Putin's Russia used 'laws designed to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism to restrict press freedom', said RSF

Russian strikes killed at least 18 people across Ukraine on Tuesday, Kyiv said, as President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Moscow's "utter cynicism" for launching deadly attacks while also seeking a truce to stage its May 9 patriotic parade. 

Twelve people were killed in a Russian airstrike on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, according to the local governor Ivan Federov. 

Zelensky said at least five civilians were killed after Russia attacked the centre of east Ukraine's city of Kramatorsk -- the last hub under Kyiv's control in the embattled Donetsk region -- and warned the death toll could rise. 

"The attack hit right in the city centre, targeting civilians," the Ukrainian leader said.  

The attacks came after several people were killed overnight and as Russia geared up for its patriotic May 9 event this weekend. 

Moscow and Kyiv announced unilateral ceasefires over different dates this week. 

Moscow has announced a ceasefire during public World War II celebrations over May 9, while Kyiv has said it will halt fire over May 6.

"It is utter cynicism to ask for a ceasefire in order to hold propaganda celebrations while carrying out such missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it," Zelensky said in a statement in response to the attacks.

"Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses," he added.

- Intensifying strikes -

In Russia, officials said a Ukrainian drone attack on the Volga city of Cheboksary killed two people. 

Regional authorities said 32 people were wounded after the drone slammed into an apartment block, hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine.   

The Russian May 9 parade is typically a bombastic display of military strength, which since 2022 has sought to link Soviet victory over Nazi Germany with the invasion of Ukraine.

But the Kremlin ordered a scaled-back version this year -- with no military hardware to be on display -- over the fear it could be targeted by Ukraine.

Moscow also cut mobile internet throughout the Russian capital on Tuesday morning ahead of the parade, with operators reporting restrictions would last until Saturday.

Kyiv has intensified its retaliatory long-range strikes in recent weeks, hitting a spate of Russian oil facilities and a luxury high-rise building in Moscow.

It calls the strikes fair retaliation for Russia's nightly bombing of its cities with drones and missiles.

- 'Vile' -

Overnight, a Russian strike killed four people -- employees of state energy firm Naftogaz and first responders -- in the central Poltava region -- triggering outrage in Kyiv.

"Two of the killed were first responders, killed in a vile double-tap strike targeting those who arrived to help people at the scene of the attack," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said, denouncing Moscow's "criminal tactics".

The state emergency service said Russia fired four missiles at the site after an earlier drone hit, publishing video of a fireball erupting at the facility.

One person was also killed in the northeastern Kharkiv region as Russia fired 11 ballistic missiles and 164 drones across the country, according to authorities.

Ukraine has meanwhile intensified attacks deep inside Russia, with authorities nervous about security for the weekend events.

The Russian defence ministry said it had targeted Ukraine's defence sector and energy sites in response to "attacks on civilian targets in Russia".

It said Russia had downed more than 300 Ukrainian drones between late Monday and early Tuesday, with several airports across the country temporarily halting flights throughout the morning.

Short-term ceasefires are not infrequent, with the two sides having suspended long-range attacks over Orthodox Easter last month.

There is no sign that the four-year war is close to being resolved at the negotiating table.

Moscow is demanding that Kyiv fully withdraws its troops from the eastern Donbas area and renounces Western military support -- ultimatums seen as tantamount to capitulation in Kyiv, which has rejected them.

On the battlefield, Russia's progress has stalled -- with its army losing more territory than it captured in April for the first time since summer 2023, according to an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The war has spiralled into the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions.

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The United States must respect its tariff agreement with the EU, the bloc's trade chief told his American counterpart Tuesday, after President Donald Trump threatened to hike levies on European cars.

The European Union and the United States struck a deal last July setting tariffs on most EU goods at 15 percent, but Trump has vowed to raise duties on cars and trucks to 25 percent.

Top EU trade negotiator Maros Sefcovic held talks in Paris Tuesday with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, during which he urged Washington to stick to the terms of the 2025 agreement.

"He called for a swift return to the agreed Turnberry terms, ie a 15 percent all-inclusive tariff rate," an EU spokesperson said after the 1.5-hour talks on the sidelines of a G7 trade ministers' meeting in Paris.

The European Parliament has given conditional approval to the trade pact, but a final version still needs to be agreed with the bloc's member states -- prompting frustration in Washington.

