“The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday. Wafiq Safa, a high-ranking member of Hezbollah’s political council, spoke on the eve of the talks expected in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the U.S. It will be the first time in decades that envoys from Lebanon and Israel, which do not have diplomatic relations, meet face-to-face in direct talks. ‘As for the outcomes of this negotiation between Lebanon and the Israeli enemy, we are not interested in or concerned with them at all,’ Safa told The Associated Press. ‘We are not bound by what they agree to,’ he added in a rare interview with international media.” (04/14/26)
“A major U.S. Postal Service union is launching a national TV ad campaign promoting voting by mail, stepping into a politically charged debate as skepticism about mail-in ballots has been raised by President Donald Trump and others. The 30-second message features a variety of voters, among them a busy farmer and a flight attendant, explaining why they cast their ballots by mail. Sponsored by the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union, the advertising campaign announced Tuesday will begin airing this week in Ohio, where Union Army soldiers during the Civil War cast the first mail ballots in 1864. It will then move to other states.” (04/14/26)
“France’s interior minister is seeking to block US rapper Kanye West from performing in the southern city of Marseille in June due to his antisemitic remarks, a source close to the minister said on Tuesday. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez is ‘highly determined’ to ban the June 11 concert at Marseille’s Velodrome stadium and is exploring “all possibilities”, the source said. West, 48, has been heavily criticised for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Britain has blocked the US rapper, also known as Ye, from entering the country due to his outbursts, prompting organisers of a festival he was to headline to cancel the July event.” (04/14/26)
“U.S. wholesale prices surged last month as the Iran war drove up the cost of energy. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — rose 0.5% from February and 4% from March 2025. The year-over-year gains was the biggest in more than three years. Energy prices surged 8.5% from February. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core producer prices rose a modest 0.1% from February and 3.8% from a year earlier. The gains in wholesale prices were smaller than economists had forecast.” (04/14/26)
“Mohammed Amin was eight when he died shortly after testing positive for HIV. His fevers were so bad that he insisted on sleeping in the rain, and he writhed in pain ‘like he’d been thrown in hot oil,’ says his mother, Sughra. ‘He used to fight with me, but he also loved me,’ 10-year-old Asma says as she kneels at her younger brother’s graveside. Not long after her brother contracted the virus, Asma was also diagnosed with HIV. Her family believe both children contracted it from injections with contaminated needles during routine medical treatment at a government hospital in Taunsa, in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. They are two of the 331 children that BBC Eye has identified as testing positive for HIV in the city between November 2024 and October 2025.” (04/14/26)
“The founder and former chairman of Chinese property giant China Evergrande Group pleaded guilty Tuesday to a slew of charges, including embezzlement, securities fraud and corporate graft at a trial in the southern city of Shenzhen. Hui Ka Yan admitted ‘illegally absorbing public deposits’ where buyers’ down payments on apartments off-plan were used to fund hundreds of other projects in the case in which Evergrande Real Estate Group also faced a similar set of charges, the Intermediate People’s Court of Shenzhen said in a statement online. Evergrande took in millions of dollars from buyers that, instead of being used to complete the properties they were purchasing, were diverted to new developments, the court heard.” (04/14/26)
“Police in Greece have been recruiting migrants to violently push other migrants back across its land border with Turkey, according to wide-ranging evidence uncovered by the BBC. We have seen internal police documents in which guards describe how the recruitment of so-called mercenaries was ordered and overseen by senior officers. Our findings reveal allegations of brutality, with witnesses reporting migrants being stripped, robbed, beaten and even sexually assaulted. It has been claimed that mercenaries have been unofficially employed on the border since at least 2020. The Greek prime minister told the BBC he was ‘totally unaware’ about allegations of the use of migrants for pushbacks, while the country’s authorities have not responded to our written detailed requests for comment.” (04/14/26)
“Amazon.com said on Tuesday it would acquire Globalstar in an $11.57 billion deal, bolstering its fledgling satellite business as it tries to catch up with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Tech companies are pouring in billions of dollars to capture the lucrative market for satellite-based connectivity, but it will be a tall order to match Starlink’s 10,000-unit-strong network. Through the deal, Amazon adds Globalstar’s two dozen satellites to its existing network of more than 200. Amazon has been working to ramp up its network by deploying about 3,200 satellites in Earth’s low orbit by 2029, with roughly half required to be in place by a July regulatory deadline. It is also preparing to roll out its satellite internet services later this year.” (04/14/26)
“U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s effort to investigate possible criminal contempt by Kristi Noem and other senior Trump administration officials in connection with deportation flights last year has been blocked — for the second time — by a bitterly divided appeals court panel. In a 2-1 ruling Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that Boasberg, the chief federal district court judge in Washington, had overstepped his authority by continuing to pursue possible contempt charges against administration officials who signed off on deportations to El Salvador despite the judge’s effort to halt them.” (04/14/26)
“Los Angeles schools avoided a strike that would have impacted nearly 400,000 students in Southern California as the school district and the union representing support staff reached a tentative deal early Tuesday. Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union announced on social media that it won a tentative agreement with ‘major gains’ including raises and more hours. The district announced that an agreement in principle had been reached with SEIU Local 99 allowing schools to be open Tuesday and they would work to finalize the details of a tentative agreement. SEIU Local 99 said the tentative deal also included protections against subcontracting, stopped IT layoffs and increased staffing. SEIU Local 99 told members to report to work as usual on Tuesday and thanked its fellow unions and the Los Angeles community, saying the ‘victory belongs to ALL of us.'” (04/14/26)
