Sherpa guides set new Everest records amid busy season

17.05.2026, DPA

Photo: Narendra Shahi Thakuri/dpa

By Roshan Shedai, dpa

Veteran Nepali climbers Kami Rita Sherpa and Lhakpa Sherpa have each set new Everest records in their respective male and female categories, officials said on Sunday.

Kami Rita, 56, reached the 8,848-metre summit at around 10:12 am, completing a record 32nd ascent while leading an international expedition team, according to Mingma Sherpa, chairman of expedition operator Seven Summit Treks.

Lhakpa Sherpa, widely known as the “Mountain Queen,” reached the summit at 9:30 am, after having ascended the world's highest peak for the 11th time as part of an expedition organized by the Seven summit club agency, according to Khimlal Gautam, coordinator at the Department of Tourism’s Everest base camp.

"Both climbers were descending with their team after successful ascents," Gautam told dpa.

Born in 1973, Lhakpa Sherpa first summited Everest in 2000 via the southern route and has since become one of the most experienced female climbers on the peak. By May 2022, she had completed 10 ascents, including nine via the northern route, according to Guinness World Records.

Kami Rita first summited Everest in 1994 and has climbed almost every year since, according to Guinness World Records.

Both climbers began their careers as porters before becoming professional guides.

Nepal has issued a record 494 Everest climbing permits for the 2026 spring season, with hundreds of guides and support staff deployed on the mountain.

"Aound 70 climbers reached the summit on Sunday, with total Everest ascents this season already exceeding 100," Gautam said.

Expedition operators say the high number of climbers has been driven partly by restrictions on the Tibet side imposed by Chinese authorities, while delayed route openings and unstable ice conditions have narrowed the ascent window.

Sherpas, an ethnic group native to Nepal’s Himalayan region, are widely employed as high-altitude guides and support staff in commercial expeditions.

Everest can be climbed from both Nepal and Chinese-administered Tibet, though the southern route remains the most commonly used. Nepal recently raised the climbing permit fee to $15,000 from $11,000 for foreign climbers.

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

 NATIONALISM IS FASCISM

Bahlsen chief rejects AfD, urges German companies to take a stand

17.05.2026 DPA

Photo: Michael Matthey/dpa

Alexander Kühnen, chief executive of Bahlsen, one of Germany’s best-known biscuit makers, has called on companies to take a clear stand in support of democracy and said the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) is not a viable option for the country.

Referring to the company’s values, Kühnen said: “When I look at which parties represent these values, they are the democratic parties. And there are clear limits. Positions such as 'remigration' are not acceptable to us.”

Remigration is a term used by far-right extremists to refer to the deportation of large numbers of people of foreign origin from Germany, including by force.

Kühnen also justified his opposition to the nationalist populist party on economic grounds. 

“We need skilled workers, we need open trade in Europe, we need stable economic conditions,” Kühnen said in comments issued on Sunday. “Against this backdrop, the AfD is not an option for me — neither from a business perspective nor personally.”

The relationship between businesses and the AfD, which has been gaining ground in opinion polls and is expected to perform strongly in regional elections in September, has been a subject of debate for some time.

For instance, in October, the Association of Family Businesses invited AfD representatives to an event for the first time. Following strong criticism from politicians and business leaders, as well as the withdrawal of prominent member companies, the association later reversed its position, with its president Marie-Christine Ostermann calling the move a mistake.

Kühnen, for his part, stressed that isolationist ideas do not fit with the Hanover-based family business, the maker of the Leibniz biscuits and popular cookies.

'If I think in purely national terms — believing that only certain nationalities should work here — then that simply does not fit with who we are."

He urged other German companies to show leadership. 

“I strongly believe in democracy and that we have a responsibility to defend it,” Kühnen said. “As business leaders, we bear responsibility — and a great deal of it.” He added that people in such positions should make greater use of their influence “for a good cause,” including protecting democracy.

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

 

US lets waiver on Russian oil sanctions lapse

17.05.2026, DPA

Photo: Valerie Plesch/dpa

The United States has allowed a waiver that had eased sanctions on Russian oil amid rising energy prices caused by the Iran war to lapse.

In April, the US Treasury issued a waiver authorizing the delivery and sale of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels as of April 17. The waiver was set to expire on Saturday. As of late on Saturday no amended orders appeared on the agency's website.

Russia's oil sector has been targeted by US sanctions for years. With the April exemption, Washington sought to calm global energy markets. The US had already granted such a waiver in mid-March, which expired on April 11.

