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The United States and Iran reported progress in their latest round of nuclear talks on Saturday and agreed to meet again next week as they pursue a deal that could help ease soaring Middle East tensions.A US official called the talks “positive and productive”, and Iran’s top diplomat said the two sides will study how to narrow their differences on a range of subjects before next week’s fourth round.The highest-level contact in years between the long-time foes is targeting a new deal that would stop Iran developing nuclear weapons — an objective Tehran denies pursuing — in return for relief from sanctions.”There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” the senior US official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the next talks would be in Europe.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Saturday’s talks, which included technical-level teams for the first time, “serious and businesslike”.”There are differences both in the major issues and in the details,” he told Iranian state TV.”Until the next meeting, further studies are to be conducted in the capitals on how to reduce the differences.”Araghchi added: “I think our progress has been good so far. I am satisfied with the process of the negotiation and its speed. I think it is proceeding well and satisfactorily.”US President Donald Trump pulled out of an earlier, multilateral agreement during his first term. The United States and Israel have repeatedly threatened Iran with military strikes.- ‘Minute details’ -US special envoy Steve Witkoff again led the American delegation while Michael Anton, the State Department’s head of policy planning, headed the US expert-level negotiators.Deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi led Tehran’s technical team, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.The delegations were in separate rooms and communicated in writing via the hosts, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei and Araghchi said.”The expert and technical talks… reached the stage of minute details about mutual demands and expectations,” an Iranian state TV reporter said.Iran’s defence and missile capabilities were not discussed, Baqaei told state TV, while an Iranian negotiator said the talks were “uniquely about sanctions and nuclear questions”, according to Tasnim.Araghchi had earlier expressed “cautious optimism”, saying this week: “If the sole demand by the US is for Iran to not possess nuclear weapons, this demand is achievable”.The talks coincided with a major blast at Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port that injured hundreds of people and killed at least four, state media reported.The port’s customs office said it probably resulted from a fire in a storage depot.Before the talks, Trump, in an interview published Friday by Time magazine, reiterated his threat of military action if a deal fell through.But he added that he “would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped”. The talks began in Muscat a fortnight ago and continued in Rome last Saturday.- Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’ -They are the most senior engagement between the traditional enemies since 2018, when Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 accord that gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.Since returning to office, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Tehran.In March, he wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing talks, but also warning of potential military action if diplomacy failed.On Tuesday, Washington announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil network — a move Tehran described as “hostile” ahead of Saturday’s talks.On Wednesday, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran to explain tunnels built near its Natanz nuclear site, seen in satellite imagery released by the Institute for Science and International Security.Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit imposed by the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.Araghchi has previously called Iran’s right to enrich uranium “non-negotiable”.Tehran last year revived engagement with Britain, France and Germany — also signatories to the 2015 deal — holding several rounds of nuclear talks ahead of the US meetings.Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged the three European states to decide whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 agreement, which would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance.The option to use the mechanism expires in October.Iran has warned it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback is triggered.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange joined the crowds on Saturday in Rome for Pope Francis’s funeral, according to AFP journalists.Assange mingled with thousands of mourners just outside St Peter’s Square, where world leaders including US President Donald Trump were gathered to say farewell to the head of the Catholic Church.”Now Julian is free, we have all come to Rome to express our family’s gratitude for the pope’s support during Julian’s persecution,” Assange’s wife Stella said in a message cited on the Wikileaks X page.Julian Assange was released in 2024 under a plea bargain after years of incarceration for publishing hundreds of thousands of confidential US government documents.The plea bargain was agreed with the US administration under former president Joe Biden, who was also at the funeral.Assange spent most of the previous 14 years either holed up in the Ecuadoran embassy in London to avoid arrest, or locked up at Belmarsh Prison in the British capital.”Our children and I had the honor of meeting Pope Francis in June 2023 to discuss how to free Julian from Belmarsh prison,” Stella Assange said.”Francis wrote to Julian in prison and even proposed to grant him asylum at the Vatican,” she said.The Assange family were near the top of the Via della Conciliazione, the wide avenue that leads up to St Peter’s Square, which was packed for the funeral.Assange’s case remains deeply contentious.The trove published on the Wikileaks whistle-blowing website included searingly frank US State Department descriptions of foreign leaders, accounts of extrajudicial killings and intelligence gathering against allies.Supporters hail Assange as a champion of free speech and say he was persecuted by authorities and unfairly imprisoned.Detractors see him as a reckless blogger whose uncensored publication of ultra-sensitive documents put lives at risk and jeopardised US security.

