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  • Prosecutors seek Woods’ prescription drug records after Florida arrest

    Prosecutors seek Woods’ prescription drug records after Florida arrest

    Golf legend Tiger Woods is facing renewed legal scrutiny following his recent driving under the influence arrest in Florida, with prosecutors formally moving to obtain complete documentation of all his prescription medications, including detailed dosage information and driving-related warning labels listed on pill containers, newly unsealed court records confirm.

    The legal action stems from a single-car crash that unfolded in the Sunshine State last month, where Woods was taken into custody and directly charged with DUI. The 15-time major champion has formally entered a not guilty plea to the allegations against him.

    According to a court filing submitted Tuesday, the subpoena demanding the sensitive medical records — which prosecutors have framed as critical to building their criminal case against the golfer — is scheduled to be officially issued on April 22. Legal representatives for Woods have not yet issued a public response to the latest development, after being contacted for comment by the BBC.

    Court rules give Woods’ legal team a 10-day window to file a formal objection to the subpoena, which would allow them to challenge the legal order’s validity and block the release of the private medical information. If no objection is submitted within that period, the subpoena will proceed as scheduled, per the filing.

    Earlier this month, law enforcement released full body camera footage documenting the immediate aftermath of the crash, which occurred when Woods’ vehicle struck a parked truck before rolling over. In the raw footage, Woods appears calm as he kneels on one knee beside the wreckage, telling responding officers, “I looked down at my phone, and all of a sudden, boom.”

    No other people were injured in the incident, though Woods was forced to escape the flipped vehicle by crawling out through the passenger side door. Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek confirmed that Woods passed a standard breathalyzer test for alcohol, but declined to complete a urinalysis screening that would detect the presence of other controlled substances.

    Woods told officers he had not consumed any alcohol that day. When pressed about whether he was taking any prescription medications, he replied that “I take a few,” adding that he had taken his scheduled doses earlier that morning. He then went on to list the specific medications he was using, but that portion of the body camera footage has been redacted from public release.

    Responding officers told Woods they suspected his “normal faculties” were impaired by an “unknown substance” at the time of the crash. Investigators later found two small white pills in his pocket, which were subsequently identified as hydrocodone, a powerful opioid typically prescribed to manage moderate to severe chronic pain.

    Shortly after the crash, Woods released a public statement on his social media platform X addressing the incident. “I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today,” he wrote. “I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health. This is necessary in order for me to prioritise my wellbeing and work toward lasting recovery.”

    This latest arrest is not the first time Woods has faced DUI-related allegations: this incident marks his second arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. His first came in 2017, when police found him asleep behind the wheel of a badly parked car roughly 15 miles from his Florida home. A toxicology report from that arrest found five different prescription medications in his system, including a mix of powerful painkillers and sleep aids. He was not arrested for DUI in a 2009 single-car crash, but toxicology tests from that incident also detected sleeping medications in his system.

  • JD Vance to lead US team in talks with Iran in Pakistan

    JD Vance to lead US team in talks with Iran in Pakistan

    The White House has officially announced that U.S. Vice President JD Vance will lead a high-profile American delegation to face-to-face negotiations with Iranian representatives in Pakistan, with talks set to kick off on April 11. The announcement comes in the wake of a newly implemented ceasefire between the two nations, which White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says has created a rare diplomatic opening that could pave the way for long-term stability across the Middle East.

    Despite this optimistic framing, key details surrounding the negotiation agenda, specific peace proposals, and the current status of maritime traffic through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz remain shrouded in uncertainty. Just days before the ceasefire, Iranian military officials issued stark public warnings that any vessel attempting to traverse the strait without explicit Tehran authorization would be targeted and destroyed. Leavitt pushed back on this public posture, however, noting that Iran’s private diplomatic messaging differs significantly from its public rhetoric.