Greer has complained about a "very slow" EU approval process as well as amendments that would "limit the deal".

"The president decided that if the Europeans aren't implementing the deal right now, then we don't have to implement all of it either at this time," Greer said Monday.

EU negotiators from the parliament and capitals are due to meet Wednesday but officials cautioned against expecting a final agreement.

The European Commission, which leads trade policy for the 27-nation EU, has made clear it is keeping its options open should Trump's new car tariffs kick in, without speculating on what action it might take.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is "prepared for every scenario", while rejecting Trump's charge the bloc was failing to comply with the trade accord.

"A deal is a deal, and we have a deal," the European Commission president told reporters in Yerevan Tuesday. "We are both implementing this deal while respecting the different democratic procedures we have on both sides."

- Macron demands 'bazooka' -

French President Emmanuel Macron, also in Armenia on a state visit, said Tuesday the bloc should be ready to activate its powerful anti-coercion instrument (ACI) if Trump hikes car tariffs as promised.

Slamming the US president for brandishing "threats of destabilisation", Macron said the EU had "equipped itself with instruments that would then have to be activated, because that is precisely what they are for".

Key EU power France has repeatedly pressed for the bloc to unleash the potent ACI trade tool, should Trump make good on successive trade threats aimed at European countries. 

The EU has never deployed the instrument, aimed at dissuading countries from exerting geopolitical pressure on the bloc.

Dubbed the EU's "bazooka", it allows for a range of responses from tariffs on US goods to curbs on the export of strategic goods and the exclusion of American firms from tenders in Europe.

The commission insists it remains committed to the trade deal.

"On the European Union side, we are now in the final stages of implementing the remaining tariff commitments," said von der Leyen.

"At the same time, the US has the commitment -- for example where alignment with the agreed ceiling is still outstanding," she said. 

"So we want from this work mutual gain, cooperation and reliability -- and we are prepared for every scenario."

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Three passengers who were cruising the Atlantic Ocean have died and others have fallen sick amid a rare hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius, currently anchored off Cape Verde.

Here is a look at what we know so far about those on board, the fatalities, the other symptomatic cases, the ship, its journey and the likely next steps:

- Who is on board? -

There are 147 people on board, among them 23 different nationalities, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

A day earlier, the ship's Dutch operator Oceanwide Expeditions said there were 149 people on board, including a deceased German passenger.

It said there were 88 passengers from 15 countries, including 19 from Britain, 17 from the United States 13 from Spain and eight from the Netherlands.

There are 61 crew members, from 12 countries, including 38 from the Philippines, five from Ukraine, five from the Netherlands and four from Britain, it said.

- Three fatalities -

The fatalities include a Dutch couple who had travelled in South America before boarding the ship in Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1.

The husband fell ill on April 6 and died on April 11. His body was taken off the ship on April 24 on the British island Saint Helena.

His wife, feeling unwell, went ashore, deteriorated during an April 25 flight to Johannesburg -- which has a weekly airlink with Saint Helena -- and died in hospital on April 26, with hantavirus confirmed on May 4.

South African health ministry spokesperson Foster Mohale said the husband was 70 and the wife was 69.

A German woman passenger, who developed a fever on April 28, later presented with pneumonia and died on May 2. Her body remains on the ship.

- Four others fell ill -

A British male passenger fell ill on April 24 with signs of fever and pneumonia, and deteriorated on April 26. He was medically evacuated from Britain's Ascension Island to South Africa.

He is in intensive care, with hantavirus confirmed on May 2. Further tests are ongoing. Mohale said the passenger was 69. The WHO said it understood that the patient was "improving".

"This person is currently being treated in the intensive care unit in Johannesburg and is in a critical but stable condition," said Oceanwide Expeditions.

Two crew members, one British and one Dutch, have acute respiratory symptoms: one mild and one severe, the operator said.

The WHO said they were in a stable condition and tests were being sent to the Institut Pasteur in Dakar.

Medical evacuating the two -- likely to the Netherlands -- is the priority before moving the ship.

One further person reported mild fever but is now doing well and is asymptomatic, said the WHO, adding that there were currently no other symptomatic people on board.

- Hantavirus -

Hantaviruses circulate in rodents and can be deadly when transmitted to humans. In the Americas, the disease can cause severe respiratory illness.

Limited human-to-human transmission, among close contacts, has been documented for just one species: Andes virus, found in South America.