Critics said the measure strengthened Russia financially. The Kremlin uses revenue from the oil industry to finance its war against Ukraine.

Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren on Friday had called on the Trump administration not to extend the waiver.

"Treasury must finally end its ill-conceived policy of helping Russia make even more money from President [Donald] Trump’s reckless war in Iran," they said in a joint statement.

The senators also said there was no sign that the measure was reducing costs for US families, pointing to petrol prices in the country.

Petrol prices in the US have risen significantly since the start of the Iran war. On Saturday, Americans paid an average of $4.52 per gallon (3.785 litres), according to a breakdown by the automobile association AAA. At the start of the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, the average price was $2.98 per gallon.

• Statement by Shaheen and Warren
• Gas prices
• April waiver

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Covid-era conspiracy theories accuse Bill Gates of 'creating' hantavirus outbreak


Issued on: 12/05/2026 - FRANCE24

05:36 min From the show

As the number of confirmed hantavirus cases from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius reaches nine, social media users have firmly revived Covid-19-era conspiracy theories of "bioweapons" and "plandemics", making the online rhetoric feel eerily familiar. Among these resurrected theories, the name of American billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has once again emerged.

Similar to viral posts in 2020, internet users have shared unfounded claims that an episode of The Simpsons "predicted" the hantavirus outbreak years ago, or claimed hantavirus was mentioned in the Epstein files.

In the same vein, old comments from Bill Gates have resurfaced and are being heavily shared. In a clip from his 2025 interview on ABC's "The View", Gates warned that future pandemics could be worse than the coronavirus, saying: "It won't be the last pandemic. The next one could be far more severe."

The reemergence of this video triggered viral posts claiming it "proved" Gates was "planning" a pandemic, or that as a top contributor to the World Health Organization via his foundation, he's benefiting from a potential pandemic by exploiting health crises, as he tries to make money from mass vaccination.

Not only is Gates far from the only voice who's warned of vigilance towards new outbreaks, the WHO has remained firm in its assessment that hantavirus is unlikely to become a pandemic at all.

The Gates conspiracy theories have been unfounded for six years, and remain so, but it's no surprise to see his name return to the eye of the storm as coronavirus conspiracy theories are rehashed.

Vedika BAHL  explains in Truth or Fake.

'Plandemic, Covid 2.0': Fact-checking viral conspiracy theories about hantavirus


Issued on: 11/05/2026 - FRANCE24

05:07 min From the show


As the world saw with Covid-19, the only thing that spreads faster than a virus is misinformation, and hantavirus is no exception. Despite only a few confirmed cases, conspiracy theories have swirled on social media, falsely claiming hantavirus is a planned pandemic, or a ploy to disrupt the US midterm elections. Others allege it's a "bioweapon" created by big pharma to "poison" people or even that it's a side effect of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.

Many Covid-era conspiracy theories have been revived since the outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship, likely amplified due to the anti-vaxx movement and fears about a new global pandemic.

As with the coronavirus, theorists allege hantavirus is a planned pandemic – or "plandemic" – created by Big Pharma and vaccine manufacturers; a "biological weapon" created in a laboratory to push vaccines onto the masses.

Known conspiracy theorists Alex Jones and Marjorie Taylor Greene (who was notorious for sharing false narratives during the Covid-19 pandemic) amplified these claims on their platforms, with Greene also sharing fake news that anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin could be used to cure hantavirus as it "blocks RNA viruses from entering the nucleus, preventing replication".

In reality, there's no research that Ivermectin could be used as a treatment, and hantavirus replicates in the cytoplasm, not the nucleus, rendering Ivermectin useless against its replication.

Global public health guidance also does not predict that a pandemic due to the hantavirus is likely. As Maria Van Kerkhove, Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Management at the World Health Organization recently said at a briefing: "This is not Covid, this is not the start of a Covid pandemic. This is not the same situation we were in six years ago. It doesn't spread the same way."

Internet users also falsely claimed that hantavirus is a "planned side effect" of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, sharing a Pfizer document that references "hantavirus pulmonary infection" as part of a list of adverse events of special interest. This document in fact lists health conditions that scientists monitor during vaccine trials, not side effects.

Vedika Bahl fact-checks the viral conspiracy theories in Truth or Fake.

