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BBC News with Roisin Hastie.
Iran has said its armed forces are ready to respond to any renewed aggression after President Trump stated the current ceasefire was on life support. The parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf said Iran was prepared for all eventualities. Our international editor is Jeremy Bowen. Donald Trump always says that he's got all the cards. I think the reality is he hasn't. Iran has got quite a few cards of its own and its response to this back and forth on possible ceasefire is informed by the fact that they believe they have a strong position. In fact, they describe their proposals as responsible and generous. Essentially, Iran wants no return to the status quo. That means, among other things, it wants its control of the Strait of Hormuz. They want to continue to have that chokehold or potential chokehold over the world economy. They've discovered that this is a really potent weapon. Reports in the U.S. media suggest Iran has been parking some of its military aircraft in Pakistan to shield them from future American airstrikes. CBS News said the move came even as Pakistan acted as a mediator in peace negotiations with Washington. A senior Pakistani official has rejected the claims. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing increasing calls to resign following last week's disastrous local election results. The BBC understands his cabinet is split over whether Sir Keir should set out a timetable for his departure. More than 70 members of parliament from the governing Labour Party have also spoken out. Chris Mason reports. The U.K. has had four prime ministers in the last four years and now another stands on the brink. His party in open revolt, his own cabinet split on whether he should go. He and his supporters have been resolute in their view that it would be insane, as one put it to me, to plunge the party, the government, the country into a lengthy, noisy leadership contest of uncertain outcome. But the remorseless logic of growing demands for his departure from his own MPs means Sir Keir Starmer confronts the most awkward and painful of days. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has insisted he won't resign after a court revived impeachment proceedings against him over a corruption scandal. In an address to the nation, he said he would legally challenge a report that found preliminary evidence of misconduct. "The complaints against me are based on hearsay allegations. No evidence, let alone sufficient evidence, has been presented to prove that I committed any violation, let alone a serious violation of the constitution or the law, or serious misconduct as set out in the constitution." The case began when thieves stole bundles of cash stuffed into a sofa on Mr. Ramaphosa's ranch in 2020. World News from the BBC. The cruise ship hit by a hantavirus outbreak has left the Spanish island of Tenerife after the last passengers were evacuated. It's now heading to the Netherlands with a small crew, as Spanish passenger is the latest person to test positive. Israel has reacted angrily to an agreement by European Union foreign ministers to impose new sanctions on Israeli settlers who have committed violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move had exposed EU's moral bankruptcy. The far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the EU anti-Semitic. The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said extremism and violence carried consequences. Venezuela's acting president says her country has never considered becoming the 51st U.S. state as suggested by President Trump. Delcy Rodríguez told reporters that joining the U.S. had never been contemplated as Venezuelans loved their independence and the heroes who fought for it. Mr. Trump has raised that prospect since American forces deposed the previous president, Nicolás Maduro, in January. Researchers in Britain have found that taking part in regular arts and cultural activities such as visiting museums may slow the pace of ageing. Pallab Ghosh reports. The effect on the pace of ageing of taking part in cultural activities appears comparable to exercise. Those engaging at least weekly age up to 4 percent more slowly by a particular biological measure than infrequent participants, even taking other factors into account. This is similar to the impact of a person exercising at least once a week compared with someone doing no physical activity, though exercise has other health benefits. Scientists say arts engagement may help slow ageing by reducing stress and inflammation and by improving mood and heart health. BBC News. |