Official rating

Every horse in training is giving an official rating by the handicapper based on the level that they run to. Fourteen of the past 16 winners have been rated 146+, with 13 of those between 146 and 160. I Am Maximus and Nick Rockett were rated 159 and 163 going into the past two editions so a higher mark may be a positive.

Runs since September

In the first seven runnings this decade, five winners had run six times since September, with the others having five and three outings.

That trend has settled down in the past 10 years, with the average being four runs. Noble Yeats had seven before his 2022 run, while five had been in three races.

No winner in the past 25 editions has run fewer than three times that season.

Trainer location

An English trainer last won the race in 2015, with an Irish trainer winning seven of the nine since. Scot Lucinda Russell has had two winners, though she has no runners this year.

Breeding

Of the 24 hours to win the race this century, 18 were Irish-bred, four were French-bred and two British-bred.

Finish last time out

Of the past 25 winners, 11 have finished in the top two of their previous run.

Six of the past eight winners also won their previous race, though Noble Yeats was ninth and Minella Times pulled up.

Four of the six winners before that had finished in the top four too, so the trends suggest form is a factor.

Career falls

Every winner this century except Auroras Encore had two or fewer falls in their career prior to the race.

In the past decade, Minella Times is the only horse to have fallen in their career and won the Grand National.

Won over three miles or more

Twenty one of the 24 different horses to have won this century have all registered at least one career win over three or more miles before winning the National.

Eighteen of them have won more than two races over that trip, though two of the past five aren’t included in that group.

Days since last run

The average break between runs for the past 10 winners is just over 41 days, with a range of 24-84 days.

If you take out the two highest and lowest, you’re left with a gap of 36 days.

President Donald Trump met Nato secretary general Mark Rutte on April 8 for what Rutte described as a “very frank, very open” discussion. The pair are reported to have discussed the US-Israeli war against Iran at which, according to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, Trump believes that Nato was “tested and they failed”.

The president later posted to his Truth Social platform that “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN.”

The US president’s meeting with Rutte came a week after he told Reuters press agency that he was “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from Nato, after America’s allies refused to join the US-Israeli campaign against Iran. But this is very unlikely to occur for three reasons.

First, in 2023, Congress enacted a law that prohibits the president from “suspending, terminating, denouncing, or withdrawing the United States from the North Atlantic Treaty” — which established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) — without the advice and consent of the Senate or an act of Congress. It is extremely unlikely that this will be changed before the midterm elections in November and impossible subsequently if the Democrats end up controlling the House of Representatives.

The second reason is that Nato membership is popular among Americans. A Pew survey conducted in 2025 showed that 66% of US respondents thought that America benefited from Nato membership while 32% thought the opposite. While, as in many things, the US is divided – with more Democrat voters (77%) supporting Nato membership than Republicans (45%) – it’s clear that, on the whole, Americans approve of Nato membership.

The third reason is that leaving Nato would significantly weaken the US militarily. More than half a century of research by historians and international relations specialists has concluded that leaving Nato would also significantly weaken the US.

In 1989, historian Paul Kennedy’s detailed study of wars over a period of 500 years, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, found that a decisive feature of success in war is the resources that parties to the conflict can mobilise. Kennedy cites the examples of the two world wars and demonstrates that a key reason why Germany was defeated was that the allies could mobilise many more resources in manpower, arms production and economic assets than Germany and its allies. Eventually, this proved decisive in both conflicts.

Research into quantifying the military capacity of nations has been conducted for more than half a century as part of the Correlates of War project founded in 1963 by American political scientist J. David Singer. The project aims to systematically collect data about the causes and consequences of wars.

One of the datasets collected in the project is called the Composite Index of National Capability. This combines data on the demographic, industrial, economic and military capabilities of nations, including the US and China. The higher the index score the more resources a county has to fight wars.

Scores in the Composite Index of National Capability of the Top Nations

The chart shows the size of the index for the top countries in the database. China is the most powerful nation in the chart with a score of 23 on the index. The US comes a rather distant second with a score of 13.

There are five Nato nations in the chart in addition to the US. They are Germany, Turkey, the UK, France and Italy. The total score of all six Nato members is 20 – much closer to the Chinese total.

