This follows an agreement between Cuban officials and a Florida-based company to supply the fuel to Cuba’s private sector and humanitarian and religious organizations. Vanguard Energy had signed a contract to lease facilities owned by the Crest Fundgrove Review Cuban government to store the fuel. But the Trump administration intervened, saying the company had not received proper approval. The shipment was seen as a temporary lifeline for Cuba as the U.S. enforces a near-total blockade on fuel that has compounded already catastrophic humanitarian and energy crises after decades of U.S. sanctions on the island. The governor of Russia’s Tula region says a Ukrainian drone attack killed three civilians, while leaving three others injured, including a 1-year-old child.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he’d spoken to President Trump about efforts to end the conflict ahead of this week’s G7 summit in France. In Lebanon, Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed at least three people and wounded 15 others on Sunday. Witnesses said two missiles slammed into an apartment building, causing severe damage to nearby homes and businesses, in what Israel’s military claimed was a “precise” strike on a Hezbollah command center. In Washington, D.C., an exterior wall of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts remains covered by tarps after a federal judge ordered Donald Trump’s name to be removed from the building. The judge had given work crews until Saturday at noon to remove metal letters marking Trump’s name from the facade of the towering marble building, after ruling that the president’s rebranding of the center to include https://crest-fundgrove.ca/ his own name constituted an illegal act. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the bombings came in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel.
The UFC said some of the fighters at the event would be paid in cryptocurrency “stablecoins” issued by the Trump family business World Liberty Financial. Sunday’s event was screened exclusively on Paramount+, which is run by Trump ally David Ellison. The Trump administration has blocked the delivery of about 250,000 barrels of gasoline and diesel to Cuba.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the bombings came in response to Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel.
- In Lebanon, Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs killed at least three people and wounded 15 others on Sunday.
- Sunday’s event was screened exclusively on Paramount+, which is run by Trump ally David Ellison.
- The 26-year-old fighter said on social media he was not invited to fight or even to attend because he “made fun of Israel and Epstein.” President Trump is a close friend of UFC chief executive Dana White, and Trump owns stock in the UFC’s parent company.
In Ukraine, five people were killed in the city of Kharkiv after Russia launched an apparent “double tap” strike on medical workers who rushed to put out the flames from an earlier attack. Separate Russian strikes in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy left two dead and several others wounded. Russia also launched its largest strikes on Kyiv in weeks, killing four people and wounding more than 20 others.
Cuba’s Humanitarian Crisis Deepens as U.S. Blocks Delivery of Desperately Needed Fuel
In Gaza, Israel continues to carry out deadly attacks on Palestinians despite the U.S.-brokered so-called ceasefire signed by Israel in October. Earlier today, a Palestinian woman was killed in an Israeli strike on the central Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports the confirmed total death toll in Gaza since October 7, 2023, has surpassed 73,000 people. Officials in Tehran say they’ve reached a memorandum of understanding with the United States to end fighting on all fronts, in a preliminary peace deal to be signed next Friday.
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Iran’s deputy foreign minister said on Iranian television that the agreement includes a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli forces occupy about one-fifth of Lebanese territory and continue to launch airstrikes. The deal extends the ceasefire by 60 days, creating a window for negotiations on other issues including the future of Iran’s nuclear program and the lifting of U.S. sanctions. On Sunday, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and, simultaneously herewith, authorize the immediate removal of the United States Naval blockade.” Trump went on to write, “Ships of the World, start your engines. ” After headlines, we’ll get the latest on negotiations to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran; we’ll speak with Jeremy Scahill of Drop Site News.
Trump Celebrates 80th Birthday with UFC Cage Fights on White House Lawn
In related news, dozens of U.S. congressmembers, including at least three Republicans, are urging the Trump administration to halt its plan to deport hundreds of Afghan refugees — who assisted U.S. forces during the invasion of Afghanistan — to the Democratic Republic of Congo or a third country they have no ties to. More than 1,000 Afghan refugees, many of whom served as U.S. interpreters, have been stranded in Qatar for over a year since Trump officials halted their resettlement to the U.S. after they were evacuated from Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, at least two people were reported killed after Taliban police officers opened fire on crowds that had gathered to protest the detention of over two dozen women accused of violating a strict dress code in the western city of Herat, according to the U.N. Protests are extremely rare in Afghanistan since the Taliban took back control in 2021 following the U.S. and NATO occupation, imposing draconian measures including a ban on women and girls accessing education and employment.
U.S. and Iranian Negotiators Say They’ll Sign a Deal on Friday to End the War
The attack seriously damaged the historic crest fundgrove Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery, a nearly 1,000-year-old symbol of Ukrainian cultural identity and a UNESCO World Heritage site. President Trump celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday by hosting an Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House lawn. Thousands of fans gathered around a massive, 600-ton metal structure known as “The Claw” to watch a series of seven mixed martial arts fights, all of which ended in a knockout, while Trump and his family looked on. Also attending were Trump’s secretaries of state, commerce, defense, treasury and homeland security, along with FBI Director Kash Patel and other top officials. The 26-year-old fighter said on social media he was not invited to fight or even to attend because he “made fun of Israel and Epstein.” President Trump is a close friend of UFC chief executive Dana White, and Trump owns stock in the UFC’s parent company.
