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Cuba says border guards killed four gunmen on US-registered speedboat

The Cuban Interior Ministry has said that border guards killed four gunmen and wounded six more on a speedboat bearing a Florida registration off Cayo Falcones in Cuba’s Villa Clara province. The rare clash off Cuba’s coast, which took place on Tuesday, comes at a moment of heightened tensions between the United States and Cuba during an oil embargo that has led to an energy and humanitarian crisis on the island. One border guard was injured in an exchange of gunfire, according to the ministry. The Cuban government did not immediately specify the nationality of the gunmen who were killed and injured. The Cuban embassy in the US said in a post on social media: “In the face of current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its determination to protect its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar of the Cuban State in safeguarding its sovereignty and ensuring stability in the region.” The confrontation happened in an area where gentle farmland gives way to the Florida Straits in bleached beaches under swaying palms. The scattered keys offshore are highly militarised as it is a common spot for Cubans seeking to escape to the US to launch their rafts, and also for people smugglers to land in fast boats. There were several incidents in 2022, at the height of Cuba’s migration crisis. In June of that year, off Bahía Honda to Havana’s west, Cuban officials said they returned fire against a trafficking boat, killing one. That October, survivors said their boat was rammed by the coast guard nearby. Seven migrants died, including a two-year-old girl, Elizabeth Meizoso. It is almost exactly 30 years to the day since the Cuban air force killed four people when it shot down two small planes belonging to Brothers to the Rescue, a Cuban exile group who were dropping leaflets on Havana. They claimed they were helping people flee the island. That event, in which Carlos Alejandre, 45, Armando Costa, 29, Mario De la Peña, 24, and Pablo Morales, 29, died, ended a thaw between the US and Cuba. The US soon increased its sanctions on the island through the Helms Burton act that allows US companies that had property confiscated during the 1959 revolution to sue foreign companies using those properties. It is one of the stickiest issues between the countries now, and two such cases are currently being heard by the US supreme court. There are also moves in the US to bring charges against the former Cuban president Raul Castro for the Brothers to the Rescue killings, in the hope of creating a similar pretext for intervention used for the abduction of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. The Trump administration has moderately eased an embargo on the delivery of oil from Venezuela to Cuba due to the growing energy and humanitarian crisis on the island that has been exacerbated by a US blockade. The Treasury Department on Wednesday said it would now allow American and some international companies to resell Venezuelan-origin oil and petroleum products in Cuba, opening a potential lifeline between Cuban households and private businesses that have been devastated by the cutoff of fuel imports from Venezuela. The unusual guidance was made in “solidarity with the Cuban people” and was targeted at efforts to “improve living conditions and support independent economic activity”, the Treasury Department said. Tensions have soared between Washington and Havana since the US launched an operation in January to capture Maduro, removing one of Cuba’s chief allies in the region. Administration officials led by secretary of state Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a hawkish opponent of the Communist Cuban government, have called for additional US pressure on Havana at a time when the US is flexing its muscle throughout Latin America. The US cut a major lifeline to Cuba in the wake of its operation to capture Maduro, taking control of the export of Caracas’s substantial oil production. Before the raid against Maduro, Venezuela was a key supplier of oil to Cuba. The US has also threatened to slap tariffs on other critical suppliers such as Mexico to halt deliveries of oil and fuel to Cuba. It is not yet clear how the new guidance will be enforced. The directives from the US Treasury and Commerce departments said that oil and petroleum products could be sold to businesses and private households but not to any government institutions, effectively relying on the Cuban government to respect the arrangement. “This favourable licensing policy is directed towards transactions that support the Cuban people, including the Cuban private sector (e.g., exports for commercial and humanitarian use in Cuba),” the guidance read, but banned transactions with “the Cuban military, intelligence services, or other government institutions”. The embargo has led to an acute energy crisis on the island. Much of the country is affected by blackouts which can last from 12 to 20 hours a day. Regional leaders have warned that the blockade and resulting economic crisis could affect migration, security and economic stability elsewhere in the Caribbean. Mexico’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that it had sent a second shipment of humanitarian aid on Tuesday, including beans and powdered milk. Canada for the first time also announced it provide would US $6.7m in food aid through the United Nations, rather than the Cuban government. “This is Canadian foreign policy,” said Canadian foreign affairs minister Anita Anand. “We are focused on the humanitarian situation.” The announcement came as Rubio was reassuring leaders at a meeting of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) on St Kitts and Nevis. The Jamaican prime minister and the outgoing Caricom chair, Andrew Holness, has said he supports “constructive dialogue between Cuba and the US aimed at de-escalation, reform and stability”.