A commentator yells excitedly as hundreds of spectators stand glued to a video of a racecourse — but the athletes they are rooting for are actually tiny sperm cells.The unusual sport was invented by 17-year-old high schooler Eric Zhu, who raised over a million dollars to organize the event to call attention to male infertility.Zhu said he was inspired by social media posts that claim average sperm counts had halved over the past 50 years.Fearing that “there could be this dystopian future where no one will be able to make babies,” Zhu said he wanted to use the competition to highlight the importance of reproductive health.Scientists have not reached a consensus on whether humanity has experienced a dramatic drop in sperm count, with studies showing conflicting results.At the Los Angeles event on Friday night, a man in a lab coat used pipettes to place samples of semen — collected from contestants ahead of time — onto tiny two-millimeter-long “tracks.”The race track was magnified 100 times by a microscope, then filmed by a camera that transferred the image to a 3D animation software before the final video was broadcast to the audience.”There’s no way to really tell if this is real, but I want to believe it is,” Felix Escobar, a 20-year-old spectator, told AFP.At the end of the brief race, the loser, 19-year-old University of California student Asher Proeger, was sprayed with a liquid resembling semen.- ‘Not Elon Musk’ -Zhu’s fears about fertility echo the talking points of many in the burgeoning pro-natalist movement, which include conservative and far-right political figures.But Zhu distanced himself from the movement.”I have nothing to do with this, I’m not like an Elon Musk, who wants to repopulate the Earth,” the young entrepreneur told AFP.Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, has been vocal about his belief that population decline threatens the West and has fathered over a dozen children with multiple women.Zhu insisted he simply wanted to raise awareness of how sperm quality goes hand in hand with overall health.”It’s your choice to sleep earlier. It’s your choice to stop doing drugs. It’s your choice to eat healthier, and all these different things have a significant kind of impact on your motility,” Zhu said.Shanna Swan, a reproductive epidemiologist at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine, co-authored a study that found the sperm count decline cited by Zhu.She said the proliferation of “hormonally active chemicals” in recent years has had a negative impact on human fertility.But beneath the scientific veneer, the sperm race may seem more like an opportunity for college students to display their adolescent humor and participate in a viral stunt.Some attendees dressed in costumes, including one resembling male genitals, while the hosts made lewd jokes and roasted the competitors.A YouTube livestream of the event attracted over 100,000 views.”I can’t say I learned stuff I didn’t know before,” 22-year-old student and audience member Alberto Avila-Baca told AFP.

The United States and Iran started discussing details of a potential nuclear deal in Oman Saturday as they held their third round of talks in as many weeks.US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are again leading the talks, which this time include a technical-level meeting between experts from both sides.The discussions are aimed at striking a new deal that would stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons — an objective Tehran denies pursuing — in return for relief from crippling sanctions.US President Donald Trump pulled out of an earlier multilateral nuclear deal during his first term in office.Saturday’s talks were taking place in a “serious atmosphere”, Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to the Tasnim news agency.Iran’s defence and missile capabilities were not on the agenda, Baqaei said separately to state TV, while an Iranian negotiator told Tasnim that the talks were “uniquely about sanctions and nuclear questions”.Michael Anton, the State Department’s head of policy planning, leads the US expert-level delegation, while deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead Tehran’s, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.The talks started at around 10am (0600 GMT) with the delegations in separate rooms and communicating via the hosts, Baqaei said in a statement.Iran’s state news agency IRNA said the talks may extend beyond Saturday, “given that the negotiations have entered technical and expert-level discussions and the examination of details”.Araghchi earlier expressed “cautious optimism”, saying this week: “If the sole demand by the US is for Iran to not possess nuclear weapons, this demand is achievable”.But if Washington had “impractical or illogical demands, we will naturally encounter problems”, he added.The talks coincided with a major blast from unknown causes at Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port that injured hundreds of people and killed at least four, according to state media.- Trump would ‘prefer deal’ -Before the talks, Trump, in an interview published Friday by Time magazine, reiterated his threat of military action if a deal fell through.But he added that he “would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped”. The talks began in Muscat a fortnight a go and continued in Rome last Saturday.They are the highest-level engagement between the long-time foes since 2018, when Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 accord that gave Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.Since returning to office, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Tehran.In March, he wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing talks, but also warning of potential military action if diplomacy failed.On Tuesday, Washington announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil network — a move Tehran described as “hostile” ahead of Saturday’s talks.Western nations, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.Tehran has consistently denied the charge, maintaining that its nuclear programme is strictly for peaceful purposes.On Wednesday, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran to explain tunnels built near its Natanz nuclear site, seen in satellite imagery released by the Institute for Science and International Security.The Washington-based think tank also noted construction of a new security perimeter.- ‘Non-negotiable’ right -In an interview released Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated Washington’s firm stance against Iran’s uranium enrichment.”If Iran wants a civil nuclear programme, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one: and that is they import enriched material,” he said on the Honestly podcast.Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit imposed by the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.Araghchi has previously called Iran’s right to enrich uranium “non-negotiable”.Tehran recently sought to reopen dialogue with Britain, France and Germany — also signatories to the 2015 deal — holding several rounds of nuclear talks ahead of the US meetings.Last week, Rubio urged the three European states to decide whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 agreement, which would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance.The option to use the mechanism expires in October.Iran has warned that it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback is triggered.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump will hold a second meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome, after a first 15-minute exchange described as “constructive” by Kyiv.”The leaders agreed to continue their discussions today. Teams are working on organising the continuation of the meeting,” Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov told reporters. The Ukrainian presidency released photos of the two men sitting face to face, and also in a four-way exchange with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The United States and Iran were to hold a fresh round of technical and high-level nuclear negotiations in Oman on Saturday, after both sides reported progress in previous meetings.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, leading Tehran’s delegation, arrived in Muscat on Friday ahead of the mediated talks, with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff expected to head the American side.The technical talks will come first, followed by the high-level negotiations.Araghchi expressed “cautious optimism” about the process this week, saying that “if the sole demand by the US is for Iran to not possess nuclear weapons, this demand is achievable”.But if Washington had “impractical or illogical demands, we will naturally encounter problems”, he added.US President Donald Trump, in an interview published Friday by Time magazine, reiterated his threat of military action if a deal fell through, but also suggested he was optimistic about an agreement, saying he “would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped”.Michael Anton, the State Department’s head of policy planning, will lead Washington’s expert-level delegation, while deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead Tehran’s, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency.Iranian state television reported from Muscat that the meetings were expected to begin around 0830 GMT, without specifying which session it was referring to.Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Friday that the new talks, like the previous rounds in Muscat and Rome the past two Saturdays, would be mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.Baqaei wrote on X that Iran’s delegation aimed to secure its “lawful right to use nuclear energy… while taking reasonable steps to demonstrate that our programme is entirely peaceful”.The “speedy” termination of sanctions is also “a priority”, he added.The recent negotiations are the highest-level engagement between the long-time foes since Trump withdrew during his first term from a landmark 2015 nuclear accord that offered Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.- ‘Hostile’ sanctions -Since returning to office in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Tehran.In March, he wrote to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing talks, but also warning of potential military action if diplomacy failed.On Tuesday, Washington announced new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil network — a move Tehran described as “hostile” ahead of Saturday’s talks.Western nations, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons — an allegation Tehran has consistently denied.Iran maintains its nuclear programme is strictly for peaceful purposes.On Wednesday, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran to explain tunnels built near its Natanz nuclear site, seen in satellite imagery released by the Institute for Science and International Security.The Washington-based think-tank also noted construction of a new security perimeter.”We’re asking them, what is this for? They are telling us, it’s none of your business,” Grossi told reporters.Tehran had no immediate comment.- ‘Non-negotiable’ right -In an interview released Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated Washington’s firm stance against Iran’s uranium enrichment.”If Iran wants a civil nuclear programme, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one: and that is they import enriched material,” he said on the Honestly podcast.Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit imposed by the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.Araghchi has previously called Iran’s right to enrich uranium “non-negotiable”.A commentary in Iran’s conservative Kayhan daily on Saturday said: “By repeating the tone of threats and denying the right to enrichment, Trump and his Secretary of State have shown that what Washington is after is ‘Iran’s surrender’ and not an ‘equal agreement.'”Araghchi said in the text of a speech posted to X earlier this week that Iran was looking “to build at least 19 more reactors”.Tehran has recently sought to reopen dialogue with Britain, France and Germany — also signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal — holding several rounds of nuclear talks ahead of the US meetings.On Thursday, Araghchi said he was willing to visit the European countries for talks.Last week, Rubio urged them to decide whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 agreement, which would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance.The option to use the mechanism expires in October.Iran has warned that it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback is triggered.

