“Yesterday, there was some rather unusual activity along the Ukraine-Belarus border on the Belarusian side,” Zelensky said in his daily evening address to the nation.“We are closely monitoring the situation, keeping everything under control, and will respond if necessary,” he added, without providing further details about the troop movements, military deployments or the nature of the activity observed.

Ukraine’s air force and border guard did not immediately comment on the statement.The remarks come after Kyiv had in recent weeks publicly urged Belarus not to increase its participation in the conflict, warning against any actions that could expand the northern front of the war.

Belarus, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, allowed Russian forces to use its territory as a staging ground during the initial phase of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian troops launched attacks toward Kyiv from Belarusian territory during the opening weeks of the war.

Although Belarusian forces have not directly entered combat in Ukraine, Minsk has continued to provide logistical and strategic support to Moscow, including hosting Russian troops, military exercises and tactical nuclear deployments announced by the Kremlin in previous years.

President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly denied plans for direct military intervention but has maintained strong political and security alignment with Russia throughout the conflict.The northern border remains a sensitive security zone for Ukraine, forcing Kyiv to maintain military readiness there even as intense fighting continues on the eastern and southern fronts.

Analysts say any renewed military buildup in Belarus could pressure Ukraine to divert troops from active battle zones, even if no immediate cross-border attack is planned.Zelensky’s warning comes as Ukraine continues to seek stronger Western military support while monitoring Russian troop activity across multiple fronts amid renewed battlefield pressure and broader regional instability.

The Narges Mohammadi Foundation said on Friday that Mohammadi was urgently moved to a hospital in Zanjan after prison doctors concluded her condition could no longer be managed inside the detention facility.

According to the foundation, the activist suffered two episodes of complete loss of consciousness, severe nausea, dangerously high blood pressure and repeated vomiting before fainting on Friday morning and being taken to the prison medical unit for emergency intravenous treatment.

The statement described the hospital transfer as a “desperate, last-minute” measure and warned it could come too late to address her critical health condition. Reuters could not immediately independently verify the claims.Mohammadi, in her 50s, won the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize while serving a prison sentence for her activism on women’s rights, freedom of expression and opposition to the death penalty in Iran.

She has become one of the country’s most prominent human rights campaigners and a leading voice against state repression.The secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Thursday there was growing concern over her worsening condition after reports that she had suffered a heart attack in prison.

Mohammadi has undergone three angioplasty procedures, according to her family, and faces what they described as a “direct and immediate” threat to her life if she does not receive specialist medical treatment in Tehran.Her family called for all charges against her to be dropped immediately and for the annulment of prison sentences linked to what they described as her peaceful human rights work.

The activist was sentenced earlier this year to an additional seven-and-a-half years in prison, according to the foundation. In February, the Nobel Committee urged Iranian authorities to release her without delay.She was arrested in December after publicly condemning the death of lawyer Khosrow Alikordi.

Iranian prosecutor Hasan Hematifar said at the time that Mohammadi made provocative remarks during Alikordi’s memorial ceremony in Mashhad and encouraged attendees to chant what authorities called norm-breaking slogans and disturb public order.Iranian authorities have not immediately commented on Friday’s hospitalization.

Mohammadi has spent years in and out of prison over charges related to national security and anti-state propaganda, accusations rights groups say are frequently used against dissidents and civil society activists in Iran.Her case has drawn sustained international attention, particularly since nationwide protests over women’s rights and political freedoms intensified scrutiny of Iran’s treatment of activists, journalists and political prisoners.

Chefs and restaurant operators told Reuters that soaring air freight costs and reduced tourist arrivals were squeezing margins, forcing businesses to scale back operations and rethink sourcing strategies in a city where imported ingredients are central to much of its high-end culinary identity.

At Mexican restaurant Lila Molino in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue district, chef Shaw Lash said staples such as avocados and tomatillos essential to her menu have become harder to source and significantly more expensive since the conflict escalated in late February.

“The reality is cargo has gotten more expensive, gas prices have gone up, the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked,” Lash said. “This is really creating a problem for us as far as our supply.”Lash said she had reduced production, cut payroll costs and shifted toward smaller ingredient purchases while focusing more on grocery products and take-home fajita kits, which have helped offset weaker dine-in demand.

