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LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday resisted demands he resign over revelations that his scandal-tainted pick for U.K. ambassador to Washington was appointed despite failing security checks.

Starmer says he was not informed that the Foreign Office had overruled the recommendation of security officials in early 2025 not to give Peter Mandelson the job. Many considered Mandelson a risky appointment because of his past friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The top Foreign Office civil servant, Olly Robbins, took the fall for the decision and resigned late Thursday.

Starmer said he was “absolutely furious” that he had been kept in the dark, calling it staggering” and “unforgivable.” He said he would “set out all the relevant facts in true transparency” to Parliament on Monday.

That’s unlikely to end the danger to the prime minister over his fateful decision to appoint Mandelson, a trade expert and elder statesman of the governing Labour Party, as envoy to the Trump administration. It was a calculated risk that backfired spectacularly, and could bring down the prime minister.

Opposition politicians expressed disbelief that Starmer could have been unaware Mandelson had failed security vetting. Starmer’s office said he only found out this week.

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, said Friday that “the recommendation was to not appoint Peter Mandelson to the role,” and that the Foreign Office ignored it. He said that was “astonishing,” but within the rules.

He said no government minister had been told of the security assessment.

Jones said the checks, carried out by a department known as U.K. Security Vetting, “go through financial, personal, sexual, religious and other types of background information, and that is why it is kept extremely private on a portal that only a few people have access to.”

Opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said claims the prime minister didn’t know were “completely preposterous.”

“This story does not stack up. The prime minister is taking us for fools,” she told the BBC. “All roads lead to a resignation.”

Ed Davey, the leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer “must go” if he misled Parliament and lied to the British public.

Starmer has repeatedly insisted that “due process” was followed in the appointment, which was announced in December 2024. Mandelson took up the Washington post in February 2025, after undergoing security vetting.

Mandelson’s expertise as a former European Union trade chief was considered a major asset in trying to persuade the Trump administration not to slap heavy tariffs on British goods, and seemed to pay off when the countries struck a trade deal in May 2025.

But documents released by the government in March, after being forced to by Parliament, showed Starmer ignored red flags raised by his staff about the appointment. He was warned that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, exposed the government to “reputational risk.”

Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025 after evidence emerged that he had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.

The prime minister has apologized to the British public and to Epstein’s victims for believing what he has termed “Mandelson’s lies.”

Starmer’s premiership faced its biggest crisis in February after the release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the U.S. Department of Justice showed the closeness of Mandelson’s relationship with the financier, even after Epstein’s conviction in 2008 for sexual offenses involving a minor.

Emails between the men suggested Mandelson had passed on sensitive — and potentially market-moving — government information to Epstein in 2009, when he was a member of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government.

British police subsequently launched a criminal probe and searched Mandelson’s houses in London and western England. Mandelson was arrested on Feb. 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

He has been released without bail conditions as the police investigation continues. Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.

King Charles III’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, is also under police investigation over his friendship with Epstein. He, too, has been arrested but not charged.

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PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Small Balkan nation Kosovo says it wants to commit dozens of its security troops to an international force for Gaza because its appreciates what NATO-led peacekeepers have done for its own security since the 1998-99 conflict with Serbia.

Kosovo’s Parliament later on Friday is set to formally approve an earlier government decision to send the troops to the International Stabilization Force under a U.S.-backed initiative following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas last year.

The ISF is yet to deploy to help maintain peace and assist in rebuilding Gaza under U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, which Kosovo has joined. Indonesia, Albania and Kazakhstan are among other countries that have promised to participate in ISF.

In Kosovo, contributing to the international force is seen as proof of how far the country has come after declaring independence from Serbia in 2008, a split which Belgrade still does not recognize.

Belgrade’s brutal crackdown on Kosovo’s separatist rebels prompted a NATO intervention in 1999 that forced the Serb troops out of the territory and paved the way for the peacekeepers’ deployment under a KFOR mission.

