022 British Open runner-up, fired his best Masters round on Saturday with a 65 to rally from eight back to join McIlroy in the last duo. The 24-year-old American won his first PGA Tour title last August in Greensboro.

World number 33 Burns, another American chasing his first major triumph, last won at the 2023 WGC Match Play. His last stroke-play title was in 2022 at Colonial but he leads this week in reaching greens in regulation.

Lowry, ranked 32nd, aced the par-three sixth on Saturday to become the first Masters player with multiple career holes-in-one with his first at 16 in 2016.

The 2019 British Open champion holed the trophy-clinching putt for Europe in last year's Ryder Cup and has trimmed his score a stroke every round after a 70 on Thursday.

Rose, the 2013 US Open and 2016 Rio Olympic champion, has said all week the fight to end his "nearly man" run at Augusta will not come until Sunday's back nine and he needed to position himself for that. He managed 10 birdies in last year's final round to force a playoff with McIlroy.

Day, 38, was a runner-up in his 2011 Masters debut and four other top-10 finishes since.

Scheffler, last year's British Open and PGA Championship winner, could complete the greatest 36-hole comeback by a Masters winner.

The 29-year-old American was 12-strokes behind McIlroy before firing a bogey-free 65 on Saturday with an eagle and five birdies.

The greatest 36-hole comeback in Masters history, and the best final-round rally to win as well, was Jack Burke recovering from eight strokes adrift to win the 1956 title.

Li, fourth in last year's British Open, was in the hunt for the lead Saturday before bogeys at the par-five 13th and 15th holes and 18 foiled his bid.

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Navy will blockade the Strait of Hormuz after Vice President J.D. Vance left Pakistan without a peace deal with Iran, President Donald Trump said Sunday.

Taking to social media, Trump said because Iran would not give up its nuclear ambitions, the blockade of the major international oil passageway was necessary. 

"So, there you have it, the meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not," Trump wrote, referring to Vance's negotiations. "Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz."

Trump continued: 

"At some point, we will reach an 'ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO IN, ALL BEING ALLOWED TO GO OUT' basis, but Iran has not allowed that to happen by merely saying, 'There may be a mine out there somewhere,' that nobody knows about but them. THIS IS WORLD EXTORTION, and Leaders of Countries, especially the United States of America, will never be extorted."

Trump said the U.S. Navy "will also begin destroying the mines the Iranians laid in the Straits" and that other countries will help with the blockade.

"Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL! Iran knows, better than anyone, how to END this situation which has already devastated their Country. Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft and Radar are useless, Khomeini, and most of their 'Leaders,' are dead, all because of their Nuclear ambition. The Blockade will begin shortly," Trump wrote.

Oil and gas prices have soared since the U.S. and Israeli-led bombings of Iran began Feb. 28. The Strait of Hormuz usually sees about 20% of the world's oil and natural gas pass through it, but Iran has essentially closed it by threatening any unapproved vessels that try to go through.

President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran's "unyielding" refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions during failed peace talks in Islamabad.

While acknowledging that the marathon negotiations in Pakistan had gone "well" and "most points were agreed to," Trump said Tehran had refused to concede on the issue of its nuclear program.

"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

"Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"

Trump suggested that "other countries" would be involved in the blockade effort, without specifying.

US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan without a deal after weekend talks with a team led by Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf -- the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Tehran's delegation also included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The talks were meant to solidify a fragile two-week ceasefire with a final deal to end the conflict that has engulfed the Middle East, leaving thousands dead and roiling global markets. But no conclusions were reached.

"We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We'll see if the Iranians accept it," Vance told reporters.

Trump said he had been fully debriefed by the US negotiating team of Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law.

Trump slammed Iran for promising to open the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's crude oil passes, and "knowingly" failing to deliver.

"They say they put mines in the water, even though all of their Navy, and most of their 'mine droppers,' have been completely blown up. They may have done so, but what ship owner would want to take the chance?" Trump said.

"As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!"

Iran had effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz for weeks, since the United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign against the Islamic republic more than six weeks ago.

On Saturday, the US military announced that two of its warships had transited the strait at the start of a mine clearance operation.

Trump warned that eventually, US forces would "finish up the little that is left of Iran" if necessary.