Spanish officer who led 1981 coup dies on day documents declassified

The Spanish officer who led his armed followers into the Spanish congress in a failed military coup in 1981 has died on the same day that the socialist-led government declassified documents relating to the murky attempt to overthrow the country’s post-Franco democracy. Antonio Tejero, who died aged 93, was part of a network of rightwing police and military officers whose efforts to seize power were thwarted after King Juan Carlos refused to support the coup and ordered the generals to obey the democratic constitutional order. Photographs of Tejero wearing the tricorn patent leather hat of the Guardia Civil and brandishing a pistol at MPs on 23 February 1981 are among the most indelible images of Spain’s young democracy. Tejero, who had been involved in another attempted putsch in 1978, was sentenced to 30 years in jail for his role in the events of 1981, but was released after serving half that time. Tejero’s family announced his death in a statement on Wednesday, just hours after the government had uploaded 153 documents relating to the coup on its website. The statement said Tejero had devoted his life “to God, Spain and his family”. His lawyer, Luís Felipe Utrera Molina, also paid tribute to him in a message posted on X. “Lieutenant Colonel Don Antonio Tejero Molina has died,” he wrote. “A man of honour, of unshakeable faith and with a great love for Spain. May God grant him the peace that men have denied him.” The former officer remained emphatically unrepentant about his part in the failed putsch. “It cost me my career and my freedom, but despite that I don’t regret having tried,” he told an interviewer five years ago. Tejero was also one of the people who turned out to protest against the government’s decision to exhume Franco’s remains from the mausoleum in the Valley of the Fallen and transfer them to a suburban cemetery on the outskirts of Madrid in 2019. At the request of the Franco family, one of Tejero’s sons, the priest Ramón Tejero, said mass at the reburial. The Spanish government said it had decided to declassify and publish dozens of documents about the coup so people could find out more about what happened in 1981. “Truth, memory and democracy,” the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, wrote in a post on X on Wednesday morning. “Because remembering the past is the best way to move forward with progress, harmony and freedom.” Among the declassified files was a report from the ministry of defence revealing that members of the intelligence service were involved in, or had knowledge of, the coup plot. The document said there were “six people who either knew the facts before 23 February, or who drew up operational support and then tried to cover their involvement using an operation that sought to justify their movements that day”. In another document, one of the plotters lamented that the coup had failed because they had left Juan Carlos free and had “treated him as if he were a gentleman” when he was, in fact, “an objective to be removed”. Juan Carlos was lauded at home and abroad for using a TV address on the night of the coup to face down its leaders and defend Spain’s newly restored democracy. But there have long been questions about the precise aims of the coup – and about its backers and instigators. According to an interior ministry file released on Wednesday, an investigation had established that some of the plotters had subsequently attempted to “lessen their criminal responsibility” by trying to implicate the king himself in the plot. “Defence lawyers for those who really were involved – as well as political groups and political circles sympathetic to their cause – have pushed the alleged involvement of his majesty the king as the main reason for the coup attempt,” the report said. “In order to do so, they have twisted true facts, maliciously interpreted others, and come up with things that have existed only in the minds of those who thought them up.”

