16/04/2026

THURSDAY | APR 16, 2026

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US shuts down Iran’s maritime trade

STOCKHOLM: Sweden thwarted a cyber attack on a thermal power plant in mid-2025, the government said yesterday, saying the group behind it was linked to Russian intelligence. There were no serious consequences, Civil Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said. “The Swedish Security Service handled the case and was able to identify the actor behind it, which has ties to Russian intelligence and security services,” Bohlin said. Bohlin said the attack failed “because the security systems in place worked”. He said the attack “illustrates that we are dealing with an antagonist who does not hesitate to create physical disruptions that can be likened to sabotage of our physical infrastructure.” The thermal plant was in western Sweden, he said. Bohlin said cyber threats against Swedish interests had increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as Moscow targeted countries supporting Ukraine. “This points to a changed, more risk-prone and more reckless behaviour from Russia, which could lead to potentially very harmful effects on society,” he said, adding that the Swedish government was taking the development “very seriously”. Bohlin said it was important for Sweden to speak out about the threats it was facing to send a signal “to threat-actors and let them know that we see what you are doing”. – AFP Sweden thwarted 2025 cyber attack on power plant Irish govt holds on to power LONDON: coalition government on Tuesday overcame a no-confidence vote over its handling of a fuel crisis sparked by the war in the Middle East. After a heated debate in parliament the government won the vote, with 92 votes to 78. Tuesday’s no-confidence motion was introduced by the main opposition party, Sinn Fein. Hauliers and agricultural contractors in Ireland have launched protests over the past week over spiralling fuel prices. At an emergency Cabinet meeting on Sunday, the government announced fresh tax cuts after protests threatened the functioning of the country’s emergency services. The cuts included a 10-cent (45 sen) reduction per litre on diesel and petrol, and the postponement of a planned increase on carbon tax from May until the government’s next budget in October. Last week’s protests grew from slow-moving convoys on motorways and restricted access to Dublin’s busiest streets to a partial blockade of Ireland’s only oil refinery and restricted access to at least two other fuel depots. – AFP Ireland’s

DUBAI: The United States said yesterday its military had halted trade going in and out of Iran by sea, even though President Donald Trump said talks with Tehran on ending the war could resume this week. Trump said negotiations could resume in Pakistan in the next two days and Vice-President JD Vance, who led weekend talks that ended without a breakthrough, said he felt positive about where things stood. “I think you’re going to be watching an amazing two days ahead,” Trump told ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl, adding he did not think it would be necessary to extend a two-week ceasefire that ends on April 21. “It could end either way, but I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild,” Trump said, according to a post by Karl on X. “They really do have a different regime now. No matter what, we took out the radicals.” Officials from Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf also said negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week, although

o Negotiators likely to meet soon

said Trump wanted to make a “grand bargain” with Iran but there was a lot of mistrust between the two countries. “You are not going to solve that problem overnight,” he said. The signs of diplomatic engagement to end the conflict that began on Feb 28 helped calm oil markets, pressing benchmark prices down for a second day yesterday. Asian stocks rose while the safe-haven dollar stabilised after falling for a seventh straight session overnight. The war has prompted Iran to effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global waterway for crude and gas transport and cut shipments from the Gulf to global buyers, particularly in Asia and Europe. – Reuters

Iran by sea, which he said fuels 90% of Iran’s economy. “In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea,” Cooper said. Trump, speaking to the New York Post , said his negotiators are likely to be back, thanks largely to the “great job” Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was doing to moderate the talks. Later on Tuesday, at an event in Georgia, Vice-President JD Vance

one senior Iranian source said no date had been set. Despite the optimistic note, more vessels were being turned back under the US blockade on Iranian ports, including a US sanctioned and Chinese-owned tanker Rich Starry that was making its way back to the Strait of Hormuz yesterday after exiting the Persian Gulf. Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the US Central Command, said American forces had halted economic trade going in and out of

Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike. – REUTERSPIC

GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Tuesday that a toddler was among 10 people killed in Israeli strikes in the northern part of the Palestinian territory. Violence continues despite a ceasefire in the Gaza war that came into effect on Oct 10. Agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said “four people were killed, including a child and several others were injured ... in a strike targeting a Toddler among 10 killed in Gaza police vehicle” in Gaza City. He identified the child as three year-old Yahya al-Mallahi. Al-Shifa hospital confirmed receiving the bodies. Israeli army said it was looking into the details. Gaza’s Interior Ministry said Israeli warplanes had “targeted a police vehicle” in the city centre, “causing several deaths and injuries”. Bassal also said another person

Yesterday, the military said it had struck “Hamas gunmen” in a truck the day before. AFP footage showed Palestinians gathering around the body of a man who was then placed on a stretcher and carried away to be buried. On Tuesday evening, the civil defence agency reported multiple people were killed in another strike near an intersection in the Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. – AFP Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 13, 14 and 15, FT said. On March 14, President Donald Trump confirmed US planes at the base had been hit. According to the report, the satellite also monitored Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and locations close to the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Manama, Bahrain, and Erbil airport, Iraq, around the time of IRGC-claimed attacks on facilities in those areas. – Reuters

had been killed by Israeli fire in the northern Beit Lahia area earlier. The military said in a statement that its troops had identified an “armed terrorist” in the area of the so called Yellow Line, behind which its forces have withdrawn, who approached their position. The army said he was killed in a strike, but it was unclear whether that referred to the same incident as in Beit Lahia. Defence Ministry, Earth Eye Co and Emposat did not immediately respond to requests by Reuters for comment. As part of the deal, the IRGC received access to commercial ground stations operated by Emposat, a Beijing-based provider of satellite control and data services provider with a network extending across Asia, Latin America and other regions, according to the report. The satellite captured images of

Spy satellite used to target bases

BENGALURU: Iran secretly acquired a Chinese spy satellite, giving the Islamic Republic a new capability to target US military bases across the Middle East during the recent war, the Financial Times reported. The TEE-01B satellite, built and launched by Chinese company Earth Eye Co, was acquired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force in late 2024 after it was launched into space, the report said citing leaked documents.

The Iranian military commanders directed the satellite to monitor major US military sites, the newspaper said, citing time-stamped coordinate lists, satellite imagery and orbital analysis. The images were taken last month before and after drone and missile strikes on those locations, FT said. Reuters could not verify the report. The White House, CIA, Pentagon, China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry and