Islamabad prepares to host US-Iran negotiations as Trump casts doubt on ceasefire | First Thing
Army deployed in Pakistan’s capital as negotiations set to begin. Plus, Melania Trump issues bafflingly timed denial of ties to Jeffrey Epstein
Good morning.
As Pakistan prepared to host negotiations between Iran and the US, the already fragile ceasefire in the conflict showed further strain as Donald Trump accused Tehran of doing “a very poor job” in upholding promises on the strait of Hormuz, and Israel attacked Lebanon – which Iran claimed violated the truce.
The two-week ceasefire agreement brokered by Pakistan included the two sides agreeing to meet in Islamabad this weekend for talks to negotiate a lasting peace. But while Iran and Pakistan asserted that the ceasefire included Lebanon, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said there was “no ceasefire in Lebanon” and Israel would continue “to strike Hezbollah with full force”.
What about the strait of Hormuz? The agreement also included Iran lifting its near-total blockade of the strait, which has caused the worst-ever disruption to global energy supplies. Trump posted on Truth Social late Thursday that Iran was being “dishonorable” in not allowing oil to go through the strait. “That is not the agreement we have!” Trump wrote.
This is a developing story. Follow our liveblog here.
Melania Trump says she ‘never’ had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
In a prepared statement on Thursday, Melania Trump denied ever having a relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. “I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump,” the first lady said.
Why did she make this speech? The first lady’s surprise address created confusion about why she had chosen to speak out now – or whether her husband knew she was planning to draw attention to a subject he has called for the public to move on from.
What did she ask for? In a final twist, Melania urged Congress to give Epstein survivors a public hearing to help uncover the truth, a call immediately endorsed by the Democrat Ro Khanna and the Republicans Majorie Taylor Greene and Nancy Mace.
Artemis II crew to complete record-setting mission
Nasa’s Orion capsule containing four Artemis II astronauts is scheduled to glide gently to a Pacific Ocean splashdown beneath three giant parachutes on Friday. The scheduled 5.07pm PT landing (1.07am BST Saturday) off the coast of San Diego will mark the end of a historic 10-day lunar odyssey.
What does the mission mean for the future of human exploration in space? “We are in the golden age of space travel right now,” the commander, Reid Wiseman, said during a press conference on Thursday. “There’s just limitless potential here.”
In other news …
US public lands will ultimately “pay the price” for the Trump administration’s plan to overhaul the US Forest Service, union leaders have said.
Donald Trump posted a graphic video of a woman in Florida being killed, in an apparent effort to shift the national conversation back to his immigration crackdown.
A museum director at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington has announced that she is leaving to take over New York’s Guggenheim Museum, making her the fourth Smithsonian director to leave in the past two years.
Stat of the day: Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has so far produced 3.6m cubic yards (2.75m cu metres) of lava in its latest eruption
Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupted on Thursday, prompting the closure of Hawaii volcanoes national park on the Big Island. Lava fountains began spewing from the volcano about 11am local time, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), launching as high as 200 meters (656ft).
Culture Pick: Outcome review – Keanu Reeves sends himself up in Jonah Hill’s Hollywood satire
Keanu Reeves plays a nice-guy megastar actor hiding a messy drug addiction in this in-joke and insider-laden comedy written and directed by Jonah Hill. Frequently though not consistently hilarious, Outcome follows Reeves’s character as he attempts to sniff out whoever is blackmailing him with a video of him in a compromising situation.
Don’t miss this: From Wall Street to Y’all Street
The Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, once just a stopover for bankers, has seen its financial sector workforce boom over the past decade as “Y’all Street” lobbyists push to steal New York’s financial crown. “Welcome to the real bull market,” announced the Texas stock exchange (TXSE), which is expected to launch later this year.
Climate check: Meet the man bitten 200 times by snakes
As the climate crisis increasingly causes snakes and humans to overlap, Tim Friede, 58, has subjected himself to 200 intentional snakebites in the hope of building up an immunity that could one day lead to a universal antivenom. His sacrifices could help create a new, broad antivenom that may avert some of the 138,000 deaths and 400,000 disfigurements and disabilities caused each year by snakebites.
Last Thing: Justin Bieber’s Coachella comeback
At this year’s sold-out Coachella, Justin Bieber will face his biggest live stage since he abandoned his 2022 tour owing to health concerns. The annual music festival will host about 125,000 music lovers a day over two weekends, with seven stages hosting a variety of artists, including Bieber’s fellow headliners Sabrina Carpenter and Karol G.
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