Tag: Al Jazeera

The shooting in Erie, Pennsylvania happened on Friday, according to state officials.

Nine people were killed Friday in a shooting in the US state of Pennsylvania, according to Governor Josh Shapiro. Police said the suspected shooter was among the nine dead.

Local media reported that two children were also among those killed at a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, which is 188 kilometres (117 miles) north of Pittsburgh.

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Police in the city of Erie were called Friday around 5:00pm local time (21:00 GMT) to reports of shots fired and discovered two women dead in the street, the Erie News Now outlet said.

The attacker barricaded himself inside the home as police surrounded the building and ordered him to exit.

More gunshots were heard during the standoff, Erie News Now reported.

When police eventually entered the building, they found several more victims around the home, including the two children. The deceased attacker had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the outlet said, citing police.

Erie News Now said that police officers who responded to the scene were being offered counselling over the horrifying incident.

“I have not seen anything like this in my 28-plus years,” Erie Police Chief Rick Lorah told a local news station on Saturday. “I’m not sure that the city of Erie has ever seen the loss of life and the devastation that we just witnessed.”

Lorah declined to provide more details but said the circumstances of the shooting were “deeply disturbing”.

Shapiro said Saturday he offered his administration’s “full support” to Erie Mayor Daria Devlin.

Mass shootings occur frequently in the United States, where guns vastly outnumber the population and efforts to increase firearm restrictions face steep political and legal hurdles.

United States President Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to replace Volodymyr Zelenskyy, lashing out at the Ukrainian leader for strikes on Russian oil refineries that have contributed to high global diesel prices.

The criticism on Saturday came as tensions between the US and Ukraine have risen after Trump announced a diesel supply deal with Russia.

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The steep rise in global fuel prices, which followed the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran, has become a political liability for Trump’s Republican Party as it heads into next month’s midterm elections, in which opposition Democrats could gain control of one or both houses of Congress.

“I think it’s ⁠time for Ukraine to get a new president,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying Zelenskyy had hurt global diesel supplies with strikes on Russian refineries.

“He wants to make problems for our farmers, our ranchers with diesel fuel because Russia supplies a large portion of the diesel fuel throughout the world,” Trump said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, however, defended Zelenskyy in a post on X.

“He has the support of the Ukrainian people, and they have the right to decide,” Sybiha wrote. “Statements from abroad only confirm that he is doing his job well. He deserves support.”

Trump, who has been urging Zelenskyy to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure for weeks, struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to buy diesel from Russia in an attempt to reduce high fuel prices.

The deal marked a stunning reversal of years of Washington’s pressure on Russia over its full scale invasion of Ukraine.

Trump has sought to blame record-high US diesel prices on Ukraine rather than the US-led war in Iran.

Mass casualty attacks

The US-Russia deal drew a furious reaction from Zelenskyy, who said it had emboldened Moscow. He linked the agreement with ⁠a Russian attack on Saturday that killed 20 people, including three children, in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.

“Today, Russia said thank you for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia,” Zelenskyy said.

“Last night provided yet more confirmation that Russia perceives any easing of pressure as a signal that it can supposedly keep fighting, that it can supposedly keep dropping bombs on cities,” he said. “Different signals are needed.”

The Zaporizhzhia assault was the third mass-casualty attack on Ukraine in four days.

Nearly 80 ⁠civilians were killed in Russian strikes on Wednesday and Thursday, including at least 30 killed by a bomb in the eastern garrison city of ⁠Kramatorsk and 22 others by a missile in the town of Pryluky, about 130km (80 miles) east of Kyiv.

Trump’s announcement about the diesel deal was in stark contrast to a sweeping Russia sanctions law he signed last month aimed at clamping down on Moscow’s oil and gas revenues that fuel the war against Ukraine.

He announced the deal amid talks between Ukrainian and European officials with US negotiators in Miami, Florida, on Friday, which were aimed at developing ⁠a common proposal for ending the war, according to the Reuters news agency.

In his remarks at the White House, Trump criticised Zelenskyy over the lack of a peace deal while demanding an end to Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities.