“Our country has been a security consumer, meaning NATO countries have contributed to the security of the Republic of Kosovo,” Defense Minister Ejup Maqedonci told The Associated Press. “Today we are entering a phase where we are becoming a provider, or exporter, of security.”

Maqedonci said the Kosovo contingent will consist of several dozen officers, including from demining units. The troops will be tasked with providing humanitarian support, security assistance and other duties determined by the mandate of the Gaza force, Maqedonci added.

“We are currently in the final preparations phase” Maqedonci said. He said a U.S. representative has helped with the preparation, including vaccination of troops, issuing of visas and other technical arrangements.

Kosovo currently has a security force of some 4,000 personnel that is being trained to become a small, professional military aligned with NATO.

Musician Milot Hoxha, 43, hailed the plan to participate in the Gaza mission.

“We ourselves have gone through such a transition and every small help for us has been very significant,” he said. “I believe it will be the same for them, that any kind of help will be positive. I strongly support this decision.”

Tensions with Serbia have been simmering ever since the war, with occasional violent incidents. The European Union has mediated negotiations aimed at normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina but these efforts have stalled recently.

The United States and most EU countries have recognized Kosovo as an independent state, while Russia and China have backed Serbia’s claim on the territory.

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By Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – U.S. officials have informed European counterparts that some previously contracted weapons deliveries are likely to be delayed as the Iran war continues to draw on weapons stocks, three sources familiar with the matter said.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the communications were not public, said several European countries will be affected, including in the Baltic region and in Scandinavia.

Some of the weapons in question were purchased by European countries under the Foreign Military Sales program, or FMS, but have not yet been delivered, the sources added. Those deliveries will likely be delayed, the sources said.

The White House, Pentagon and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Don Durfee and Chizu Nomiyama)

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LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls Thursday to resign after it emerged that Peter Mandelson was initially denied security clearance for the post of ambassador to the United States, which he was eventually fired from over his close links to the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Following the revelation in the Guardian newspaper, the government said Starmer was not aware that the Foreign Office had overruled a security vetting process for Mandelson to become U.K. ambassador to Washington “until earlier this week.”

Starmer has previously insisted due process was followed in the appointment, and that Mandelson, who was fired in September 2025, had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.

Once Starmer was informed, a spokesperson for the government said the prime minister “immediately instructed officials to establish the facts about why the developed vetting was granted, in order to enact plans to update the House of Commons.”

Opposition lawmakers said Starmer should resign if he had misled Parliament.

Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the main opposition Conservative Party, said Starmer is “definitely in resigning territory,” while Ed Davey, the leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer “must go” if he misled Parliament and lied to the British public.

Starmer’s premiership faced its biggest crisis in February after the release of millions of pages of Epstein-related documents by the U.S. Justice Department showed the closeness of Mandelson’s relationship with Epstein.

In particular, Starmer’s political judgment was questioned after emails in Epstein files released by the U.S. government suggested Mandelson had passed on sensitive — and potentially market-moving — government information to the disgraced financier in 2009, when he was a member of the Labour government.

Starmer has repeatedly apologized to the British public and to the victims of Epstein’s sex trafficking for believing what he has termed “Mandelson’s lies.” Throughout his apologies, he has said both in and out of Parliament that the necessary vetting rules related to appointing someone to the plum job of U.S. ambassador were followed.

British police subsequently launched a criminal probe, searched Mandelson’s two houses in London and western England. Mandelson was arrested on Feb. 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released on bail the following morning after more than nine hours of questioning.

Mandelson, who has denied doing anything improper, has not been charged.

Days before Mandelson’s arrest, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, was also arrested on the same charge. Like Mandelson, King Charles III’s younger brother was a close associate of Epstein.

In late 2024, Starmer appointed Mandelson to the ambassador’s post, despite knowing of his previous relationship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. Mandelson’s trade expertise was considered a major asset in trying to persuade the Trump administration not to slap heavy tariffs on British goods, and seemed to pay off when the countries struck a trade deal a few months later.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September over an earlier revelation of his links to Epstein.

