A 21-year-old man pleaded guilty on Tuesday in an Austrian court over a jihadist plot to attack a Taylor Swift concert, which led to the cancellation of the Vienna leg of the US megastar's "Eras" tour.

Three dates in Swift's record-breaking tour were cancelled in the summer of 2024 after authorities warned of the alleged Islamic State group plot.

The accused, named as Beran A., was led into the courtroom by masked police personnel at the start of his trial on terror offences and other charges in a court in Wiener Neustadt, outside Vienna.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth will make his first testimony before Congress on the Mideast war Wednesday, as efforts to end the conflict stalled with the United States reportedly skeptical of Tehran's latest offer to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has blockaded the waterway -- a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments -- since the start of the US-Israeli offensive two months ago, sending shockwaves through the global economy.

US officials did not dispute accounts by CNN and The Wall Street Journal that US President Donald Trump was skeptical of the proposal.

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, April 28 (Reuters) - The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged partner countries in Southeast Asia on Tuesday not to turn to Russia for oil supplies as they try to cope with widespread fuel shortages caused by the Middle East conflict.

The EU approved a fresh round of sanctions on Russia this month, including tightened restrictions on oil trade, as it looks to undermine Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine.

DUBAI, April 28 (Reuters) - Iran is ready to share its defensive weapons capabilities with "independent countries, especially members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)", Deputy Defence Minister Reza Talaei-Nik said on Tuesday, according to Iranian state media.

Iran fought a war with the United States and Israel from late February to early April, during which it launched waves of drones and missiles aimed at U.S. bases across the region as well as Israeli sites, while also intermittently shooting down U.S. aerial targets over its airspace, primarily drones.

By Federico Maccioni

DUBAI, April 28 (Reuters) - Iran warned last week that submarine cables in the Strait of Hormuz were a vulnerable point for the region's digital economy, raising concerns about potential attacks on critical infrastructure.

The narrow waterway, already a chokepoint for global oil shipments, is equally vital for the digital world. Several fibre-optic cables snake across the seabed of the strait, connecting countries from India and Southeast Asia to Europe via the Gulf states and Egypt.

WHAT MAKES UNDERSEA CABLES IMPORTANT?

By Ammu Kannampilly and Olivia Le Poidevin

NAIROBI/GENEVA, April 28 (Reuters) - For Somalia's malnourished children, already suffering the twin catastrophes of looming famine and radical cuts in foreign aid, the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran means more than soaring petrol pump prices; it is a matter of life and death.

Shortages of lifesaving therapeutic foods exacerbated by shipping disruptions are forcing clinics to turn away severely malnourished children and ration supplies, Reuters reporting shows.

By Nandita Bose and Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles will address the U.S. Congress on Tuesday with a message of unity between the United Kingdom and the United States, promoting the "special relationship" at a time of differences between the British government and President Donald Trump over the war on Iran.

Israeli authorities are systematically depriving people in Gaza of the water they need to live, Doctors Without Borders warned Tuesday, decrying a campaign of "collective punishment" against Palestinians.

The extensive destruction of civilian water infrastructure in Gaza coupled with obstruction of access constitutes "an integral part of Israel's genocide", said the medical charity, which goes by its French acronym MSF.

Oil prices jumped and stocks sank Tuesday as Donald Trump weighed an Iranian proposal that would reportedly re-open the Strait of Hormuz and end the eight-week-old war.

Investors were also gearing up for key central bank meetings and earnings reports from Wall Street giants this week.

Tehran was reported to have passed "written messages" to Washington via Pakistan spelling out its red lines in peace talks, including on its nuclear programme and the future of the crucial waterway.

By Parisa Hafezi and Steve Holland

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal on resolving the two-month war, a U.S. official said, dampening hopes for a resolution to the conflict that has disrupted energy supplies, fuelled inflation,and killed thousands.

Iran's latest proposal would set aside discussion of Iran's nuclear program until the war is ended and disputes over shipping from the Gulf are resolved.