Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has announced that Israel backs the United States’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks, but said the truce “does not include Lebanon”.
In a statement on X on Wednesday, Netanyahu said Israel supported US President Donald Trump’s efforts to ensure “Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran’s Arab neighbors and the world”.
He said the US has told Israel that it is committed to achieving these goals in the upcoming negotiations in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Friday.
But the two-week ceasefire “does not include Lebanon”, he added.
Netanyahu’s statement comes after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that the US, Iran and their allies “have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere”.
The Penang state flag is seen with a tree in the background. — Picture by KE Ooi
Wednesday, 08 Apr 2026 10:00 AM MYT
GEORGE TOWN, April 8 — The Penang Islamic Religious Affairs Department (JHEAIPP) has ordered a Chinese temple association to cancel its planned Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house, saying the event is a Muslim religious activity that falls under the purview of the State Islamic Religious Council.
In a letter dated March 31, JHEAIPP director Datuk Marzuki Hassan informed the Thean Hock Keong association in Butterworth that it was “not permitted” to organise the event.
The department stated its decision was made after receiving a complaint from Persatuan Anak Jati Melayu Negeri Pulau Pinang over the event.
“As] the celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri is one of the religious activities of the Muslim community, the Thean Hock Keong Association is therefore not permitted to organise an Open House Ceremony in conjunction with the said Hari Raya Aidilfitri,” the letter said.
“For the information of the Thean Hock Keong Association, all Islamic religious activities including any celebration related to Hari Raya Aidilfitri are subject to the approval of the Penang State Islamic Religious Council.”
Association clarifies unity-focused intent
In a detailed response dated April 5, Thean Hock Keong’s secretary, Ng Choong Seong, expressed regret over the cancellation while clarifying the event’s purpose.
Ng explained that the open house was intended to “foster unity, strengthen ties of friendship, and reinforce harmony among the local community” and was not meant to raise any sensitivities.
He said the programme was planned after obtaining advice from the Penang National Unity and Integration Department and holding discussions with local mosque leaders, surau leaders, and community representatives, who had agreed to it.
“All food served is fully halal and prepared by catering services owned by local residents, as a show of support for the local community,” Ng wrote.
The association also said it had already agreed to amend its event poster after receiving feedback from community leaders that the original title and venue were “somewhat inappropriate.”
Despite having made these adjustments, the association confirmed it would respect JHEAIPP’s decision to cancel the programme.
Ng said it was regrettable that a complaint has caused the “meaningful programme to be cancelled,” despite its primary purpose being to engender unity within the local community.
Will Khairy Jamaluddin change Umno into a more moderate force, or will Umno change him?
There was never any question that Khairy Jamaluddin would rejoin Umno. I have previously wondered which of the two, Khairy or party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, would win the staring contest, although I predicted the competition would end in a roundabout way.
Zahid’s “Rumah Bangsa” initiative not only knocked the wind out of PAS’s sails, but also offered amnesty to former defectors.
Now, many of the younger generation view Khairy as a political “rock star” and, to some, a prime minister in waiting. But I must admit, I (and maybe others like me) have had issues with Khairy in the past. He had said some things that did not sit well with me.
An innuendo directed at Anwar Ibrahim, then opposition leader, led to a suit against Khairy; then there was the time he described Nga Kor Ming as a “Taliban” in 2019 after Nga, then deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker, remarked that Malaysia could end up like Taliban-ruled Afghanistan if PAS and Umno were in power.
Khairy also once compared participants of a Bersih rally to monkeys, a remark for which he refused to apologise.
So I derived a little satisfaction when Khairy was sacked from Umno in 2023.
But to his credit, Khairy reinvented himself — a feat that caught me off guard, but which earned him my newfound respect, especially considering that the only other person who could pull off such an achievement is former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Instead of kicking up a fuss over his sacking and burning bridges with his former party, Khairy took the “moral high ground”, shedding the “nationalist thug” image that some Umno Youth chiefs tend to adopt, and becoming more statesmanlike and more of a progressive Malaysian.
Admittedly, I was initially wary of this “rebirth,” but I also found myself in awe of his surge in popularity. (And for a while I harboured hopes that he would be part of a Third Force that Malaysia also badly needs.)
Through his Keluar Sekejap podcast, co-hosted by suspended Umno member Shahril Hamdan, he helped bring cross-party discussions to a larger audience through meaningful conversations with the likes of PKR’s Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, DAP’s Loke Siew Fook, Gabungan Parti Sarawak’s Abang Johari Openg and PAS’s Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.