“I said to him, ‘Do what you want. Don’t hit refineries. There’s plenty of targets. Don’t ‌hit ‌refineries.’ And he went out and he hit,” Trump said. “He better damn well stop.”

“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals, but for some reason, he never does,” Trump added.

The diesel deal was criticised by US lawmakers, including one of Trump’s fellow Republicans, Representative Don Bacon, who said it was time to apply more sanctions that Congress had recently passed, not roll them back.

Ukraine’s European allies have also expressed dismay at the Russian deal and said they stood by their commitment to sanctions.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke with Zelenskyy on Saturday and said London would strengthen its sanctions on Russia, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said every additional $1bn Russia earns from exports would help pay for weapons components, drone upgrades, missile production and the recruitment of mercenaries and Moscow would only be ready to stop when its ability to fight diminished.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine was coordinating steps to counter the extra revenue Russia will receive and he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about shoring up Ukraine’s air defences.

He went on to warn of an increased risk of further missile strikes in the coming days.

Zelenskyy also said he had discussed the developments with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Ukraine would receive ammunition in the coming days for the F-16 fighter jets used to intercept Russia’s Shahed drones.

Fresh off final game with Argentina, Messi leads Miami vs DC United in Major League Soccer in the United States.

Lionel Messi said his farewell to ‌the Argentina national team earlier this week when he played his final match ⁠for the three-time world champions, ending a 21-year international career.

Messi’s ⁠next task will be to break Inter Miami out of their five-match winless streak in Major League Soccer (MLS) when they host DC United on ⁠Saturday.

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Inter Miami (12-5-10, 46 points) sit in third place in the Eastern Conference despite being tied in points with New England, as the Revolution hold the tiebreaker with 14 ⁠wins so far.

DC United (6-8-12, 30 points) are in 11th place and need a victory, as they are three points behind the final playoff spot in the conference.

Inter Miami won the Campeones Cup on September 16 in their first match under recently hired coach Kily Gonzalez, but ‌they drew with San Diego and lost 2-1 at Columbus last Sunday in two league matches since.

Messi has been stellar once again this season, with 21 goals and 13 assists in league play as he chases his third consecutive MLS MVP award, but Miami will need more contributors as it has won only once in its last 10 league matches.

“Leo is a person who every day conveys it ⁠and passes it on to his teammates, and he demands from ⁠all of us that you have to be at 100% in every way,” Gonzalez said on Friday.

DC United are also looking to break a three-match winless streak ⁠and win their first match since September 9.

They lost their first match against Miami, 2-1, on March 7 in Baltimore, in a game where Messi and Rodrigo De Paul each scored.

On Tuesday, Messi delivered ‌one last masterclass in the blue and white of Argentina as its most decorated player and captain, by scoring one goal and setting up two others in a 3-0 friendly match against Benin.

The 39-year-old’s final bow came in front of more than 85,000 fans at a packed ⁠Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.

Messi left as the country’s most-capped player (208) and record scorer, having transformed years of frustration on the international stage ‌into ‌a story of World Cup and Copa America triumphs.

The trial in Baja California revealed chilling details of the triple homicide of the surfers.

A Mexican judge found three men guilty of the murders of two Australian brothers and their American friend in April 2024 in the Mexican state of Baja California.

The trial for the triple homicide that shocked Mexico and drew international attention concluded Friday after Judge Raul Hernandez in the coastal city of Ensenada ruled that Jesus Gerardo Garcia, alias “El Kekas”, Irineo Francisco “N,” and Angel Jesus “N” were responsible for the murders of Australians Callum and Jake Robinson, aged 30 and 33, respectively, and American Carter Redd Rhoad, 30.

The defendants, who had been in custody for more than two years, were also found guilty of armed robbery and armed carjacking.

“Today’s guilty verdict is a significant moment in our long and painful journey to seek justice for our beautiful sons, Callum and Jake, and their friend Carter Rhoad, whose lives were so cruelly taken from them in 2024,” said father Martin Robinson.

The three travelled to Baja California in April 2024 to surf and camped near the coastal city of Ensenada, but shortly after arriving in the town of Punta San Jose, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Ensenada, they were reported missing. Their bodies were found on May 3 in a well, all with gunshot wounds to their heads.