US and Iran nuclear talks at critical stage amid threat of Trump tearing up terms of success

Iran enters critical talks on its nuclear programme with the US on Thursday, insisting a deal is in reach as long as Washington sticks by its willingness to concede Iran’s symbolic right to enrich uranium, allow Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium in country, and not to impose controls on Iran’s ballistic missile programme. The three preconditions for success are seen as critical by Iranian diplomats, but it remains unclear whether Trump accepts these parameters. The US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is heading to Geneva for the talks along with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, had already accepted these principles in the two previous rounds of indirect talks, Iranian officials claim. But it remains possible that Trump could overturn these terms, a step that will inevitably lead to a conflict between the two nations that could rapidly consume the whole of the Middle East. It is understood that Witkoff has asked only that Iran agree to enrichment at below 5% purity, roughly the level it accepted in the 2015 nuclear deal and well below weapons grade. A source in contact with Iran’s negotiation team said members were surprised at the lax terms of the proposal submitted last week by Kushner and Witkoff as a first step. The key request, this source said, was that Iran agree to limit enrichment to 5% and convert the programme to civilian use. But in turn, the source said there were no offers of immediate sanctions relief or diplomatic ties; Iran would be left in an economic handcuffs. Still, the next step, the source said, would be negotiations to gradually relieve sanctions and opening ongoing dialogue. Before leaving for Geneva, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the aim was to achieve “a fair and just agreement in the shortest possible time”. “Our fundamental positions and beliefs are completely clear. Iran will never, under any circumstances, seek to develop nuclear weapons; at the same time we Iranians will never forgo our right to benefit from peaceful nuclear technology,” he added. “Achieving an agreement is within reach but only if diplomacy is prioritised.” In his State of Union speech, delivered early in the morning Tehran time, Trump veered sharply away from the negotiating path adopted by Witkoff when he warned about Iran’s ballistic missiles reaching Europe, accused Iran of being the number one sponsor of terrorism and again claimed Iran had not promised to forgo nuclear weapons. He also claimed 32,000 demonstrators had been killed by the Iranian authorities in recent protests. The US president added that Iran had failed to heed a warning to make “no future attempts” to rebuild its nuclear weapons programmes after last June’s American strikes on the country’s nuclear facilities. “We wiped it out and they want to start all over again,” Trump said. He added Iran was “at this moment, again, pursuing their sinister ambitions”. Only two hours before the speech, Araghchi had written on social media Iran would under no circumstances ever develop a nuclear weapon. After a briefing with the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, Jim Himes, a senior Democrat on the US House intelligence committee, said: “We have not heard a single compelling reason why now is a time to start another war in the Middle East.” For Iran, the presence of Raphael Grossi, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, at the Geneva talks along with mediators from Oman is regarded as significant, since Grossi has the legal authority to state if he thinks any accessoffered by Iran to verify its commitments on enrichment matches the inspectorate’s needs. Araghchi’s team are also willing to find ways for Trump can argue the deal he has secured is better than the one negotiated by Barack Obama in 2015. Tehran recognises that this is a political prerequisite for Trump in terms of US domestic politics. Before heading to Geneva, Grossi said the US had made it clear it was not going to argue for weeks or months. “A very dangerous situation is developing against the backdrop of these negotiations,” he said in reference to the vast and now complete US military buildup in the region. Araghchi said in an interview with CBS this week that “enrichment is our right ... this technology is dear to us”. The US has not been clear if its demand for zero enrichment within Iran would apply to enrichment for medical purposes. Speaking to the Iranian newspaper Entekhab, Hamzeh Safavi, a professor of political science at Tehran University, said: “It is unlikely Iran would accept zero enrichment but it is likely to accept symbolic enrichment. What is important for Iran is the right to enrich and that the issue of enrichment does not become a tool for hostage-taking.” An Iranian agreement on a suspension of enrichment is not unprecedented. In 2003 the then secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Hassan Rouhani, agreed with France, Germany and the UK to suspend all uranium enrichment and processing activities and to allow snap inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog. The Iranian negotiating team who are being asked to present specific proposals at the Geneva talks will seek irreversible sanctions relief such as the release of frozen Iranian assets held abroad. Meanwhile, in Iran, protests have continued at universities for the fifth day, nearly two months after demonstrations against the regime began..