    During Wednesday’s White House press briefing, Leavitt declared that the U.S. had secured its core military objectives in what Washington has dubbed Operation Epic Fury. She confirmed that the operation, which preceded the ceasefire, successfully dismantled Iran’s naval forces, unmanned aerial vehicle program, and ballistic missile infrastructure, meeting the campaign’s primary goals. Joining Vance on the U.S. negotiating team will be special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who will meet their Iranian counterparts in Islamabad on Saturday.

    Leavitt dismissed widespread media reports of a 10-point peace proposal put forward by Iran as inaccurate, revealing that an initial Iranian proposal was rejected out of hand for being “fundamentally unserious.” According to Leavitt, Tehran submitted a revised offer only after President Donald Trump issued an extraordinary threat that “a whole civilization will die” if no acceptable deal was reached. She emphasized that the Trump administration would never accept a deal that simply codified Iran’s existing policy demands, calling that outcome unthinkable.

    Contrary to Iran’s public warnings to shipping, Leavitt confirmed that Tehran has privately agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supplies pass. When pressed on the clear disconnect between the White House’s positive framing and Iran’s public threats to shipping, Leavitt said Trump remains committed to holding Iran accountable for its commitments and expects the strait to be opened “quickly and safely.”

    Trump’s pre-ceasefire threat, posted on his social platform Truth Social, drew widespread backlash from across the U.S. political spectrum, with critics raising urgent concerns about the humanitarian fallout of expanded U.S. strikes on Iranian civilian and military infrastructure. Leavitt defended the president’s blunt language, arguing that his uncompromising negotiating style and tough rhetoric are directly responsible for bringing Iran to the negotiating table. She added that Trump retains the moral high ground in the standoff against what the White House calls Iran’s “rogue regime.”

    Later Wednesday, Trump is scheduled to hold a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that Leavitt described as “very frank and candid.” The meeting comes amid escalating friction between the alliance and the U.S., its largest military and political contributor. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO for failing to support the U.S. during the Iran conflict and for not assisting in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Leavitt directly quoted a letter from Trump in which the president stated, “NATO was tested and they failed.”

    She also confirmed that Trump has discussed the possibility of the U.S. withdrawing from the 75-year-old security alliance, though she offered no additional details on the scope or timeline of any potential exit. Tensions between Trump and NATO predate the Iran conflict, rooted in long-running disagreements over defense spending and, more recently, Trump’s public interest in acquiring Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. European NATO allies have repeatedly rejected any possibility of a transfer of sovereignty over the island, deepening the rift between Washington and the alliance.

  • Key moments in the Gilgo Beach serial killings case

    Key moments in the Gilgo Beach serial killings case

    One of the most haunting cold case serial killing investigations in modern U.S. history has reached a pivotal turning point, as architect Rex Heuermann has formally entered guilty pleas for the deaths of eight women whose bodies were discovered scattered along Gilgo Beach on New York’s Long Island between the late 1990s and early 2010s.

    The case first captured national attention more than a decade ago, when investigators began unearthing a series of shallow graves along the remote Ocean Parkway between 2010 and 2011, revealing a pattern of violence that targeted primarily sex workers working along the South Shore of Long Island. For years, the identity of the killer remained a mystery, leaving communities terrified and families of the victims without answers, as law enforcement pursued thousands of leads and employed evolving forensic techniques to crack the case.

    The breakthrough came in 2023, when Heuermann, a Long Island-based architect with a decades-long career and a seemingly ordinary suburban life, was taken into custody and charged with multiple counts of murder. In the weeks leading up to his guilty plea, court documents and investigative reporting had laid out a growing body of evidence linking Heuermann to the crimes, including DNA evidence, cellphone records, and physical evidence recovered from the burial sites.

    By pleading guilty to all eight counts of murder, Heuermann brings a long-awaited measure of closure to the families of the victims, who waited nearly 30 years for justice after their loved ones disappeared. The plea also avoids a lengthy, high-profile public trial that would have retraced the details of the brutal crimes for a national audience. The case stands as a testament to the persistence of law enforcement in cold case investigations, and the impact of decades-long violence on tight-knit coastal communities.