The chart does not include the scores for the remaining Nato member states, but when they are added to the total the Nato score is well above that of China. So the assumption that the US can go it alone in a war with China is doubtful.

How Article 5 works

Article 5 of the Nato charter stipulates that an armed attack against one member state is considered an attack against all, triggering collective defence by all the member states. A recent report by the US Naval War College concluded that: “A large and growing body of evidence suggests that the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) is preparing credible capabilities to invade Taiwan”. The report argued that extensive deception will be used by China to confuse its opponents when the war is launched with rapid action by its armed forces to create a fait accompli. It notes that this type of blitzkrieg attack is very often successful.

If this occurred, then since the US has military advisers in Taiwan and military assets in the region that would need to be neutralised in the first phase of the war if the invasion were to be successful this would trigger Article 5 of the Nato charter. In that case China would find itself at war with 32 Nato countries – not to mention countries in the Far East, such as Japan, Indonesia and Vietnam, who have serious concerns about Chinese aggression, but are not members of the alliance.

So, whatever the US president’s ambivalence towards Nato, the fact is that without its support, the US could face a humiliating defeat by China in a future confrontation over Taiwan. America is much stronger as part of Nato – and Trump’s advisers should be strenuously reinforcing that message.

It seems like a lot of devices, but Amazon told Engadget that the move will affect around three per cent of current users. In theory, if you’re using a device that’s affected, then Amazon should already have notified you via email. If in doubt, however, the company has a support page with pictures and specifications of every Kindle ever released. If you’re still unsure, entering the model number into Google should reveal the exact version you’re using. This can typically be found on the back of devices.

For Kindle Fire tablets, the process is simpler. Open the Settings menu and select “Device Options”. You’ll find the model you’re using either under “Device Model” or “About Fire Tablet”.

Why is this happening?

Nobody expects electronic devices to be supported forever, but it’s disappointing that the Kindle’s most enthusiastic early adopters are being cut off. Given the basic functionality of e-book reader technology, there doesn’t appear to be a technical reason behind the decision, making it appear like an anti-consumer move to push older customers towards the purchase of newer devices where existing Kindles would become an e-waste casualty.

When asked why these devices were losing support now, we received a response defending the (admittedly impressive) longevity.

“These models have been supported for at least 14 years – some as long as 18 years – but technology has come a long way in that time, and these devices will no longer be supported moving forward,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “We are notifying those still actively using them and offering promotions to help with the transition to newer devices.”

The promotions mentioned appear to be 20 per cent off “select new Kindle devices” alongside a £15 eBook credit. While the latter is welcome, the highlighted discount is somewhat disappointing for a number of reasons. Firstly, according to the promotion’s terms and conditions, the “select” caveat excludes the most expensive model, the Kindle Scribe. It doesn’t apply to Fire devices for those tablet owners looking to replace like-for-like, either.

More importantly, the prices aren’t all that impressive considering happy owners of older Kindles weren’t budgeting for this purchase. Amazon frequently discounts its own-brand devices like Echo smart speakers and Fire tablets, and 20 per cent isn’t that unusual. Last year’s Black Friday sale saw discounts of over 30 per cent on the basic Kindle and Kindle Colorsoft, and the price-tracking site CamelCamelCamel shows that the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition has been as low as £183 in the past – a 32 per cent discount on its current price of £269.

There’s added time pressure here, too. Amazon says that the discount and credit offer is only valid until June 20, one month after support for the older Kindles ends.

Additionally, owners of the earliest UK Kindle will see that prices have gone up over the past decade. The £109 they paid in 2010 is some way off the £159.99 Kindle Paperwhite, even with a 20 per cent discount, let alone the £219.99 Kindle Colorsoft. That said, at £94.99, the basic Kindle 12th Generation remains a bargain for no-frills readers, with a 20 per cent discount taking it down to £75.99.

Possible upgrades

If you’re affected by this news, the silver lining is that while e-book technology moves relatively slowly, things have still advanced significantly in the past 14 years. Resolutions are higher; most are backlit for bedtime reading; there’s support for audiobooks; and storage has increased. There are also optional extras like colour screens, blue-light filters to prevent eye strain and waterproofing.