"We are fully 'LOCKED AND LOADED,'" he wrote.

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(The Center Square) – Five years into Operation Lone Star, apprehensions of illegal border crossers are ongoing in Texas border communities and throughout south Texas. The greatest number of apprehensions are occurring in the Rio Grande Valley and Coastal Bend regions of Texas where an OLS Task Force is operating in full force led by Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd.

A new report by the Texas Department of Public Safety Border Security Operation’s Center obtained by The Center Square details how many people are being apprehended and how much drugs are being seized in south Texas counties.

Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021 as the border crisis escalated. Under the Biden administration, Texas was inundated with the bulk of illegal border crossers along the southwest border — roughly two million or more a year including those who evaded capture. Under the Trump administration, illegal crossings have dropped by more than 95%, but they are still ongoing. 

The report breaks down apprehensions with a map of where illegal crossings occurred as well as quantities of drugs that were seized. It covers the U.S. Customs and Border Protection sectors of Big Bend, Del Rio, El Paso, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley and a joint task force region in the Coastal Bend.

In the Big Bend Sector, the majority of illegal entries occurred in Brewster and Terrell counties. The sector saw record high illegal crossings during the Biden administration and a record drop under the Trump administration, The Center Square reported. Last month, 186 illegal border crossers were apprehended and 1,200 pounds of marijuana was seized in the sector, according to the data. 

In the Del Rio Sector, nearly 1,000 illegal border crossers were apprehended in Val Verde, Kinney, Maverick, Zavala, Dimmit, Kerr, Gillespie and Sutton counties. The data indicates that illegal foreign nationals are still making it into the interior of Texas as gotaways – those who illegally enter between ports of entry and evade capture. They are being apprehended in rural areas roughly 100 miles from the border in Kerr, Gillespie and Sutton counties, for example, according to the data. If OLS operations weren’t ongoing, they’d still be living illegally in Texas, authorities argue.

The greatest volume of drugs seized in the sector was of meth (337 pounds) and cocaine (273 pounds), according to the data.

In the Laredo Sector, 1,200 apprehensions were reported. The majority were near Laredo in Webb and Zapata counties, followed by La Salle County. Large quantities of meth and cocaine were also seized in the sector, comparable to the volume seized in the Del Rio Sector. 

In the Rio Grande Valley Sector, nearly the entire border in Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron counties is red on the map, signifying apprehensions. Apprehensions were also made in Brooks, Kenedy and Willacy counties. 

Apprehensions in this sector also include those made in the Coastal Bend region where the OLS Task Force is operating. The majority of apprehensions in this region occurred in Goliad and Lavaca counties, according to the data. Apprehensions are also being made in neighboring Task Force member counties as illegal border crossers attempt to head north to Houston along Highway 59 or attempt to go around it and get apprehended in Atascosa, Bee, Calhoun, Fayette, Jackson, Jim Wells, Karnes, Live Oak, Nueces, Refugio and San Patricio counties, according to the data. 

More than 1,700 were apprehended in these counties in March. More than 4,000 pounds of meth, nearly 900 pounds of marijuana and more than 500 pounds of cocaine were also seized in these counties, according to the data. 

From March 2025 to March 2026 a motion-detection camera system DPS uses along the border detected nearly 23,000 illegal border crossers. It also led to the seizure of more than 6,200 pounds of marijuana and nearly 2,000 pounds of meth, according to the data. 

Texas DPS has been using the system for many years. In 2014, the system helped law enforcement apprehend more than 29,300 illegal border crossers and seize 88,400 pounds of drugs, DPS said. At the time, Texas was experiencing a border crisis under the Obama administration. No comparable Operation Lone Star or federal enforcement actions existed. Yet Texas was combatting the same threats posed by Mexican cartels, Texas sheriffs argue.

“Mexican cartels continue to pose the most significant organized crime threat to Texas. In fact, seven of the eight cartels currently have command and control networks operating in the state, moving drugs and people into the United States, and transporting cash, weapons and stolen vehicles back to Mexico,” DPS said 12 years ago.

