05/05/2026

TUESDAY | MAY 5, 2026

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Drop excessive demands, US told

TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said yesterday that the United States must reduce its demands on the Islamic republic, with negotiations stalled over ending the two-month long war. “At this stage, our priority is to end the war,” he said in a briefing broadcast by state television. “The other side must commit to a reasonable approach and abandon its excessive demands.” Negotiations between the two countries have been stalled since a ceasefire took effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. A key sticking point has been Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched strikes on Feb 28, choking off major flows of oil, gas and fertiliser, while the United States has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. But US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Washington would begin escorting ships through the waterway, drawing a threat of attacks from the Iranian military. “By now, the Americans should have learned that they cannot use the language of threats and force against the Iranian nation,” said Baqaei. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has shown that it considers itself the guardian and protector of the Strait

BRITNEY SPEARS DRINK DRIVING TRIAL STARTS LOS ANGELES: Lawyers for musician Britney Spears are expected to appear in a California courtroom today to respond to a charge that the pop superstar drove her BMW while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Spears, 44, was charged with one misdemeanor after authorities responded to a report in March of a black BMW traveling erratically at high speed in Ventura County, California. Officers located the vehicle and arrested Spears after observing signs of impairment, the California Highway Patrol said at the time. It is unclear if Spears will attend the arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court. Because the charge is a misdemeanor, her lawyers can enter a plea on her behalf. A legal filing said Spears unlawfully drove under the influence of a combination of alcohol and at least one drug. It did not specify which substances authorities believe she used. Spears will be offered the chance to plead guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving involving alcohol and/or drugs. – Reuters DRONE HITS MOSCOW HIGHRISE MOSCOW: A Ukrainian drone hit a residential high-rise building in an upscale neighbourhood here in a night-time attack, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said yesterday. The rare strike on heavily protected Moscow came just days ahead of Russia’s annual May 9 parade, which this year will be held without military hardware amid a heightened threat from Ukrainian strikes. “A drone crashed into a building in the area of the Mosfilmovskaya (street). There are no casualties,” Sobyanin said, referring to an exclusive district next to the Moscow film studio and some 10km from the Kremlin. He said that the two drones that targeted Moscow were repelled by air defences during the night. Another drone was hit over the Russian capital during the morning rush hour, Sobyanin said in a later post. Talks to end the war between the neighbours are deadlocked. – AFP U.S. EVACUATES 22 CREW ON SEIZED SHIP ISLAMABAD: The US evacuated yesterday 22 crew members held aboard an Iranian container vessel to Pakistan, which will hand them over to Iranian authorities. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called the move a “confidence-building measure”. Iranian-flagged Touska , part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines that has been hit with sanctions by Washington, was boarded and seized by the US off the coast of Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman last month. The US Central Command had said the ship’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over six hours, and the vessel was in violation of a US blockade. Iran had condemned the incident as “unlawful and a violation” of international law, and demanded the immediate release of the vessel, its sailors and their families. The ship will also be moved to Pakistani territorial waters for return to its owners after necessary repairs. – Reuters

BR I E F S

that have been “locked up” in the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies. “We have told these countries that we will guide their ships safely out of these restricted waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on Sunday. US Central Command said it would support the effort with 15,000 military personnel, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, along with warships and drones. “Our support for this defensive mission is essential to regional security and the global economy as we also maintain the naval blockade,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander. Iranian state media said Washington had conveyed its response to Iran’s 14-point proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it.

There was no confirmation from Washington or Islamabad of the US response. “At this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations,” Baqaei said. The comment was an apparent reference to Iran’s proposal to set aside talks on nuclear issues until after the war has ended and the foes have agreed to lift opposing blockades of Gulf shipping. The proposal to delay talks on nuclear issues until a later phase would appear at odds with Washington’s repeated demand that Iran accept stringent restrictions on its nuclear programme. Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400kg of highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could be used to make a bomb. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, although it is willing to discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions. It had accepted such curbs in a 2015 deal that Trump abandoned. – AFP/Reuters

of Hormuz and this vital waterway.” He said the strait was a “secure and safe route” for international shipping before the war. “The international community must hold the United States and the Zionist regime accountable for imposing insecurity on this waterway and for creating problems that are being felt across the world,” he said, referring to Israel. Baqaei told state television before Trump’s announcement of an escort plan that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal “focused on ending the war”, and that Washington had responded to it in a message to Pakistani mediators. Trump gave few details of the plan to aid ships and their crews o Postpone nuclear talks, Tehran urges

A memorial in Tehran depicting a symbolic classroom representing the schoolchildren killed in Minab on the first day of the US-Israeli attack on Feb 28. – AFPPIC

New Mexico seeks changes to Meta platforms consumer protection law by

SANTA FE: A trial is slated to begin in New Mexico today that will test the state’s claims that Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms harmed young users’ mental health and its bid for a court order forcing the company to make changes. The case, which will be tried before a judge in Santa Fe, stems from a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, a Democrat, accusing the social media giant of designing its platforms to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms. The trial marks the second phase of New Mexico’s lawsuit after a jury in March found Meta violated the state’s

years of mounting criticism about children’s safety on social media. Torrez told reporters in a press conference ahead of the trial that his hope is that the case will “set a new standard, not only in the state of New Mexico but nationally and potentially globally, for a new set of expectations for how social media companies are expected to conduct themselves.” The company said in court filings before the trial that there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that social media has caused mental health problems and that many of the changes Torrez is seeking will be impossible to implement and could force the company to leave the state altogether. – Reuters

redesigning its algorithm to promote quality content for minors; and ending autoplay and infinite scroll for minors, according to court filings. Meta has said it has taken extensive measures to ensure its young users are safe. New Mexico’s case is among thousands of lawsuits accusing Meta and other social media companies of intentionally designing products to be addictive to young people, leading to a nationwide mental health crisis. Meta warned investors last week that legal and regulatory blowback in the European Union and the US “could significantly impact our business and financial results,” after

misrepresenting the safety of Facebook and Instagram for young users and ordered the company to pay US$375 million (RM1.5 billion) in damages. During this phase, the judge will decide whether Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms have created a “public nuisance’ under New Mexico law – a finding that would allow him to order remedies aimed at curbing alleged harms to young users. Torrez’s office is expected to seek both billions of dollars more in damages and an order requiring Meta to make substantial changes to its platforms for New Mexico users, including adding age verification;