Can Khairy usher in the changes that Umno desperately needs? Given time, I believe so.
Change will come, albeit slowly, a fact that most Malaysians seem to be incredulously ignorant about. Changing Umno or even the country isn’t as simple as upgrading to a newer smartphone.
Still, Khairy’s “reinvention” will give current Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh a run for his money in terms of attracting support and reviving the party’s popularity.
But I am also hoping for Khairy to have an effect on Umno itself, with the party adopting the approach he took when he was a political pariah.
Imagine an Umno that engages in cross-partisan politics and encourages more mature discussion on issues, effectively becoming a kill switch to Akmal’s fiery racial rhetoric and PAS’s religious extremism.
This, in turn, could make Umno a more “moderate” force for the country, a Malaysia that Tunku Abdul Rahman had envisioned.
Which brings us back to a pertinent question. Will Khairy change Umno for the better or will Umno see Khairy slipping back into a role some of us find offensive? Only time will tell.
***
Also recall that Ong Kian Ming (DAP) has publicly avowed to campaign for KJ. Surely that's something!
Synagogue hit after attack on adjacent residential building, Mehr news agency reports
Iran says US-Israeli projectile has struck a synagogue in Tehran By AFP and AP
Published On 7 Apr 2026
kt comments: Frigg the synagogue, it's all to prevent Bibi from going to jail.
United States-Israeli strikes have “completely destroyed” a synagogue in Tehran, according to Iranian media, as the attacks across Iran killed more than a dozen people overnight.
“According to preliminary information, the Rafi-Nia Synagogue … was completely destroyed in this morning’s attacks,” the Shargh newspaper reported on Tuesday.
According to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, the synagogue was destroyed when an adjacent residential building in central Tehran was attacked.
Footage showed civil defence workers amid the rubble, with Hebrew-language books scattered on the ground.
The report said that due to the narrowness of the streets surrounding the building attacked, the exterior and interior of the nearby buildings were also “severely damaged”. There was no immediate report on casualties.
In a video published on Telegram by Iran’s official IRIB News outlet, Homayoun Sameh, a Jewish representative in the country’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, said “the Zionist regime showed no mercy to this community during the Jewish holidays and targeted one of our ancient and holy synagogues.
“Unfortunately, during this attack, the synagogue building was completely destroyed and our Torah scrolls were left under the rubble,” he said.
Iran’s Jewish community
Judaism is one of Iran’s legally recognised minority religions, and the country has a small Jewish community, although many members fled in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
There are no publicly available official numbers, but there are thought to be a few thousand Jewish people in Iran.
Shargh called the synagogue “one of the most important places for Khorasan Jews to gather and celebrate”, referring to the northeastern province of Iran.
The strikes were among a series of US-Israeli attacks overnight, in which at least 15 people were killed across Iran, local media reported.
Six bodies have been recovered from under the rubble of buildings in the city of Pardis, east of Tehran, Mehr reported.
Local officials said nine people were killed in an Israeli air attack on a residential neighbourhood in the city of Shahriar in the west of Tehran province.
United States President Donald Trump has agreed to suspend his planned bombing of Iran for two weeks, following his threat that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran did not comply with his demands.
On Tuesday evening, within hours of the planned attack, Trump took to his platform Truth Social to announce he had reversed course.
He credited Pakistan for mediating the settlement but warned it came with conditions — namely that Iran re-open the Strait of Hormuz.
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote.
The message was posted online at 6:32pm US Eastern time (22:00 GMT), just under one and a half hours before Trump’s 8pm (00:00 GMT) deadline for the attack.
Shortly after Trump’s message, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached.
“If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations,” Araghchi wrote.
“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”
Araghchi likewise thanked Pakistan for its last-minute appeal to suspend the US bombing campaign. Further talks are expected to take place in Islamabad over the coming weeks.
Kharg Island heavily bombed in preparation for potential US Marine/Special Forces ground siezure.
Israel has begun attacking Iran's railway infrastructure, telling civilians to not take trains, cancelations across country.
IRGC still defiant - announces new retaliatory attacks on petrochemical plants in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Iran's 10-point counter to the US 15-point ceasefire shows signs of willingness to compromise ('reparations' from US dropped as a demand). Vance says war will end "very shortly". Tehran Times: All communications with US side suspended.
* * *
Tehran Times: All Diplomatic Channels With US Have Ceased
"Iran has closed all diplomatic and indirect channels of communication with the US," Tehran Times has reported. The publication says that "Any and all message exchanges have also been suspended."