The WHO's working assumption, while awaiting test results, is that it is the Andes virus.

The typical incubation period for the virus is between one and six weeks, WHO epidemic prevention chief Maria Van Kerkhove said Tuesday -- suggesting infection among the Dutch couple before boarding.

There are no vaccines or specific medications for hantaviruses.

Last year, the wife of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman died of hantavirus, with the 95-year-old Hackman, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, dying about a week later of natural causes.

- The MV Hondius -

The Dutch-flagged motor vessel was built in 2019 for polar expedition cruising. It is operated by Dutch cruise company Oceanwide Expeditions.

It was built for 170 passengers in 80 cabins, and can take 57 crew, 13 guides and one doctor.

The ship is 107.6 metres (353 feet) long and 17.6 metres wide, with a top speed of 15 knots.

- The journey -

After returning to Ushuaia in Argentina on March 31 following a trip to the Antarctic Peninsula, the cruise north through the Atlantic Ocean began on April 1, according to tracking site MarineTraffic.

After visiting islands including South Georgia (April 5-7) and Tristan da Cunha and nearby islands (April 13-16), the vessel called at Saint Helena (April 22-24)

It left Britain's Ascension Island on April 27.

The ship is now anchored off Praia, the capital of Cape Verde.

- What is happening on board? -

The WHO says passengers are being asked to isolate in their cabins while disinfection and other measures are being taken.

- Where might the ship go next? -

Cape Verde will not allow the ship to dock.

The WHO said the plan was for the ship to head north to Spain's Canary Islands for disinfection, risk assessment and a full epidemiological investigation, though Madrid said the health data from the ship would determine the next steps.

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint against Minnesota, seeking to block the state from continuing to pursue a lawsuit against energy companies over greenhouse gas emissions.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, claims the state is attempting to regulate global emissions through state law – an area the federal government says is exclusively under its control.

“The case we filed against Minnesota today is an attempt to rein in another unconstitutional state effort to invade an area of exclusive federal control,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “It is in America’s interest to have independent and secure sources of energy. Minnesota’s attempted overreach would undermine our economic and national security to advance the climate agenda of politicians and activists.”

According to the federal government, Minnesota’s lawsuit against energy producers seeks to “effectively regulate” global greenhouse gas emissions and impose broad changes on the industry.

“[Minnesota] does not even try to hide the obvious: it seeks a global remedy for a global issue,” its complaint states. It is asking the court declare Minnesota's lawsuit "unconstitutional and unlawful."

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison first sued ExxonMobil, Koch Industries and the American Petroleum Institute in 2020. He accused the companies of consumer fraud and deceptive trade practices.

“We’re here suing these defendants—API, ExxonMobil and Koch—for hiding the truth, confusing the facts and muddling the water to devastating effect,” Ellison said at a news conference when he first announced the lawsuit.

The Justice Department argues the state’s efforts are preempted by federal law, including the Clean Air Act, and conflict with the need for a uniform national energy policy.

“Federal law, not state law, exclusively governs regulation of global greenhouse gas emissions,” the complaint states, citing “the overriding need for a uniform rule of decision” on issues affecting national energy and environmental policy.

When President Donald Trump first took office, he issued executive orders declaring a “national energy emergency” and “terminating the Green New Deal.”

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward tied this action to Trump’s broader energy agenda.

“President Trump promised to unleash American energy dominance, and Minnesota officials cannot undermine his directive by mandating that their woke climate preferences become the uniform policy of our nation,” Woodward said. “Minnesota’s attempt to impose a national regulation on global greenhouse gas emissions not only is preempted by federal law, but also undermines affordable and reliable American energy.”

The DOJ complaint also argues Minnesota’s case would “unreasonably burden domestic energy development” and interfere with federal authority over interstate pollution and foreign affairs. 

The filing follows similar legal action by the Justice Department against other states, including Hawaii, Michigan, New York and Vermont.

This is not the first showdown between Minnesota and the Trump administration over energy and climate policy.

Over the past year, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has led multiple legal challenges against the Trump administration’s energy actions, including the administration’s efforts to keep coal-fired power plants operating beyond planned retirement dates.

Minnesota is also part of a multi-state lawsuit challenging the rollback of federal limits on toxic air pollution under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, arguing the changes will increase contamination and harm public health.