Berlin film festival organisers to hold crisis talks amid Gaza rows

The organisation that manages the Berlin film festival is to meet for talks amid reports that its American director faces dismissal after a series of rows over Gaza. In a statement on Wednesday, the office of Germany’s federal government commissioner for culture and media said the emergency meeting on Thursday had been called to debate the “future direction of the Berlinale”. The newspaper Bild reported that the meeting could result in the firing of Tricia Tuttle, the US director of the festival since 2024, after controversy over pro-Palestinian speeches at the closing gala, one of which criticised Germany as “partners in the genocide”. KBB, the state-owned company that runs the festival, dismissed the report, telling AFP: “We believe this is fake news.” The Berlinale traditionally sees itself as a more overtly political film festival than its commercial rivals Cannes and Venice, and tries to channel geopolitical conflicts around the globe. But the war in Gaza has proven a major friction point at the festival and across Germany’s culture sector as a whole, as a diverse scene of international artists has rubbed up against a strong pro-Israel consensus among the political authorities that steer its finances. At Saturday’s awards ceremony in the German capital, the Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah al-Khatib was given the Perspectives first film prize for his drama Chronicles From the Siege, a series of interlocking vignettes set in an unnamed Palestinian city. In his acceptance speech, al-Khatib said: “My final word to the German government: you are partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel. I believe you are intelligent enough to recognise this truth, but you choose to not care.” He said Palestinians “will remember everyone who stood with us, and we will remember everyone who stood against us, against our right to live with dignity, or who choose silence or choose to be silent.” In a separate speech, the Lebanese director Marie-Rose Osta criticised Israel while accepting the Golden Bear prize for best short film for Someday a Child. “In reality, children in Gaza, in all of Palestine and in my Lebanon do not have superpowers to protect them from Israeli bombs,” she said, referring to a plot line of her film. “No child should need superpowers to survive a genocide empowered by veto powers and the collapse of international law.” Germany’s environment minister, Carsten Schneider, of the Social Democratic party, reportedly walked out during al-Khatib’s speech, later saying in a statement that he considered the film-maker’s accusations “not acceptable”. Al-Khatib’s remarks also drew condemnation from Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor. Alexander Hoffmann, the parliamentary group leader of the Christian Social Union, partners in Germany’s coalition government, accused al-Khatib of “antisemitic slurs and threats against Germany”. According to sources cited by Bild, Wolfram Weimer, the culture commissioner, decided to relieve Tuttle of her duties after seeing not only the speeches but also a picture taken a week earlier. The photograph showed Tuttle with the Chronicles From the Siege crew, several of whom were wearing keffiyeh scarves and one of whom was displaying a Palestinian flag. Tuttle, who helmed the BFI London film festival from 2018 to 2022, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Weimer’s office on Wednesday confirmed that an extraordinary meeting of the KBB supervisory board would be held on Thursday at the culture commissioner’s initiative. “The meeting will include a discussion on the future direction of the Berlinale,” the statement said. “We will not comment on any further speculation.” At the start of Berlinale, the festival organisers had drawn criticism from activists for not positioning itself unambiguously on the war in Gaza. At the opening press conference, the veteran director and jury president, Wim Wenders, rejected the notion that artists and cultural institutions must actively take political stances. “We have to stay out of politics because if we make movies that are dedicatedly political, we enter the field of politics,” Wenders said. “But we are the counterweight of politics, we are the opposite of politics. We have to do the work of people, not the work of politicians.” The remarks prompted the Indian author Arundhati Roy to cancel her appearance and were condemned in an open letter signed by more than 80 active or former Berlinale participants, but were vigorously defended by Tuttle. “Artists are free to exercise their right of free speech in whatever way they choose,” Tuttle said at the time. “Artists should not be expected to comment on all broader debates about a festival’s previous or current practices over which they have no control. Nor should they be expected to speak on every political issue raised to them unless they want to.”

