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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed an Easter ceasefire to Russia focused on halting strikes on energy infrastructure, as Reuters warns Ukrainian drone strikes on Baltic export hubs could force some Russian refineries to cut output or shut down entirely.

Elsewhere, Trump has signalled the Iran war could wrap up within weeks, European allies are pushing back on US military requests related to the conflict, and the EU is urging citizens to drive and fly less amid a deepening energy crisis.

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Top 5 Stories

1️⃣ 🇷🇺🇺🇦 Russian fuel exports disrupted after Baltic port strikes: Reuters reports that Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia's Baltic export hubs at Ust-Luga and Primorsk have disrupted fuel shipments, with refineries warning they may be forced to cut output or shut down units entirely. Fuel oil is the key bottleneck, and rerouting to alternative ports is complicated by limited capacity and rail constraints.

2️⃣ 🌐 US dismisses WTO after e-commerce talks collapse: US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer declared the WTO will play only a "limited role" in future global trade policy after the body failed to extend a moratorium on e-commerce tariffs. Greer said Washington will instead pursue a separate plurilateral agreement with like-minded partners, after Brazil and Turkey blocked the extension at the ministerial conference in Cameroon.

3️⃣ 🇮🇱🇪🇺 EU condemns Israel's death penalty law: The EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned Israel's newly passed death penalty legislation marks a "grave regression" from its obligations under international law, urging the country to reverse course. The bloc also flagged concern over the law's "de facto discriminatory character," with legal experts warning it will be applied almost exclusively to Palestinians.

4️⃣ 🇺🇦🇷🇺 Zelenskyy pushes Easter ceasefire: Zelenskyy said he will ask US envoys to relay an Easter truce proposal to Russia focused on halting strikes on energy infrastructure. The Kremlin responded to earlier public remarks, reiterating it wants a lasting peace rather than a temporary halt to fighting.

5️⃣ 🇷🇸🇪🇺 EU condemns Serbia election violence: The EU declared reported violence and irregularities during Serbia's local elections "unacceptable," calling on the government to hold perpetrators to account. International observers said they witnessed violence outside polling stations, with students, journalists, and independent observers among those allegedly attacked by pro-government supporters.

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Major Story

🇮🇷 Iran War Update: Day 33

1️⃣ 🇺🇸 Trump signals Iran war winding down: Trump told reporters the US would leave Iran "very soon" and predicted the conflict could wrap up within two to three weeks, with or without a formal deal, saying the primary goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon had been achieved. 

2️⃣ 🇮🇷 Iran confirms contact with US but rules out negotiations: Foreign Minister Araghchi acknowledged direct message exchanges with US envoy Witkoff but said trust in Washington was "at zero," citing the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal as grounds for scepticism. 

3️⃣ 🇺🇸🇸🇦 Gulf states privately urging US to keep fighting: Saudi Arabia and the UAE are reportedly lobbying Trump to continue the war until Iran's nuclear program, missile capabilities, and proxy networks are significantly weakened, with the UAE pushing hardest for a ground invasion, according to anonymous US, Gulf, and Israeli officials. Oman and Qatar have reportedly favoured a diplomatic path instead.

4️⃣ 🇺🇸🌍 European allies push back on US war requests: Italy, Spain, and Poland all rejected US military requests related to the Iran war, with Italy blocking aircraft from a Sicilian base, Spain closing its airspace, and Poland refusing to redeploy Patriot batteries. Trump responded by warning European allies the US would not come to their defense in the future, deepening fractures over the war's lack of UN authorisation.

5️⃣ 🇮🇱🇱🇧 Israel to enforce Lebanon buffer zone: Israeli Defense Minister Katz said Israel intends to maintain indefinite security control over southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, with the return of over 600,000 displaced Lebanese citizens declared "completely prohibited."

6️⃣ 🇪🇺 EU urges citizens to drive and fly less amid energy crisis: The European Commission warned of a prolonged energy crisis with no clear end in sight, urging Europeans to work from home and reduce travel as European gas prices have risen by around 70 percent and oil by around 60 percent since strikes on Iran began.

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Other News

1️⃣ 🇬🇧🇺🇸 King Charles confirms US state visit: King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit the US from April 27–30 amid tensions over the Iran war, with the trip framed as an effort to shore up the US-UK relationship. The announcement came as Trump publicly berated the UK and several European nations closed their airspace to US military aircraft.

2️⃣ 🇬🇧🇷🇺 UK shadow fleet threat falls flat: At least 25 sanctioned Russian shadow fleet tankers have passed through British waters since the UK announced military boarding powers last week, with no detentions reported. Experts have questioned both the legal basis for action and the government's credibility, warning that announcing enforcement without following through undermines the sanctions regime.

3️⃣ 🇷🇺 Russian military plane crashes in Crimea: A Russian An-26 military transport aircraft crashed into a cliff in Crimea, killing all 29 people on board. Russian authorities cited a possible technical fault as the preliminary cause.

4️⃣ 🇷🇺🇨🇺 Russia delivers fuel to Cuba amid blockade: A sanctioned Russian tanker carrying 730,000 barrels of oil docked in Cuba on Tuesday, the first delivery in three months, after the Trump administration allowed it to proceed on humanitarian grounds. The shipment is expected to cover around nine to ten days of diesel demand, offering temporary relief to an island facing widespread blackouts and near-collapse of hospitals, transport, and food production.

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