LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained broadly halted on Tuesday with only three ships passing the waterway in the past 24 hours, shipping data showed.
A U.S. blockade of Iranian ports has infuriated Tehran, prompting it to maintain its own restrictions on the strait, which had been typically handling roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
By John Irish
PARIS, April 21 (Reuters) - Lebanon's prime minister and French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss on Tuesday how to strengthen the country's hand in possible direct negotiations with Israel in the United States later this week, as Beirut turns to a trusted European ally.
The U.S. will host ambassador-level talks with Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, although it remains unclear whether the objective is to extend a fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah or pave the way for deeper negotiations.
Outside her gutted home in southern Lebanon's Nabatieh, Zainab Farran, who recently lost two members of her family in Israeli strikes, keeps her clothes packed in a car in case the temporary truce between Hezbollah and Israel does not last.
She returned to the city with her family as soon as the 10-day ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon, which included the Lebanese militant group, went into force on Friday, only to find their home in ruins from Israeli bombardment.
By Andrew Gray
BRUSSELS, April 21 (Reuters) - NATO criticised Russian and Chinese nuclear arms policies on Tuesday and urged both countries to work with the United States to establish greater stability and transparency at an upcoming international conference.
In a statement, NATO's 32 members underlined their "strong commitment to the full implementation" of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), a cornerstone of global arms control since it entered into force in 1970.
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, April 21 (Reuters) - Lebanon’s parliament speaker warned on Tuesday that Israeli forces occupying parts of the country's south would face resistance if they fail to withdraw, signalling a risk of renewed confrontation ahead of U.S.-mediated talks this week.
BRUSSELS, April 21 (Reuters) - European countries including Spain and Ireland pushed on Tuesday for suspending a European Union pact governing its relationship with Israel, but the bloc remained divided on whether to take action.
Arriving at an EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg, a number of ministers called for suspending or partially suspending the pact over concerns about settlements in the West Bank, the humanitarian situation in Gaza and a new death penalty law.
BEIJING, April 21 (Reuters) - China is willing to work with African countries to address the spillover effects of the Middle East conflict, President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday while meeting with Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo in Beijing, state media reported.
"The spillover effects of the Middle East conflict are affecting African countries, and China is willing to work with local (countries) to respond together, promote peace together, and pursue development together," Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
American logistics giant FedEx has been targeted in France by a legal complaint alleging "complicity in the crime of genocide" over claims it transported parts for Israeli aircraft involved in bombing Gaza.
The French Jewish Union for Peace (UJFP), an anti-Zionist group, said it had filed the complaint against FedEx's French subsidiary for "the transport and delivery of essential combat aircraft components from the United States to Israel via France".
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT, April 21 (Reuters) - Pope Leo paid respects on Tuesday to his predecessor Francis on the anniversary of his death last year, remembering the first pontiff from the Americas as someone who gave the 1.4-billion-member Church "so much with his words and his witness."
Over his 12-year papacy, Pope Francis "promoted an authentic respect for all men and women... that we are all brothers and sisters," Leo said in comments aboard his flight to Equatorial Guinea for the final leg of his four-nation Africa tour.
The Palestinian Authority said Israeli settler gunfire killed two Palestinians, including a 14-year-old boy, on Tuesday in the central occupied West Bank, while the Israeli military said it was reviewing the incident.
An AFP photographer saw the bodies at the morgue of the hospital in Ramallah where they were taken soon after the incident.
"Two martyrs were killed by settler gunfire in Al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah... and three others were injured," the Palestinian health ministry said, confirming the deaths previously reported by the Red Crescent.
