US details ceasefire deal between Israel Lebanon

Washington, Apr 16 (AP) The 10-day halt to the Israel-Lebanon fighting that will begin later Thursday can be extended if there's progress in talks to reach a lasting peace agreement and Lebanon “effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty,” the US State Department said.
     President Donald Trump announced the truce following talks held in Washington this week. Israel hasn't been fighting with Lebanon itself but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group inside Lebanon.
     In the statement that the US says was agreed to by Lebanon and Israel, there is a provision to allow Israel to defend itself against any further attacks.
     But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets,” the statement says.
     Trump said Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is a very "exciting" opportunity.
     “I had a great talk with both of them today,” Trump said of this conversations with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
     “They're going to be having a ceasefire, and that'll include Hezbollah.”
     Trump in an extended exchange with reporters said also that he expected that Aoun and Netanyahu would meet in the next week or two, before saying the White House meeting between the Mideast leaders could happen in the next four or five days.
     The president added that he was open to visiting Lebanon “at the right time.”
    
     Portugal open to ensuring maritime navigation remains free in Hormuz
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     Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said on Thursday his country's prime minister will participate in a conference on Friday co-hosted by the French and British leaders on setting up a mission to ensure freedom of navigation through the strait after the Iran war ends.
     But Rangel said a decision on Portugal's contribution to such a mission won't be taken “before we know exactly what is at stake” because the mission plan is still unclear.
     He said the Portuguese “fully understand the value of freedom of navigation” because they have been “navigators for centuries.”
     “So let's go to the meeting, let's see what are the plans,” Rangel said after talks with Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos.
    
     Trump says he has to do what's right' as he pushes back against Pope Leo on Iran war
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     Trump isn't worried that his taunting of Pope Leo XIV might offend his voters.
     “I have to do what's right — the pope has to understand that,” Trump told reporters. “I have nothing against the pope. His brother is MAGA all the way.”
     The US president has maintained that the Iran war is about stopping that country from developing a nuclear weapon and he criticized that country's leadership for killing its own people as he objected to the papal emphasis on peace.
     The president added that he's “sure the pope is a great guy,” yet he suggested Pope Leo XIV was naive about geopolitics.
     “The pope has to understand that this is the real world,” Trump said.
    
     Trump says $4 a gallon gas not very high
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     The US president played down prices at the pump averaging USD 4.09 a gallon nationwide, saying the cost wasn't so great relative to the risk of evening higher prices tied to keeping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
     “Well, they're not very high, if you look at what they were supposed to be in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters about gas prices before a planned trip to Las Vegas.
     The president repeated a past claim that he thought the war with Iran would have driven energy costs much higher.
     Gas prices are up roughly 29% from a year ago, according to AAA. (AP) SCY
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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)