Brazilian politician brothers convicted of ordering murder of Rio city councillor

Two influential Brazilian politician brothers have been convicted by Brazil’s supreme court of ordering the murder of Marielle Franco, the Rio de Janeiro city councillor, nearly eight years ago. João Francisco Inácio Brazão, the former congressman known as Chiquinho, and the former adviser to Rio’s court of auditors Domingos Inácio Brazão were sentenced to 76 years and three months in prison for the murders of Franco, 38, and her driver, Anderson Gomes, 39. The crime was one of the most shocking and high-profile murders in Rio’s history and drew international attention: Franco, a gay Black woman, was a rising political star and an outspoken critic of police violence and corruption. The justices’ decision was unanimous, and the Brazão brothers were also convicted of the attempted murder of Fernanda Chaves, Franco’s press officer at the time, who was in the car and survived. The case is also widely seen by security experts and human rights activists as a chilling example of how the ties between politics, crime and the police are deeply entrenched in Rio, reaching even the highest levels of public administration. Franco’s sister, Anielle Franco, wrote on social media: “It was eight years of struggle to find out who ordered Marielle’s killing and why. It was eight years fighting for full justice. “Today Brazil’s justice system honoured the memory of Marielle and Anderson. Brazil begins a new historic chapter in confronting political violence based on gender and race. Impunity cannot be part of our democracy,” added Anielle, who is minister for racial equality in the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Announcing her vote, Justice Cármen Lúcia said the proceedings had been “very painful” for her. “Human justice is not capable of soothing this pain. This trial is merely a timid, almost embarrassed testimony on my part of the response the law can offer in the face of the searing, atrocious pain borne on the faces of the mother, the daughter, the son, the widows,” added Lúcia, referring to the relatives of Franco and Gomes, who were present in the courtroom. The long journey of almost a decade to secure the convictions was marked by a tortuous series of twists that included the destruction of evidence, frequent changes in lead investigators and even the revelation that the then head of the homicide division, Rivaldo Barbosa, actively worked to obstruct the investigation. Barbosa was not convicted of murder on Wednesday, as the justices found there was insufficient evidence that he had taken part in the killings, but he was found guilty on the lesser charges of obstruction of justice and corruption for having received bribes from the Brazão brothers. The case was tried by the supreme court because Chiquinho was a congressman when his involvement was uncovered. The convictions came more than a year after two former police officers who carried out the killings were sentenced by a court in Rio. Ronnie Lessa, who fired the shots in the drive-by shooting, and Élcio de Queiroz, who drove the getaway car, were sentenced in October 2024 to decades in prison, but their sentences were reduced to a maximum of 30 years after they confessed and cooperated with investigators. Lessa, regarded as one of Rio’s most ruthless hitmen, said he had been hired by the Brazão brothers – long accused of involvement with paramilitary mafia groups known as militias – to kill Franco after becoming frustrated by her efforts to disrupt lucrative housing development schemes. “Marielle Franco became a highly significant obstacle to the economic and political interests of those who ordered the crime,” said the rapporteur, Justice Alexandre de Moraes. One of the most profitable activities of the militia led by the Brazão brothers was the illegal occupation of land – much of it in environmentally protected areas – followed by property development and the provision of services such as electricity and internet. Franco, who at the time served alongside Chiquinho on Rio’s city council, was a vocal advocate for housing rights and frequently warned residents not to join new illegal projects created by the militia. “Marielle Franco was a Black, poor woman who was confronting the interests of militiamen,” said Moraes. “What stronger message could they send? In the misogynistic, prejudiced minds of those who ordered and carried out the killing, who would care about this [her murder]?” The Brazão brothers’ lawyers focused their defence on attempting to discredit Lessa’s confession, arguing that there was no other evidence of their involvement in the crimes. However, all the justices agreed that, beyond the testimony, there was “abundant evidence” to support their convictions. Two former police officers were also convicted: Ronald Paulo de Alves Pereira, for monitoring Franco’s routine in the days leading up to the crime; and Robson Calixto Fonseca, known as The Fish, who will answer only for armed criminal organisation for having delivered the murder weapon to Lessa. Jurema Werneck, executive director of Amnesty International in Brazil, said the convictions were “a fundamental milestone, a chance to turn the page in the history of Rio and Brazil”. “First, because it affirms the need to protect human rights defenders. Fighting for rights cannot cost lives … Second, this decision also marks a turning point in the fight against impunity, so that crimes like this are not repeated,” she said.