Trump shares fake quotes, falsely accuses Obama of treason in late-night rant


Issued on: 13/05/2026 - FRANCE24

05:18 min From the show

In a late-night social media blitz before his high-stakes China visit, US President Donald Trump unleashed a string of debunked conspiracy theories, AI-generated images and attacks on his political rivals. Posting 55 times in a span of three hours, Trump tore into former president Barack Obama, accusing him – without evidence – of treason and espionage during Trump's 2016 election campaign. He also revived falsehoods that the election was "stolen" from him in 2020, and attacked The New York Times.

In his frenzy, Trump reposted comments that Obama should be "arrested" and "prosecuted" for allegedly wiretapping Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign. This is despite zero evidence that anyone – let alone Obama himself – wiretapped Trump Tower at the time, and a 2017 court filing from the Justice Department also affirming it had found no basis to support the claims.

Trump also shared a quote attacking Obama that never existed, claiming Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana demanded Obama "return $120 million that he allegedly earned through ownership related to Obamacare". Kennedy himself told digital outlet NOTUS he'd heard of the claims online, but that he "didn't say that. I don't know the basis of it".

Trump also revived conspiracy theories about his defeat in the 2020 presidential election, claiming "2.7 million Trump votes nationwide" had been deleted due to Dominion voting technology, including "over 1 million Pennsylvania votes switched from President Trump to Biden." This is false information with no factual basis, but one that the US president continues to rehash.

The New York Times was also blasted for its coverage of Trump's project for the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In a 400-word rant, the US leader said the paper was "failing" and "losing subscribers on an hourly basis", after the paper pointed out that Trump's project was significantly more expensive than the $1.8 million price tag originally attributed. Trump did not actually dispute the figures given by the NYT, and the outlet is in fact gaining readership, not losing it, reporting last week that it had surpassed 13 million subscribers.

Vedika BAHL goes through Trump's tirade in Truth or Fake.

EXPLAINER

Why did Saudi Arabia and the UAE allegedly carry out secret bombing raids on Iran?

The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in April secretly carried out a series of air strikes against Iran during the US-Israeli war against Tehran, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported this week. Analysts say these raids – which neither country has confirmed – would have been clandestine counterattacks following Tehran’s drone and missile strikes against Gulf state infrastructure.


Issued on: 14/05/2026 - FRANCE24

By:Sébastian SEIBT

 F-15SA fighter jets are seen during a graduation ceremony and air show marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of King Faisal Air College in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 

 © Faisal Al Nasser, Reuters

At least two Gulf states “secretly” carried out bombing raids on Iran during the latest US-Israeli war against Tehran, officials speaking on condition of anonymity told the media earlier this week.

The United Arab Emirates struck several Iranian sites in early April, including an oil refinery on Lavan Island in the Persian Gulf, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

And Saudi Arabia also launched “numerous” air strikes against Iran towards the end of March, Reuters news agency reported Tuesday, citing two Iranian officials and two Western officials briefed on the matter.

Ready and willing

There has been no official confirmation of what would be a significant escalation in the conflict that has swept the Middle East, whether from Washington, Tehran, Riyadh or Abu Dhabi. If the attacks indeed took place, it would be the first time that the two Gulf states have carried out direct attacks on the Islamic Republic.

"For the UAE strikes, there are photos that seem to confirm Emirati military involvement,” said Veronika Hinman, deputy director for the Portsmouth Military Education Team at the University of Portsmouth.

Images showing French Mirage fighter jets and Chinese Wing Loong drones – both of which are used by the UAE – flying over Iran have been identified by independent military analysts on social media.

To judge how likely it is that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi carried out these attacks, “we first have to ask ourselves if they are militarily capable of it”, said Shahin Modarres, a specialist in Iran and Middle East conflicts at the International Team for the Study of Security (ITSS) Verona.

Modarres said the answer was a firm yes.

“These two countries have the most modern and most well-equipped air forces in the region,” he said. “There’s no doubt they have the means to carry out precision strikes against Iranian infrastructure.”

But do they have the political will to do it? Both countries say they refused to allow Washington to use their airspace to carry out strikes against Tehran in the lead-up to the war, appearing united in the desire to avoid being dragged into the fight.
A warning to Tehran

The war seems to have put that desire under heavy strain. Tehran has pounded both countries with drones and missiles throughout the conflict, hoping to raise the cost of the US-Israeli war on Iran by damaging critical energy infrastructure and shattering the Gulf states’ long-cherished image as safe havens for international investors.