The UAE imports more than 80% of its food consumption, making it highly vulnerable to disruptions in maritime trade. Although a ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran took effect on April 8, the Strait of Hormuz through which much of the region’s imports pass remains effectively closed, creating delays and pushing transport costs sharply higher.

Dubai’s full-service restaurant market was valued at about $9.5 billion last year, according to market researcher Mordor Intelligence, which had projected 20% growth for 2026 before the war began. Industry operators now say those expectations are under pressure.

A survey by Juniper Strategy and the Global Restaurant Investment Forum found UAE foodservice operators reported an average 27% drop in demand compared with a year earlier, while supplier cost increases averaged 13%. The study covered 30 industry leaders operating around 400 restaurants between April 1 and April 8.

Tourist-heavy districts and business zones were under the greatest pressure, while restaurants in residential neighborhoods showed stronger resilience and, in some cases, growth.The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism said some operators were managing a “period of disrupted footfall” and adapting through promotions, alternative service formats and community-driven offers to maintain customer traffic.

At fusion restaurant Jun’s Dubai, chef Kelvin Cheung said sourcing imported seafood such as Norwegian scallops and premium Japanese fish had become significantly more expensive because sea routes were no longer reliable.“Your only option was then to fly air freight, which would increase our costs by about thirty, thirty-five percent,” he said.

Cheung has shifted toward locally sourced fish and launched a six-course menu priced at 225 dirhams ($61) to maintain affordability while preserving customer traffic. He said the restaurant had retained all staff despite the slowdown.Air freight rates on some routes have risen by as much as 70%, driven by higher jet fuel prices and disruptions to oil shipments from the Gulf.

Tourism, a major driver of spending in Dubai’s luxury retail and dining sectors, has also weakened.“That massive influx of tourists who provide that extra boost of economy, of spend, across all industries is what we’re missing now,” Cheung said.

Food writer Courtney Brandt said the war had intensified structural weaknesses already present in Dubai’s restaurant market, including high fixed costs, dependence on tourism and oversupply in the premium dining segment.“We were due for a correction,” she said, noting that international restaurant groups with stronger financial backing may weather the downturn more easily than independent operators.

Some fine-dining restaurants, including venues inside the luxury Atlantis hotels on Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, have temporarily closed for refurbishment, while others continue to launch new concepts, suggesting confidence in a medium-term recovery.Operators say business has started to improve gradually since the ceasefire and the reopening of schools, with signs of consumer confidence slowly returning across the city.

The figures, released by China State Railway Group and cited by the official Xinhua News Agency, showed the country’s vast rail system handling one of its busiest holiday travel surges as millions of people traveled for tourism and family visits during one of China’s peak annual vacation periods.

The national railway system is also expected to transport 19.7 million passengers on May 2, according to the report, suggesting sustained heavy traffic throughout the holiday week.Several regional railway operators added extra train services to manage the holiday rush.

The Zhengzhou railway bureau introduced 140 additional passenger trains, while the Chengdu network added 184 services to ease congestion and improve capacity, Xinhua said.The May Day holiday, one of China’s most significant domestic travel periods alongside Lunar New Year and National Day, is often viewed as a key indicator of consumer confidence and discretionary spending trends.

Tourism has emerged as a relatively bright spot for China’s economy, offering support to domestic demand as policymakers grapple with weak household consumption, subdued private-sector confidence and a prolonged downturn in the property market.

The government has been seeking stronger consumer-led growth to offset slowing exports and persistent weakness in real estate, which has weighed heavily on local government finances and broader investment activity.In recent months, Beijing has introduced a series of stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth, including support for homebuyers, tax incentives and spending encouragement for tourism, retail and services sectors.

Holiday transport data is closely watched by investors and policymakers as a real-time gauge of economic sentiment, particularly in the services economy, where travel, hospitality and leisure spending remain critical drivers of recovery.

The strong passenger numbers suggest domestic mobility remains robust even as broader macroeconomic concerns continue to cloud China’s growth outlook for 2026

The commitment came during Takaichi’s visit to Hanoi, where the two leaders discussed expanding the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership established in 2023, covering sectors including energy, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, semiconductors and space cooperation.

“The two sides identified economic security as a new priority area for bilateral cooperation,” Takaichi told reporters after the meeting.“With regard to critical minerals, both sides agreed to strengthen close coordination to ensure stable supplies and reinforce supply chains,” she said.