As outlined in our guide to the best Kindles, our pick for most people is the 12th Generation Kindle Paperwhite, which costs £159.99 with lockscreen ads or £169.99 without. The seven inch screen with warm lighting makes for a comfortable reading experience, and it’s waterproof for bathtime or poolside reading.

At £94.99 (or £104.99 without ads), the basic 11th Generation Kindle is a great budget pick, however. It’s slightly smaller at six inches, and like the Paperwhite, can hold around 8,000 e-books with support for audiobooks through Audible. It lacks the warm light and waterproofing, however, and its battery life is around half that of the Paperwhite — albeit still a generous six weeks of normal use.

The two remaining Kindles occupy specific niches. The Kindle Colorsoft has a colour screen, making it well suited to those who enjoy graphic novels. The Kindle Scribe, meanwhile, has a bundled stylus for note taking.

Bronny James passed to parent LeBron for the first son-to-father assist in NBA history as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Golden State Warriors 119-103.

Bronny, 19, stole possession and passed to LeBron, who ran the length of the court for an uncontested dunk that was part of a 26-point contribution from the 41-year-old.

The pair recorded the first father-to-son assist in a match against the Brooklyn Nets last month.

LeBron also added 11 assists while Bronny scored 10 points with three assists as the Lakers saw off their state rivals.

The Lakers sit fourth in the Eastern Conference while the Warriors are in 10th, with both having already qualified for the post-season play-offs that begin on 18 April.

Elsewhere, the New York Knicks won 112-106 against the Boston Celtics, with Josh Hart scoring 26 points, to put pressure on their opponents in the Western Conference.

The sides are third and second respectively in the standings, with two matches left to play in the regular season.

The Toronto Raptors triumphed 128-114 against the Miami Heat while the Houston Rockets won 113-102 against Philadelphia 76ers to solidify their chances of a play-off place.

In matches between sides already out of post-season contention, the Chicago Bulls won 119-108 against the Washington Wizards while the Indiana Pacers beat the Brooklyn Nets 123-94.

The parent claimed it was “just a prank”

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Shocking images have emerged of a father allegedly abandoning his five‑year‑old son on a Mexico City street before driving away.

A police investigation is underway as officers say CCTV footage shows the man ordering the child out of a silver car in the Cuchilla de Padierna district, around 15 miles south of the capital’s centre. The vehicle is then seen pulling off as the boy, visibly upset, attempts to run after it.

Neighbours reported hearing the child cry out “Dad, don’t leave me” shortly after 9.15pm on Monday, and alerted authorities after witnessing the incident, according to The Mirror.

Police confronted the alleged father involved, to whom he claimed the whole thing was “just a prank”, adding that he was joking with his child. Still, his details, along with the child’s, were taken as part of a formal investigation by the Public Ministry.

When police tracked down the man’s car, they found the boy safe and sound inside. It is unclear where and when the pair reunited. Officials in Mexico City are understood to be exploring the case as a matter of potential child endangerment and psychological mistreatment, given the distress shown by the youngest during the ordeal.

Eyewitnesses and neighbours have been interviewed as part of the investigation and with local media, with one describing how they saw and heard an “alarming” scene unfold on Easter Monday. They added that they felt “rage” at the sight of the small child running helplessly in the middle of the street.

Now, the boy, who cannot be named due to his age, is currently being monitored by child protection services as officials determine if it is safe for him to remain in his father’s care.

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The man was spotted in a busy area where there were a number of children

Police have thanked members of the public for reporting a man armed with a machete in the Shankill Road area on Thursday evening.

Police received multiple 99 calls on the evening of April 9 regarding a man carrying a large machete at the Townsend Street and Shankill Road junction, with it being reported that there were a number of people in the area inlcuding children.

Officers arrived at the scene and disarmed the 40-year-old man and arrested him for Possession of an Offensive weapon and Simple drunk.