The Tehran Times is seen as tied to the hardline factions of the government, and calls itself the "voice of the Islamic Revolution" - but is not directly state-owned per se.
Meanwhile President Masoud Pezeshkian has praised the willingness of "14 million" Iranian citizens to "sacrifice" by taking to the streets, seeking to protect power plants and other sensitive vital infrastructure, as the US-Israeli bombs rain down. US conservative MSM publications have decried this as a form of "human shields".
WH Trying to Manufacture 'Mission Accomplished'? Vance Says Objectives Completed
Vice President JD Vance has said that "very shortly" this war will be "completed" in a Tuesday morning statement. He stated specifically that the military objectives have been accomplished, adding there are "two pathways" - and that optimistically this will involve "lots of negotiations" - but with a deadline of 8pm ET. The US is "confident it will get an Iran response."
The below is from Hala Jaber, a longtime Sunday Times journalist and veteran Middle East war correspondent:
Trump is scrambling behind the scenes for a ceasefire with Iran, according to claims emerging via Fars News Agency. Allegations point to urgent outreach through multiple governments & intelligence channels. Citing what it describes as an “informed source,” the report claims the U.S. has been pushing for a ceasefire via backchannels, using countries it believes have credibility with Tehran.
According to the same account, Iran received calls from five heads of government & eight intelligence agencies, all seeking to open a path toward a ceasefire. It further claims Washington is considering reshaping its negotiation team, including removing Witkoff due to his ties to Netanyahu’s circle & replacing him with Vance to lead a more serious track. The urgency, the source says, is driven by mounting military & economic pressure, including fears of surging fuel prices. If true, it would mark a stark contrast to the public posture.
Trump: A Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight
Trump seems to be openly announcing plans for genocide - saying he's going to annihilate an entire civilization. What else do you call this? "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will," he threatened in a Tuesday Truth Social Post. "However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?" - he continued.
Meanwhile, according to The Associated Press:
Airstrikes pounded Tehran on Tuesday, and Iranian officials urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants, hours before the expiration of U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest deadline for the Islamic Republic to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz or face punishing strikes on its infrastructure. Kharg Island Bombed (Again)
Kharg Island is being bombed again on Tuesday, with a senior US officials telling Fox's Jennifer Griffin that the "U.S. hit dozens of military targets on Kharg Island overnight." Per the fresh reporting the targets included bunkers, a radar station, and ammunition storage.
However, the same officials described that landing docks were not intentionally targeted - that they only would have been struck if Iranians fired something from next to them. This development has led to speculation that this could be another round of softening operations to prepare for some kind of US Marine or special forces seizure.
This send oil back to the highs...
This would without doubt be very high risk, with the potential for significant US casualties. More from Griffin:
The strikes on Kharg Island were carried out solely by the US, not Israel, I am told. “This is a message to the Iranians,” a senior US official told me.
Axios cites a US official to say the strikes on Kharg island were not directed at oil infrastructure, but were "re-strikes" on military targets that were hit previously.
Bridges, Power Plants, Tit-For-Tat Warning
President Trump has been warning of the "complete demolition" of Iran’s power plants and bridges in a matter of hours - so by Tuesday's end - if the Strait of Hormuz is not fully reopened by his deadline. Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, is urging some last minute diplomatic action, warning, "We are close to the point where the situation in the region could spiral out of control." There have meanwhile been reports of more Iranian attacks on Qatar. "There are no winners if this war continues," he said.
But Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is not backing down, having on Tuesday claimed responsibility for attacks on petrochemical facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail region, stating the strikes were retaliation for earlier Israeli attacks on its Shiraz petrochemical facility.
Iranian officials have repeatedly warned that any strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges would trigger reciprocal attacks on regional infrastructure. The IRGC stated it targeted American companies in Jubail with missiles and drones, including Sadra, ExxonMobil, and Dark Chemical.
Images posted online show damage to a highway bridge between the northwestern Iranian cities of Hashtroud and Tabriz, following apparent Israeli strikes.
It also stated that a petrochemical complex in Juaymah belonging to the US company Shourdan Phillips was struck with medium-range missiles and drones.
Israeli Attacks on Iran Rail, Infrastructure Have Already Begun
Iran's Mehr News Agency is reporting attacks on Iran's rail system, including an Israeli strike hit the Yahya Abad railway bridge in the city of Kashan, in central Iran. The Deputy Governor of Isfahan has said that the strike killed two people.
The attack came after the IDF issued a warning telling Iranians against using trains for their "safety" until 9pm local time (17:30 GMT).
