15/04/2026

WEDNESDAY | APR 15, 2026

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Second round of talks likely ISLAMABAD: Negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Islamabad later this week, five sources said yesterday, days after talks between the two countries ended without a breakthrough. meeting in Pakistan’s capital to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran, held four days after last Tuesday’s ceasefire announcement, was the first direct encounter between US and Iranian officials in more than a decade, and the most senior engagement since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. and we got a positive response that they will be open to a second round of talks,” a senior Pakistani government official said. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, military and prime minister’s office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. o US begins blockade

vowed to reopen, as well as Iran’s nuclear programme and international sanctions on Tehran. Vance told reporters after the talks ended that “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.” The US military yesterday began a blockade of Iran’s ports. Its Central Command said the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations” entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Gulf and Gulf of Oman. It would not impede neutral transit passage through the Strait of Hormuz to or from non-Iranian destinations, it said in a note to seafarers. – Reuters

A proposal has been shared with both the US and Iran to resend their delegates to resume the talks, the first source said. Two Pakistani sources with knowledge of the talks said Islamabad was communicating with the two sides about the timing of the next round. “We have reached out to Iran

Vice-President JD Vance and Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf led their respective delegations in the last round of talks to work out a slew of issues, including the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit point for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively blocked but the US has

A source involved in the talks said a date was not yet decided but both countries could return as early as the end of this week. “No firm date has been set, with the delegations keeping Friday through Sunday open,” a senior Iranian source said. The weekend

Maradona died on Nov 25, 2020. – REUTERSFILEPIC New trial over Maradona’s death begins

BUENOS AIRES: A new trial over the death of football legend Diego Maradona began yesterday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial. Maradona died on Nov 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot. A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses. His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial. Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office, in breach of judicial rules. Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror”, where necessary care was not provided. The defence countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction. The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner. – Reuters

Police arresting protesters in New York City on Monday. – AFPPIC

Dozens held in protest over arms sales Department said there were “multiple” arrests but did not provide a number. Gaza live”, “let Iran live” and “let Lebanon live”.

WASHINGTON Dozens of protesters were detained by police in New York City on Monday during demonstrations calling for the blocking of arms sales to Israel and an end to US military support for its ally. Demonstrators included antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, which said around 90 people were detained. Among those detained was whistleblower Chelsea Manning, a former US Army soldier and WikiLeaks source. The New York City Police WASHINGTON: Lebanese and Israeli representatives were set to meet in Washington for their first direct talks in decades, but Hezbollah’s opposition to the US-mediated negotiations signalled little prospect of an agreement to stop fighting. The United States is pressing for a halt to the conflict between Israel and

screening of immigrants’ online comments. The crackdown has faced judicial obstacles. New York City was at the heart of pro-Palestinian protests in 2024. US military support for Israel has faced particular scrutiny from rights groups during Israel’s war in Gaza that killed tens of thousands, caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and led to assessments of genocide from scholars and a UN inquiry. Israel calls its actions self-defence. – Reuters began, describing them as “futile”. Israel’s government ruled out discussing any ceasefire with Hezbollah, insisting instead on the disarmament of the group which it accuses of keeping up rocket fire. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said he hopes a truce deal can be agreed and full-blown negotiations

The US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. President Donald Trump’s administration has cracked down on protests by attempting to deport foreign students, threatening to freeze funding for universities where protests were held and ordering The Washington meeting, the first such talks since 1993, will be mediated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and include the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors. But expectations of any major advances were low, with Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem calling for the talks to be scrapped before they even

Clips from the protests showed a crowd gathering near the offices of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Democratic colleague, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Protesters chanted slogans like “stop the bombs”, “end the killings” and “free Palestine” while expressing opposition to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Israel’s attacks in Lebanon and Israel’s assault on Gaza. The protesters also chanted “let Hezbollah, fearing that it could derail a two-week ceasefire. Lebanon was pulled into the broader conflict after Hezbollah attacked Israel, sparking an Israeli invasion – including an extremely heavy attack on Beirut on April 8 – that has killed more than 2,000 people and displaced over one million.

Lebanon, Israel to hold direct talks in Washington

launched between the two countries. On the ground, war-weary residents of Beirut said they hoped the talks would pave the way for an end to the violence. “We are extremely tired,” said Kamal Ayad, 49. “We have lived through many wars and we want rest.” – AFP