READ MORE: Man who skipped bail extradited from Germany to face NI courtREAD MORE: ‘Kids are out of control on e-scooters – someone is going to be killed’

As officers were leaving the scene, they spotted a white Volkswagen Golf being driven erratically in the Townsend Street area and stopped the vehicle and gave the driver a breath test. The 39-year-old was arrested for Driving with excess alcohol, Possession of an Offensive weapon, Disorderly behaviour and Possession of a Class B controlled drug.

A further evidence sample in custody found that the man was twice over the legal limit.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Road Policing Interceptors from Sprucefield were patrolling in the North Belfast area earlier this evening when several reports were received via 999 of a male in the area of Townsend Street and Shankill Road junction who was carrying a large machete, at this time, there were numerous people in the area, including children.

“Officers took decisive action to disarm the man and take control of him and the weapon.”

They added: “Once again thanks go out to those members of public who took time to ring Police to report the male with the Machete, their prompt actions have possibly prevented someone being injured and/or damage caused to property.”

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Bolton will see mostly cloudy conditions on Saturday, with showers at times through the day and limited brighter intervals.

Morning temperatures will start between 5C and 7C, rising to 10C to 12C by the afternoon, with a 50 to 70 per cent chance of rain during the middle of the day.

Showers are forecast to become more scattered by the early evening, and most areas are expected to dry out by late evening.

Winds will be light to moderate from the west or south-west, reaching speeds of 10 to 20 mph, with slightly stronger gusts possible during heavier showers.

Minimum temperatures overnight into Sunday will drop to between 4C and 6C, though it could feel cooler in clearer areas.

Sunday is expected to remain mostly cloudy and cool, but with fewer showers than the day before.

Daytime highs will reach only 9C to 11C, and overnight lows will fall to 3C to 5C.

Forecasters say that although there is a small chance of drizzle or light showers, most areas will stay dry for extended periods.

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks were mostly up Friday tracking Wall Street gains while oil prices also rose on the fragile Iran war ceasefire and ahead of Iran-U.S. ceasefire talks in Pakistan.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.8% to 5,879.71. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was up 1.6% to 56,789.58. Shares of Fast Retailing, parent of Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo, surged more than 10% after the group raised profit expectations for the year.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.7% to 25,919.12, while the Shanghai Composite index was 0.6% higher at 3,991.14. China on Friday reported that its consumer price index – a main inflation gauge – was up 1% in March compared with a year ago, lower than what analysts had expected and down from the 1.3% increase in February.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4%. Taiwan’s Taiex rose 1.3%, while India’s Sensex gained 0.7%.

Talks between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad for a possible permanent ceasefire agreement in the Iran war are expected to take place starting Saturday, with U.S. Vice President JD Vance leading the delegation for the United States.

But ahead of the talks, deadly Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday raised questions whether the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war is still intact, while the Islamic Republic maintained control over the Strait of Hormuz, which is largely closed despite demands from the U.S. to reopen the waterway critical for global oil and gas transport.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had authorized talks with Lebanon, with negotiations said to be expected in Washington next week.

Oil was up modestly on Friday. Brent crude, the international standard, was 0.5% higher at $96.42 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude was up 0.4% to $98.28 a barrel.

For oil prices, “$65-70 a barrel is not coming back,” Ajay Rajadhyaksha of Barclays wrote in a recent research note, referring to the pre-Iran war oil price levels. The bank predicts that Brent crude could remain at around $85 per barrel on average for this year.

“A ceasefire is not a refund,” he wrote. “Ceasefires end wars; they don’t undo them.”

On Thursday, Wall Street gained on hopes of the Iran war ceasefire. The S&P 500 added 0.6% to 6,824.66. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.6% to 48,185.80, while the Nasdaq composite gained 0.8% to 22,822.42.

Shares of Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and Corona beers in the U.S., jumped 8.5% following better-than-expected quarterly results. Cloud services provider CoreWeave was 3.5% higher after announcing an expanded deal with Meta Platforms through 2032. Meta was up 2.6%.

In other dealings, gold and silver prices fell. Gold’s price lost 0.5% to $4,791.90 an ounce, while silver prices dropped 0.6% to $76.02 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose to 159.18 Japanese yen from 158.96 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1694, down from $1.1699.