“While Saudi Arabia was affected, no country was targeted as much as the UAE,” Hinman said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran targeted the Emirates with more than 2,800 drones and missiles over the course of the war – more, even, than it had fired against Israel.

Did Iran go too far? If the reports are true, said Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at the School of Security Studies at King’s College London, the aim of the Saudi and Emirati attacks seem to have been to set a stark precedent with the Islamic Republic.

“If Iran can inflict costs on Gulf infrastructure, then the Gulf states can also inflict costs within Iran,” he said.

The Emirati decision to send a message to Tehran through military force may not be entirely surprising.

“The UAE has adopted a more aggressive stance, officially warning that it has the right to defend itself and aligning itself more closely with Israel from an operational standpoint,” Modarres said.

As Tehran unleashed its drones and missiles against the Emirates, Israel sent Iron Dome anti-air missile batteries to the UAE, as well as personnel trained to use them, to help the country stave off further attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also made a discreet visit to the UAE during the conflict, his office stated Wednesday, further strengthening the burgeoning ties between the two countries. The UAE, which normalised diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, denies that this visit took place.

Tehran seems unconvinced. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday lashed out at Abu Dhabi during a BRICS summit in India, accusing the UAE of being “an active partner” in the US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.

"I must say that the UAE was directly involved in the act of aggression against my country. When this aggression began, they even refused to condemn it," Araghchi said.

"It also became clear that they participated in these attacks and may have even acted directly against us," he added.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, “has adopted a much more cautious approach, favouring diplomatic channels through Pakistan, Oman and Qatar to make it clear that it had absolutely no intention of joining a war alongside Israel,” Krieg said.
Secret strikes

It’s for this reason, Hinman said, that the bombing runs had been kept well under wraps.

“The idea would be to prevent these air strikes from leading to an escalation of tensions as much as possible,” she said.

By carrying out the strikes in secret, Krieg said, Saudi Arabia “didn’t want to publicly humiliate Iran, which would likely have forced Tehran to retaliate”.

“This is a message intended for the authorities, who need to know where the strike came from – not for the whole country,” he said.

Krieg added that the UAE had even more reason to maintain plausible deniability over the strikes: “They don’t want these strikes to feed into the Iranian discourse that paints the UAE as Israel’s Arab partner.”

© France 24
02:11

For its part, Iran has a dilemma on its hands. If the ceasefire with the US falls through and the missiles again fly, can Tehran follow the same strategy of launching air strikes across the whole region?

Krieg said that the Iranian authorities “must now reckon with the possibility of direct retaliation from the Gulf states”.

Such an outcome would be militarily dangerous for Tehran – and maybe even damaging for its public image, Modarres said.

“Their official line is that Iran is the victim of a war of aggression waged by the United States and its Israeli ally,” he said. “But a more overt involvement by the Gulf states would undermine that narrative.”

But it’s a course that could prove just as risky for the Gulf states themselves.

“From the moment that they began bombing inside Iran, the line between defensive strikes and active participation in the conflict became blurred,” Krieg said.

He said that the UAE was in a particularly vulnerable position.

“Iran sees Abu Dhabi as more threatening due to their already more aggressive diplomatic stance,” he said.

If these strikes are confirmed, their impact will likely linger long into the future.

“It’s hard to turn back the clock and restart negotiations as though nothing has happened,” Hinman said.

“We are likely witnessing a growing desire among these Gulf states to take charge of their own defence without always having to rely on US support,” Modarres said. To put it another way, while Washington might be glad in the short term to see its allies in the region throwing themselves more actively into its war against Iran, these strikes may also be a warning sign that the Gulf states are looking to cast off the heavy shield of Captain America.

This article has been translated from the original in French.

Iran’s small businesses collapse under war, inflation and internet blackout

Prices for some goods have tripled or quadrupled within a matter of months. At least two million people have lost their jobs, the currency has lost 60% of its value, the international internet has been shut down for more than 75 days, and there is no end in sight. This is the reality of Iran’s economy after two and a half months of war, ceasefire and blockade. We spoke to the owner of an e-shop, a small business, and a major tech startup to capture what life is like for Iranians today.


Issued on:  15/05/2026 - 
By: Ershad ALIJANI/The FRANCE 24 Observers

The owners of this carpet shop in Tehran posted a message on X on May 5, 2026 begging customers to visit their store because sales had declined disastrously since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28. © https://x.com/sepidashun

Even before the war, Iran’s economy had been spiralling for years under international sanctions tied to the regime’s nuclear activities, alongside deep corruption and chronic mismanagement, making daily life increasingly difficult for millions.