  • ‘Ketamine Queen’ sentenced to 15 years in Matthew Perry overdose death

    ‘Ketamine Queen’ sentenced to 15 years in Matthew Perry overdose death

    More than two years after beloved *Friends* star Matthew Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home, the ringleader of an illegal drug ring linked to his death has received a substantial federal prison sentence. Forty-two-year-old Jasveen Sangha, the woman infamously labeled the ‘Ketamine Queen’, was handed a 15-year prison term after pleading guilty to federal charges that included distributing the illicit ketamine that contributed to Perry’s October 2023 death.

    Sangha, an American-British dual citizen, entered her guilty plea back in September 2024, reversing her initial not guilty plea just weeks before her trial was set to begin. Prosecutors painted a damning picture of her operation, describing her Los Angeles residence as a full-fledged ‘drug-selling emporium’ that generated massive profits to fund a luxury lifestyle. When federal agents raided her North Hollywood stash house and personal home, they uncovered dozens of vials of injectable ketamine alongside thousands of pills containing methamphetamine, cocaine, and Xanax. Court records also confirm Sangha’s connection to a second fatal overdose: she admitted to selling ketamine to Cody McLaury in 2019, who died just hours after purchasing the drug from her.

    Before the sentencing hearing, Perry’s family made a impassioned plea to the judge for the harshest possible penalty. In a written victim impact statement submitted to the California federal court, Debbie Perry, Matthew Perry’s stepmother, emphasized that Sangha had caused irreversible harm to their family. ‘You who has talent for business enough to make money chose the one way that hurts people,’ she wrote. ‘Please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours.’

    Sangha’s legal team pushed for leniency, noting that she had taken responsibility for her crimes and had no prior criminal convictions. Dozens of letters from her family and friends advocating for a reduced sentence were also submitted to the court. The judge ultimately handed down a 15-year sentence, far below the statutory maximum of 65 years that Sangha faced. She has been in federal custody since August 2024.

    Perry, who captured global audiences for his decades-long portrayal of quick-witted Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom *Friends*, had openly discussed his decades-long battle with substance use disorder. At the time of his death, he was receiving supervised ketamine-assisted therapy for treatment-resistant depression, a legal medical treatment. Investigators later concluded his death was caused by acute ketamine toxicity from the illicit supply of the drug.

    Ketamine is a federally controlled dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects that is only legally permitted for use administered by licensed medical professionals. Sangha is one of five people charged in connection with the illegal ketamine ring that supplied Perry, with all five co-defendants agreeing to plead guilty. Two medical professionals have already been sentenced: Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who supplied Perry with ketamine in the weeks before his death, received a 30-month prison sentence in December 2024, while Dr. Mark Chavez, who fraudulently obtained ketamine and sold it to Plasencia, was sentenced to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release. Two remaining co-defendants are awaiting sentencing: Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, who assisted in purchasing and injecting ketamine, has requested a postponement for his sentencing scheduled for this month, while Eric Fleming, who obtained ketamine from Sangha to sell to Perry, is scheduled to be sentenced in June 2025.

  • ‘Cold as ice’: Serial killer admits to eight murders in case that haunted Long Island for years

    ‘Cold as ice’: Serial killer admits to eight murders in case that haunted Long Island for years

    After more than 13 years of fear, uncertainty and delayed investigation, one of Long Island’s most notorious cold crime sagas reached a pivotal turning point this Wednesday, as 62-year-old architect Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to the murders of eight women in a packed Suffolk County courtroom. The story that stunned and haunted the region for more than a decade closes a major chapter with Heuermann’s confession, though lingering questions and unresolved wounds still remain for communities and victims’ loved ones.