“Every day, sheriff’s deputies, police officers, Border Patrol agents and state law enforcement officers in the Texas border region risk their lives to protect Texas and the entire nation from Mexican cartels and transnational crime,” former DPS Director Steve McCraw said at the time. “This innovative use of technology has proven to be a force multiplier in detecting the smuggling attempts along the border, which is critical to interdicting criminal activity occurring between the ports of entry.”

Since then, other force multipliers have been put in place through OLS: equine, canine, brush, marine and air teams, an OLS Task Force, expanded federal partnerships, and record funding allocated by the Texas legislature, The Center Square has reported.

(The Center Square) – After two weeks of recess, Congress returns Monday facing a still-shuttered Homeland Security department and a massive legislative to-do list.

Government shutdown and ICE & CBP funding:

By Monday, the Department of Homeland Security will have operated 55 days without core funding – the longest government shutdown by far in U.S. history. 

Democrats are demanding that any annual Homeland Security appropriations bill – which funds ICE, Border Patrol, TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and other agencies – include a laundry list of restrictions on immigration enforcement.

After weeks of failed negotiations, Republican leaders have determined the only way to reopen DHS without folding to Democrats’ demands is to strip ICE and CBP funding from the Homeland Security bill. 

Such legislation has already passed the Senate and only needs the House’s approval to reach the president’s desk.

Republicans then plan to use a party-line budget reconciliation bill to shower the immigration enforcement agencies with cash, not only for the current fiscal year but for years ahead. 

Unlike other struggling DHS agencies, ICE and CBP have remained unaffected by the shutdown of DHS. Republicans’ previous reconciliation bill, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” gave each agency an over $70 billion funding boost, separate from their annual appropriations money that Republicans are trying to push through.

Using budget reconciliation as a vehicle to provide annual appropriations funding is an unconventional and risky maneuver.

President Donald Trump wants the legislation on his desk by June 1, and Republicans will need to craft and pass a budget resolution – the blueprint for the reconciliation bill – before they can pass the bill itself.

Senate Republican leaders are huddling over the weekend and could drop the text of the budget resolution as soon as next week.

Funding the U.S. government for fiscal year 2027:

Besides passing the hybrid Homeland Security bill to end the DHS shutdown and ensure that it is funded for the rest of fiscal year 2026, House lawmakers are jumping into fiscal year 2027 funding negotiations.

Less than six months before the next fiscal year begins and federal agencies need a funding refresh, the White House sent Congress its $2.1 trillion budget request. 

Lawmakers will use it as a general starting point for negotiations, though they almost always make significant changes. The House Budget Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday to consider the president’s proposal.

The House Appropriations Committees, meanwhile, will hold around a dozen hearings throughout next week to hear input from federal agencies themselves.

Officials from the U.S. departments of Energy, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security are all scheduled to appear before the committee and present their own budget requests.

Iran War Powers Resolutions:

While these hearings occur, House and Senate Democratic leaders plan to again force votes on resolutions that would halt the Trump administration’s ongoing military activities in Iran, which Congress never authorized. 

Republicans in both the House and Senate already voted down separate War Powers Resolutions in early March. 

Democrats, however, are hoping that the drawn-out conflict's impacts on gas prices and the stock market will ultimately persuade enough Republicans at this point to join them in curbing Trump’s power.

FISA Section 702: 

Congress must also renew a powerful surveillance tool of the National Security Agency that expires April 20. 

But lawmakers across the political spectrum are fiercely divided over whether they should reform Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to better protect American privacy rights. 

On paper, FISA Section 702 allows federal intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless electronic surveillance on foreign nationals of suspicion. 

In practice, however, the electronic data of American citizens – including emails, text messages, and phone calls – are routinely collected as well. 

Not only can intelligence agencies store that data for up to five years, but intelligence agents can and do routinely search that data without obtaining a warrant, known as “backdoor searches.” 

Some lawmakers, particularly Republicans, are concerned this violates Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights. 

House Republican leadership, however, has already planned a vote Wednesday to extend Section 702 without implementing any reforms or privacy protections. 

SAVE America Act:

Republicans are also fighting for passage of their voter-ID bill in the Senate, which will resume its marathon debate on the legislation dubbed the SAVE America Act.

The most avid supporters of the House-passed legislation – which among other things would require Americans to present proof of citizenship in person when registering to vote – argue that the bill is crucial for congressional Republicans to maintain their majority in the midterm elections. 