Over the past decade, Iranians have staged several large local and nationwide protests triggered by economic grievances, including in 2019 and January 2026, leaving tens of thousands of protesters dead, arrested or injured.

Since February 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran and the Iranian regime shut down the internet, the economy has worsened sharply.

Middle-class Iranians we spoke to said the situation was becoming unsustainable, and that they feared they may no longer be able to afford food in the coming months if the situation continues.

In this message posted on X on April 28, 2026, an Iranian small business owner begs users to share her post so the business she has built for 10 years does not fail.
'We are all just trying to buy food and keep a roof over our heads'

Sarina (not her real name) owns a small e-shop selling artefacts and handicrafts. Based in Tehran, her business has been suffering since January when the Iranian regime shut down the internet amid the massive anti-regime protests.

I have an e-shop, so everything happens online. We order, we buy, we sell online. Everything depends on the internet, especially Instagram, which is our shop window. Since January, we have just been losing money.

Before this, we had between 100 and 150 million tomans in turnover each month [€660 - €1,000, based on the exchange rate in January 2026]. For the past four months, it has been zero.

Most of the manufacturers we collaborate with are shutting down because they have no orders, and I think we are going to shut down in the coming days too. We have no orders, and every single day means more costs for me. I am heavily in debt.

It is not only the internet shutdown causing this crisis: it is the economy in general. If the government restores the internet connection right now, I don’t think it will change much.

People have no money to buy things. We are all just trying to buy food and keep a roof over our heads. Clothes, handicrafts and art have become luxury items.
In a May 12, 2026 message on X this Iranian small business owner says she has invested in an expensive Internet connection in a last-ditch effort to save the handmade postcard company she has spent 12 years building.

Our Observer’s account is consistent with figures released by the Iranian authorities. Since the outbreak of the war on February 28 and the subsequent internet blackout imposed by the Iranian regime, more than 1 million jobs have been eliminated and more than 2 million people have lost their source of income, Deputy Work Minister Gholamhossein Mohammadi said in an interview on April 19.

Independent experts, however, have reported even more alarming figures. Several Iranian experts estimate that more than 20 million Iranians – more than one in four people – earn their living through the internet, and that the internet shutdown is costing around $80 million a day.

'There will be another huge protest caused by hunger'

Saman (not his real name) is the CEO of a small, growing B2B startup in Iran.

We are a service-based small startup. We had 28 employees and had to lay off 25 of them because we lost our customers, and paying their salaries cost us a lot. I check on them regularly, though.

Unfortunately, 12 of them are still unemployed, and the rest have found new jobs where the salary is not enough, so when they finish their first job, they start working as delivery drivers or Snapp! drivers [Iran’s equivalent of Uber]. And I am talking about well-educated people, engineers and university graduates.

The private sector is dead. The only orders we still have are from the public sector. There are lots of orders, but they don’t have money to pay. So we provide the service, but it takes months to get paid, if they pay at all.

On the other hand, constantly rising prices are a huge issue. I had to buy an essential supply for 1 million tomans [€4.70] just a few weeks ago. Now I have to pay 1.5 million [€7.10], if I can even find someone willing to sell it, because suppliers are not sure that if they sell to me, they will be able to refill their stock at the same price and not lose money.
An online shop in Iran posted a message on X on April 29, 2026 saying they were forced to raise the prices they charge for handwoven towels because in order to protect the incomes of the weavers who produce them.

Iran’s currency has lost more than 60 percent of its value in just six months, creating chaos for importers. Many say selling their products has become too risky because the money they earn in tomans may no longer be enough to buy the same products again once converted into foreign currency. Iran’s currency, known as the rial internationally, has become the least valuable currency in the world.

Saman continues:


I have this strong feeling that if we don’t get out of this limbo very soon, there will be another huge protest caused by hunger. Everyone I know around me is using their savings to eat and pay the bills. These savings are not endless, and there are millions who have no more savings, or never had any at all. I have no children, but if you are a father or mother and cannot feed your child, you’re ready to burn down the entire world.

In January 2026, Iran saw its largest-ever anti-regime protests driven by economic grievances. In just two days, the Iranian regime killed more than 35,000 protesters, according to human rights organisations.

