Cuban Coast Guard Opens Fire on U.S.-Registered Speedboat, Four Killed

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The Cuban Interior Ministry announced on Wednesday that a Cuban Coast Guard vessel fired on a U.S.-registered speedboat, killing four men aboard and wounding six other passengers.

According to the Cuban Interior Ministry statement, the speedboat passengers began shooting at the Cuban Coast Guard vessel when it approached them, wounding its commander. The fatalities occurred when the Cuban ship returned fire.

The Interior Ministry provided the Florida registration number of the speedboat, and said it was detected about one nautical mile northeast of the El Pino channel, near the island of Cayo Falcones. (Read more from “Cuban Coast Guard Opens Fire on U.S.-Registered Speedboat, Four Killed” HERE)

Iran Has Promised Trump Its Oil Riches. It Could Be a Clever Ploy to Avoid War

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Iran has put something unprecedented on the negotiating table with the United States as it tries to avoid war and save its nuclear enrichment programme.

The Islamic Republic has offered Donald Trump access to the oil and gas wealth it has guarded from the US since the 1979 revolution.

The question is whether Tehran means it, or whether veteran Iranian diplomats are preparing to execute a sophisticated con game to pacify the US president.

The talks are aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions that have devastated its economy.

Mr Trump has warned Tehran that it has 10 to 15 days to make a “meaningful deal” with Washington, or face American air strikes. (Read more from “Iran Has Promised Trump Its Oil Riches. It Could Be a Clever Ploy to Avoid War” HERE)

Bizarre Photos Show ex-Prince Andrew Playing with Young Boy — using a ‘Boob’ Ball

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. . .Bizarre, newly revealed photos show then-Prince Andrew playing with an infant — using a ball made to look like a woman’s breast.

The photos show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 2011, when he was still a favored prince and the Duke of York, down on all fours at his home in Windsor, playing with the unidentified young boy, according to TMZ, which obtained the pics after Andrew’s shocking arrest Thursday.

Photo credit: TMZ

What looks like an innocent moment takes an inappropriate turn when it becomes clear that the ball is actually made to look like a boob, with a fake nipple sticking out of it.

In one snap, the boy bends down to pick up the bizarre object — with the nipple pointing straight at him.

The photos surfaced Thursday soon after Andrew was released from 11 hours of custody following his dramatic, historic arrest for suspected misconduct in public office for allegedly giving confidential documents to his now-deceased pedophile pal Jeffrey Epstein. (Read more from “Bizarre Photos Show ex-Prince Andrew Playing with Young Boy — using a ‘Boob’ Ball” HERE)

Tehran Draws Red Line on Missiles, Experts Say, as Trump’s Ultimatum Looms

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President Trump said in June he would decide “within the next two weeks” whether to strike Iran. He made the decision two days later.

On Thursday, he gave Tehran another deadline, saying the Islamic Republic has 10 to 15 days to come to the negotiating table or face consequences.

The compressed timeline now sits at the center of a new round of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy. But with Trump, deadlines can serve as both a warning and a weapon.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital, “The Iranian regime has been operating under a grand delusion that they can turn President Trump into President Obama, and President Trump has made it clear that that’s not happening.”

Brodsky said there is little expectation inside the administration that diplomacy will produce a breakthrough. (Read more from “Tehran Draws Red Line on Missiles, Experts Say, as Trump’s Ultimatum Looms” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office

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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – formerly Prince Andrew, Duke of York – was arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was apprehended and placed in police custody on his 66th birthday.

The BBC notes this is the first time the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who has faced numerous allegations over his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested.

Andrew has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.

olice did not directly name Mountbatten-Windsor, as is normal under U.K. law. But when asked if he had been arrested, the force pointed to a statement (see below) saying they had arrested a man in his 60s.

Mountbatten-Windsor is 66 and today is his birthday.

He was apprehended after a raid on his new Sandringham home. (Read more from “Prince Andrew Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office” HERE)

Iran, US Agree on ‘Guiding Principles’ of Nuclear Deal, as Vance Says Dismantling Atomic Program Among ‘Red Lines’

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American and Iranian negotiators have hashed out “guiding principles” for an agreement during the second round of talks on Tehran’s nuclear program, according to Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

“We were able to reach a general agreement on a set of guiding principles, based on which we will proceed from now on and move toward drafting a potential agreement,” Araghchi told state TV earlier from Geneva, where the talks were held.

“This does not mean that we can quickly reach a final agreement, but at least the path has begun.”

A US official agreed that “progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss. The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.”