Virginia Giuffre, who accused disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein and Britain’s Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, has taken her own life at her home in Australia, her family said Saturday.Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, was 41.”It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia,” the family said in statement provided to AFP by her agent.”She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.”Giuffre had accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, and said she had sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 — a minor under US law — after meeting him through the American billionaire.In 2019, Epstein took his own life in a New York City jail cell, while awaiting his own trial for sex crimes.Prince Andrew repeatedly denied her allegation of sexual assault and avoided trial by paying a multimillion-dollar settlement. As part of the deal, he reportedly gave money to a charity for sex-trafficking victims.”There are no words that can express the grave loss we feel today with the passing of our sweet Virginia,” Giuffre’s family said, remembering her “incredible courage and loving spirit”.”In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight. We know that she is with the angels.”Western Australia police, who do not confirm identities in such cases, said emergency services gave first aid after being alerted Friday night that a 41-year-woman had been found unresponsive at a home in Neergabby, north of Perth.”Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene,” they said in a statement.- ‘Awe-inspiring’ -Detectives were investigating but “early indication is the death is not suspicious”, police said.Giuffre was taken to hospital after a car she was in crashed with a school bus in late March north of Perth.Giuffre initially posted a picture to social media from her hospital bed of her bruised face, saying she only had four days to live.Her agent later said Giuffre had not realised the post was being published to the public.Western Australia police said at the time it was a “minor crash” between a school bus carrying 29 children and another vehicle.Giuffre left three children, Christian, Noah, and Emily, who were “the light of her life”, her family said.Local media have reported there were difficulties between her and estranged husband Robert.After she was reportedly charged with breaching a family violence restraining order in February, her agent said that Giuffre “looks forward to defending herself against his malicious claim”.Giuffre was “deeply concerned” about the welfare of her children who were in her husband’s custody, the agent said.Giuffre’s lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, said she had been a “dear friend” and a champion for other victims.”Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring.”New York-based agent Dini von Mueffling described her client as “one of the most extraordinary human beings”.”Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims,” she said.

