Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir met senior Iranian officials on Saturday as Islamabad and Doha push to finalise a memorandum to permanently end the US war on Iran. Both Washington and Tehran point to recent progress in talks but warn of devastating consequences if they collapse.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez maintains the cases against his family and entourage are politically motivated.

Thousands of people have marched through the Spanish capital, demanding Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s resignation after a series of corruption scandals within his entourage.

Demonstrators, many waving red and yellow Spanish flags and holding signs saying “Enough!”, marched through the streets of Madrid on Saturday behind a large banner that read: “Corruption has a price. No more impunity. Resignation and elections now.”

The protest was called by a group of more than 150 civic associations called Sociedad Civil Espanola and backed by the mainstream conservative Popular Party (PP) and far-right Vox.

Organisers put attendance at 120,000. The central government’s delegate to the region estimated 40,000 people had participated in the march, which ended in Plaza Moncloa near Sanchez’s official residence.

After the march ended, a small group of demonstrators tried to head towards the residence but were pushed back by riot police in an otherwise largely peaceful rally, images on Spanish TV showed.

Three people were arrested and seven police officers suffered minor injuries, according to the central government’s delegate.

“There is no one left in Pedro Sanchez’s circle who has not been accused of very serious crimes. Spain is being held hostage by a corrupt mafia,” far-right Vox leader Santiago Abascal told reporters before the start of the march.

Sanchez, who came to power in 2018 after using a vote of no confidence to topple the corruption-mired conservative PP government, has pledged to carry on, despite the proliferation of corruption allegations concerning his entourage.

His brother, David, is scheduled to stand trial for influence peddling.

His wife, Begona Gomez, is under investigation in a separate corruption case. Sanchez briefly considered resigning in April 2024 after the case was opened.

Begona denies any wrongdoing, and a Spanish prosecutor last month asked the investigating judge to close the case, which was brought by far-right groups.

Sanchez has dismissed these cases against his family as politically motivated.

His former right-hand man, ex-Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, is awaiting a verdict in his own corruption trial, which ended earlier this month.

On Tuesday, a court put former Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a Sanchez ally, under formal investigation for influence peddling and other crimes, adding to the pressure on the government. Zapatero denied any wrongdoing.

Morocco jailed 17 Senegal fans following fan disturbances at the Africa Cup of Nations final in January.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has pardoned the Senegalese football supporters jailed after violence at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final in Rabat for “humanitarian reasons”, a royal court statement has confirmed.

It said that in view “of the age-old fraternal ties” between the two countries “and on the occasion of the advent of Eid al-Adha”, the king has “granted, on humanitarian grounds, his royal pardon to the Senegalese supporters”.

The Muslim holiday will be celebrated on Wednesday in Morocco.

The 18 fans were jailed following a pitch invasion that followed the awarding of a penalty to Morocco in injury time of the final on January 18.

The game was stopped for 14 minutes while the Senegal players and staff left the field in protest at the decision. When play resumed, Morocco missed the penalty before Senegal sealed a 1-0 win in injury time.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF), the continent’s governing body for football, overturned the decision on March 17, awarding the game as a 3-0 win to Morocco which saw the North Africans crowned champions.

Latest Truth Social post comes amid ‘delicate diplomacy’, expert says, as US and Iran indicate progress in talks.

Washington, DC – President Donald Trump has posted a photo of the United States flag covering the map of Iran, with the question: “United States of the Middle East?”

The post on Truth Social on Saturday represented another potentially incendiary message from Trump amid ongoing negotiations for a more lasting ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran, experts said.

It carries the potential to roil both regional allies and foes alike given Washington’s past intervention in the Middle East, most notably during the US invasion of Iraq from 2003 to 2011, as well as the Trump administration’s push to increase its influence abroad.

The sentiment also appears to run counter to the Trump administration’s repeated statements that it is not seeking a prolonged occupation of Iran. The US has maintained it is not seeking outright regime change in its war, which it launched alongside Israel on February 28, but that it would welcome such change as a byproduct of the military campaign.

Even for a president known for outlandish social media posts and conflicting messaging on the war, the post could have implications for ongoing negotiations aimed at a more lasting ceasefire, according to Vali Nasr, professor of international affairs and Middle East studies at Johns Hopkins University.

He pointed to Trump’s threat in early April that an “entire civilisation will die” if Iran did not agree to a deal at the time. Hours later, both sides agreed to a pause in fighting.

That pause has held since, save for a handful of flare-ups, with the US continuing to blockade Iranian ports and Tehran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz.

“First he declared he wanted to eradicate Iran’s civilisation now he is declaring that he wants to turn Iran into an American property,” Nasr wrote on X.

“It is this kind of grotesque behaviour that undermines diplomacy and unites Iranians in defence of their country,” he added. “In the middle of delicate diplomacy he casts doubts on America’s true intentions.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fragile negotiations continue

On Saturday, both US and Iranian officials indicated a new deal may be within reach.

Trump told CBS News both sides were “getting a lot closer”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an update could be coming shortly, the broadcaster reported.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the two sides were “currently working to finalise” a memorandum of understanding, and that “the opinions have been converging”.

Still, there have been no official announcements related to key sticking points in the standoff, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme, the fate of its highly enriched uranium stockpile, and its future influence over the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump regularly uses his Truth Social account, which he launched after being briefly banned from Twitter, now X, in the wake of the 2020 election, to make major announcements, attack political enemies, and post AI-generated images and videos.

The foreign policy of his second term has been defined by efforts to grow US influence abroad, particularly in the Americas. That has included the military abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, continued threats against Cuba, and vows to take control of Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory in the North Atlantic.

The Trump administration has adopted the term the Donroe Doctrine, a reference to the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, which sought to diminish European influence in the Western Hemisphere.

On Saturday, Trump also posted an image of his face peering over a mountain range in Greenland.

“Hello, Greenland!” it said.

Thousands rallied in Taipei in support of higher defence spending after a US military official said Washington is pausing a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan to conserve munitions for its war on Iran. The protest comes as Taiwan faces growing military pressure from China, which considers the self-ruled island its own territory, with demonstrators urging stronger deterrence.