The governor of Mashhad has already announced the immediate suspension of all rail services departing the city amid the Israeli threat. It's being reported as a precautionary measure that will remain in effect "until further notice". Apparently this rail operation is being done only by the Israeli side of the bombing campaign. More on Iran's 10-Point Response to US Ceasefire Plan
Iran has delivered its highly anticipated "10-point" response to the US' "15-point peace plan." Iran's 10-point plan includes, according to a paraphrase:
1. Guarantee that Iran will not be attacked again
2. Permanent end to the war, not just a ceasefire
3. End to Israeli strikes in Lebanon
4. Lifting of all US sanctions on Iran
5. End to all regional fighting against Iranian allies
6. In return, Iran would open the Strait of Hormuz
7. Iran would impose a Hormuz fee of $2 million per ship
8. Iran would split these fees with Oman
9. Iran to provide rules for safe passage through Hormuz
10. Iran to use Hormuz fees for reconstruction instead of reparations
Importantly, Tehran has dropped its demand for full war reconstruction reparations to be paid directly by the United States, providing a potential window to reach actual compromise with Washington. 75 Gulf Energy Assets Damaged In U.S.-Iran War As Supply Shock Intensifies
International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol was interviewed by the French newspaper Le Figaro earlier on Tuesday and warned that the Gulf energy shock "is more severe than those of 1973, 1979, and 2022 combined" because it is affecting oil, gas, food, fertilizers, petrochemicals, helium, and global trade all at once.
Birol said in the interview that more than 75 energy sites across the Gulf region have been attacked, with about a third severely damaged, suggesting tens of billions of dollars in repairs and a prolonged disruption of some energy flows, further tightening global supplies and compounding the disruption at the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint.
The newspaper asked Birol, "How quickly can Gulf production recover?"
He responded:
"We are monitoring energy infrastructure in real time—fields, refineries, terminals. Seventy-five facilities have been attacked and damaged, more than a third severely. Repairs will take a long time. Countries like Saudi Arabia may recover faster due to strong engineering capabilities and financial resources, but elsewhere, such as Iraq, the situation is far worse. About 15 million people depend on oil and gas revenues there, and the country has lost two-thirds of its oil income, approaching economic paralysis. It will take a long time for the Middle East—previously a reliable energy hub—to recover." Cherry-picking the most important parts of the interview:
Le Figaro asked: Who will suffer the most?
Birol responded: The global economy will suffer. Of course, European countries will struggle, as will Japan, Australia, and others. But developing countries will be the most affected due to high oil, gas, and food prices, and accelerating inflation. Their economic growth will be heavily impacted. I fear many developing countries will see their external debt rise significantly. That is why I am pessimistic—this crisis stems not from energy itself, but from geopolitics.
Le Figaro asked: Which countries are most exposed to shortages?
Birol responded: Import-dependent countries are most exposed: in Asia—South Korea, Japan, but especially Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. African countries will also be heavily affected, as developing nations have limited financial flexibility.
Le Figaro asked: How quickly can Gulf production recover?
Birol responded: We are monitoring energy infrastructure in real time—fields, refineries, terminals. Seventy-five facilities have been attacked and damaged, more than a third severely. Repairs will take a long time. Countries like Saudi Arabia may recover faster due to strong engineering capabilities and financial resources, but elsewhere, such as Iraq, the situation is far worse. About 15 million people depend on oil and gas revenues there, and the country has lost two-thirds of its oil income, approaching economic paralysis. It will take a long time for the Middle East—previously a reliable energy hub—to recover.
Le Figaro asked: How significant is the drop in Gulf oil production?
Birol responded: Enormous. These countries are producing just over half of pre-war levels. As for natural gas, exports have stopped entirely. March was already difficult, but April will be worse. If the Strait remains closed throughout April, we will lose twice as much crude and refined products as in March. We are entering a "black April." In the Northern Hemisphere, April usually marks spring—but now it may feel like the beginning of winter.
Birol has painted a bleak outlook for energy markets and the global economy for weeks in various interviews.
However, emerging through the fog of war, the U.S. appears poised to be a net beneficiary of the chaos across the Gulf, with energy flows expected to remain disrupted for some time.
[1] At a time when American political and religious leaders are invoking the name of God to justify their war of aggression against Iran, Pope Leo — speaking with unflinching honesty and moral clarity — warned that God does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, nor heed those whose hands are stained with blood.
[2] World leaders are aghast at the way America is behaving but appear constrained by the imperatives of their bilateral relations to mute their concerns; it has fallen to the Pope to speak truth to power. And he has risen to the occasion with courage and conviction.