A coal mine explosion in central Colombia on Monday killed nine people, the national mining authority said, less than a month after it flagged safety issues at the site.

The fatal accident at La Trinidad mine in the Sutatausa municipality, 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of the capital Bogota, had initially trapped 15 miners.

Six of them were evacuated and were being treated in hospital, the National Mining Agency said in a statement.

"Not my brother!" AFP heard a tearful relative cry outside the mine on Monday night.

The explosion occurred "apparently due to a buildup of gases," according to the Cundinamarca region's Governor Jorge Emilio Rey.

"We deeply regret this tragedy and extend our condolences, solidarity and support to their (the victims) families," he wrote on X.

AFP reporters saw ambulances, rescue workers and soldiers deployed at the scene, which was closed to the public.

The mining agency said it had carried out a "technical visit" to the mining operation on April 9, during which it made recommendations to "strengthen" safety "due to the presence of coal dust" and "gas emissions, especially methane."

The sister of one of the victims who asked not to be identified told AFP that the workers had been evacuated from the mine twice last week due to the presence of dangerous gases.

"They had already been warned," she said.

A worker who also wished to remain unidentified told AFP that he reached the bottom of the mine -- around 600 meters underground -- and found the lifeless victims before the rescue teams did.

"I went down and saw all the bodies lying there," he said, his face stained with coal.

Mining accidents in Colombia are frequent and often fatal, especially in illegal or makeshift mines, and usually occur due to poor ventilation.

In the area where Monday's incident took place, illegal mines that fail to meet safety standards are also in operation.

In February, six workers were killed after an explosion at an illegal coal mine in Guacheta, about 18 miles (30 kilometers) from Sutatausa.

als-das/lv/cc/mjf

The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Hegseth threatens 'devastating' response -

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the United States was "not looking for a fight" in the Strait of Hormuz, but vowed "overwhelming and devastating American firepower" in response to any Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the vital waterway.

- US 'ready to resume' -

The top American military officer said the United States was "ready to resume major combat operations against Iran if ordered to do so".

"No adversary should mistake our current restraint with a lack of resolve," General Dan Caine told reporters, amid fears the current US-Iranian ceasefire is unravelling.

- Iran-China talks -

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Beijing on Tuesday for talks, the foreign ministry said, amid stalled negotiations with the United States.

Araghchi will meet Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss "bilateral ties and regional and international developments", his ministry said in a brief statement.

- Zelensky offers Bahrain help -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been offering his country's know-how fighting Russian- and Iranian-made drones to Middle Eastern nations, offered to help Bahrain in his latest visit to the region.

"Ukraine is ready to share (its) security expertise with Bahrain and help strengthen the protection of life," Zelensky said in a statement online after meeting King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

- Calls for de-escalation -

French President Emmanuel Macron said he would speak with Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian later Tuesday, as world leaders pressure Iran to negotiate an end to the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz implored Iran to "return to the negotiating table and stop holding the region and the world hostage", echoing calls from Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

- Iran-FIFA meet -

FIFA has invited the Iranian football federation (FFIRI) to its headquarters for talks over the country's participation at this year's World Cup, a source told AFP.

Iran's presence at the tournament, held in the United States, Canada and Mexico between June 11 and July 19, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the war erupted.

- Iran 'not even started' -

Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that his country had "not even started" and that US actions in the Strait of Hormuz had put shipping at risk.

- Maersk sails through Hormuz -

Denmark's freight giant Maersk said one of its ships had sailed through the Strait of Hormuz under US escort, adding the transit was completed "without incident".

- India criticises strike on UAE -

India condemned a drone strike on an energy facility in the United Arab Emirates in which three Indians were injured, urging uninterrupted access to the Strait of Hormuz.

The UAE said Iranian strikes had hit targets including its vital Fujairah energy hub, calling the attacks "a dangerous escalation and an unacceptable transgression".

- South Korea mulls Hormuz involvement -

South Korea said it would "review its position" on joining US operations in the Strait of Hormuz after President Donald Trump urged Seoul to take part following an apparent Iranian attack on one of its ships.

- 'No plan' to attack UAE: Iran -

Iran had "no pre-planned programme" to attack oil facilities in the United Arab Emirates, Iranian state TV quoted a military official as saying, after the UAE blamed the Islamic republic for a drone strike at an energy installation in Fujairah.

