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Iran war day 78: Trump, Tehran signal talks as Lebanon truce extended | Border Disputes News
Iran says Trump signalled openness to talks as deadlock remains over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Published On 16 May 2026
Lebanon has welcomed an agreement with Israel to extend a fragile ceasefire by 45 days beyond Sunday’s deadline following talks in the United States, even as Israeli forces continued attacks on towns and villages in southern Lebanon.
At least 12 people were killed on Friday, including three paramedics, according to Lebanese authorities.
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list of 1 itemend of listMeanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during a BRICS meeting that Tehran had received communication from the administration of US President Donald Trump indicating openness to new negotiations aimed at ending the war. However, Araghchi said a “deadlock” remained over the issue of Iran’s enriched nuclear material.
Trump also suggested he could be open to Iran placing its civilian nuclear programme on hold for two decades, provided Tehran demonstrates what he described as a genuine commitment to a broader agreement.
Here is what we know:
In Iran
- Iran open to China’s help: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the US had sent messages indicating it was willing to continue talks, and that he was open to any support – including from China. “We appreciate any country who has the ability to help, particularly China,” Araghchi said.
- Tehran details toll of attacks on Iranian capital: The municipal government said US-Israeli attacks during the war caused at least 650 impact incidents across the capital, killing more than 1,260 people and wounding at least 2,800. Officials also said about 51,000 homes were damaged, along with more than 10,700 cars and 754 motorcycles, including nearly 150 taxis.
- More ships pass through Hormuz: Iran is allowing more ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state television has reported, because “many countries have accepted the new legal protocols” it has put in place.
War diplomacy
- China signals likely veto on Hormuz resolution: China’s UN envoy Fu Cong criticised a proposed US-backed Security Council resolution on the Strait of Hormuz as “not right” in both timing and content, signalling Beijing would likely oppose the measure alongside Russia.
- Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire: Lebanon and Israel on Friday extended a ceasefire for 45 days, despite a new flare-up in violence, the US State Department said after mediating talks. “The April 16 cessation of hostilities will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
- Lebanon sees path to ‘lasting stability’: Lebanon’s delegation at the talks in Washington said on Friday that the truce extension and the establishment of a US-facilitated security track pave the way for “lasting stability”.
In the Gulf
- UAE fast-tracks oil pipeline bypassing Hormuz: The United Arab Emirates said it will accelerate construction of a new ADNOC pipeline linking Abu Dhabi to Fujairah to double oil export capacity outside the Strait of Hormuz by 2027, with operations expected to begin next year.
In the US
- US charges alleged Kataib Hezbollah commander: US prosecutors charged Iraqi national Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, an alleged senior Kataib Hezbollah figure linked to Iran’s IRGC, over his alleged role in at least 18 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and Canada. The FBI said al-Saadi was arrested in Turkiye before being transferred to the US.
- Tlaib marks Nakba anniversary in Congress: US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib commemorated the Nakba in a speech to Congress, saying the displacement of Palestinians “did not end in 1948” and calling for justice and the Palestinian right of return.
In Israel
- Israel intensifies attacks in southern Lebanon: The Israeli military said its forces killed more than 220 Hezbollah fighters over the past week and struck more than 440 targets across southern Lebanon during the same period.
In Lebanon
- Strike hits building in Lebanon’s Tyre: An Israeli strike hit a building in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Friday after an evacuation warning by the Israeli army, state media reported, despite the extension in the truce between Israel and Hezbollah. An AFP correspondent saw a strike hit one of the threatened buildings.
- New evacuation orders in southern Lebanon: The Israeli military ordered residents in nine towns and villages in southern Lebanon to flee ahead of planned attacks, hours after Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend their fragile ceasefire by another 45 days. The affected areas included Ansar, al-Marwaniyah and al-Baysariyah.
- Death toll rises in Lebanon: Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,951 people and wounded 8,988 others since renewed air raids and the ground invasion began on March 2, as some residents continue refusing to leave partially destroyed homes despite ongoing military operations.
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Spain PM defends Eurovision boycott over Israel | Israel attacks Lebanon News
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has defended Spain’s boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s participation, saying ‘silence is not an option’ while citing the genocide in Gaza and the ‘illegal war’ on Lebanon.
Published On 16 May 2026
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‘Why are we even doing this?’ The week that left Britain’s PM looking like an interim leader | Keir Starmer
It was a minute or so into his BBC interview on Friday morning, after being asked about “moves” to remove Keir Starmer, that Steve Reed ran out of patience. “There is no contest,” he interrupted. “‘Moves’ mean nothing. People need 81 nominations to stand against the prime minister.”