Garcia, identified as the perpetrator of the murders, was arrested in May 2024 in connection to the case, along with his ex-partner Ary Gisell Silva Raya, Francisco, and Jesus.

During the monthlong trial, chilling details of the brutal crime were revealed. Silva Raya testified last month during a hearing that Garcia confessed to her that he arrived at the tent where the foreigners were staying with a 9mm pistol.

Upon seeing him, they began throwing their belongings to prevent him from attacking them, and one of them begged for his life, which the assailant ignored, she said.

She said Garcia had bragged about “how beautifully” the victims cried and about items he robbed from them.

The state prosecutor’s office reported that Silva Raya arrived in Punta San Jose on April 27, 2024, where she met the three foreigners and “instigated one of her companions to rob them”, which they did the following day.

The woman, who was found in possession of one of the victims’ cellphones, was sentenced in November 2025 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to “aggravated robbery with violence” and “vehicle theft with violence” in an expedited proceeding. However, Garcia and his two accomplices decided to go to trial.

Baja California is one of Mexico’s most violent states, plagued by organised crime and drug trafficking, although cartel activity does not usually affect tourists.

The judge will announce the final sentence on October 16. The Baja California State Attorney General’s Office requested for each defendant the “exemplary sentence” of 210 years in prison.

“No outcome can ever undo this tragedy, but we hope today marks an important step towards justice and allows us to continue honoring their lives and the extraordinary young men they were,” said Martin Robinson. “They will never be forgotten.”

Storm damage stretches across Florida and Alabama as officials warn of continued flooding and possible tornadoes.

Hurricane Isaias, the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season, has killed at least four people and left hundreds of thousands of customers without power across the southeastern United States.

The storm made landfall near Destin, Florida, on Friday evening as a Category 2 hurricane before weakening as it moved inland through Alabama overnight.

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Two people died in Alabama, and two died in Florida. Local authorities said one death in Florida was caused by trees falling during the storm.

Isaias hit land with sustained winds of 169km/h (105mph), bringing powerful gusts and heavy rain to the Florida Panhandle. By Saturday morning, the storm had weakened to a post-tropical cyclone with wind speeds of about 55km/h (35mph).

More than 900,000 electricity customers in Florida, Alabama and Georgia were without power early Saturday morning. That number has since gone down to less than 700,000, according to PowerOutage.us.

Fallen trees and downed power lines caused widespread disruption, while flooding forced road closures in parts of southern Alabama, including Houston County. Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said on Saturday morning that her team was concerned about “strong winds, heavy rain and possible spinoff tornadoes”.

Local officials in Pensacola, Florida reported strong winds that damaged an airport and tore the roof off a hotel. Trees and power lines also came down across the city, leaving some residents without electricity and roads blocked.

Despite the storm’s weakening, officials warned that dangerous conditions could persist. Heavy rainfall threatened flash flooding across parts of the Southeast.

“The flooding story is not over,” DeSantis said on Saturday, warning that saturated ground and continued rainfall could cause dangerous flooding a day or two after the storm passed. He said state search and rescue resources would remain available in case rapidly rising waters required emergency rescues.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also warned residents to be alert for contractors seeking to exploit storm victims as homeowners begin repairing damaged properties.

The US Energy Department announced on Saturday that it will release up to four million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as an emergency exchange meant to address the disruption of supply caused by Hurricane Isaias.

“With this emergency exchange, the Energy Department is acting swiftly to help maintain refinery operations, limit disruptions to fuel supplies, and ensure American families and businesses continue to have access to affordable, reliable, and secure energy,” Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a statement.

Pike survived two doses of lethal-injection drugs on September 30, renewing scrutiny of capital punishment.

Christa Pike has been discharged from hospital and returned to a Tennessee women’s prison after surviving the US state’s attempt to execute her by lethal injection, her lawyers said on Saturday.

The 50-year-old is back in the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center where she had been incarcerated for 30 years. She had been in hospital since September 30 when officials administered two doses of pentobarbital in an attempt to execute her.