    Dressed in a tailored black suit and blue tie, the 6-foot-4 Heuermann stood stone-faced before Judge Timothy Mazzei, answering “yes” to nearly every question about the details of his brutal crimes. He confirmed he used the promise of payment to lure each victim, bound and strangled them to death in an identical pattern, then discarded their dismembered remains along remote, brush-lined stretches of Long Island’s Gilgo Beach. He never turned to face the gallery filled with victims’ family members, some of whom choked back sobs as the graphic details of his crimes were laid out. “There wasn’t a jot of remorse in that man’s face,” said John Ray, attorney representing multiple victims’ families, after the hearing. “He was as cold as ice.”

    All eight of Heuermann’s victims were sex workers, most of whom he contacted through advertisements posted on Craigslist. The case first emerged into public view in 2010, when investigators searching for a missing woman stumbled across four sets of human remains within a quarter-mile of each other along Ocean Parkway. Over subsequent years, more remains were uncovered, eventually totaling 11 sets of remains found across the coastal scrubland. Heuermann was first identified as a suspect and arrested in 2023, when investigators connected him to the crimes using DNA recovered from a discarded pizza box. Initially, he was charged with seven murders; Wednesday’s guilty plea added an eighth killing dating back to 1996. The full eight victims confirmed Wednesday are Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Megan Waterman, 22, Amber Costello, 27, Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Jessica Taylor, 20, Valerie Mack, 24, Sandra Costilla, 28, and Karen Vergata, 34. Heuermann will receive multiple consecutive life sentences, to be formally handed down during a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 17.

    The case was marked by years of investigative missteps and institutional failure that delayed justice by more than a decade. In its early stages, the investigation was led by former Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke, who was arrested in 2015 and later convicted of obstruction of justice. Former Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota, who also oversaw the probe, was ultimately brought down by the same corruption scandal that took down Burke. For years, the investigation made little tangible progress, and many victims’ family members have accused law enforcement of deliberately dragging their feet because all the victims were sex workers, noting officers frequently dismissed the women by labeling them “prostitutes.”

    It was not until 2022, when new county leadership launched a multi-agency task force including both local and federal investigators, that the case moved forward rapidly. Investigators acted on a tip first given to police back in 2010 by Dave Schaller, roommate of victim Amber Costello, who described a large, intimidating client that matched Heuermann’s description driving a rare first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche. The tip led investigators to Heuermann, and further evidence—including burner phone communications, cell tower data, and hair DNA matching the DNA from his discarded pizza—solidified the case against him. Law enforcement also reported finding handwritten guides Heuermann created on how to carry out the killings stored on a computer in his basement.

    Heuermann was a married father of two living a quiet double life in the Long Island suburb of Massapequa Park, residing in the dilapidated, run-down childhood home where he grew up. For neighbors, the crumbling red-shuttered house always stood out among the well-maintained homes and manicured lawns of the quiet village, but few suspected what lay inside. “It doesn’t fit in the neighbourhood, but what are you going to do? You don’t think anything of it,” one long-time neighbor told reporters, noting that most residents just wanted to move past the case now that Heuermann has confessed. The home has become a magnet for media and true crime enthusiasts, and the day before the plea hearing, reporters swarmed the property after it emerged Heuermann’s ex-wife and children were filming a documentary there.

    During Wednesday’s hearing, Heuermann’s ex-wife Asa Ellerup sat in the back of the courtroom dressed in black, showing no expression while her daughter held tissues. Outside court after the hearing, Ellerup expressed her sympathy for the victims’ families, calling their loss “immeasurable.” She and her legal team have repeatedly denied any involvement in Heuermann’s crimes, a position supported by law enforcement. However, Benjamin Torres, son of victim Valerie Mack, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Heuermann and his family, seeking to seize any profits the family earns from their upcoming documentary.

    Even with Heuermann’s guilty plea, open questions continue to hang over the case. Police do not believe Heuermann was responsible for the death of Shannan Gilbert, the missing woman whose 2010 disappearance led to the initial discovery of the other victims’ remains. Authorities have said her death was likely an accidental drowning in the marsh where her body was found, but her family and supporters still question that finding. Many locals also wonder whether more undiscovered victims are still buried in the coastal marshes and brush near Gilgo Beach. For Sandra Symon, a high school classmate of Heuermann who now boats near the area where the remains were found, the case has left an indelible mark. “How could you not think of them? What a terrible, scary thing that happened,” she said.