Federal agents on Friday arrested a US judge for allegedly shielding an undocumented migrant, escalating a struggle between the White House and courts over President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation policies.Hannah Dugan, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, allegedly “intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject” whom agents were intending to detain at her courthouse, FBI director Kash Patel said in a post on X.She was arrested on charges of obstruction, Patel said in his post.”Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public,” Patel said.The Trump-appointed director deleted his post minutes after it appeared, but later reposted it.Later on Friday, Patel wrote “No one is above the law” in another post on X, accompanied with a photo of a handcuffed person being led to an unmarked vehicle with tinted windows. The image is taken from behind, and the only faces in the photo have been blurred out. “From the bench to the backseat. This is what accountability looks like,” wrote Donald Trump Jr., who shared the post, suggesting the handcuffed person in the photo was Dugan.The incident has set off a torrent of criticism by Democrats and applause by some Republicans.Pam Bondi, who as US attorney general oversees the FBI, defended the arrest of Dugan, and issued a chilling warning to those who may harbor illegal aliens: “We will find you.””We’re sending a very strong message today,” Bondi told Fox News. “If you are harboring a fugitive, we don’t care who you are, if you are helping hide one… anyone who is illegally in this country — we will come after you and we will prosecute you.”- Court appearance -Charging documents described an incident at Dugan’s courthouse last Friday during which the judge was “visibly upset and had a confrontational, angry demeanor” when federal agents came to arrest the migrant — Eduardo Flores-Ruiz from Mexico — who was facing misdemeanor charges.The complaint alleges Dugan escorted Flores-Ruiz out of the courtroom through a door used by jury members in order to keep him from the agents.Dugan, who was elected to the bench in 2016, appeared in court Friday before a judge in the federal courthouse in downtown Milwaukee, where she made no public comments, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.According to the paper, her attorney Craig Mastantuono told the court: “Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety.”A number of federal and state judges across the United States have issued rulings that put several of Trump’s executive actions on hold, particularly related to his bid to exercise unprecedented powers in deporting migrants.The Trump administration has been butting heads with federal judges, rights groups and Democrats who say he has trampled or ignored constitutionally enshrined rights in rushing to deport migrants, sometimes without the right to a hearing. House Democrat Darren Soto blasted the Dugan arrest as “third world country dictator type of stuff.””Everyday they get more desperate,” he posted on X. “This will be bounced out of court as quick as the rest of their illegal actions.”Speaking to broadcaster MSNBC on Friday night, Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said the Trump administration has spent the past month waging “an intense assault on judicial independence.”Several Republicans however rushed to Patel’s defense. “The corruption and determination of these anti-American activist judges to put illegal aliens ahead of American citizens is appalling,” congresswoman Diana Harshbarger said. “Thankfully, a stand is being taken against them.”On Thursday, a former county magistrate judge in New Mexico and his wife were taken into custody after federal agents raided their home over their harboring of an alleged undocumented migrant who investigators said was a member of Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang, US media reported.The Trump administration has dug in its heels over deportation cases in which legal experts and Democrats say residents are being expelled without due process.The White House has defied the Supreme Court’s ruling that the administration must “facilitate” the return of a Maryland resident who was deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.Bondi said the man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, is “not coming back” to the United States.

Developing countries should strike swift trade deals with the United States at the “earliest possible” opportunity, the president of the World Bank told AFP Friday, after a busy week with global financial leaders in Washington. Ajay Banga was interviewed by AFP at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings, which have been held this year under a cloud of uncertainty about President Donald Trump’s stop-start tariff rollout.The Bank has been advising developing countries to get a deal done quickly with the United States, and to then focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional flows of goods, Banga said. “You need to negotiate trade systems with the US at the earliest possible (opportunity),” he said. “If you delay, it hurts everyone.”Trump’s tariffs have roiled financial markets, sent volatility surging and spooked investors and consumers. Since returning to office in January, the US leader has imposed a “baseline” 10 percent tariff on most countries, with much higher duties on China, and 25 percent sector-specific levies on areas including steel, aluminum, and automobiles not manufactured in the United States. He also introduced much higher tariffs on dozens of countries — which have since been temporarily paused — accusing them of having an unfair trade balance with the United States. – Bessent ‘not wrong’ on China -Banga also addressed the criticism leveled by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the Bank earlier this week.Bessent criticized China’s “absurd” developing country status and called on Banga and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to “earn the confidence of the administration.” “I don’t think he’s wrong,” Banga said of Bessent’s comments on China. “A country that is the size of China and the capability of China, at some point, should no longer be taking money from IBRD,” he said, referring to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — an arm of the World Bank that lends largely to middle-income countries. Such a move would require the support of the World Bank’s executive board, which is made up by member states. China, Banga said, borrowed around $750 million from the IBRD last year, while paying billions of dollars to the institution in repayments and donations. “My view is, I’ve brought it down to 750 (million), and I’m trying to figure out a way to deal with China to bring it down further,” he said. “I want to get it done. And that’s what I’m talking to the Chinese about.” Banga said the Trump administration’s criticisms of the World Bank, which included “expansive policy overreach,” were not unusual, citing newly elected governments in countries including France, Japan and Korea.”I keep telling people this is a perfectly constructive request, to say, tell me and show me that you guys are the kind of people that advance the interests of my taxpayer, of my country,” he said.”I take it in that spirit,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”- Energy at ‘lowest possible cost’ -Since taking the helm of the Washington-based development lender in 2023, Banga has pushed to streamline operations and encourage private sector participation, while focusing on job creation and electricity connectivity. Among the Bank’s current priorities is a push with the African Development Bank to connect 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030 — a process that will require a vast amount of new energy to be brought online.”You should try and get (energy) in the best, accessible way and the lowest possible cost,” Banga said, suggesting that in addition to renewable power, nuclear and gas could help provide a base load — two energy sources the World Bank is currently hesitant to finance.The Bank’s executive board is set to discuss its energy strategy in June, Banga said, adding that funding for both nuclear and gas would likely be on the agenda. Banga said the Bank is also pushing to encourage private sector job creation in developing countries — beyond simply outsourcing jobs from advanced economies.”Because then you end up with challenges in (advanced economies), and you can see that people are speaking about them with their votes,” he added. 

