#Russia has agreed to support #US President Donald Trump’s initiative to extend the ceasefire with Ukraine until May 11 and conduct a 1,000 for 1,000 prisoner swap, #Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said.

"At the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, I confirm that US President Donald Trump’s initiative regarding the ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine is acceptable to the Russian side," he told reporters.

#Nigeria : TETFund plans unveiling 411 intervention projects across 271 institutions nationwide to boost research, innovation, teaching and learning standards.

Food supply disruption looms in Kwara as Mooro Bridge collapse blocks Ilorin–Igbeti route, stranding travelers after heavy truck damage.

Multiple deaths in Limpopo bus crash at infamous spot where previous deadly tragedy occurred

#UK police arrest ex-prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct

Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia reaches its peak with the completion of its soaring central tower.

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona’s towering Sagrada Familia basilica reached its maximum height on Friday, though the magnum opus of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí remains years away from completion.

A crane placed the upper arm of a cross atop the “Tower of Jesus Christ,” the church’s soaring central piece, which now stands 172.5 metres (566 feet) above the city, the church said.

While the unfinished monument is already the world’s tallest church, with Friday’s addition, the Sagrada Familia inched closer to being done.

The first stone of the Sagrada Familia was placed in 1882, but Gaudí never expected it to be completed in his lifetime. Only one of its multiple towers was finished when he died at the age of 73 in 1926, after being hit by a tram.

In recent decades, work has sped up as the basilica became a major international tourist attraction with people around the world visiting Barcelona to see the monument, enthralled by Gaudí’s radical aesthetic that combines Catholic symbolism and organic forms.

The inside of the “Tower of Jesus Christ” is still being worked on and its exterior is flanked by construction cranes and scaffolding. But topping the central tower, which soars above the transept, has been a priority ahead of celebrations this June that will mark the centenary of Gaudí’s death.

The scaffolding surrounding the central tower is expected to be removed by June, in time for the inauguration of the “Tower of Jesus Christ,” the church said.

As Gaudí had planned, the cross has four arms so its shape can be recognized from any direction, said Sagrada Familia’s rector, the Rev. Josep Turull. If Barcelona’s city government will allow it, the original plan also includes a light beam shining from each of the cross’s arms, symbolizing the church’s role as a spiritual lighthouse, he added.

Millions of tourists visit the Sagrada Familia every year, and entrance fees largely fund the ongoing construction.

This year, the Sagrada Familia will hold several events to celebrate the Catalan Modernist’s legacy, which includes other stunning buildings in Barcelona and elsewhere in Spain.

The Sagrada Familia became the world’s largest church last October, when it rose above the spire of Germany’s Ulmer Münster, a Gothic Lutheran church built over 347 years starting in 1543. That church tops out at 161.53 metres (530 feet).

A prayer verse from the Gloria that Catholics recite at mass is installed at the base of the cross installed Friday afternoon at Sagrada Familia, the church’s rector said.

It reads: “You alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High.”

The Associated Press

Canada’s Jacobs tops American Casper to improve to 2-0 in round-robin play at Games

#EU should be at negotiating table with #Russia to discuss European security — Macron.

According to the French leader, "all of this needs to be prepared at the European level, in order to be ready for a discussion when the time comes"

Netanyahu wants Trump to demand more from Iran. The leaders will meet this week.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Washington on Tuesday to encourage U.S. President Donald Trump to expand the scope of high-stakes nuclear talks with Iran. The negotiations resumed last week against the backdrop of an American military buildup.

Israel has long called for Iran to cease all uranium enrichment, dial back its ballistic missile program and cut ties to militant groups across the region. Iran has always rejected those demands, saying it would only accept some limits on its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief.

It’s unclear if Iran’s bloody crackdown on mass protests last month, or the movement of major U.S. military assets to the region, has made Iran’s leaders more open to compromise, or if Trump is interested in broadening the already difficult negotiations.

Netanyahu, who will be in Washington through Wednesday, has spent his decades-long political career pushing for stronger U.S. action toward Iran. Those efforts succeeded last year when the U.S. joined Israel in 12 days of strikes on Iran’s military and nuclear sites, and the possibility of additional military action against Iran is likely to come up in this week’s discussions.
Decisions are being made

Netanyahu’s visit comes just two weeks after Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, met with the prime minister in Jerusalem. The U.S. envoys held indirect talks in Oman with Iran’s foreign minister on Friday.

“The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and ending support for the Iranian axis,” Netanyahu’s office said over the weekend, referring to Iran-backed militant groups like the Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Years of nuclear talks have made little progress since Trump scrapped a 2015 agreement with Iran, with strong encouragement from Israel. Iran has shown little willingness to address the other issues, even after suffering repeated setbacks. But the meeting with Trump gives Netanyahu an opportunity to shape the process and may also bolster his standing back home.

“Clearly these are the days when decisions are being made, America is expected to complete its force buildup, and it’s trying to exhaust the prospect of negotiations,” said Yohanan Plesner, head of the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem-based think tank.

“If you want to have influence on the process, only so much can be done via Zoom.”
Israel fears a narrow agreement

Trump threatened a military strike against Iran last month over the killing of protesters and concerns of mass executions, moving a number of military assets into the region. Thousands were killed and tens of thousands detained at Iranian authorities crushed the protests over widespread economic distress.

As the protests largely subsided, Trump shifted his focus to Iran’s nuclear program, which the U.S., Israel and others have long suspected is aimed at eventually developing weapons. Iran insists its program is entirely peaceful and says it has the right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.

Sima Shine, an Iran expert formerly with Israel’s Mossad spy agency who is now an analyst at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said Israel fears that the U.S. might reach a narrow agreement with Iran in which it would temporarily halt uranium enrichment.

A deal in which Iran halts enrichment for several years would allow Trump to claim victory. But Israel believes any such agreement that does not end Iran’s nuclear program and reduce its ballistic missile arsenal will eventually require Israel to launch another wave of strikes, she said.

Iran might be unable to enrich uranium after last year’s strikes, making the idea of a temporary moratorium more appealing.

Some members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have signaled that unilateral action remains on the table for Israel even if a deal is reached that Trump hails as a victory, with Energy Minister Eli Cohen telling Army Radio on Tuesday that Israel views Iran’s ballistic missiles as a grave threat and “reserves the option to act” should an agreement not meet its security needs.

In November, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was no longer enriching uranium due to the damage from last year’s war. The U.S. and Israeli airstrikes killed nearly 1,000 people in Iran, while Iranian missile barrages killed almost 40 in Israel.

It’s unclear how much damage was done to Iran’s nuclear program. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been unable to visit the bombed nuclear sites. Satellite images show activity at two of them.