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Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 beating and stabbing of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer.

Her lawyers said she was continuing to receive medical care in prison and that they would monitor her recovery. They also expressed gratitude to the first responders and medical team who treated her.

The failed execution has drawn attention to the US death penalty as a separate controversy unfolds over the military’s plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan. The former army psychiatrist was convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. His execution is scheduled for December 3.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s announcement on Thursday of the livestream drew criticism, even from some supporters of capital punishment. Vice President JD Vance questioned on Friday whether it would happen and said he would not watch. In a social media post, Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the proposal “beyond disgusting”.

Archbishop Paul S Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, also condemned the plan, calling it “a barbaric promotion of a culture of death”.

In Tennessee, however, Pike’s failed execution has not prompted Republican legislators to reconsider capital punishment. Instead, some have discussed alternative methods, including the electric chair and firing squads.

Support for the death penalty in the US has declined from its peak in the 1990s. Ten states have abolished capital punishment since Pike was sentenced in 1996, but executions continue nationwide.

Thirty people have been executed in the US this year, with eight more scheduled, mostly in Texas and Florida.

A Pew Research Center poll in July found that about two-thirds of US adults considered the death penalty morally justified for people convicted of murder. But roughly six in 10 said it did not deter crime, while about seven in 10 said there was some risk of an innocent person being executed.

Rising fuel prices push Delta’s annual fuel expenses up by $6bn, affecting its profit outlook for 2026.

Delta Air Lines cut its profit forecast despite heightened demand as fuel costs surge across the air travel sector.

The Atlanta-based air carrier said in its third-quarter earnings report released on Friday that it expects its annual fuel costs to jump by $6bn, as ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran have sent fuel prices surging across the global aviation sector.

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Overall, US airlines spent nearly $43bn on fuel in the first eight months of the year, a $13.2bn increase from the same period a year earlier.

On Wall Street, Delta cut its earnings outlook for the year to adjusted earnings per share of $5.10 to $5.60, down from its July forecast of $6.50 to $7.50. The midpoint of the new range is below analysts’ average estimate of $5.46, according to LSEG data.

Delta’s stock tumbled in midday trading as the trading week came to a close. It was down 1.1 percent from Friday’s opening price. While the stock has fallen 4.4 percent over the past five days, it has performed well in 2026, gaining nearly 18 percent since the beginning of the year.

CEO Ed Bastian said the airline had raised prices by roughly 20 percent this year and said those prices could be sustained even if fuel prices decline.

Delta Air Lines is the first of the major US airlines to report earnings and is generally more protected from price fluctuations than its competitors because it owns a refinery in Pennsylvania, which it acquired in 2012.

Despite higher prices, demand remains elevated, with 60 percent of flights in the fourth quarter already booked. Delta also announced several new international routes, including Seattle–Tokyo, Japan and Boston–Venice, Italy, as well as Austin-Paris, France, all beginning next year.

Bastian told the Wall Street Journal that holiday bookings also remain strong and that premium travel is growing, with premium seat revenue jumping 18 percent for the quarter compared with the same period last year.

Broadly speaking, premium flights can be a boon for major airlines, and prices in the segment are rising. Average ticket prices for premium seats across major airlines were up 11 percent compared with the same period last year, according to the Airline Reporting Corporation’s monthly report, which tracks airline ticket transactions.

But lower-income consumers are pulling back. US consumer sentiment is slumping, according to the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, which released its Consumer Sentiment Index on Friday.

“Overall, sentiment for lower-income consumers and those with smaller stock portfolios dropped steeply this month, groups that have fewer resources to weather increases in prices,” Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers, said in the release.

Delta’s report comes as the US summer travel season draws to a close, following reports that lower-income travellers would pull back amid rising prices. In May, 51 percent of Americans earning less than $100,000 annually said travel would be one of the first expenses they would cut, according to a report from consulting firm Deloitte.

United Airlines is the next major carrier expected to report earnings, with results slated for after the market close on October 20. Like Delta, United’s stock was down on Wall Street, falling 0.8 percent from Friday’s opening price.