US President Donald Trump arrived in Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis, where he will brush shoulders with an array of world leaders on the unexpected first foreign trip of his second term.Trump, who was accompanied by wife Melania, had a distant relationship with the late pontiff who criticized him sharply on his signature policy of mass deportations of migrants.But Trump will be centre-stage for a major diplomatic gathering on Saturday with some 50 heads of state, including 10 reigning monarchs, at the Vatican. Trump said it was possible he could meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in what would be the two leaders’ first time together since a disastrous White House meeting on February 28.Trump and Vice President JD Vance in that meeting berated Zelensky, calling him ungrateful for the billions of dollars of US military assistance given since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.Trump, while calling on Russia to stop its aerial attacks on Ukraine, has recently blamed Zelensky for the war and the continuing bloodshed.Zelensky said he may miss the funeral however due to military meetings after a deadly Russian strike on Kyiv.No meetings have been announced in Rome for Trump, who is due to stay only half a day.Trump told reporters on Air Force One he would meet “some people” including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whom he hosted earlier this month at the White House to discuss tariffs.But he said any meetings would be quick and added: “Frankly it’s a little disrespectful to have meetings when you’re at the funeral of the pope.”Trump may also find discomfort around some of the other mourners — chief among them his predecessor, Joe Biden.Biden is a devout Catholic and was close with Francis. He will travel independently to Rome, his office said, even though former presidents generally travel on Air Force One for funerals. Trump has relentlessly attacked Biden and torn down his legacy in his nearly 100 days in office, with Biden in turn recently speaking out against Trump’s policies.President George W. Bush took two of his predecessors, Bill Clinton and his father, on Air Force One for Pope John Paul II’s funeral in 2005.- EU talks? -Trump’s trip to Italy comes after he rattled European allies by imposing sweeping tariffs, although he at least temporarily has backed down from the most severe measures.French President Emmanuel Macron, one leader who has managed to forge a bond with Trump, and outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be at the funeral, as will top EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa.Meloni had already extended an invitation to Trump to visit Rome before the pope’s death, saying that it could provide an opportunity for talks with European leaders.Also in attendance will be Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a veteran leftist whose vanquished rival Jair Bolsonaro is an ideological soulmate of Trump.Lula has been critical of Trump but has avoided major confrontation since the Republican billionaire’s return.The funeral will also bring leaders more ideologically in tune with Trump including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Javier Milei of Argentina, the late pope’s home country.Trump also paid a brief visit to France after his election but before his inauguration for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral. Macron brought him together with Zelensky on the sidelines.Trump’s first foreign trip was supposed to be to the oil-rich Gulf Arab states, where he is hoping to see business opportunities and press them to accept closer relations with Israel.He is to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates from May 13.Trump will however be keeping one important appointment: with First Lady Melania Trump for her 55th birthday, which also falls on Saturday.He told reporters he hadn’t had time to buy any presents but added that “I’m taking her for dinner on Air Force One.”burs-dk/tw