The housing secretary, a close ally of Starmer and a founding member of the Labour Together thinktank that catapulted him to power, was right, of course: no one has formally challenged the prime minister, let alone ousted him.
But the reality is stark. In one short but tumultuous week, Starmer has shed so much authority that many of his MPs – let alone the wider public – view him as, in effect, an interim leader, still in office only until the necessary arrangements can be made for a replacement.
This risks being an oversimplification. After Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary but seemingly edged away from a leadership challenge, Andy Burnham is seen as the successor apparent. But the Greater Manchester mayor is not yet in parliament and will first have to win a byelection in Makerfield, a constituency on the edge of Wigan where Reform UK is bullish about its chances and where the Greens are also likely to campaign hard.
Those around the prime minister insist that not only will he fight on but that it has been utterly bizarre for a party that spent much of its time in opposition on internal battles to do the same less than two years after a landslide election win.
“At several points this week I’ve felt like I was going mad,” said one Labour official loyal to Starmer. “Why are we even doing this? You can’t go around saying ‘the PM has to leave, and we don’t know who will replace him’. It’s wildly irresponsible.”
That was, however, more or less how the week’s events began. On Saturday, two days after Labour received a drubbing in elections across England, Scotland and Wales, one of Starmer’s lesser-known MPs did her best to light the spark on a contest. If this was one of the more unpredictable weeks in recent UK political history, Catherine West was its mascot.
She began by saying that if no one in the cabinet was willing to seek the 81 nominations needed to kickstart a leadership race, she would. This became an email to Labour colleagues asking Starmer to step down.
Eccentric it may have been, but it heralded three days of what could be termed the phoney war to get rid of Starmer, as the various camps marshalled their forces and began some exploratory skirmishes.
On Monday a handful of junior frontbenchers, mainly allied to Streeting, quit government. That evening, several cabinet ministers asked the PM to think about a departure timetable.
By Tuesday the resignations had been upgraded to junior ministers, most notably Jess Phillips. Again, these were primarily from Team Streeting, although the first, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said she was quitting to press No 10 to allow Burnham back into parliament.
Wednesday saw an intense effort by Downing Street to essentially dare Streeting into a formal challenge. Starmer agreed to see his then health secretary for a humiliatingly short meeting, while the PM’s allies briefed furiously that Streeting had nowhere near the 81 MPs needed and had “bottled it”.
It took until Thursday for events to start coming into focus. At lunchtime, Streeting released a long and damning letter of resignation from the cabinet, calling for a leadership contest with a “broad” field of candidates, a de facto acknowledgment that he lacked the MP numbers. In one of the most bizarre turns of the wheel, this was also the day that West told the BBC that if a contest did happen, she might support Starmer anyway.
About four hours after Streeting resigned, when just about every other Labour MP in the north-west of England had denied they would stand down in Burnham’s favour, one did. Josh Simons, a 2024-intake Labour MP, has roots more on the centre-right of the party but has yoked his fortunes closely to the Greater Manchester mayor.
As chance would have it, Reed was on stage at an event when this news emerged, with footage showing his brow furrowing as he was informed by a politely gleeful Michael Gove.
A couple of hours later came what appeared to be the final piece of the puzzle: Downing Street indicated that the party’s national executive committee, which had blocked Burnham from standing in February’s Gorton and Denton byelection, would not do the same this time.
For Burnham supporters, the way ahead seemed clear. Their man would be selected for the seat, use a strong personal brand built during nearly a decade as mayor to overcome Reform, and be back in the Commons. The idea, some allies said, would be to immediately challenge Starmer and be in No 10 before the Commons went into summer recess in July.
It is a bold plan but one with several obvious hurdles. If Burnham loses the byelection to Reform, his ambitions would seem at an end, his supposed superpower – “only I can stop Nigel Farage becoming prime minister” – shattered. For good measure, his departure as mayor has the potential to deliver Greater Manchester to Reform as well.
Even getting into parliament might not be the end of it. For all that it may at times be based on a mix of braggadocio, desperation and narked fury, Starmer’s allies continue to insist that he would contest any challenge and call on the Labour membership, who make the final decision, to stick with stability.
Such an approach does thus far appear to have seen off Streeting. It is difficult to understate how much this has been a source of comfort to Starmer’s supporters in an otherwise painful week.