Vice President JD Vance told Fox News Tuesday afternoon that “in some ways” the talks went well, “but in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.” (Read more from “Iran, US Agree on ‘Guiding Principles’ of Nuclear Deal, as Vance Says Dismantling Atomic Program Among ‘Red Lines’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Zelensky Warns Ukrainians Would Never ‘Forgive’ US for Ceding Major Region to Russia as Part of Peace Deal: ‘Not Fair’

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The Ukrainian public would not accept Kyiv simply handing over the country’s Donbas region to Russia in a peace deal, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday — advising US envoys against continually pushing a version of peace the war’s victims would see as an “unsuccessful story.”

“Emotionally, people will never forgive this. Never. They will not forgive … me, they will not forgive [the US],” Zelensky told Axios, speaking as US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Geneva. “This is part of our country, all these citizens, the flag, the land.”

The president said it was “not fair” that President Trump has called on Ukraine — and not Russia — to make concessions to reach a peace deal.

Any change to the country’s recognition of its land would require a referendum approved by the Ukrainian people, according to Kyiv’s constitution.

Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been working to rapidly seal a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine that would see Kyiv give up even the roughly 15% to 20% of the Donbas that it still controls, turning it into a “free economic zone.” (Read more from “Zelensky Warns Ukrainians Would Never ‘Forgive’ US for Ceding Major Region to Russia as Part of Peace Deal: ‘Not Fair’” HERE)

Jews Pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount as Decades-Old Status Quo Begins to Shift

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Police are allowing limited Jewish prayer on Temple Mount, marking the most significant shift to the status quo since 1967 – and stirring quiet tension on one of the world’s most contested sites.

. . .Ali, who said he goes to pray every day at Al-Aqsa (so called because it was “the farthest” mosque from Mecca when the Quran was revealed), said Jewish groups visiting and even praying there doesn’t bother him.

“It does disturb some people, but it doesn’t bother me,” he said. “If they do it quietly, it’s okay. People should worship God in the way they want to.”

But other Palestinians disagreed. A group of three women from the Galilee, who said they come about once a week to pray at the mosque for their families and for those who were killed in Gaza, frowned as they watched the Jewish group.

“This place is for Islam, and Jews are supposed to pray at the Wall,” Samira said.

Indeed, that has been the case since 1967 when Israel took over Jerusalem’s Old City from Jordan during the Six Day War. For many Israelis, it was the fulfillment of a dream, with the chance to pray at the Kotel – the Western Wall. The iconic photo of three paratroopers standing at the Wall is inscribed into every Israeli’s DNA. (Read more from “Jews Pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount as Decades-Old Status Quo Begins to Shift” HERE)

Olympics Ban Ukrainian Athlete for Helmet Depicting Athletes Killed by Russia

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Ukrainian skeleton pilot Vladyslav Heraskevych, 27, was banned from the 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday, just minutes before his event was due to begin, because he insisted on wearing a helmet covered with images of athletes killed by Russia’s invasion of his country.

Heraskevych said he accepted the ban as the “price of our dignity,” but he insisted his helmet did not actually violate the rules set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and he noted that other athletes have been allowed to express political opinions at the Winter Games.

“U.S. figure skater, Canadian freeskier, Israeli skeleton athlete who is also here today, they didn’t face the same things,” he said. “So suddenly, just a Ukrainian athlete in this Olympic Games will be disqualified for this helmet.”

In an interview on Thursday after the IOC announced its decision, Heraskevych said he felt “emptiness” because he was banned over “an interpretation of the rules which I do not agree with.”

“I was at many funerals when I was in Ukraine and it’s a truly terrible tragedy that young people at such a young age were killed for nothing. Because of their sacrifice, we’re able to be here today, and I want to honor them, and I want to honor their families,” he said. (Read more from “Olympics Ban Ukrainian Athlete for Helmet Depicting Athletes Killed by Russia” HERE)

Orbán Calls Ukraine an ‘Enemy’ in Speech

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has labelled Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia, an “enemy” of his own country.

“The Ukrainians must stop constantly demanding in Brussels that Hungary be cut off from cheap Russian energy,” the right-wing populist said in an election campaign speech in the western Hungarian city of Szombathely on Sunday.

“As long as Ukraine does this, it is our enemy,” he added, according to the state news agency MTI.

Orbán is considered Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, and his country is highly dependent on Russian gas and oil supplies. Unlike the other EU countries, Hungary has not made any serious efforts under Orbán to free itself from its dependence on Russian energy.

Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Hungary on April 12. For the first time in his 16 years in office, Orbán faces a strong challenger. (Read more from “Orbán Calls Ukraine an ‘Enemy’ in Speech” HERE)