The role has been vacant since former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt left in August.

Conservative commentator Katie Zacharia has been selected as US President Donald Trump’s next press secretary.

Trump confirmed Zacharia’s selection in a social media post on Friday, calling the California native a “devoted fan and member of MAGA”.

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“I am confident that Katie will deliver strong results for our Country as the next White House Press Secretary, as she has the respect of, and will work fantastically with, the Media, the American People, and my Administration,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

In a post praising Trump for selecting her, Zacharia said it was the “honor of a lifetime” to be named to the role.

“The work ahead is to continue delivering strong results for our Country and communicating to the American people the major wins that this Administration is making every single day”, she wrote on X. “I look forward to working with the White House press corps, and with reporters across the country, to get that record out.”

Zacharia’s selection comes as Trump has launched an unprecedented effort to restrict US media outlets’ access to his administration and the White House.

A US federal judge on Thursday temporarily extended his block on Trump’s order last month that barred CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. The judge said the decision would be revisited next week.

Zacharia, according to her LinkedIn profile, is a senior communications adviser to Trump Media and Technology Group, which operates the president’s social media platform Truth Social. Her profile also states she was previously employed as a commentator for conservative US media outlets, including Newsmax and Fox News, before joining the Trump administration in February 2026 as an official at the US Department of Homeland Security.

Zachariah first came to Washington in 2006, when she held intern roles at the Republican National Committee and in the White House under former US President George W Bush, the profile says.

Earlier on Friday, a White House source told Al Jazeera the position had “been offered” to Zacharia.

The White House press secretary role has been vacant since August, when its previous holder, Karoline Leavitt, resigned to spend more time with her family.

The United States has imposed a new set of sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC), prompting several countries – including US allies – to condemn the move and reiterate their support for the world’s war crimes tribunal.

On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington would be banning transactions with the “rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate”, adding that President Donald Trump would “never allow” the Hague to prosecute Americans.

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The ICC was created in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when national authorities are unable or unwilling to do so.

The US Treasury Department announced the penalties with a six-month initial grace period and other exemptions that would allow some transactions for telecommunications, software, pension payments and transactions related to detainees.

Rubio said the sanctions would give the court and its member states an opportunity to address US concerns and would be adjusted if they did not meet those demands.

The Trump administration says the court has exceeded its authority by pursuing officials from countries that are not ICC members, such as Israel. The United States and Israel have never joined the court.

In response to the sanctions, the ICC said that the move was an “assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order”. It called on its 125 member states to defend the institution.

“The Court cannot stand alone. Its fate now rests also in the hands of the states that created it,” the ICC said in a statement. “This is not just about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the international order grounded upon the rule of law. History will judge this moment.”

The Trump administration sanctioned more than a dozen judges and prosecutors before issuing sanctions on the court itself Friday.

Allies ‘regret and disagree’ with US move

Soon after the US announcement, top United Nations officials condemned the move.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “deeply alarmed” by the expected impact of the sanctions on the court as a whole, particularly its ability to carry out its mandate, a statement from his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

“Today’s decision marks a serious blow to our collective pursuit of international criminal justice, of which the ICC is a key pillar,” the statement added.

UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk called for immediate measures to protect the ICC. “These sanctions – the latest in a series of retaliatory steps against the ICC and its personnel for the work they do every day to advance accountability for the very worst violations of human rights – are unacceptable,” he said.

ICC member states that are US allies also expressed dismay at the decision.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, whose country hosts the ICC, said the US’s decision was “deeply regrettable”.

“We will stand firm in defence of the court. At the same time, it’s important to note that the sanctions will not take effect immediately and that service providers can continue to work for the ICC. The six-month period before the sanctions take effect creates scope for dialogue,” he said.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada and Japan said they “regret and strongly disagree” with the sanctions.

“If put into effect, these sanctions will have a significant impact on the Court’s work, its dedicated staff and their families … We remain both united in our support for the ICC and committed to engaging in constructive and inclusive dialogue with non-States Parties,” they said.

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot also said Brussels would discuss support for the ICC with European Union foreign affairs colleagues on Monday and at the upcoming European Council.