The talks come as Japanese investment flows into Vietnam weakened sharply despite stronger trade ties. New Japanese investment in Vietnam fell about 75% year-on-year to $233 million in the first quarter of 2026, while bilateral trade rose 12.3% to $13.7 billion during the same period, according to Vietnamese government and customs data.

Japan remains one of Vietnam’s largest foreign investors, with major Japanese manufacturers operating extensive production bases in the country across electronics, automotive and industrial sectors.As part of the visit, both governments signed six agreements covering infrastructure development, climate action, agriculture, digital transformation, technology cooperation and space development, reinforcing broader strategic cooperation beyond trade.

Vietnam has also been seeking support from Japan and other partners to stabilize oil supplies as conflict in the Middle East pushes up crude prices and disrupts shipping routes.Under Japan’s $10 billion Power Asia Initiative, designed to strengthen energy self-reliance across Asia, Tokyo will help arrange crude oil supplies for Vietnam’s Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, one of the country’s most important energy facilities, Prime Minister Hung said.

Takaichi is also scheduled to meet To Lam and senior Communist Party leadership later on Saturday and deliver a keynote address at Vietnam National University.Her speech is expected to mark a decade since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe introduced Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategy, a regional framework aimed at strengthening rules-based order, maritime security and economic cooperation across Asia.

Vietnam has publicly supported Japan’s regional initiatives, including the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision, aligning them with ASEAN’s broader Indo-Pacific outlook and emphasizing international law, regional stability and balanced strategic autonomy.Hung said Vietnam viewed the framework as contributing positively to “peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and beyond.”

The visit reflects Tokyo’s broader effort to deepen strategic partnerships across Southeast Asia as competition over technology, trade routes, mineral access and energy security intensifies across the Indo-Pacific.

Ben-Gvir, a far-right member of Israel’s government, said during the visit that he was pushing for increased Jewish prayer rights at the compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and revered by Muslims as Islam’s third-holiest site.

“Today, I feel like the owner here,” he said in a video released by his office, adding that more changes were needed and urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take further steps.

The compound, located in Jerusalem’s Old City, is administered by a Jordanian religious authority under a decades-old status quo arrangement that permits Jewish visits but prohibits prayer at the site.

Jordan’s foreign ministry said Ben-Gvir’s visit constituted “a desecration of its sanctity, a condemnable escalation and an unacceptable provocation,” warning that it breached the established status quo.

Ben-Gvir’s spokesman said the minister had sought broader access and prayer permits for Jewish visitors and confirmed that he had prayed during the visit.There was no immediate response from Netanyahu’s office.

In previous instances, similar visits by Ben-Gvir have been followed by statements from Israeli authorities reaffirming that there is no change to the status quo.

The compound has long been a focal point of tensions in the region, with past disputes over access and prayer rights triggering unrest.

Religious sites in Jerusalem, including Al-Aqsa, had been largely closed to the public during the ongoing regional conflict.

No immediate signs of unrest were reported following Sunday’s visit.

The Liberia-flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) Serifos and China-flagged VLCCs Cospearl Lake and He Rong Hai transited via a designated passage that bypasses Iran’s Larak Island, according to data from LSEG.

Each vessel has the capacity to carry around 2 million barrels of oil.The Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass, had been effectively blocked by Iran since the outbreak of conflict in late February, contributing to supply disruptions and a sharp rise in oil prices.

Serifos, chartered by Thailand’s state energy firm PTT, is carrying crude loaded from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and is expected to arrive at Malaysia’s Malacca port on April 21, according to LSEG and Kpler data. It is among several vessels for which Malaysia had sought clearance from Iran to transit the strait, sources said.

Cospearl Lake, carrying Iraqi crude, is scheduled to reach Zhoushan port in eastern China on May 1, while the discharge destination for He Rong Hai, which is transporting Saudi oil, remains unclear. Both vessels are chartered by Unipec, the trading arm of Chinese energy major Sinopec.

Shipping data also showed that hundreds of tankers remain stranded in the Gulf awaiting passage during the limited ceasefire window, underscoring continued constraints on maritime traffic.At the same time, three empty tankers Mombasa B, Agios Fanourios I and Shalamar were navigating the strait to enter the Gulf and load crude.

One of them signaled plans to load Basrah oil in Iraq for delivery to Vietnam.Industry sources and companies involved did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The partial resumption of tanker movement highlights the critical role of the Strait of Hormuz in global energy flows and the sensitivity of oil markets to geopolitical developments in the region.