___

AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.

Horse racing legend Rachael Blackmore is backing Henry de Bromhead to produce his second Grand National winner in Saturday’s marquee race.

Blackmore wrote her name into the Aintree festival record books five years ago, becoming the first female Grand National winner aboard the De Bromhead-trained Minella Times.

That victory was also De Bromhead’s first triumph in the iconic National Hunt race, but Blackmore believes the Irish trainer could well double that tally at the weekend with 16/1 hopeful Monty’s Star.

The nine-year-old gelding showed promise in the Irish Gold Cup earlier this year, and Blackmore believes he has all the components to thrive in amongst the chaos of a 34-horse Grand National race.

‘Henry has an incredible record bringing his horses to Cheltenham and Aintree, and the year I won it, he had the 1-2 in the race,’ Blackmore, a Betfair ambassador, told Metro.

‘I was third on it two years ago on Minella Indo. So he’s a great record in the race, and I think Monty’s Star has a nice profile coming into it. 

‘I think he’ll enjoy the ground over there. He’s a fantastic jumper, and I think he could run a big race. 

‘Henry doesn’t bring anything over if he doesn’t think they have a big chance, and this horse has grade one form.

‘He was second to Fact To File in Cheltenham. He’s had a little setback after that run, but he seems to be back. He had a good run this year, and I think he’ll enjoy the ground. He’ll enjoy a lot about what the Grand National is about, and I think he could run a big race.’

Should Monty’s Star come out on top, he will have to get the better of the pre-race favourite I Am Maximus, who is bidding for a second Grand National triumph after victory in 2024 and a second-place finish last year.

Blackmore: ‘I can still remember 2021 win like it was yesterday’

‘It does not feel like five years ago, that makes me feel so old,’ Blackmore joked when reminiscing about her 2021 triumph.

‘When you win a Grand National, you feel so part of the race. There have been so many winners since, but it still feels like yesterday.

‘It was an amazing day and I’m glad I still have lots of visual memories and feelings. I can still remember what it felt like, and that’s special. 

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‘I really enjoyed the race. He got into such a good rhythm. He jumped really well. We seemed to avoid the trouble that was in front of us. The race just flowed so well. 

‘I can still remember what it felt like to go down over the jumps, and I felt like I was meeting them all on a good stride. Those kinds of memories, those flashes of just what it was like to be in the race, I can still remember those, and they’re just great.’

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‘I think he has got an extremely good record over there, obviously,’ she said of the favourite. Paul [Townend] knows how to get the best out of him, and if he can get a bit of luck going around, I think he’ll be bang there again.’

Asked who else could be in the running, Blackmore added: ‘I think Grangeclare West is in a similar boat. He ran fantastically last year.

‘He made a little mistake at the last, and that just cost him a bit of momentum.

‘In the manner in which Nick Rockett won, I don’t know if he’d have been able to get past him, but he’s coming into the race after winning the same race that Nick Rockett won last year before he ran, so he’s had a nice prep for the race, and I think he goes there with his chance.’

Blackmore, though, would not be lining up to put her money on Iroko, who has drifted down the odds list to 10/1, having been the ante-post favourite for the race only a few months ago.

‘He’s in the right and they wouldn’t be running him if they didn’t think he was going to have his chance,’ she said. ‘But he’s going to have to show a bit more, I think, to really contend.’

Given the big field, the huge fences and distance of well over four miles, predicting a winner at the Grand National can always prove a difficult task, and Blackmore encouraged first-time punters to lean into the intangibles for a race of this nature.

‘For the Grand National, it’s just so different,’ she insisted. ‘I think you’re as well off picking a horse that just has something about it that you like, you know what I mean?

‘I think if you’re at the races, then you’re seeing what horses are looking relaxed going around the parade ring, taking it all in and not getting too hot and bothered.

‘But the National is just a hard one to nail anything down to, so pick someone you want to cheer on. Pick someone you want to win.’