“This was Wes’s moment and he messed it up,” one said. “Everyone has been expecting him to go for it more or less since we got into office, and this was his chance. And he got 40 MPs. It’s embarrassing.”
Things remain hugely tricky for the PM despite marathon efforts by allies including Darren Jones, the minister who serves as chief secretary to the prime minister, who spent six hours on Wednesday evening trying to talk MPs down.
Starmer faces very obvious constraints, not least the fact that, as shown by a generally pedestrian “make or break” speech on Monday, he remains a poor communicator with few clearly articulated ideas who is widely disliked by voters.
There are some signs of greater boldness – for example, comments on Friday condemning a far-right march planned for London the next day as part of “a fight for the soul of this country”. Similarly, No 10 insists voters are starting to see results, with the chaotic week burying news of a big fall in NHS England waiting lists and better than expected economic growth.
But even some allies in the cabinet accept that at some point he may have to face that the game is up.
“If you get to the point, closer to the election, where he can’t win the election but somebody else could, where he’s clear in his own mind that it can’t be done, then he’d make sure there was an orderly transition,” one said. “But he’s not there yet, and less than two years after winning a general election, nor should he be.”
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Weather: Alert of rain and storm issued in 15 states of the country, Meteorological Department warned – Weather News Today Imd Issue Alert Of Rain Storm In Many States Advisory
The Indian Meteorological Department on Saturday has issued an alert of heavy rain and thunderstorm in 15 states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab. The Meteorological Department has advised people to exercise extreme caution during this period. The Meteorological Department has warned that many parts of the country may see drastic changes in the weather on May 16. There is a possibility of strong winds at the speed of 80 to 85 kilometers per hour in many areas. Along with this, severe storms may once again occur in North Indian states, while hailstorm warning has also been issued for many areas.
Rain-storm alert in six districts of Punjab
An alert has been issued for storm and rain in six districts of Punjab. According to the Chandigarh-based weather centre, there is a possibility of severe thunderstorm with lightning in Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Fazilka, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Muktsar. Strong winds can blow at a speed of 40 to 50 kilometers per hour in these districts. Along with this, the Meteorological Department has also issued ‘Yellow Alert’ of heat wave in many parts of Punjab from May 16 to May 20.
Temperature will increase in Delhi
It was a pleasant morning for the residents of Delhi on Friday with the minimum temperature recorded at around 25 degrees Celsius. This came a day after intense dust storms and gale force winds lashed the national capital and parts of northern India. However, the Meteorological Department has predicted a rapid rise in temperature in Delhi-NCR in the next few days. The maximum temperature in the national capital is likely to cross 40 degrees Celsius on Saturday.
Earlier, the Meteorological Department had predicted thunderstorm and light rain with lightning during the night. Despite some respite from the heat, according to the latest estimates of the Meteorological Department, hot weather is expected to return once again in the region. It is estimated that on May 16, the sky will be clear in Delhi and the maximum temperature can be recorded at 41 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature can be recorded at 24 degrees Celsius. On May 17, the temperature may further rise to 42 degrees Celsius, while the sky will be partly cloudy and there is a possibility of thunderstorm and lightning.
Man killed in great white shark attack in western Australia | Wildlife News
The 38-year-old was bitten at a popular diving and fishing spot near the city of Perth, police say.
Published On 16 May 2026
A man has died from his injuries after being attacked by a great white shark in western Australia, authorities say.
The attack unfolded just before 10am local time Saturday (02:00 GMT) off Rottnest Island, west of the city of Perth, Western Australia police said in a statement.
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list of 4 itemsend of listAustralia’s ABC News reported that the 38-year-old victim was taken by boat to Geordie Bay Jetty, where paramedics and police performed CPR. He died at the scene.
Images published by the outlet show ambulance and rescue crews gathered at the popular diving and fishing spot, Horseshoe Reef.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development told the AFP news agency that the shark measured four metres (13 feet) and confirmed it was a long great white.
The attack marked the first fatal shark attack in Western Australia since last March, when a man was mauled while surfing at Wharton Beach in a remote area.
A string of attacks along the country’s eastern coast earlier this year triggered the closure of several New South Wales beaches.
Last September, a rare fatal attack unfolded off a Sydney beach, killing an experienced surfer in his 50s.
The most recent deadly mauling in Sydney before that was in 2022, when a 35-year-old British diving instructor became the first person to be killed in an attack off the city in nearly 60 years.
The majority of shark attacks occur along the east and southeast seaboard of Australia, with an average of 20 such incidents a year, according to Australia’s Institute of Health and Welfare.
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