Though Trump has urged Republican Senate leaders to abolish the filibuster so that the bill can pass with only a majority vote, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., says there isn’t enough support in the caucus for such a drastic action.

South Africa's second-largest party, the Democratic Alliance, elected Cape Town's mayor Sunday to lead it into the 2029 national polls, stepping up a drive to take votes away from the faltering ANC.

The election of Geordin Hill-Lewis, 39, as DA leader marks a reset for the centre-right and pro-businees party that entered the multi-party coalition government in 2024.

"I stand before you as your newly elected leader with one promise -- however long I have the privilege of serving in this job, I will be dedicated to the mission of building a stronger South Africa for everyone," he told a party congress.

Hill-Lewis has run Cape Town -- a booming international tourist destination -- since 2021. The city is the capital of the Western Cape, the only of nine provinces run by the DA.

"Our mission is to build the DA into the biggest party in South Africa," Hill-Lewis told the party congress on Saturday.

The DA was brought into the coalition government after the African National Congress (ANC) -- which led the fight against apartheid -- lost its majority for the first time in three decades in power.

The party of Nelson Mandela won 62 percent of votes in the first all-race election in 1994 but managed only 40 percent at the 2024 poll, undermined by corruption scandals and complaints of bad governance.

The DA took 22 percent in 2024 and recent polling by the Ipsos market researcher showed a similar level of support ahead of local government polls due between November and January.

The ANC remained the most-supported party with 38 percent, according to a survey of 3,600 people released last month.

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Iran and the United States failed to strike a deal Sunday to end the war in the Middle East, but there was no immediate return to hostilities and the region clung to hope that a fragile truce would hold.   

US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan after the talks -- the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution -- and warned that Washington had made Tehran its "final and best offer" for a deal.

"We leave here with a very simple proposal," he said. "We'll see if the Iranians accept it."

Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said his negotiating team "put forward constructive initiatives but ultimately the other side was unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations".

The failure of the talks will raise concerns that a return to fighting could drive world energy prices higher and further damage shipping and oil and gas facilities in the Gulf. 

But Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said Sunday its key east-west oil pipeline was back in service after it was damaged in earlier strikes, and Qatar's transport ministry said it was lifting some restrictions on Gulf shipping. 

Pakistan, which hosted the talks and whose leadership had ushered the rival sides to the table, said it would keep facilitating dialogue and urged both countries to continue respecting the temporary truce.

"It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire," Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said.

- Uranium stockpile -

US news website Axios quoted an unnamed source briefed on the negotiations as saying that disagreements included "Iran's demand to control the Strait of Hormuz and refusal to give up on its enriched uranium stockpile".

UK health minister Wes Streeting, speaking for the British government, told Sky News that the failure of the talks was disappointing but "that doesn't mean there isn't merit in continuing to try".  

The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, sparking retaliation from Tehran that has plunged the Middle East into conflict and shaken the global economy. 

Iran and the US had entered the talks mediated by Pakistan with maximalist positions, with Washington piling pressure by saying it had sent minesweeping ships through the vital Strait of Hormuz maritime route.

Signs of strain in the negotiations appeared when Iranian media accused the United States of making "excessive demands" over the strait, through which one-fifth of the world's oil transited before its effective closure by Iran during the war.

US President Donald Trump had also insisted several hours into the talks on Saturday that the United States had already triumphed on the battlefield by killing Iranian leaders and destroying key military infrastructure.

"Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. The reason is because we've won," Trump said.

- Leverage -

The high-stakes 21-hour meeting had unfolded in Islamabad with both sides exhibiting intense mistrust. 

Iran was in the middle of negotiations in February with Trump's real-estate friend Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner when the US and Israel attacked. 

Both Kushner and Witkoff were part of Vance's team in Pakistan.  

The first salvos of the war killed Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Iranian demands for any agreement to end the war include unfreezing sanctioned Iranian assets and ending Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The opening of the Strait of Hormuz has also presented a friction point.

Iran throughout the war exercised global economic leverage by asserting control of the maritime route, sending oil prices soaring and piling political pressure on Trump as US fuel costs rose.

The US military said Saturday that two Navy warships transited through the strait to begin clearing it of mines and ensure it is a "safe pathway" for tankers.