British documents released since the release of Epstein files, including some of those related to the vetting process, confirmed that Starmer chose Mandelson despite warnings that it could expose the government to “reputational risk.” The government says it will release a further trove of documents related to Mandelson’s appointment, after being forced to do so by Parliament.

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COTONOU, Benin (AP) — Benin ‘s Constitutional Court on Thursday confirmed the presidential election victory of Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni in the West African country’s weekend election.

Wadagni, 49, a political protege of outgoing President Patrice Talon, was declared the winner of Sunday’s election with 94.27% of the votes, with Paul Hounkpè, his opponent, garnering only 5.73%. The voter turnout was 63.57%, according to the court. The opposition candidate has five days to file any appeals before the court announces the final results.

Analysts had expected a huge win for Wadgani given the support of Talon, who is leaving office after ruling the country for 10 years. Talon has been accused of restricting the opposition leading up to the election.

Renaud Agbodjo, leader of the Democrats, the main opposition party, was not able to compete in the election after being unable to secure necessary parliamentary approval under a new law that the opposition says was designed to restrict the playing field.

Wadagni will have to confront growing insurgency in the northern region of the country. Last year, a group of soldiers mounted a failed coup attempt to overthrow Talon.

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QASRAK AIR BASE, Syria (AP) — U.S. forces completed their withdrawal from Qasrak air base on Thursday when a final convoy of soldiers and equipment departed the site in Syria’s Hasakah province, officials for both sides said.

The Syrian army has now taken full control of most military sites in the country where the U.S. military was once deployed.

Syria’s foreign ministry said in a statement that “the Syrian state’s restoration of sovereignty over areas that were outside its control, including the northeast and border regions, is the result of the Syrian government’s continuous efforts to unify the country within the framework of a single state.”

It said that the U.S. withdrawal came as a result of the successful implementation of a deal between Syria’s central government in Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces — which had previously controlled much of northeast Syria — and of success in fighting the remnants of the Islamic State group.

U.S. Central Command chief spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins confirmed the withdrawal.

“U.S. forces have completed turning over all of our major bases in Syria, as part of a deliberate and conditions-based transition,” Hawkins said, adding that the U.S. military will “continue to support partner-led counterterrorism efforts, which are essential to ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS and strengthening regional security.”

Convoys of trucks could be seen leaving the base Thursday, hauling military vehicles and equipment.

U.S. forces began withdrawing from Qasrak in late February, in what appeared to be part of a larger drawdown of U.S. forces in Syria. Earlier that month, the U.S. military’s Central Command and Syria’s defense ministry announced that U.S. troops had left the al-Tanf base in eastern Syria near the border with Jordan.

The departure of U.S. forces from the bases came after the U.S. military completed the transfer of some 5,700 accused Islamic State militants from detention centers in northeast Syria to prisons in Iraq, where they will be put on trial.

The main mission of the U.S. troops in Syria is to prevent a resurgence of IS. The extremist group lost control of the last territory it held in Syria in 2019 but its sleeper cells have continued to stage periodic attacks in Syria, Iraq and abroad.

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Toropin reported from Washington.

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LIMA, Peru (AP) — Results Thursday from Peru’s presidential election showed such a tight race for second and third place that it could take weeks to finalize the top two candidates for the country’s required runoff election in June.

A nationalist congressman allied with an imprisoned former president and an ultraconservative politician who promises to reinstate the death penalty are top contenders to face Keiko Fujimori, who was virtually assured of taking the top slot among the 35 candidates in Sunday’s election.

With 93% of the ballots tallied, official results on Tuesday showed Fujimori, the conservative daughter of disgraced former President Alberto Fujimori, leading the count with 17.06%, though far below the required 50% needed to avoid a runoff.

