agree

April 16 (UPI) — President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day cease-fire starting at 5:00 p.m., pausing Israel’s six-week war on Hezbollah in that country.

Trump spoke with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, both leaders confirmed, and agreed to the cease-fire and to work toward a more permanent peace between their countries.

Aoun and Netanyahu spoke to each other separately because Aoun declined to participate in a call with the Israeli leader because Israel was still bombing Lebanon, CNN reported.

“These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE,” he said in a post on Truth Social.

Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine have been directed to work with officials of both countries to achieve a more lasting peace.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in a statement thanked the United States, France, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan for helping to accomplish the cease-fire he had pursued “since the first day of the way,” NBC News reported.

After the United States and Israel launched the Iran war, Israel also launched offensives against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon, from which it often launches attacks at Israel.

This week, delegates from the neighboring countries conducted diplomatic talks for the first time since 1993, meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss a cease-fire and the larger issue of Hezbollah’s hijacking of Lebanese lands in order to target Israel.

Netanayhu said Thursday in a video statement that Israeli forces would “remain in a 10-kilometer security zone, which will allow us to prevent infiltration into communities and anti-tank missile fire.”

Calling the negotiations potentially historic, Netanyahu said that Israel’s chief goal is to disarm Hezbollah and its ability to invade or launch weapons across the Lebanese border into Israel.

“That is where we will remain,” he said. “We are not leaving.”

After the diplomatic talks on Wednesday, Rubio reinforced that a key part of the meeting and now peace talks between the two nations is to end Hezbollah’s destabilizing influence in Lebanon and the wider Middle East.

“We have to remember the Lebanese people are victims of Hezbollah,” Rubio said, also noting that accomplishing a lasting peace “will take time.”

Moscow and Kyiv signal a short Easter truce as diplomacy stalls and war pressures mount.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has announced a 32-hour ceasefire for Orthodox Easter, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirming that Ukraine will honour it.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that the pause in fighting will begin at 4pm Moscow time (13:00GMT) on Saturday and run until midnight on Sunday, covering Easter celebrations observed in both countries.

“We proceed on the basis that the Ukrainian side will follow the example of the Russian Federation,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

It added that Defence Minister Andrei Belousov had instructed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to halt military operations during the period. Russian forces, however, would remain ready to respond to any violations.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had already proposed a similar pause and would act in kind.

“Ukraine has repeatedly stated that we are ready for reciprocal steps. We proposed a ceasefire during the Easter holiday this year and will act accordingly,” he wrote on Telegram.

“People need an Easter without threats and a real move towards peace, and Russia has a chance not to return to attacks even after Easter.”

Hours after the announcement, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region said Russian artillery and aerial attacks had killed two people.

“The enemy attacked three districts of the region almost 30 times with drones and artillery,” Oleksandr Ganzha said on Telegram on Friday.

This weekend’s planned ceasefire echoes a similar, short-lived pause declared by Moscow last year, which both sides accused each other of breaching.

The ceasefire comes as wider diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled, with attention in Washington shifting towards escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Difficult months ahead

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had not discussed the Easter proposal in advance with the United States, nor did it signal any immediate revival of three-way peace talks.

Despite the limited pause, humanitarian channels between the two sides remain active. Speaking from Moscow, Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova said Russia and Ukraine recently carried out another exchange of soldiers’ remains.

“Moscow handed over the remains of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers to Kiev in exchange for 41 bodies of the Russians,” she said.

“More than 500 bodies of Russian servicemen have been returned this year during these regular exchanges and over 19,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers have been returned to Kiev,” she added.

These exchanges, often mediated by Turkiye, remain one of the few functioning lines of communication between the warring sides, alongside periodic prisoner swaps.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly pushed for temporary ceasefires, including a halt to attacks on energy infrastructure, but said Moscow had largely rejected proposals. He added that Ukraine now faces growing pressure, both on the battlefield and from international partners.

“This spring–summer period will be quite difficult politically and diplomatically. There may be pressure on Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “There will also be pressure on the battlefield.”

He warned that the coming months could prove decisive, as Kyiv confronts both sustained Russian attacks and shifting geopolitical priorities among its allies.

“I believe it will be very difficult for us until September.”

Political analyst Trita Parsi says no one should be surprised that Iran has rejected the idea of a ceasefire deal with the US and Israel, given their history of violating previous agreements.

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday he and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to work together to secure the safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and mitigate the broad impact from the war in the Middle East.

Lee addressed concerns over uncertainties in global energy supply chains following summit talks with Macron, during which the two leaders discussed ways to deepen economic ties and strengthen coordination on security issues.

“President Macron and I agreed to share policy-related experiences and strategies in order to jointly address the economic and energy crises triggered by the Middle East war. We also concurred on working together to reduce uncertainty in the global economy,” Lee said during a joint press announcement.

“We confirmed our commitment to bolstering energy security by expanding our cooperation in the nuclear and offshore wind power sectors while collaborating to secure safe maritime transport routes through the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.

Lee said the two leaders also agreed to boost trade and investment with a goal of reaching $20 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030, up from $15 billion last year.

To boost cooperation across sectors, the two sides signed a series of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and other documents.

They pledged to expand cooperation in advanced technologies and future industries — including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and quantum technology — and to establish a ministerial-level joint committee on science and technology.

The two countries also signed a letter of intent on cooperation in critical mineral supply chains, aimed at combining South Korea’s manufacturing capabilities with France’s processing technology and infrastructure.

The state-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power signed MOUs with French nuclear firms, Orano and Framatome, as well as a separate MOU with France’s EDF on a joint development of an offshore wind power plant in the southwestern city of Yeonggwang.

Lee expressed hope that the agreements would ensure a stable supply of raw materials for South Korea’s nuclear power plants and lay the groundwork for joint entry into the global market.

He also laid out plans to cooperate in space and defense while pledging efforts to bolster collaboration in the cultural sector in light of an MOU signed between the two nations’ cultural heritage agencies.

During the talks, Lee said he explained Seoul’s efforts to resume dialogue with Pyongyang to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, while Macron reaffirmed Paris’ support for peace and stability on the peninsula.

“We two leaders shared a profound understanding that peace on the Korean Peninsula has far reaching implications not just in Northeast Asia and Europe but also the rest of the world,” Lee said.

Lee noted that Seoul and Paris have expanded cooperation across a wide range of sectors, including future strategic industries, such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, space, nuclear energy and defense, and expressed hope to deepen coordination on the international stage.

“As responsible members of the international community, the two countries are also working together to respond to rapid changes in the global landscape,” he said.

Lee said Macron extended a formal invitation to the Group of Seven summit scheduled for June in Evian, France, adding that he accepted the invitation. If he attends, it would mark his second consecutive appearance at the G7, following his participation in Canada last year.

Lee welcomed the two countries’ decision to upgrade ties from “a comprehensive partnership for the 21st century,” established in 2004, to “a global strategic partnership,” calling it “a new milestone” in bilateral relations built on 140 years of trust and friendship.

Macron struck a similar tone, expressing hope to expand cooperation across a broad range of areas, including artificial intelligence, quantum technology, semiconductors, space and culture, under the upgraded partnership.

He said that Seoul and Paris could strengthen security cooperation and work together to help stabilize the situation in the Middle East, including ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The visit marks Macron’s first trip to South Korea since taking office in 2017 and the first by a French president in 11 years. It comes as the two countries mark the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations, established with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between France and the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

The Dodgers agreed to a deal granting Uniqlo naming rights to the field at Dodger Stadium, according to the Athletic — marking the first time in the 64-year history of the stadium that a corporate sponsorship has been attached to it.

Dodger Stadium’s name remains unchanged. The organization made it a priority to keep the name of the ballpark, which has been in place since its opening in 1962.

“[The stadium’s name] will never be for sale,” Dodgers president Stan Kasten told The Times in 2017.

Though not officially announced by the Dodgers, the name likely will be Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium.

With more than 1,000 stores worldwide, the Japanese-based clothing brand will hold exclusive marketing and promotional opportunities as the Dodgers’ main sponsor. The new deal will also include a new sign in center field.

Since signing Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani, the team has partnered with several different Japanese companies, earning $70 million in sponsorship revenue in 2024 alone, according to Forbes.

Bob Lynch, chief executive of research firm SponsorUnited, estimated that teams hosting the Dodgers generated roughly $15 million in cumulative revenue from the brands that have attached themselves to the team.

“ … A slew of brands essentially following him around across the country that are paying dollars either directly to the team or to Van Wagner, who’s selling the backstop signage,” Lynch told Forbes in 2025.

In 2022, the Dodgers partnered with global sports marketing agency Sportfive to secure premier sponsorships. Two years later, the organization announced a self-sponsorship with its ownership group, Guggenheim Baseball Management, which placed a patch on the team’s jerseys.