"What happened was the product of the US military's adventurism to create a passage for ships to illegally pass through" the Strait of Hormuz, the official said. "The US military must be held accountable for it."

- Trump: 'no damage' in Hormuz -

Trump played down tensions after US warships entered the Strait of Hormuz, saying Iran had "taken some shots" but caused no harm apart from damage to a South Korean vessel.

"Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

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(The Center Square) – Despite Iranian forces opening fire on American warships in the Strait of Hormuz Monday, War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the ceasefire still holds and the U.S. is continuing Project Freedom.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S.-declared ceasefire that began in early April and was indefinitely extended two weeks later effectively ended Operation Epic Fury, while the U.S. runs with a new operation to free up the flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz.

Hegseth assured reporters and observers Tuesday that the military’s new operation is purely “defensive in nature” and more limited in scope than Operation Epic Fury.

“To be clear, this operation is separate and distinct from Operation Epic Fury. Project Freedom is defensive in nature, focused in scope and temporary in duration, with one mission: protecting innocent commercial shipping from Iranian aggression,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon press briefing Tuesday.

Project Freedom began Monday, at Trump’s direction, and though Iran opened fire on U.S. warships the same day and the U.S. retaliated, Epic Fury’s ceasefire holds, according to Hegseth.

Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a condition of the ceasefire that has not been met, driving global oil prices higher as about 20% of the world’s oil flows through the Strait. However, the strait was not part of Operation Epic Fury’s stated objectives, and the administration had said Epic Fury would take only about 4 to 6 weeks. The administration would also have had to obtain congressional approval to continue Epic Fury into May.

Hegseth touted the transit of two American commercial ships Monday through the strait as a sign of Iran’s weakening grip.

“Two U.S. commercial ships, along with American destroyers, have already safely transited the strait, showing the lane is clear. We know the Iranians are embarrassed by this fact. They said they control the strait. They do not,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth and Caine did not speak to whether Project Freedom signified a commitment from the U.S. to escort ships through the strait, but emphasized the U.S. wasn’t “looking for a fight.”

“We're not looking for a fight. But Iran also cannot be allowed to block innocent countries and their goods from an international waterway,” Hegseth said.

Ethiopia and Sudan traded accusations on Tuesday that each had violated the other's territory and were supporting insurgent forces.

A civil war has engulfed Sudan since 2023, while neighbouring Ethiopia faces multiple insurgencies across its territory.

Analysts say the conflicts are increasingly overlapping and drawing in external actors from the wider region.

On Tuesday, Ethiopia's foreign ministry accused Sudan's army of supporting "mercenaries" with the Tigray People's Liberation Front, whose armed wing fought a civil war against the federal government from 2020 to 2022.

Relations between the TPLF and the government remain tense.

"Sudan is serving as a hub for various anti-Ethiopian forces," the foreign ministry in Addis Ababa said on X, accusing Tigrayan forces of serving as mercenaries in Sudan.

"The Sudanese armed forces have also provided arms and financial support to these mercenaries, thereby facilitating their incursions along Ethiopia's western frontier," it added.

A senior official with the TPLF, Amanuel Assefa, dismissed the federal government's remarks and told AFP: "We have no connections with the Sudanese authorities."

He said the government was blaming everyone "but themselves for their failures".

Prior to the Ethiopian foreign ministry's comments, Sudan announced it would recall its ambassador to Addis Ababa "for consultation" following drone strikes.

Army spokesperson Assim Awad alleged at a press conference in Khartoum that drone attacks were being launched from Ethiopia in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates.

- UAE accused -

The UAE is seen as the primary backer of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group which has been at war with the Sudanese government since 2023, though it denies the accusations.

It did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment on Tuesday's accusations.

Awad said Sudan had "conclusive evidence" that UAE-made drones launched from Ethiopia's northeastern Bahir Dar airport region struck Sudanese army positions across several states on March 1 and 17.

They also targeted sites in Khartoum since Friday, including Khartoum airport on Monday, he said.

He said data recovered from a drone shot down in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, showed it belonged to the UAE and had taken off from Bahir Dar.

"Based on this documented evidence, we affirm that what the two states of Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates have carried out constitutes direct aggression against Sudan and will not be met with silence," Awad said.

He said Sudanese forces were "at the highest level of readiness".

At the same press conference, Sudan's army-aligned foreign minister, Mohieddin Salem, said his country was ready to "enter into an open confrontation" with Ethiopia "if it becomes necessary".

