Iran threatened Wednesday to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out, while President Donald Trump said he was “less confident” about reaching a nuclear deal.

Tehran and Washington have held five rounds of talks since April to thrash out a new nuclear deal to replace the 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran, backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of military action if it fails.

“All its bases are within our reach, we have access to them, and without hesitation we will target all of them in the host countries,” Iran’s Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said in response to US threats of military action if the talks fail.

“God willing, things won’t reach that point, and the talks will succeed,” the minister said, adding that the US side “will suffer more losses” if it came to conflict.

The United States has multiple bases in the Middle East, with the largest located in Qatar.

Iran and the United States have recently been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran’s uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a “non-negotiable” right and Washington calling it as a “red line”.

Trump had previously expressed optimism about the talks, saying during a Gulf tour last month Washington was “getting close” to securing a deal.

But in an interview published Wednesday, Trump said he was “less confident” the United States and Iran could reach a deal, in response to a question on whether he believed he could stop Tehran from enriching uranium.

Source: AFP

US President Donald Trump has issued a sweeping order implementing a complete travel ban for nationals from 12 countries, while imposing restrictions on travelers from seven additional countries, the White House says.

The directive is part of an immigration crackdown Trump launched this year at the start of his second term.

The banned countries include Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The entry of people from seven other countries, namely Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.

“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Trump said in a video posted on X.

He said the list could be revised and new countries could be added.

The proclamation is effective on June 9, 2025, at 12:01 am EDT (0401 GMT). Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.

Trump said the recent attack on a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado, had “underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted.”

He claimed there were “millions and millions of these illegals who should not be in our country.”

“We will not let what happened in Europe happen to America,” he said, adding that “very simply, we cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States.”

The Trump administration has taken increasingly aggressive measures against both student and visitor visa holders, especially those perceived as critical of US foreign policy or sympathetic towards Palestinians.

In January, Trump signed an order mandating enhanced security screening for all foreign nationals applying for US entry to identify potential security risks.

In March, Reuters also revealed that the administration was evaluating potential travel bans affecting numerous countries.

In a related announcement last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also declared that the administration would begin “aggressively revoking visas for Chinese students,” particularly those he said were bearing ties to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in sensitive academic fields.

Source: Presstv

Microsoft founder Bill Gates says that most of his $200bn (£150bn) fortune will be spent on improving health and education services in Africa over the next 20 years.

The 69-year-old said that “by unleashing human potential through health and education, every country in Africa should be on a path to prosperity”.

Speaking in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, he also urged Africa’s young innovators to think about how to build Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve healthcare on the continent.

Gates announced last month that he would give away 99% of his vast fortune by 2045, by when his foundation planned to end its operations.

“I recently made a commitment that my wealth will be given away over the next 20 years. The majority of that funding will be spent on helping you address challenges here in Africa,” he said in an address at the African Union (AU) headquarters.

Mozambique’s former First Lady Graça Machel welcomed his announcement, saying it came in a “moment of crisis”.

“We are counting on Mr Gates’ steadfast commitment to continue walking this path of transformation alongside us,” she said.

The US government has cut aid to Africa, including programmes to treat patients with HIV/Aids, as part of US President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy, raising concerns about the future of healthcare on the continent.

Gates said his foundation, which has a long history of operating in Africa, would focus on improving primary healthcare.

“What we’ve learned is that helping the mother be healthy and have great nutrition before she gets pregnant, while she is pregnant, delivers the strongest results,” he said.

“Ensuring the child receives good nutrition in their first four years as well makes all the difference.”

In a message to young innovators, the tech billionaire noted that mobile phones had revolutionised banking in Africa, and argued that AI should now be used for the continent’s benefit.

“Africa largely skipped traditional banking and now you have a chance, as you build your next generation healthcare systems, to think about how AI is built into that,” he said.

Gates pointed to Rwanda as an example, saying it was already improving services using AI-enabled ultrasound to identify high-risk pregnancies.

The Gates Foundation said it had three priorities: ending preventable deaths of mothers and babies, ensuring the next generation grows up without having to suffer from deadly infectious diseases, and lifting millions of people out of poverty.

“At the end of 20 years, the foundation will sunset its operations,” it said in a statement.