Behind her, Roberto Sánchez, a nationalist congressman and former minister under imprisoned ex-President Pedro Castillo, earned 11.97%. Trailing narrowly in third place was Rafael López Aliaga, the ultraconservative former mayor of Peru’s capital, Lima, with 11.91%.

Suspense mounted over who would advance to the June 7 runoff, with the margin between Sánchez and López Aliaga closer than 8,000 votes in the most recent results.

They couldn’t be more different politically.

Sánchez, frequently seen in the wide-brimmed peasant hat that has become his trademark, has promised major economic changes, including a dramatic expansion of government spending, an extensive reform of the tax system and partial nationalization of Peru’s natural resources.

López Aliaga, the ultraconservative former mayor of Peru’s capital, Lima, focuses on a hardline security agenda, proposing to build prisons in the country’s Amazon region, allowing judges to conceal their identities and expelling foreigners who are living illegally in Peru.

The narrow margin is compounded by approximately 1,600 pending tally sheets from remote villages and abroad. Additionally, another 5,000 sheets have been challenged, leaving the electoral courts with an appeals process that could take weeks to resolve.

“In Peru, a percentage of tally sheets are always ‘challenged’ due to potential mathematical errors,” explained Álvaro Henzler, president of Transparencia, a democracy-watchdog group that deployed 4,000 observers. “When this occurs, they are sent to 60 special electoral boards for review.”

In 2021, Peru’s electoral tribunal proclaimed first-round results 37 days after the April 11 vote. At that time, however, the gap between the second-place contenders exceeded 238,000 votes from the start, leaving little room for suspense.

“In this case, since the race is so tight, the contested tally sheets could end up altering the standings; that is why it is taking longer,” Henzler noted.

A presidential candidate needs more than 50% of votes to win outright. The two candidates with the most votes in a first round advance to the runoff on June 7.

The winner will be Peru’s ninth president in just 10 years and will replace José María Balcázar, who was elected interim president in February. He replaced another interim leader who was ousted over corruption allegations just four months into his term.

In her fourth bid for the presidency, Fujimori has promised to crack down on crime but has also defended laws that experts say make it difficult to prosecute criminals. The laws, which her party backed in recent years, eliminated preliminary detention in certain cases and raised the threshold for seizing criminal assets.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said Pope Leo was free to say what he wanted but that it was important for him to understand that Iran could never have a nuclear weapon.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the religious leader, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of ​the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in recent weeks.

Trump says he is responsible for Leo’s appointment, and has accused him of being “weak” on foreign policy.

“The Pope has to understand – it’s very simple – Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. The world would be in great danger,” he told reporters at the White House.

Trump’s criticism has triggered widespread backlash from U.S. Christians across the political spectrum.

Leo, originally from Chicago, ​decried the “madness ⁠of war” in a peace appeal on Saturday.

The U.S. and Israel attacked ​Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on ​Israel and Gulf states with U.S. bases. U.S.-Israeli strikes on ⁠Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.

Leo told Reuters on Monday he would keep criticizing the war, regardless of Trump’s comments.

“The Pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants, but I can disagree. I think that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Bhargav Acharya; editing by Scott Malone, Michelle Nichols and David Ljunggren)

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WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Thursday after announcing a 10-day Lebanon-Israel ceasefire that leaders of the two countries could meet at the White House over the next week or two.

Trump spoke to both leaders as the ceasefire was announced. He said he was working on a longer term deal.

“It’s very exciting. I think we’re going to have a deal where we’re going to have a meeting, first time in 44 years, and Lebanon will be meeting with Israel, and they’re probably going to do it at the White House over the next week or two,” Trump said.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Steve Holland, editing by Michelle Nichols)

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April 16 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s air force downed or neutralised 31 Russian missiles and 636 drones in attacks at the country over the past 24 hours, it said on Thursday.

“During this period, the enemy launched two waves of combined attacks on Ukrainian territory, using ground-based and air-launched missiles, as well as attack drones,” the air force said in a statement on Telegram.

Overall, it detected 703 Russian aerial targets, it added.

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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