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BBC News with Chris Barrow.
The White House says President Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan on Saturday for more talks on ending the war with Iran. The Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has already arrived in Islamabad, although his ministry says no direct talks are planned. Gary O'Donoghue is in Washington. I think they're approaching these talks with a good deal of caution here in Washington. The planes were on the tarmac earlier this week ready to go. They were put back in the hangar because there wasn't perceived to be any progress and the president gave Iran a pause, an indefinite ceasefire extension to come up with what he said was a "unified proposal." Now we don't know whether there is such a unified proposal at this stage. We know that things have got worse in terms of the Strait of Hormuz and they're still at loggerheads over things like Iran's nuclear capabilities and their proxies in the region. The Lebanese Health Ministry says six people have been killed and two wounded in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon. Earlier, Israel's military said it had struck positions used by Hezbollah militants to launch rockets across the border. The latest attacks come despite a three week ceasefire extension. Britain has insisted the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is not in question after a report suggested Washington might reconsider its position on the British overseas territory. The policy option is one of a number said to be circulating in the Pentagon as possible retaliation against allies deemed not to have supported the war against Iran. On Friday, Argentina said it was willing to resume negotiations over the South Atlantic archipelago. Ione Wells reports. It's not new or surprising that Argentina wants to reopen the debate over the Falkland Islands which it calls Malvinas, claiming sovereignty over them is a rallying cry every government there has deployed guaranteed to have a popular reaction. In the presidential palace, a plaque dedicated to the islands is mounted in a prime position. Yesterday its occupant Javier Milei, an ally of Donald Trump, posted in capital letters on social media "THE MALVINAS WERE, ARE, AND WILL ALWAYS BE ARGENTINE." The EU's anti-fraud agency has opened an investigation into Britain's former ambassador in Washington Peter Mandelson over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. It comes after emails were released appearing to show Lord Mandelson, then Britain's business secretary, passing sensitive information on to Epstein. The BBC understands Lord Mandelson has denied acting in any criminal manner. Katya Adler reports. The European Commission asked the EU's anti-fraud agency, known by its French acronym OLAF, to investigate Lord Mandelson back in February. It's now told the BBC it has sufficient information to launch a formal investigation. With the case still open, the spokesperson for the office said they couldn't divulge further details. OLAF is also expected to look at exchanges with Epstein during Lord Mandelson's time as trade commissioner. World news from the BBC. Officials in Syria say the main suspect in one of the most notorious massacres of the country's civil war has been arrested. Amjad Youssef was wanted over the mass killing of civilians in 2013 in the Tadamon district of Damascus. Human rights groups say uniformed Syrian army officials and members of a militia loyal to the then-President Bashar Al-Assad killed at least 41 people in just one day. Pope Leo has repeated his opposition to capital punishment and called for its abolition in the U.S. on the same day that the Trump administration announced plans to expand the use of the federal death penalty. In a message to mark the 15th anniversary of the abolition of the death penalty in his home state of Illinois, the pope stressed that the Catholic Church taught that every human life was sacred. Earlier, the U.S. Justice Department said it planned to bring back federal execution by firing squads and electrocution. Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez has hosted the president of neighboring Colombia, Gustavo Petro, for talks largely focused on addressing security challenges along their border. The two leaders announced plans for closer military cooperation in tackling armed groups and drug trafficking gangs. President Petro stated their aims. "The liberation of the people, organizing coordinated joint efforts to free the residents along the border from the mafias involved in illegal economies, starting with cocaine, illicit gold, other types of rare minerals, human trafficking and so on, so that the border belongs solely to the people." The Colombian cyclist Cristian Camilo Muñoz has died from complications after being hurt in a crash last weekend. The 30-year-old sustained a knee injury during the Tour de Jura one-day race in France but he was subsequently admitted to hospital in Spain with a serious infection. Despite doctors' efforts, his condition deteriorated. BBC News. |