Last month, Gates said he would accelerate his giving via his foundation.

“People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” he wrote in a blog post, external.

Giving away 99% of his fortune could still leave the fifth-richest person in the world a billionaire, according to Bloomberg.

Along with Paul Allen, Gates founded Microsoft in 1975, and the company soon became a dominant force in software and other tech industries.

Gates has gradually stepped back from the company in recent decades, resigning as its chief executive in 2000 and as chairman in 2014.

He said he had been inspired to give away money by investor Warren Buffett and other philanthropists.

However, critics of his foundation say Gates uses its charitable status to avoid tax and that it has undue influence over the global health system.

Source: BBC

Former US President Joe Biden, 82, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, a statement from his office said on Sunday.

Biden, who left office in January, was diagnosed on Friday after he saw a doctor last week for urinary symptoms.

The cancer is a more aggressive form of the disease, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 out of 10. This means his illness is classified as “high-grade” and the cancer cells could spread quickly, according to Cancer Research UK.

Biden and his family are said to be reviewing treatment options. His office added that the cancer was hormone-sensitive, meaning it could likely be managed.

In Sunday’s statement, Biden’s office said: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.

“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.”

After news broke of his diagnosis, the former president received support from both sides of the aisle.

President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social that he and First Lady Melania Trump were “saddened to hear about Joe Biden’s recent medical diagnosis”.

“We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family,” he said, referring to former First Lady Jill Biden. “We wish Joe a fast and successful recovery.”

Former Vice-President Kamala Harris, who served under Biden, wrote on X that she and her husband Doug Emhoff are keeping the Biden family in their prayers.

“Joe is a fighter – and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” Harris said.

In a post on X, Barack Obama – who served as president from 2009 to 2017 with Joe Biden as his deputy – said that he and his wife Michelle were “thinking of the entire Biden family”.

“Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery,” Obama said. In 2016, Obama tasked Biden with leading a “cancer moonshot” government-wide research programme.

In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “I am very sorry to hear President Biden has prostate cancer. All the very best to Joe, his wife Jill and their family, and wishing the president swift and successful treatment.”

Source: BBC

Former Uruguayan President José Mujica, known as “Pepe”, has died at the age of 89.

The ex-guerrilla who governed Uruguay from 2010 to 2015 was known as the world’s “poorest president” because of his modest lifestyle.

Current President Yamandú Orsi announced his predecessor’s death on X, writing: “thank you for everything you gave us and for your deep love for your people.”

The politician’s cause of death is not known but he had been suffering from oesophageal cancer.

Because of the simple way he lived as president, his criticism of consumerism and the social reforms he promoted – which, among other things, meant Uruguay became the first country to legalise the recreational use of marijuana – Mujica became a well-known political figure in Latin America and beyond.

His global popularity is unusual for a president of Uruguay, a country with just 3.4 million inhabitants where his legacy has also generated some controversy.

In fact, even though many tended to see Mujica as someone outside the political class, that was not the case.

He said his passion for politics, as well as for books and working the land, was passed on to him by his mother, who raised him in a middle-class home in Montevideo, the capital city.

As a young man, Mujica was a member of the National Party, one of Uruguay’s traditional political forces, which later became the centre-right opposition to his government.

In the 1960s, he helped set up the Tupamaros National Liberation Movement (MLN-T), a leftist urban guerrilla group that carried out assaults, kidnappings and executions, although he always maintained that he did not commit any murder.

Influenced by the Cuban revolution and international socialism, the MLN-T launched a campaign of clandestine resistance against the Uruguayan government, which at the time was constitutional and democratic, although the left accused it of being increasingly authoritarian.

During this period, Mujica was captured four times. On one of those occasions, in 1970, he was shot six times and nearly died.

He escaped from prison twice, on one occasion through a tunnel with 105 other MLN-T prisoners, in one of the largest escapes in Uruguayan prison history.

When the Uruguayan military staged a coup in 1973, they included him in a group of “nine hostages” who they threatened to kill if the guerrillas continued their attacks.

During the more than 14 years he spent in prison during the 1970s and 1980s, he was tortured and spent most of that time in harsh conditions and isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy.

He used to say that during his time in prison, he experienced madness first hand, suffering from delusions and even talking to ants.