  • Former attorney general Pam Bondi will not testify on Epstein files next week, justice department says

    Former attorney general Pam Bondi will not testify on Epstein files next week, justice department says

    A sudden development in the congressional probe into the Jeffrey Epstein investigation has thrown Capitol Hill into partisan friction, after the U.S. Department of Justice announced former Attorney General Pam Bondi would not honor a scheduled deposition next week. Citing Bondi’s recent removal from the top law enforcement post by former President Donald Trump just one week prior, DOJ officials argued that the original subpoena was issued to Bondi exclusively in her official capacity as sitting attorney general, eliminating her requirement to appear before the House Oversight Committee on April 14. A committee spokesperson later confirmed this notification to the BBC.

    The announcement has immediately drawn pushback from lawmakers across both major parties, who argue that a change in position does not erase Bondi’s legal and ethical obligation to answer questions about the handling of the Epstein investigation. House Oversight Committee Republican member Nancy Mace was among the first to speak out, emphasizing that the subpoena remains legally binding regardless of Bondi’s current employment status. Mace called on committee chairman James Comer to publicly reaffirm that Bondi still must comply with the deposition order. “The American people deserve to know whether Congress was misled and whether information about Jeffrey Epstein and his associates is being withheld,” Mace wrote in her public statement.

    Ranking Democratic member Robert Garcia echoed Mace’s demands, going a step further to threaten consequences for noncompliance. “She must come in to testify immediately, and if she defies the subpoena, we will begin contempt charges,” Garcia said in an official release. As of press time, Bondi has not issued any public comment on the dispute.

    The subpoena for Bondi was first issued earlier this year, when Comer formally requested her testimony to address allegations of potential mismanagement of the Department of Justice’s Epstein investigation. Epstein, a deceased convicted sex offender, has long been the center of conspiracy and scrutiny due to his extensive connections to high-profile global political and business figures. Both Bondi and the Trump administration have faced sustained bipartisan pressure to declassify and release all documents tied to the case, a push that resulted in congressional legislation forcing disclosure that Trump signed into law in November 2024.

    After the release of millions of documents earlier this year, the DOJ faced widespread bipartisan criticism from lawmakers. Some legislators accused the department of two key failures: first, it improperly failed to redact identifying information for Epstein’s survivors, putting vulnerable victims at risk; second, it allegedly intentionally protected the identities of well-connected associates of Epstein who were not classified as victims.

    Last month, Comer justified the request for Bondi’s testimony by noting her direct oversight of the document release process mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act. “As Attorney General, you are directly responsible for overseeing the Department’s collection, review, and determinations regarding the release of files pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the Committee therefore believes that you possess valuable insight into these efforts,” Comer said at the time.

    The House Oversight Committee’s Epstein probe has already pulled in a string of high-profile witnesses, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The committee recently announced that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is scheduled to provide testimony in June, while U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is expected to appear in the coming weeks.

  • Watch: Cold-blooded trespasser found lurking in Florida pool

    Watch: Cold-blooded trespasser found lurking in Florida pool

    A surprising and unsettling discovery unfolded at a Tampa, Florida, home this week, when a local resident made an unexpected find: a large, 9-foot alligator hiding out in the property’s pool enclosure. According to local law enforcement reports, the homeowner first spotted the cold-blooded intruder while checking their backyard early in the day, and immediately contacted the Tampa Police Department to report the dangerous trespasser.

    Once officers arrived at the scene, they confirmed that the fully grown alligator had wandered into the residential pool area from nearby wild wetland habitats common across the Florida peninsula. Rather than attempting to move the animal themselves, authorities called in a licensed nuisance alligator specialist, who safely captured and removed the alligator from the property without incident.