Iceland to hold referendum on EU accession talks in next few months, PM says – as it happened

… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today! Iceland is to hold a referendum on opening accession talks to join the European Union in “the next few months,” the country’s prime minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said (17:18). Her comments appear to suggest the government will bring forward plans to organise the vote, previously rumoured to be planned for early 2027 (17:37). In other news, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán appeared to escalate his rhetoric towards Ukraine (14:32) as he made unsubstantiated claims alleging that Ukraine could be looking to disrupt its energy grid, and ordered soldiers to protect key energy facilities (12:54), just weeks before a closely contested parliamentary election in Hungary. The two countries remain at odds over their views on what is blocking the use of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which continues to be affected by recent Russian strikes (12:54, 13:06, 13:12). Separately, German chancellor Friedrich Merz for deepening ties with China, while pushing for fairer trade rules between the two countries and seeking Chinese help on Ukraine as he continues his visit to the country (9:51, 11:56). Switzerland and the European Union will next week sign a package of agreements aimed at simplifying and harmonising their ties, Berne and Brussels said (13:50). The 76th Sanremo Italian song festival got under way last night at the iconic Ariston Theatre (12:37). And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today. If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com. I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

US to offer passport services to citizens in illegal West Bank settlements

The US will provide on-site consular services in two Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank for the first time, breaking with previous policy, in a move that has been criticised by Palestinian officials as “a clear violation of international law”. In a post on X, the US embassy in Jerusalem said that as part of an initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence, it would provide Americans with routine passport services in the West Bank settlement of Efrat on Friday “for one day only”. Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, are illegal under international law. Efrat, about 7 miles (12km) south of Jerusalem, is home to about 12,000 Israelis. The Palestinian Authority’s Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said in a statement that the initiative “constitutes a clear violation of international law and a blatant favouring of the occupation authorities”, referring to Israel. Mu’ayyad Shaa’ban, the head of the commission, said the step “entrenches a settlement reality that undermines the possibility of establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state”. Hamas called it “a dangerous precedent” and a “practical recognition of the legitimacy of settlement and the occupation’s control over the West Bank”. The US embassy in Jerusalem said similar facilities offering consular services would be provided in the coming months in a second Israeli settlement, Beitar Illit, as well as in the Palestinian city of Ramallah and three cities inside Israel. The Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, welcomed the US move. “We … appreciate the important decision by the US embassy to extend consular services to Efrat, in Judea and Samaria,” he said, using the biblical name for the West Bank. Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the intent and context of the new policy were important. “The background is very clear. Mike Huckabee [the US ambassador to Israel] is an avowed proponent of the Greater Israel vision and supports the realisation of that vision between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea,” Lovatt said. “This is a signal that the US will not treat the Israeli settlements [in the West Bank] in any different way from towns within Israel.” Last week Israel’s cabinet approved measures to tighten the country’s control over the West Bank and make it easier for settlers to buy land, a move Palestinians called a “de facto annexation”. Donald Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has said he opposes Israeli annexation of the West Bank in line with longstanding US policy but his administration has not taken any measures to halt settlement activity, which has risen since he took office last year. Settler violence and army raids have increased in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began in October 2023. Last week Israeli settlers shot and killed a Palestinian American man during an attack on a village, the Palestinian health ministry and a witness said. On Tuesday there were arson attacks on Palestinian homes in Masafer Yatta and other nearby villages in the south Hebron Hills. The area has been repeatedly targeted by violent settlers in recent years. The US currently offers passport and consular services at its embassy in Jerusalem as well as at a Tel Aviv branch office. The number of dual American-Israeli nationals living in the West Bank is estimated to be in the tens of thousands. Much of the West Bank is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the western-backed Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, which has a large voter base in the settlements, includes many members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties. Efrat, the Jewish settlement where American consular officials will provide passport services on Friday, is home to many American immigrants. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, home to 3 million Palestinians. Most settlements are small towns surrounded by fences and guarded by Israeli soldiers.

