Rubio suggests US/Iran deal imminent
Oil prices fell sharply and Asian stock markets rose today amid mounting hopes of a deal between the United States and Iran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said during a visit to India that US and Iranian negotiators had “a pretty solid thing on the table” and a deal to end the war between the two countries might be reached today. Earlier, President Donald Trump said he had instructed negotiators “not to rush into a deal”. Reports suggest it involves a 60-day ceasefire extension, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and a plan for further negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme. Rubio said: “We’re still a work in progress. As I said, you know, we thought we might have some news last night. Maybe today.” Trump is increasingly having to contend with internal Republican jitters about actual gains from the costly war with Iran. Ted Cruz, the Republican senator for Texas, reflected what reports suggest is significant anxiety in the party when he warned that if the war’s conclusion “is to be an Iranian regime – still run by Islamists who chant “death to America” – now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium and develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake”. Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, said Trump was being “played as a fool” in negotiations. “He’s got us in a situation that’s worse than it was before, a more extreme regime,” Booker told CNN’s “State of the Union” show. “(The) Strait of Hormuz now is a leveraging point for them. This weak nation has put America in a stalemate.”
Kruger Park security being beefed up after murders
SANParks has introduced several measures to enhance visitor safety in the north of Kruger National Park following the murder of two tourists late last week, the first incident of its kind in the park’s 100-year history. The bodies of Dina Marais (73) and Ernst Marais (71) of Mossel Bay were found floating in the Levubu River. They had evidently been stabbed. The victims’ vehicle, a green Ford Ranger double cab, is missing. So far, investigations have revealed that gate security cameras have not picked up the missing car exiting from any of the nine access gates or the two international border posts into Mozambique. SANParks said it would deploy additional rangers and monitoring equipment to the Nxanatseni North Region of the park.
Hypersonic missile used in deadly Kyiv region attack
At least four people were killed and about a 100 injured in a Russian attack on the Kyiv region which marked the third time in the war that Moscow used its powerful hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile, which reportedly travels at ten times the speed of sound. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said the missile hit the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region. The heavy Russian assault hit a water supply facility, burned down a market and damaged dozens of residential buildings and several schools.
Sources: The Guardian, Daily Maverick, BBC, Reuters