Ethiopia's foreign ministry dismissed the allegations as "baseless".

In March, the Sudanese military alleged drone attacks were launched "from inside Ethiopian territory", the first public claim of Ethiopian involvement in the conflict.

The UAE has been widely accused of arming the RSF but has repeatedly denied the allegations, while Ethiopia has denied hosting RSF and UAE forces on its territory.

- Drone attacks -

Drone attacks by both Sudan's army and the RSF have intensified across the country in recent months.

On Tuesday, a drone strike hit a fuel station in Kosti, White Nile state, about 300 kilometres (186 miles) south of Khartoum.

It killed three civilians and wounded two others, security and medical sources told AFP.

The RSF carried out a series of drone strikes on Khartoum last year, largely targeting military sites, power stations and water infrastructure.

Although the capital had seen relative calm in recent months, attacks resumed last week.

They killed five civilians in southern Omdurman, across the Nile from central Khartoum, and damaged a hospital in the southern Jebel Awliya area.

On Sunday, a paramilitary drone strike hit the home of army-aligned Sudan Shield Forces commander Abu Aqla Kaykal in central Sudan, killing nine relatives, militia sources told AFP.

Kaykal defected to the army in October 2024 and his fighters later helped recapture parts of central Sudan, including Al-Jazirah state and Khartoum.

Another senior RSF commander, al-Nour al-Guba, defected late last month and was received in Khartoum by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Fighting meanwhile persists across much of the country, including western Darfur and southern Kordofan.

It has spread to southeastern Blue Nile state, bordering Ethiopia and South Sudan, raising fears of a prolonged and fragmented conflict.

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British mobile phone giant Vodafone announced Tuesday it has agreed a £4.3 billion ($5.8 billion) deal to take full ownership of the country's biggest mobile phone operator, VodafoneThree. 

Under the agreement, Vodafone will buy out Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison's 49-percent stake in the company through a share cancellation.

VodafoneThree was formed last year by a meger between Vodafone UK and Three, the UK division of CK Hutchison, creating Britain's largest mobile operator in terms of customer numbers. 

"Now is the right time to take full ownership of VodafoneThree, enabling us to move at an even faster pace to transform the UK's digital infrastructure," Vodafone said in a statement on Tuesday.

The group said the deal is set to be completed in the second half of 2026. 

"The transaction signals a new lease of life for a business that was bloated with debt and struggled with low growth," said AJ Bell head of markets Dan Coatsworth.

"There are now tentative signs of improvement both operationally and financially, putting it in a better position to mount a comeback," he added.

Vodafone has been undergoing a sweeping restructuring under chief executive Margherita Della Valle since 2023, including thousands of job cuts and the sale of its operations in Italy and Spain.

The company gave a positive outlook in November after an unexpected revenue rebound in its main market Germany in its first half and following its UK merger with Three. 

Vodafone will publish its annual results next week. 

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An overnight attack by suspected Boko Haram jihadists on a Chadian military base has killed at least 24 people, a military official and regional administrator told AFP on Tuesday.

The Barka Tolorom base is on the shores of Lake Chad, which straddles Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria and whose islands provide a refuge for jihadists from Boko Haram and other radical Islamist groups. 

The raid late on Monday "left 25 dead and 46 wounded on the Chadian army side", the army source told AFP.

The administrative official gave a toll of "24 dead and several wounded". 

Both attributed the attack to Boko Haram, with the administrator insisting that "the situation is under control". 

"Once again, the nebulous Boko Haram terrorist group carried out a cowardly attack last night on our military base at Barka Tolorom," Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said on Tuesday in a Facebook post.

"We will continue the fight with renewed determination until this threat is completely eradicated," he pledged, offering his condolences to the bereaved families.

Soldiers have come under increasing fire from Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, with an October 2024 attack leaving some 40 dead in the Chadian army's ranks. 

Recent months have also seen a surge in attacks by the group's JAS faction, including kidnappings and attacks on advanced army positions, especially on the islands and along Niger's portion of the lake's shores. 

In response to the October 2024 attack, Deby launched a counter-offensive which he vowed to "personally" lead on the ground for two weeks.

After that offensive ended in February 2025, the army insisted that Boko Haram had "no more sanctuary on Chadian territory". 

Lake Chad's islands and marshes also serve as a haven for Boko Haram's rival splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). 

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