Exclusive: Iran, massacre under a blackout

Rima, a retired woman, explains how expensive food has become in a country where the minimum monthly wage is around 16,000,000 tomans – or €76, at the time of publication:

I am retired and live alone. My pension is 15 million tomans [€71].

A small chicken costs 900,000 tomans [€4.20], 32 eggs cost 600,000 tomans [€2.85], red meat is around 1.5 million tomans [€7.10], and a small basket of fruit and vegetables costs more than 2 million tomans [€9.50]. So if my son and daughter don’t help me every month, I cannot survive.

According to official statistics, rice prices have increased by more than 300 percent, oil by more than 400 percent, chicken and meat by between 170 and 220 percent, and food prices overall by around 200 percent in the last 19 months.
In this post on social media an Iranian explains that the price of a bottle of cooking oil increased 300 percent in recent days, while the manufacturer reduced the bottle size from 1 liter to 0.8 liter.

'One in five jobs in Iran’s cyberspace will disappear'

Ramak (not his real name) is a manager in a tech startup in Iran with tens of millions of users.

The situation for major startups in Iran is very confusing and contradictory. On one hand, because the international internet is shut down, all these tiny e-shops and businesses that used to work on Instagram have turned to internal platforms such as Divar [Iran’s equivalent of eBay], Digikala [Iran’s Amazon] and Torob [Iran’s Google Shopping] or Snapp! [Iran’s Uber]. So these platforms have even more users.

But on the other hand, because the domestic economy is in a crippling crisis and people have no money to spend, there are far fewer transactions and less profit for the big startups. So they are firing people.

Our forecast is that at least one in five jobs in Iran’s cyberspace will disappear in the coming weeks, if not the coming days.

The war has also come at a time when major Iranian startups are using AI extensively. A few weeks ago, Digikala laid off more than 2,000 employees, because almost all of them were replaced by AI.

According to the Iran Cyber Commerce Union, Iranian startups have lost between 25 and 70 percent of their revenue since the war started, depending on their sector.

According to Iran’s Welfare Organisation, even before the Israel-US war on Iran, more than 34 million Iranians were living below the absolute poverty line, while experts say the country’s middle class has been falling into poverty even faster since the war began.

Trump’s 'surprise admission' on Iran handed their negotiators a gift: MS NOW

Tom Boggioni
May 16, 2026 
RAW STORY


U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the press, as he arrives at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., April 17, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

Donald Trump's reported desperation to end the Iran war is allowing Tehran's leaders to take a harder negotiating line — and a candid admission the president made on Fox News this week handed Iranian negotiators a significant strategic gift.

According to MS NOW's Zeeshan Aleem, during an interview with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity on Thursday, Trump revealed his evolving priorities regarding Iran's estimated 970-pound stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

When asked whether the U.S. was considering seizing Iran's uranium, Trump first claimed it would take "a week and a half" to extract using a ground operation. But then he made a stunning admission that undercut his entire negotiating position.

"I don't think it's necessary [to get the uranium], except from a public relations standpoint," Trump said. "I think it's important for the fake news that we get it."

He added: "I'm the one that said we're going to get it, and we're going to get it. We have our eye on it."

In those few words — "I don't think it's necessary" — Trump appeared to abandon a position that has been central to his entire premise for the war. He instantly undermined his insistence on uranium removal as a key term of any peace deal with Iran, Aleem wrote.

Trump's characterization of uranium seizure as merely a "public relations" maneuver suggests he is repackaging a key plank of his negotiation position as window dressing — essentially admitting it's not actually necessary to end the conflict.

According to the report, Iranian negotiators will almost certainly exploit this revelation. If Tehran believes Trump is ambivalent about — or could eventually become indifferent to — removal of Iran's uranium stockpile, Iran has far more incentive to refuse to budge on that element or demand compromises more favorable to Tehran.

Aleem observed that Trump has a documented tendency to grow bored with or abandon protracted international conflicts, and the Iran war appears to be no exception and that each public statement weakens his negotiating leverage.

Tehran water consumption hits 3bn litres a day as Iran braces for crisis summer

Dams around Tehran are at historically low levels as consumption continues to defy the odds. / bne IntelliNewsFacebook

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By bnm Tehran bureau May 14, 2026

Daily water consumption in the Iranian capital Tehran has climbed to nearly three billion litres before the start of summer, with reservoirs sitting at just 22% of capacity, according to newly released information on May 14 by state media.

The Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company recorded instantaneous consumption of 38,000 litres per second, with three million evaporative coolers already in operation and 300mn litres of water per day being used for cooling alone in what is expected to be the worst year for drought yet. 

Tehran and large parts of the country have endured five consecutive years of drought, with healthy rainfall in March and April failing to close the deficit in reservoirs supplying the capital.

The strain on water and power infrastructure is converging with broader pressures on Iran following the recent 40-day conflict with the United States and Israel, a fragile ceasefire and an extended period of semi-wartime conditions that have left the energy and utility sectors exposed.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued repeated calls in recent days for households and businesses to cut consumption, framing conservation as a national duty rather than a discretionary measure.

Authorities have pointed to results from last year as evidence that demand-side management can deliver. A 25-litre reduction in per capita daily water use in Tehran achieved savings equivalent to twice the capacity of the Latyan Dam, one of the main reservoirs serving the capital, without a material drop in living standards.

Officials have flagged what they describe as "hidden water thieves" in residential properties, including undetected leaks, ageing coolers, non-standard fittings and unnecessary consumption that compound at a national scale.

The government has been urged to accelerate structural reforms alongside its conservation drive, including the rehabilitation of ageing water and power networks, expansion of renewable energy, support for low-consumption appliances and a review of national water policy.

Iran's electricity grid faced repeated blackouts and load-shedding during the summer of 2025, with peak demand outstripping generation capacity as gas supplies to power plants were diverted to residential heating in winter and industrial use throttled in summer.

The Tehran reservoir system, fed primarily by the Latyan, Lar, Amir Kabir, Mamloo and Taleghan dams, has been operating well below historical averages for several consecutive years.

Alireza Jazghasemi, managing director of Tehran Province Water and Wastewater Company, said the capital's dams remained in a fragile state earlier in April.

Tehran sits at the top of the list of Iran's driest provinces, he said earlier this year, with the Salt Lake catchment basin provinces of Tehran, Alborz, Markazi, Qazvin and Semnan all recording poor rainfall.

While Tehran's rainfall improved 10% compared to the previous water year, Jazghasemi said the precipitation had not translated into adequate runoff to replenish the capital's reservoirs. He expressed hope that snowmelt and spring rains in late April and May could help stabilise dam levels.

Jazghasemi said the company's main strategy for the current year was demand management and expanding the use of water-saving devices, alongside network repairs and meter replacements. He said public cooperation in reducing consumption was essential.

To compound the stress on the national water system, 18 Iranian provinces are experiencing below-normal rainfall, with national precipitation at just 84.7% of the long-term average since the start of the current water year, ISNA reported on April 14, citing Meteorological Centre data.

Maldives rescue diver dies in search for missing Italians

Malé (Maldives) (AFP) – A rescue diver in the Maldives searching for the bodies of four Italians, who drowned in the deadliest diving disaster in the Indian Ocean tourist destination, has also died, authorities said Saturday.


Issued on: 16/05/2026 - FRANCE24

© Mohamed Afrah / AFP

Teams from the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) were searching for a third day for the Italians who failed to return after a dive on Thursday, officials said.

One body from the group of five was recovered the same day.

Search operations are being carried out despite bad weather.

"Staff Sergeant Mohamed Mahudhy was taken to hospital in critical condition after surfacing during the search operation, but later passed away while receiving treatment," the MNDF said in a statement.


Earlier on Saturday, the Maldives suspended the operating licence of a luxury vessel from which the Italians had been diving from.

The University of Genoa said the victims included a marine biology professor, her daughter and two young researchers.

Chief government spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said an investigation had been launched into why the group went below the officially permitted depth of 30 metres (98 feet).

Suspended operating licence

The body of one diver, yet to be publicly named, was found in a cave at a depth of 60 metres (196 feet).

"The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation has suspended the operating licence of the liveaboard vessel MV Duke of York indefinitely, pending the outcome of an investigation into the diving incident that occurred in Vaavu Atoll on May 14," the ministry said.

The Duke of York is a 36-metre luxury boat that can accommodate 25 guests.

Italy's foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday that all five of its nationals had died.

The low-lying Maldives, a nation of 1,192 tiny coral islands scattered some 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator in the Indian Ocean, is a luxury holiday destination popular with divers, who often stay at secluded resorts or on liveaboard dive boats.

Diving and water-sport-related accidents are relatively rare in the South Asian nation, although several fatal incidents have been reported in recent years.

© 2026 AFP