The Iranian military denied that any American warships had entered the waterway and threatened to respond if they do so.

The Revolutionary Guards' Naval Command said Iranian promises of safe passage during a two-week ceasefire applied only to "civilian vessels under specific conditions".

- Lebanon violence -

A complicating factor has been Israel's assertion that the ceasefire does not affect Lebanon, where the Israeli military has launched strikes and a ground invasion in response to rocket fire from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed movement. 

Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday killed 18 people, bringing the death toll from Israel's operations since the war broke out past 2,000.

Israel and Lebanon will hold their own talks next week in Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he wanted a peace deal with Lebanon that "will last for generations".

But Israel has ruled out a ceasefire with Hezbollah, signalling it will instead seek to pressure the historically weak central government in Beirut.

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Ukraine and Russia accused each other on Sunday of violating a truce in place for Orthodox Easter thousands of times, as the war dragged on into its fifth year.

Both sides had agreed to observe the ceasefire for the religious holiday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordering the truce more than a week after Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a halt to hostilities.

But as with a similar agreement last year, only relative calm reigned along the 1,200-kilometre (745-mile) front line.

"As of 7:00 a.m. on 12 April, 2,299 ceasefire violations were recorded. Specifically: 28 enemy assault actions, 479 enemy shellings, 747 strikes by attack drones... and 1,045 strikes by FPV drones," the Ukrainian military's general staff said in a post on Facebook.

In turn, Russia's defence ministry accused Kyiv of nearly 2,000 breaches of its own.

"A total of 1,971 ceasefire violations by units of the Ukrainian armed forces were recorded between 4:00 pm Moscow time on April 12 and 8:00 am on April 12," the ministry said on the state-pushed MAX application. 

The Russian ministry claimed Kyiv had fired 258 times using artillery or tanks, carried out 1,329 FPV drone strikes, and dropped "various types of munitions" on 375 occasions, notably via drones.

Moscow also accused the Ukrainian military of launching "three nighttime attacks" against Russian positions and also "four attempts to advance" along the front line, while claiming to have thwarted each.

- 'Holiday joy' -

However, in a sign that the truce had some effect, the Ukrainian army stressed that it had recorded no long-range Shahed drone attacks, guided aerial bombings or missile strikes.

Ukraine has had to deal with near-nightly barrages of hundreds of Russian drones, prompting retaliation from Kyiv. 

In northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region, Lieutenant Colonel Vasyl Kobziak told AFP on Sunday morning that things were "rather calm" in his sector.

While the 32-year-old officer said the truce had not been "fully" observed, the lull had allowed his soldiers of the 33rd Mechanised Brigade to attend an Easter Sunday mass outside in the freezing forest chill.

"Our comrades have the chance, as you can see, to have their Easter baskets blessed and to feel the warmth and joy of this holiday," he told AFP, referring to the religious tradition of priests blessing food and eggs.

The truce had been due to last for 32 hours, from 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Saturday until the end of the day on Sunday, according to the Kremlin.

In Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, Governor Alexander Khinshtein also accused Kyiv of breaking the ceasefire by attacking a gas station in the town of Lgov with a drone, injuring three people, including a baby.

In his evening address on Saturday, Zelensky called for a longer ceasefire, insisting the ball was in Moscow's court. 

A similar truce was announced in Ukraine for Orthodox Easter last year, only for both sides to accuse each other of numerous violations.

- Frontline freeze -

Recent months have seen several rounds of US-brokered negotiations fail to bring the warring parties closer to an agreement to stop the fighting, triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion.

The process has stalled further since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, with Washington's attention having shifted towards Iran.

But even before the Iran war, progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine had been slow, due to differences over the issue of territory.

Ukraine has proposed freezing the conflict along the current front lines. 

But Russia has rejected this, saying it wants the whole of the Donetsk region despite it being partly controlled by Ukraine -- a demand Kyiv says is unacceptable. 

The war has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes, making it Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Russia has paid a high price in manpower for its relatively small territorial gains. 

Kyiv recently managed to push back in the southeast and Russian advances have been slowing since late 2025, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Moscow occupies just over 19 percent of Ukraine, most of which was seized during the first weeks of the conflict.

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