Rachael Blackmore was speaking ahead of the Aintree Grand National Festival, play different at the Grand National this year with Betfair.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Negotiators from Iran and the United States prepared Friday for high-level talks planned to start a day later in Islamabad, seeking to steady a ceasefire teetering over Israel and Hezbollah exchanging fire and Tehran’s chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance was set to take off from Washington, with Iran still remaining mum over its team as it tried to pressure Washington to halt Israeli attacks in Lebanon. The semiofficial Tasnim news agency, close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, claimed that talks would “remain suspended” otherwise.

Meanwhile, Kuwait said it faced a drone attack Thursday night that it blamed on Iran and its militia allies in the region. Though Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard denied launching any assault, it has in the past carried out attacks across the Mideast it did not claim.

In addition to talks in Iran, Israel-Lebanon negotiations are also expected to begin next week at the State Department in Washington — a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts — according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the delicacy of the matter.

This came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that he has authorized direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbors.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Netanyahu later stressed that there was no ceasefire between them. Israel’s announcement of negotiations with Lebanon comes amid disagreement over whether the ceasefire deal included a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and a day after Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began Feb. 28.

The talks in Washington are expected to be handled on the American side by the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, and on the Israeli side by the Israeli ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, according to the person familiar with the planning.

The Lebanese government had not responded as of Friday morning, and it was not immediately clear who would represent Lebanon. The timing and location of the talks was first reported by Axios.

After declaring victory with the ceasefire announcement, both Iran and the U.S. have appeared to apply pressure on each other. Semiofficial news agencies in Iran suggested forces have mined the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil that Tehran has closed. Trump warned that U.S. forces would hit Iran harder than before if it did not fulfill the agreement.

Late Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the ceasefire, writing on his social media platform: “Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz.”

“That is not the agreement we have!” Trump wrote of the trickle of ships Iran has allowed to pass through the crucial waterway.

Underlining Iran’s continued control of the strait, a Botswana-flagged liquefied natural gas tanker attempted to travel out of the Persian Gulf via a route ordered by the Revolutionary Guard, but suddenly turned around and headed back early Friday, ship-tracking data showed.

Saudi Arabia said recent attacks have damaged a key pipeline in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s state-run Saudi Press Agency, quoting an anonymous official, said its crucial East-West pipeline, which carries oil out to the Red Sea and avoids the Strait of Hormuz, was damaged in the recent attacks.

Questions also remained over what will happen to Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium at the heart of tensions, how and when normal traffic will resume through the strait, and what happens to Iran’s ability to launch future missile attacks and support armed proxies in the region.

Israel vows to continue striking Hezbollah in Lebanon

Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, warned in a social media post Thursday that continued Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon would bring “explicit costs and STRONG responses.”

Qalibaf has been discussed as a possible negotiator who could meet Vance in Islamabad. The White House has said Vance would lead the delegation for talks starting Saturday.

Trump said Thursday that he has asked Netanyahu to dial back the strikes in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s health ministry said more than 300 people were killed and more than 1,100 wounded Wednesday by Israeli strikes on central Beirut and other areas of Lebanon that Israel said targeted Hezbollah, which joined the war in support of Tehran.

Early Friday morning, Israel’s military said it struck approximately 10 launchers in Lebanon that had fired rockets toward northern Israel on Thursday.

Threat of mines looms over the strait

Four tankers and three bulk carriers crossed through the strait Thursday, bringing the total number of ships passing through since the ceasefire to at least 12, according to the data firm Kpler.

Semiofficial news agencies in Iran published a chart Thursday suggesting the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard put sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz during the war — a message that may be intended to pressure the U.S.

The chart, released by the ISNA news agency and Tasnim, showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the route ships take through the strait, through which 20% of all traded oil and natural gas once passed.

The head of the United Arab Emirates’ major oil company, Sultan al-Jaber, said some 230 ships loaded with oil were waiting to get through the strait and must be allowed “to navigate this corridor without condition.”

The strait’s de facto closure has caused oil prices to skyrocket — affecting the cost of gasoline, food and other basics far beyond the Middle East. The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was around $96 Friday, up about 35% since the war began.

___

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong, Zeke Miller, Matthew Lee and Will Weissert in Washington, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Kareem Chehayeb and Hussein Malla in Beirut contributed to this report.