New Delhi, May 21: A United States court has indicted former Cuban President Raul Castro on murder charges, amid increasing tensions between Washington and Havana.

The indictment comes as US President Donald Trump has pushed for regime change in Cuba, where the Communist leadership has remained in power since Raul Castro’s late brother, Fidel Castro, led the 1959 revolution.

Castro, 94, last appeared in public in Cuba earlier this month, and there is no indication that he has left the island since then or that the Cuban government would permit his extradition.

Details of the charges were not immediately available. However, reports suggest the indictment is linked to a 1996 incident in which Cuban fighter jets shot down aircraft operated by a group of Cuban exiles.

Trump recently described Cuba as a “rogue state harboring hostile foreign military” and framed his administration’s actions toward the island as part of a broader effort to expand US influence in the Western Hemisphere.

“From the shores of Havana to the banks of the Panama Canal, we will drive out the forces of lawlessness and crime and foreign encroachment,” Trump said during a Coast Guard Academy event in New London, Connecticut.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Monday that Cuba does not pose a threat.

The indictment marks a new low in relations between the longtime Cold War rivals.

Washington, May 21: US President Donald Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a tense phone call over the future course of the war on Iran as Washington appeared to be in favour of a deal instead of the resumption of strikes, US media reported.

After the Tuesday phone call with Trump, Netanyahu’s “hair was on fire”, US media outlet Axios reported on Wednesday, adding that the Israeli Prime Minister was keen on the resumption of strikes to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities and weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure.

Trump on Sunday said he had put-off strikes on Iran, planned for Tuesday, following a request from Arab nations including Qatar and the UAE.

A revised peace memo was drafted by Qatar and Pakistan with input from the other regional mediators to try to bridge the gaps between the US and Iran, Axios reported, quoting sources.

Netanyahu is highly sceptical about the negotiations and wants to resume the war to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities and weaken the regime by destroying its critical infrastructure.

Trump continues to say he thinks a deal can be reached, but that he’s ready to resume the war if it isn’t.

“The only question is, do we go and finish it up, or are they gonna be signing a document. Let’s see what happens,” he said on Wednesday at the Coast Guard Academy. 

Later on Wednesday, he said the US and Iran were “right on the borderline” between getting a deal and resuming the war.

“It’s right on the borderline, believe me. If we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go. We have to get the right answers — it would have to be a complete 100 per cent good answers,” Trump told reporters after he returned to Washington from the Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut. 

There is a strong desire in the upper echelons of the Israeli government for renewed military action, CNN reported, quoting an Israeli source, and mounting frustration that Trump is continuing to allow what they say is Iran’s diplomatic foot-dragging.

Trump also said Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do” on Iran, though he also said they had a good relationship. 

Iran has confirmed it’s reviewing an updated proposal, but has not yet shown any signs of flexibility.

Iran’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that negotiations were ongoing “based on Iran’s 14-point proposal,” and that Pakistan’s interior minister was in Tehran to help the mediation.  Trump told Netanyahu that the mediators were working on a “letter of intent” that both the US and Iran would sign to formally end the war and launch a 30-day period of negotiations on issues like Iran’s nuclear program and opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a US source briefed on the call told Axios.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a joint statement in Beijing aimed at further strengthening their comprehensive strategic partnership and deepening bilateral cooperation across trade, energy and technology sectors.

The two leaders also renewed plans for the long-delayed Power of Siberia 2 natural gas pipeline project, though no timeline or final agreement was announced. Russian officials said both sides had reached a “general understanding” on the project, including the proposed route through Mongolia and the construction framework.

If completed, the pipeline is expected to transport up to 50 billion cubic metres of Russian gas annually to China from the Yamal gas fields, accounting for nearly 12 per cent of China’s gas consumption based on 2025 estimates.

The project had remained stalled for years amid disagreements over pricing and supply terms. However, recent reports suggested Russia’s Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation had signed a preliminary agreement earlier this week.

The announcement came as Xi and Putin held talks in Beijing and oversaw the signing of more than 20 agreements covering trade, technology and energy cooperation. The two sides also issued a declaration advocating a “multi-polar world order”.

In their lengthy joint statement, the leaders criticised what they described as “military adventurism” and unilateral actions by certain countries, in an apparent reference to recent United States actions in Iran and Venezuela.

The statement condemned “treacherous military strikes against other countries,” the use of negotiations as cover for military action, assassinations of sovereign leaders and attempts at regime change, saying such actions violated the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Russia and China also reiterated their positions on the Ukraine conflict, stating that the “root causes” of the war must be addressed — language frequently used by the Kremlin to justify its invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, the statement stressed respect for the UN Charter, reflecting Beijing’s continued effort to avoid explicitly endorsing the war.

International media reported that analysts noted that while the meeting underscored growing coordination between Moscow and Beijing, it produced few major breakthroughs beyond reaffirming existing strategic positions.

The two countries continue to describe their relationship as a flexible strategic partnership rather than a formal military alliance. Despite differences on some issues, both sides have increasingly projected themselves as advocates of an alternative international order amid growing geopolitical tensions and uncertainty surrounding global leadership.

For Russia, deeper energy cooperation with China has become increasingly important as Western sanctions continue to pressure its economy. China remains Russia’s largest trading partner and a key buyer of Russian oil and gas exports.