Mexico launches search for two missing aid boats bound for Cuba
NewsFeed Mexico’s navy has launched a search operation after two boats carrying humanitarian aid to Cuba went missing in the Caribbean. The vessels, carrying nine crew members, lost contact after departing Isla Mujeres and failed to reach Havana as scheduled. Published On 27 Mar 202627 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Endangered monarch butterfly population surges 64 percent
NewsFeed Mexico’s monarch butterfly population surged 64 percent this winter, raising hopes for the endangered species’ spring migration to the United States and Canada. Published On 27 Mar 202627 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Albanese says Australia playing “constructive” role in the war on Iran
NewsFeed Australia’s prime minister Anthony Albanese says his government has made a “constructive” contribution to the US-Israeli war on Iran. The comments follow criticism from US President Donald Trump who said Australia’s support “was not great”. Published On 27 Mar 202627 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Russian officials meet US counterparts as Moscow denies aiding Iran
Kremlin spokesperson says talks are part of ‘necessary dialogue’ with Washington as war in Ukraine continues for a fifth year. Published On 26 Mar 202626 Mar 2026 A delegation of Russian officials has arrived in the United States for meetings with their American counterparts. The visit, which began on Thursday, marks the first such trip since relations strained over Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “We hope that these first tentative steps will, of course, make their contribution to the further revival of our bilateral engagement.” He said President Vladimir Putin had set the “main directives” for the trip and would be “thoroughly briefed” on the meeting. The visit comes as US-brokered talks seeking a deal to end the war in Ukraine are in effect frozen. Several rounds of negotiations since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year have failed to break the deadlock, with the Kremlin ruling out compromises to halt its years-long offensive. Russia, a close ally of Iran, has also been cited by Western intelligence officials as one of the backers of the Iranian government, as Tehran fights a war launched by the US and Israel. A report in the United Kingdom-based Financial Times newspaper on Wednesday alleged that Russia was close to completing a shipment of drones to Iran. Responding to questions about the report, Peskov said, “There are so many lies being spread by the media … Do not pay attention to them.” Russia this week carried out one of the largest aerial attacks since the start of its war on Ukraine, launching 948 drones in 24 hours as it moved troops and equipment to the front line. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a new appeal for allies to supply Kyiv with air defence munitions, warning that Kyiv, which relies on the US for air defence systems against ballistic missiles, will face a deficit of missiles while Washington is focused on the US-Israeli war on Iran. Advertisement Talks between Ukraine and the US that opened in the US state of Florida on Saturday again failed to produce a security guarantee that Kyiv has long sought from Washington. Adblock test (Why?)
WTO says world experiencing worst trade disruption in 80 years
WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says the global trade order has ‘irrevocably changed’, warning the system is facing its worst disruption in 80 years and the multilateral system will not return, as she calls on countries to reform global trade rules. Published On 26 Mar 202626 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Pakistan says it is mediating US-Iran talks
NewsFeed Pakistan says it is mediating indirect talks between the US and Iran aimed at ending the war, with officials confirming negotiations are underway. Published On 26 Mar 202626 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Mexico will continue accepting Cuban medical workers despite US pressure
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praises services from Cuban doctors, who often work in underserved rural areas. Published On 25 Mar 202625 Mar 2026 Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has confirmed that her country will continue receiving Cuban medical workers, as part of a longstanding programme meant to build goodwill between the island and other Latin American countries. Her remarks on Wednesday come as the United States pressures Latin American countries to sever their ties to Cuba’s medical programme. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Sheinbaum, however, told reporters during a news conference that the agreement was a benefit to Mexico. Thousands of Cuban medical workers have deployed there since 2022 to work largely in poor, rural areas. “We have a very good agreement that’s also been a great help to us. It’s a bilateral agreement that’s been very beneficial for Mexico,” said Sheinbaum. “It’s hard to get Mexican doctors and specialists to go out to many rural areas where we need medical specialists, and the Cubans are willing to work there.” In February, the US passed a law that opens the door to sanctions on countries that continue to participate in the programme. It called for the US secretary of state to issue a report within 90 days about which countries continue to pay the government of Cuba for the “coerced and trafficked labour of Cuban medical professionals”. The move comes amid a wider push to further isolate Cuba and topple the government in Havana, a longtime target of US ire. So far, countries including the Bahamas, Honduras, Guatemala, Jamaica and Guyana have ended their participation in the Cuban medical exchange programme. Cuba has long depicted the decades-old programme as a means of signalling solidarity with other countries. It has also become an important source of foreign revenue for the island nation, which has been under a restrictive US economic embargo since 1960. Advertisement The administration of US President Donald Trump, however, has depicted the programme as akin to forced labour. “Basically, it’s human trafficking,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in February. “I mean, they’re barely even being paid. Their freedom of movement is tightly restricted. And we want these countries to understand that’s what they’re participating in.” Experts at the United Nations have also raised similar concerns, including about the confiscation of passports, which the Cuban government justifies as a means of preventing trained doctors from fleeing the country after their state-sponsored studies. The pressure on the Cuban medical missions is part of a broader push under Trump’s second term to seek regime change on the island. By threatening tariffs on Cuba’s trading partners, Trump has largely cut the island off from accessing the foreign oil necessary to power its electrical grid. Trump has also said that he hopes to “take” Cuba and install a new government that will be more pliant to US demands. The Mexican government has tried to balance its friendly relations with Cuba with the US’s demands. In the absence of energy shipments, Sheinbaum’s government has sent vessels with humanitarian aid to the island. Adblock test (Why?)