    Local wildlife experts note that alligator incursions into residential areas are not uncommon in Florida, especially during warmer months when the reptiles are more active and roam farther in search of food or new territory. Officials remind homeowners who encounter alligators on their property to keep a safe distance and never attempt to approach or move the animal on their own, instead contacting local authorities or licensed wildlife removal professionals immediately.

  • Suspects who allegedly threw bomb outside NYC mayor’s home wanted to kill 60 people, prosecutors say

    Suspects who allegedly threw bomb outside NYC mayor’s home wanted to kill 60 people, prosecutors say

    A planned deadly terrorist attack targeting New York City was derailed by law enforcement before any harm could be done, after two young American men allegedly plotted to detonate explosives at a protest outside the mayor’s official residence in the name of the Islamic State, federal prosecutors have confirmed.

    An unsealed indictment released Tuesday lays out the full scope of the conspiracy against 18-year-old Emir Balat and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi, both Pennsylvania residents who are US citizens. The foiled plot unfolded on March 7 outside Gracie Mansion, the official home of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, where an anti-Islam protest was being held. According to court documents, the pair attempted to set off two homemade explosive devices that failed to detonate as planned, leaving no injuries and allowing authorities to take both suspects into custody immediately. Security footage captured one of the men being detained just seconds after he ignited one of the dud devices. At the time of the attempted attack, Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji were not present at the residence.

    Prosecutors allege the attack was planned to inflict mass casualties in service of IS ideology. Captured dashcam audio from the pair’s vehicle recorded one of the suspects stating plainly, “All I know is I want to start terror, bro. I want to petrify these people.” The indictment details that Balat told his co-conspirator the attack could kill anywhere from 8 to 16 people, and as many as 30 to 60 if the bombing site was crowded. Law enforcement officials further allege the pair hoped their attack would outpace the deadliness of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people and injured hundreds.

    Following their arrest on March 7, both suspects voluntarily waived their constitutional right to remain silent, according to official court records. In a written statement after being taken into custody, Balat explicitly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and called for the death of non-believers, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the BBC. Kayumi similarly admitted his affiliation with IS, confirmed he regularly consumed the group’s extremist propaganda on his personal phone, and acknowledged that IS ideology was a core motivating factor for the attempted attack.

    A search of the vehicle the pair used to travel to New York City turned up a cache of evidence confirming the conspiracy: three days of recorded dashcam footage, a handwritten notebook detailing bomb construction, and an unexploded third bomb. The notebook did not only outline the Gracie Mansion plot, prosecutors say: it also contained multiple alternative attack plans, including ramming a vehicle into crowds at festivals, parades, protests, or other large public gatherings.

    Mamdani has publicly confirmed that the two suspects traveled to New York City with the explicit intent to carry out an act of terrorism. As of this report, Balat and Kayumi remain in federal custody following their March 7 arrest, awaiting further legal proceedings.

  • UN chief hails US-Iran 2-week ceasefire

    UN chief hails US-Iran 2-week ceasefire

    On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a public welcome to the newly announced two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to an official statement released by his spokesperson. This tentative pause in direct hostilities marks a rare potential de-escalation of tensions that have gripped the already volatile Middle East region in recent weeks.

    In the formal statement, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric conveyed that Guterres is urging every party currently engaged in ongoing conflicts across the Middle East to honor their legal commitments under international humanitarian law, and to strictly adhere to the terms laid out in the new ceasefire agreement. The UN chief emphasized that this temporary cessation of violence lays critical groundwork needed to advance toward a long-term, comprehensive peace settlement that can bring stability to the entire region.

    The statement further stressed that an immediate end to active combat is an urgent global priority. A halt to hostilities is essential to protecting vulnerable civilian populations caught in crossfire, and to easing the widespread humanitarian suffering that has devastated communities across the area.