[3] His words are simple, but their implications are far-reaching. They amount to a forceful repudiation of the forces shaping America today — Christian nationalism, Christian Zionism, and the “America First” construct. More than that, they sound a warning about the dangers posed by an increasingly unhinged and erratic president who has blurred the boundary between political power and religious authority.
[4] It is, as well, a searing indictment of the men and women who now surround the president and cheer him on — the politicians who cloak themselves in religion to advance their own ambitions and the religious leaders who ought to be chastising their president instead of encouraging him with self-serving verses of Scripture or grotesquely worshipping at his feet.
[5] An ethos has taken hold in which God is no longer the judge of nations and individuals but the guarantor of their ambitions. It legitimizes pre-emptive strikes and wars of aggression, the assassination and kidnapping of world leaders, and war without mercy. It revels in the power to kill and destroy, glorifies acts that constitute war crimes, and celebrates the death and misery inflicted upon nations.
[6] The concern is not just what is being done to Iran in God’s name but also the corrosive effect this perversion of faith and misuse of power are having on America itself. It is no small irony that Trump’s America is beginning to sound — and at times even behave — exactly like the very regime it denounces.
[7] When the rhetoric of existential peril and apocalyptic urgency is stripped away, the unprovoked aggression against Iran stands exposed as something far more elemental — not a defensive necessity, but a war for hegemony and control; part of a long-running project to neutralise one of the last enduring challenges to American dominance in the region.
[8] Iran’s disruptive behaviour is, in no small measure, the product of years of American and Israeli hostility — assassinations, destabilization campaigns, and unilateral sanctions aimed at undermining the Islamic Republic. The United States aided and abetted Saddam Hussein’s long and bloody war against Iran in the 1980s. For more than three decades, Netanyahu has warned that Iran was on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons — a claim repeatedly invoked to justify confrontation and, ultimately, war. Trump tore up an agreement that would have effectively constrained Iran’s nuclear programme, thereby strengthening the case for conflict.
[9] Lost, too, in the narrative, is another inconvenient fact: Who has launched wars of aggression against its neighbours and continues to illegally occupy their land in defiance of international law? Who has reduced entire cities to rubble, destroyed schools, and hospitals and perpetrated what many consider to be genocide? Who possesses nuclear weapons yet refuses to place its programme under IAEA inspection? It’s not Iran but Israel.
[10] There can be no peace in the Middle East until Iran’s right to exist as an independent sovereign state is respected within the framework of the United Nations, and until all states, including Israel, are subject equally to international law.
[11] None of this, of course, excuses the actions of Iran’s deeply repressive regime, including its ruthless suppression of its own people; but neither does it justify the devastation of an entire nation in the name of peace and stability. That is not justice; it is subjugation dressed up with moral purpose.
[12] For Americans, the greater danger lies not only in what their president is doing abroad in their name, but in what their nation is becoming at home. When a nation cloaks its actions in the language of divine purpose while embracing policies that inflict suffering and bring war and chaos, it begins to hollow out its own moral core. Power exercised without conscience does not stay on the battlefield; it seeps inward, reshaping the character of the nation itself.
Gerakan president Dominic Lau says he has a good, long-standing relationship with the ex-Bersatu leader given the key role he played after PN's formation in 2020
Gerakan president Dominic Lau said his party would welcome Hamzah Zainudin’s new party to PN as long as it shared the same ideologies.
PETALING JAYA: Gerakan has no problem cooperating with opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin’s new party, which is expected to apply to join Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Gerakan president Dominic Lau said he had a good, long-standing relationship with Hamzah given the key role the former Bersatu deputy president played after PN’s formation in 2020.
“We had no problem working with Hazmah, from when he was the PN secretary-general to the PN deputy chairman.
“We have faced general elections, state elections, and by-elections with all four PN components… and have forged a close relationship as a result,” he said, according to Utusan Malaysia.
Lau, a PN deputy chairman, added that Gerakan would welcome Hamzah’s new party to PN as long as it shared the same ideologies.
However, he said its application to join the opposition coalition must go through the set procedures, pointing out that Pejuang had also applied to join PN but had yet to receive the green light.
Hamzah, who was sacked from Bersatu in February at the height of a bitter leadership tussle with party president Muhyiddin Yassin, previously confirmed plans to take over Parti Keluarga Malaysia, which has yet to be formally registered.
Two days ago, the Larut MP hinted at ditching the takeover plan, saying he might join one of the other three PN components.
The parties in PN are Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party.