Moves to pave way for Chagos handover paused, minister tells MPs

Moves to pave the way for the handover of the Chagos Islands have been paused, a minister has told MPs, amid continuing discussions with the US over the controversial deal. The comments by Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister and former diplomat, were swiftly played down by government sources who said he had misspoken. But opposition parties said they appeared to describe the reality of the UK’s position as the deal comes under increasing pressure from Donald Trump. Last week Trump said Keir Starmer was “making a big mistake” by handing sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius in exchange for the UK and US being allowed to continue using their airbase on one of the islands, Diego Garcia. In response to an urgent question in the Commons from Nigel Farage on Wednesday, Falconer said: “We have a process going through parliament in relation to the treaty.” He added: “We will bring that back to parliament at the appropriate time. We are pausing for discussions with our American counterparts.” The government scrambled to contain the confusion caused by Falconer’s comments, and sources in the Foreign Office said he had misspoken. A spokesperson said: “There is no pause. We have never set a deadline. Timings will be announced in the usual way.” However, members of the House of Lords said they had been guided unofficially to understand that the bill was due to come before them this week after clearing its latest stage in the Commons last month. Those plans appear to have changed after Trump’s intervention on 18 February. The Conservative peer Ross Kempsell said: “We were all expecting to go into ping pong on the Chagos surrender bill this week. The government are now in total disarray and ministers are right to put this thing on ice.” Labour sources said the bill had never been formally tabled for discussion in the Lords this week and other dates were being looked at. The exchanges in the Commons on Wednesday added to the confusion surrounding the deal. Although the issue has yet to cut through with voters – 45% of those polled last month by YouGov did not have a view on whether they supported or opposed it – it is diplomatically fraught. Peers in effect have been waiting for more than a month for what might be the final vote on the bill. The shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel, who is in the US meeting political figures about the deal, pounced on the comments by Falconer and described the deal as “an appalling act of betrayal”. “I am in Washington lobbying senior administration figures on this issue and I am pleased the UK government has been forced to pause the legislation,” she said. “But ministers must go further: now it is time for Keir Starmer to face reality and kill this shameful surrender once and for all before it does any more damage.” Earlier, Falconer made it clear that the UK government was taking notice of Trump’s intervention, which went against the grain of not only what Trump had previously said but also US government policy. While the president had previously criticised the plan, which is backed by the state department, earlier this month he described it as the best deal Starmer could make in the circumstances. Falconer told MPs: “The view of the United States president may well have changed but the treaty has not.” Farage used his urgent question on Wednesday to force the issue on to the agenda after he had been accused of “performing Maga stunts” by claiming the British government had stopped him from travelling to the Chagos Islands on a humanitarian mission. The Reform UK leader said he had flown to the Maldives to join a delegation bringing aid to four Chagossians who are trying to establish a settlement on one of the archipelago’s islands to protest against the transfer to Mauritius. In a video posted on X on Saturday, Farage claimed the UK government had blocked his trip to the territory, which cannot be entered without a valid permit. Farage said: “The British government are applying pressure on the president and the government of the Maldives to do everything within their power to stop me getting on that boat and going to the Chagos Islands.”