“We will press for concrete protection. The court’s independence cannot depend on whom it investigates. Europe must act. Belgium is calling for the activation of the EU Blocking Statute to protect the court,” Prevot said.

US aims to ‘ultimately destroy’ ICC

Similarly, organisations and rights groups sounded the alarm over the implications of the US decision.

Philippe Bolopion, executive director of US-based Human Rights Watch, said the Trump administration had made clear its aim to “destroy” the ICC and “shield US and Israeli officials from facing charges before the court”.

“The ICC was created to ensure that no one, no matter how powerful, is above the law. Governments that value human rights and accountability should condemn this outrageous move and take swift action to protect the ICC, its staff, and all those who cooperate with it, starting with the European Union using its laws to mitigate the sanctions’ impact in the region,” he said.

The Executive Director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, James Goldston, said the sanctions were a “calculated attack on the rule of law and the principles of judicial independence and equality that underpin it.”

“This is the latest move in a campaign of coercion intended to destroy the system of international justice,” he said.

Amnesty International called on countries to “resist”. Trump’s “sanctions are designed to isolate and ultimately destroy the International Criminal Court”, Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty’s senior director for research, policy, advocacy and campaigns, said in a statement. “This existential attack must fail. States must take concrete action to resist the imposition of these measures.”

Amid widespread criticism, Israel commended the US move.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the sanctions and praised Trump and Rubio for taking this “critical decision”.

“The ICC is not a court. It is a political body that poses a mortal threat to law-abiding democracies worldwide and to the very idea of national sovereignty,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

In 2024 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on war crimes and crimes against humanity charges for the war on Gaza.

Russia to supply 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, followed by 1.5 million more, as prices soar amid the Iran war.

United States President Donald Trump said that Russia has agreed to supply 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to global markets amid discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the American and global marketplace, another 500,000 tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 tons immediately thereafter,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

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The president added that Russia would deliver an additional 3 million tonnes of fuel “within a short period of time”. He said that the country would supply 500,000 tonnes in November.

An envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, praised cooperation between Russia and the United States on diesel and energy in a post on X shortly after.

“Russia-US cooperation on diesel and energy will benefit the world,” Dmitriev wrote on X.

Putin-Trump call

The Kremlin said Putin told Trump in a phone call on Friday that Russia was ready “to supply oil” to the US and world markets.

“The Russian side reaffirmed its readiness to supply oil and oil products to the American and world markets,” the Kremlin said regarding the talks.

The Kremlin said the call between Putin and Trump, which lasted an hour and half, covered large-scale economic initiatives, including Russian fuel supplies.

The read-out from Moscow said Trump welcomed Russia’s involvement in efforts to settle the war with Iran.

Earlier this week, Putin met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Turkmenistan and told him Russia would “do everything” to help end the war, Russian news agencies reported.

In a call on Wednesday, Putin told Pezeshkian that Moscow was prepared to mediate, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency.

Putin told Trump that Russia would consider when to resume peace talks, the Kremlin said. It added that both leaders were interested in taking part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China in November.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Trump warmly congratulated Putin on his birthday during the call and wished him success and wellbeing.

Petrol price pressures

The deal comes despite Ukrainian air strikes, which have taken more than half of the country’s oil refining capacity offline, according to claims made by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence on Sunday.

The latest announcement comes a week after the G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels amid pressure from the White House.

The move also comes as prices of diesel, used in agriculture, heating homes and trucking goods, are near record highs ahead of the November 3 congressional elections that will determine control of Congress.

Diesel prices have been elevated in recent months but have started to decline. The average price for a gallon is $6.27 ($1.66 per litre), according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which tracks daily petrol prices. That’s down $0.10 from this time last week, but up $5.94 from this time one month ago.

Diesel prices, which can drive inflation, are up 70 percent since the US and Israel’s war on Iran began this year, despite two high-profile recent moves by Trump to boost supplies of the fuel: pressuring allies ‌‌to release emergency reserves and expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel, which is normally used for farm equipment.

The wars in Iran and Ukraine have triggered an unprecedented global fuel supply crunch.