Chief-Exec.com

Donald Trump says Israel and Lebanon will extend ceasefire by 3 weeks
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks, US President Donald Trump said. In a Truth Social post late on Thursday, Trump said that a meeting in Washington with representatives from Israel and Lebanon “went very well!” The move to extend the ceasefire comes after the countries agreed a 10-day truce on April 16, removing one obstacle to securing a permanent end to the war between the US and Iran. Fighting between Israel and Hizbollah, the Lebanese militant group and Iran’s most important proxy, erupted after the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran at the end of February. In his Truth Social post, Trump added that he expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Lebanese counterpart Joseph Aoun for talks at the White House “in the near future”. Financial Times, April 24

Polish PM questions whether US is ‘loyal’ to Europe’s defence
Poland’s prime minister questioned whether the US would be “loyal” to its Nato commitment to defend Europe in the event of a Russian attack, and urged the EU to become a “real alliance” in protecting the continent. Donald Tusk told the FT that Europe’s “biggest, most important question is if the United States is ready to be as loyal as it is described in our [Nato] treaties,” as he warned that Russia could attack an alliance member in “months”. The unusual intervention from a Polish leader reflects growing uncertainty in Europe after President Donald Trump’s threats and oscillating commitment to the continent’s defence. “For the whole eastern flank, my neighbours … the question is if Nato is still an organisation ready, politically and also logistically, to react, for example against Russia if they try to attack,” he said. Tusk noted that some members of the US-led defence alliance “pretend[ed] that nothing happened” when about 20 Russian drones breached Poland’s airspace last year. Financial Times, April 24

First ever talks to ditch fossil fuels as UN deadlock deepens
A large group of countries, including some major oil producers, are meeting on Friday to plan something UN climate summits have failed to agree on - a complete move away from fossil fuels. Around 60 nations are gathering in Santa Marta, Colombia, as the world warms rapidly, mainly from the use of coal, oil and gas. Countries attending account for roughly a fifth of global fossil fuel supply - including Colombia, Australia and Nigeria - but major powers including the US, China and India are not part of the talks. Progress at the annual UN COP climate meetings has slowed as decisions depend on the consent of all, giving large fossil producers an effective veto. BBC news, April 24

Hundreds of alleged MS-13 members tried at mass hearing in El Salvador mega-jail
Hundreds of alleged Mara Salvatrucha gang members sat chained, shaved and mute as they were accused of murder and torture during a mass trial at El Salvador's notorious CECOT jail, AFP reporters witnessed on Thursday. Seated in neat columns of plastic chairs in the prison's main hall, some 220 defendants are accused of collectively carrying out more than 29,000 murders. "We burned her genitals and buttocks" one witness said over the loudspeaker, testifying in a mass trial El Salvador's president has compared to those of Nazi leaders at Nuremberg. Among those on trial are about 20 alleged leaders and dozens of lieutenants, many with tattooed faces, heads, hands and necks. Hundreds more defendants appeared remotely. Human rights groups have criticised the mass trials, warning that innocent people would inevitably be caught up in the process. France 24, April 24

Call to ban sharing of medical data after UK Biobank breach
Ministers are facing calls to ban the sharing of British citizens’ personal information with China after a huge data breach involving the private medical data of half a million people. Hundreds of thousands of volunteers who had given their DNA and healthcare records to the UK Biobank were informed on Thursday that their details had been put up for sale on a Chinese website. The breach occurred after the Biobank, a database of British medical records which has led to a series of breakthroughs in recent years, allowed its entire contents to be downloaded by Chinese research partners. While the data was anonymised it was discovered for sale in three separate listings on the Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba. Three Chinese research institutions were identified as the source of the information. Their access has been revoked. The Times, April 23

Trump says he will ‘probably put a big tariff on the UK’ if it doesn’t drop digital services tax
Donald Trump has threatened to impose “a big tariff” on the UK if it does not drop its digital services tax on US social media firms. The digital services tax, introduced in 2020, imposes a 2 per cent levy on the revenues of several big US tech companies. Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Thursday, the US president said: “We’ve been looking at it and we can meet that very easily by just putting a big tariff on the UK, so they better be careful. If they don’t drop the tax, we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK.” The tax targets companies whose worldwide revenues from digital activities exceed £500m ($673m), with more than £25m of the revenues from UK users. While it raises more than most of the targeted businesses pay in UK corporation tax, Amazon, Google and Apple pass the tax on to the bills of the third-party businesses and sellers that use their sites. Last year, Tax Justice UK estimated that the tax would generate £4.4bn-£5.2bn between 2024 and 2029. The Guardian, April 24