    Guterres also extended sincere gratitude to Pakistan and all other third-party countries that contributed diplomatic work to mediate talks and facilitate the finalization of the ceasefire. To advance ongoing peace efforts, the announcement confirmed that Jean Arnault, Guterres’ personal envoy for the region, is already deployed on the ground to coordinate UN support and back all initiatives working toward sustainable, long-term peace. The ceasefire announcement has raised cautious international hope that the temporary pause can open the door to further diplomatic negotiations to resolve long-standing tensions between the two nations.

  • US, Iran agree to ceasefire for two weeks

    US, Iran agree to ceasefire for two weeks

    Tensions that had gripped the globe for days over an imminent US-Iran military conflict defused at the 11th hour on Tuesday, when President Donald Trump announced a bilateral two-week ceasefire, struck just moments before a self-imposed deadline that carried warnings of catastrophic destruction for Iran.

    The breakthrough agreement, mediated by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, was shared publicly by Trump on his social media platform Truth Social. In his post, Trump confirmed he would suspend planned bombing and military strikes against Iran for 14 days, contingent on Iran’s commitment to fully, immediately, and safely reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil chokepoint at the center of the latest standoff.

    According to Reuters, Iranian officials submitted a 10-point negotiating proposal to Washington, which Trump described as a “workable basis” for finalizing a broader formal agreement. Trump added that nearly all longstanding points of dispute between the two nations had already been preliminarily agreed upon, and the two-week window will allow teams to hammer out remaining details to lock in a permanent deal. Israel has also signed off on the ceasefire arrangement.

    Iran’s state television framed the agreement as a diplomatic victory for the country, while the Supreme National Security Council of Iran confirmed in an official statement that top-level leadership had approved holding direct negotiations with US negotiators in Islamabad across the 14-day truce. Talks are scheduled to kick off this Friday.

    Global energy markets reacted immediately to the de-escalation: West Texas Intermediate crude futures for May plummeted nearly 19 percent, falling below $92 a barrel as fears of supply disruptions from conflict in the Persian Gulf evaporated.

    Hours before the ceasefire announcement, the United States had been swept by widespread anxiety, triggered by days of increasingly aggressive rhetoric from Trump that left the public and global leaders deeply alarmed. On Monday, Trump issued an ultimatum threatening to obliterate Iran’s entire civilian infrastructure – including every bridge and power plant – if Tehran failed to meet his demands by the Tuesday deadline. On Tuesday morning, he doubled down on the threat, warning that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran did not comply.

    That incendiary language drew fierce backlash from across the political spectrum, the public, and international institutions. Many American civilians voiced profound distress over the president’s approach. Adam Turner, a 54-year-old New York resident, told China Daily that Trump’s harsh rhetoric over Iran, paired with his confrontational style on other issues, had left him severely stressed. “It’s not speech that I would accept from any horrible person on the street. It is without respect, without intelligence, without dignity,” Turner said. “It makes me sad because I don’t think the Iranian people deserve it. He got rid of [former President Barack] Obama’s Iran deal. We had a deal in place that was effective.”

    Lewis Fox, a 66-year-old Manhattan resident, echoed that criticism, calling for a return to diplomatic diplomacy rather than coercion. “He has converted the United States into being the bully of the world versus the savior of the world. And therefore, he definitely shouldn’t be talking like that,” Fox said.

    Criticism even extended to Trump’s own political circle. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican Representative and once a staunch Trump ally, publicly condemned the threat on X, writing: “Not a single bomb had dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness.”

    Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York called on congressional Republicans to intervene to prevent full-scale conflict. “Congress must immediately end this reckless war of choice in Iran before Donald Trump plunges us into World War III,” Jeffries wrote on X. “It’s time for every single Republican to put patriotic duty over party and stop the madness. Enough.”

    International bodies also raised sharp objections ahead of the ceasefire. A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the UN chief was “deeply troubled” by statements that threatened to hold civilian populations responsible for political outcomes. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned Tuesday that the Trump administration’s threats could constitute severe violations of international law, ahead of the last-minute truce that pulled the region back from the brink of large-scale war.