Video shows Israeli strike hitting displacement camp in Gaza
NewsFeed Videos show the moment a strike hit a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Deir el-Balah, with explosions and smoke rising as casualties were carried away. Israeli attacks in Gaza have continued since the US-Israeli war on Iran, with 680 killed since the October ceasefire. Published On 25 Mar 202625 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Iranian foreign minister rejects talks with US
NewsFeed “No negotiations have taken place.” Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi says his country is not and will not negotiate with the US while it is under attack. A day earlier, President Trump said the US was already in talks with Iranian officials, which Tehran denied. Published On 25 Mar 202625 Mar 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)
Philippine president declares energy emergency as impact of Iran war felt
Transport unions say the emergency declaration is a ‘superficial band-aid’ that does not address the root cause of the fuel crisis. Published On 25 Mar 202625 Mar 2026 Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared a national energy emergency in response to the US-Israel war on Iran and what he called the “imminent danger” posed to the country’s energy supply. The emergency declaration on Tuesday came as Philippine transport workers, commuters and consumer groups plan to hold a two-day strike from Thursday to protest the increase in fuel prices and what they say is the Marcos administration’s failure to swiftly respond. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “The declaration of a state of national energy emergency will enable the government… to implement responsive and coordinated measures under existing laws to address the risks posed by disruptions in the global energy supply and the domestic economy,” Marcos Jr said. As part of the emergency response, a committee has been formed to ensure the orderly movement, supply, distribution and availability of fuel, food, medicine, agricultural products and other essential goods, he said. The emergency declaration, which will remain in force for one year, authorises the government to procure fuel and petroleum products to ensure timely and sufficient supply and, if necessary, pay part of the contract amount in advance. Authorities are also empowered to take action against the hoarding, profiteering and manipulation of petroleum product supplies. Earlier on Tuesday, Secretary of Energy Sharon Garin told a news briefing that the country still had about 45 days of fuel supply, based on current consumption levels. Garin said the government was working to procure 1 million barrels of oil from countries within and outside Southeast Asia to build its buffer stock, but there will likely be uncertainties in reaching this level. Advertisement Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez told the Reuters news agency that Manila was working with Washington to secure exemptions that would allow for the purchase of oil from countries under US sanctions. “All options are being considered,” the ambassador said in response to whether Iranian and Venezuelan oil was part of the talks with the US. But transport unions and Philippine senators have criticised the government’s response to the crisis, accusing the Marcos administration of lacking a unified and coordinated action to mitigate the fallout from the surge in oil prices. Piston, a federation of public transport associations, described the declaration of a national energy emergency as a “superficial band-aid that deliberately ignores the structural roots of the fuel crisis”. “If the government genuinely intends to protect transport workers and commuters from this geopolitical crisis, it would immediately suspend the Excise Tax and Value-Added Tax on petroleum products to drastically lower prices overnight,” Piston said in a statement on Tuesday. “Furthermore, tasking the Department of Energy to merely monitor ‘profiteering’ is a toothless gesture as long as multinational oil cartels remain legally empowered to dictate extortionate pump prices at will.” Renato Reyes Jr, of the progressive civil society coalition Bayan, said the declaration “does not address the basic problem of runaway oil prices and [their] effects on the mass transport system and other sectors in the country”. “It does not mention removing or suspending oil taxes, which are at the core of the people’s demands,” Reyes Jr told Al Jazeera. “Where are the needed price controls?” As part of the government’s mitigation measures, students and workers in some cities are being given free access to bus rides, and the government has started to provide a 5,000 peso ($83) subsidy to motorcycle taxi drivers and other public transport workers nationwide to help them cope with soaring gasoline and diesel prices. With reporting from Manila by Michael Beltran. Adblock test (Why?)