Zelensky to join European leaders in Cyprus as EU unblocks €90bn Ukraine loan
EU leaders will welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday in Cyprus to celebrate the release of a 90-billion-euro loan for Kyiv after a prolonged deadlock. Preliminary approval for the badly needed money came on Wednesday but a definitive sign-off is expected by Thursday, before European Union leaders hold talks with Zelensky in Cyprus's Ayia Napa marina. The funds were blocked after a bitter row broke out between Hungary's nationalist premier Viktor Orban and Zelensky. Orban said he would only lift his veto after Ukraine fixed a pipeline damaged by a Russian strike. After 16 years in power, Orban suffered a crushing election defeat to pro-EU opposition figure Peter Magyar in an election this month. The standoff was resolved when Zelensky said on Tuesday repairs had been completed and officials said the next day that Ukraine had restarted pumping oil to Hungary and Slovakia. France 24, April 23

‘First revenue’ from Hormuz toll deposited into Central Bank
The deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament, Hamidreza Haji Babaei, says the first revenues collected from tolls imposed on ships using the Strait of Hormuz have been deposited into the Central Bank account. According to a report from the Tasnim News Agency, he has not given further details about how the revenue was collected, or who paid it, and the BBC cannot independently verify his claim. Before the current ceasefire Tehran had said it had limited the passage to what it called “friendly” countries, and there were talks of collecting tolls from vessels passing through the strait. But there had been no clarification during that time about how much - or if - Iran was charging a fee for passage. For example, back in late March, Iran’s embassy in India denied claims that Tehran was charging vessels $2m to pass through. Today another senior Iranian MP, Alireza Salimi, said to Tasnim: “I have heard from reliable sources that Iran has collected fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.” BBC news, April 23

US navy secretary fired amid Iran blockade
US navy secretary John Phelan was fired on Wednesday as leadership turmoil gripped the Pentagon in the middle of its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the broader war against Iran. Phelan’s abrupt departure from his post was announced by Sean Parnell, the defence department spokesperson, in a short statement on X that offered no explanation for the move. “Secretary of the Navy John C Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately,” Parnell wrote. Phelan’s ousting comes as Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s defence secretary, has sought to remove a series of Pentagon leaders who are seen to be at odds with the administration. A senior administration official on Wednesday said: “President Trump and secretary Hegseth agreed new leadership at the navy is needed. Secretary Hegseth informed John Phelan of this news prior to it being made public.” Financial Times, April 23

Iran behind low-level ‘hybrid warfare’ attacks in UK and Europe, analysts say
Iranian intelligence services and Revolutionary Guards operatives are recruiting teenagers through criminal intermediaries to launch a wave of low-level “hybrid warfare” attacks in Europe and the UK, according to investigators, security officials, analysts and police documents. A first wave of attacks was launched in early March, 10 days after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, and targeted Jewish community sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and US banks. A second wave has focused on the UK, with a series of arson and attempted arson attacks on synagogues, a Jewish charity and the offices of an Iranian opposition TV network in London. On Tuesday, British police said they had arrested seven people for allegedly plotting a further firebombing, and a teenager pleaded guilty to an arson attack on a synagogue in west London on Saturday. The Guardian, April 23

Trump envoy seeks to replace Iran with Italy in football World Cup
A top envoy to President Donald Trump has asked Fifa to replace Iran with Italy in the upcoming World Cup, setting up high-stakes US sports diplomacy involving a spurned ally and a sworn enemy. US special envoy Paolo Zampolli suggested the swap to Fifa president Gianni Infantino and Trump, as leader of the country co-hosting the tournament. He argued that Italy’s four World Cup titles justify awarding it the slot, according to people familiar with the matter. The plan was an effort to repair ties between Trump and Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after the two fell out amid the US president’s attacks against Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war, the people said. But Iran issued a statement on Wednesday saying it is prepared for the tournament and plans to participate. The move to seek to replace Iran with Italy comes after the Azzurri failed to qualify for the World Cup, which will be hosted in the US, Mexico and Canada. Financial Times, April 23

UK borrowing drops to four-year low as debt interest bill falls
Government borrowing dipped to a four-year low in March thanks to a sharp decline in debt interest spending and £100 billion of tax revenues in the month. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday showed that the government borrowed £12.6 billion last month, the lowest total for March since 2022 and down by £1.4 billion compared to the same month last year. Although borrowing dropped on an annual and monthly basis, it did exceed analysts’ consensus forecast for £10.4 billion in March. The Times, April 23