The day he was freed was his happiest memory, he says: “Becoming president was insignificant compared to that.”

From guerrilla to president

A few years after his release, he served as a lawmaker, both in the Chamber of Representatives and in the Senate, the country’s lower and upper houses respectively.

In 2005, he became minister in the first government of the Frente Amplio, the Uruguayan leftist coalition, before becoming Uruguay’s president in 2010.

He was 74 years old at the time, and, to the rest of the world, still unknown.

His election marked an important moment for the Latin American left, which was already strong on the continent at that time. Mujica became leader alongside other left-wing presidents such as Luis Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil and Hugo Chávez in Venezuela.

However, Mujica governed in his own way, demonstrating pragmatism and audacity on several occasions, political commentators say.

During his administration, amid a fairly favourable international context, the Uruguayan economy grew at an average annual rate of 5.4%, poverty was reduced, and unemployment remained low.

Uruguay also drew global attention for the social laws passed by parliament during those years, such as the legalisation of abortion, the recognition of same-sex marriage, and state regulation of the marijuana market.

While in office, Mujica rejected moving into the presidential residence (a mansion), as heads of state around the world usually do.

Instead, he remained with his wife – politician and former guerrilla Lucía Topolansky – in their modest home on the outskirts of Montevideo, with no domestic help and little security.

This combined with the fact that he always dressed casually, that he was often seen driving his light blue 1987 Volkswagen Beetle and gave away a large portion of his salary, led some media outlets to call him “the world’s poorest president”.

But Mujica always rejected that title: “They say I’m the poorest president. No, I’m not,” he told me in a 2012 interview at his home. “Poor are those who want more […] because they’re in an endless race.”

Despite Mujica preaching austerity, his government did significantly increase public spending, widening the fiscal deficit and leading his opponents to accuse him of waste.

Mujica was also criticised for failing to reverse the growing problems in Uruguayan education, despite having promised that education would be a top priority for his administration.

However, unlike other leaders in the region, he was never accused of corruption or of undermining his country’s democracy.

By the end of his administration, Mujica had a high domestic popularity rating (close to 70%) and was elected senator, but also spent part of his time travelling the world after he stepped down as president.

“So what it is that catches the world’s attention? That I live with very little, a simple house, that I drive around in an old car? Then this world is crazy because it’s surprised by [what is] normal,” he reflected before leaving office.

Source: BBC

Russia and North Korea have announced the construction of their first-ever road bridge on the Tumen River, which is expected to help boost bilateral relations between the two countries.

The bridge will be 1 kilometer long, and its construction is expected to take one and a half years, the Tass news agency reported Thursday.

“We are creating a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue,” Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

“The significance goes far beyond just an engineering task… it symbolizes our common desire to strengthen friendly, good-neighborly relations and increase inter-regional cooperation,” he added.

In a video call with the chairman of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly Pak Thae-song, Mishustin also called it a “truly a milestone for Russian-Korean relations”.

The North Korean official hailed the project as “a historic monument” in bilateral ties between Russia and North Korea.

“It will become an eternal historical memorial structure symbolizing the unbreakable Korean-Russian friendly relations,” Pak said.

North Korea’s central news agency also confirmed the news on Thursday, adding that the country looks forward to expanding cross-border travel of people, tourism, and circulation of commodities through the awaited road link.

One railway bridge and air service already connect North Korea and Russia.

During a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in June 2024, the two countries agreed to construct a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen River, which runs along North Korea’s borders with Russia and China.

On Thursday, Russia and North Korea simultaneously held a ceremony in their respective border cities, celebrating the initiation of the project that will be poised for rollout by mid-2026.

North Korea and Russia have enhanced bilateral ties in recent years in a bid to circumvent sanctions, to which both countries are subjected.

The Asian side has been receiving Russian tourists since February 2024 amid slowly easing pandemic curbs.

In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia.

Earlier this week, North Korea publicly confirmed its military support for Russia, acknowledging the deployment of 15,000 troops to assist Russia in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

According to a South Korean government intelligence assessment shared with lawmakers on Wednesday, 4,700 soldiers have been killed or wounded.

The assessment also reveals that Russia has reportedly provided Pyongyang with air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones, and technology for spy satellite launches.

Source: Press TV