BAGHDAD: The United States blocked a plane carrying nearly $500 million in banknotes from delivering the cash to Iraq, US media reported on Tuesday, piling pressure on Baghdad to fight Iran-backed militant groups. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington has suspended cash shipments to Iraq»»»

President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that a second French soldier had died following an attack on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon last week, ​which ‌he said was carried out by Iran-backed Hezbollah. FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with the spokesperson of the UN peacekeeping mission UNIF»»»

FRANCE 24's Mark Owen speaks with Negah Angha, Former National Security Advisor under US President Joe Biden, about the ongoing standoff between Iran and the United States, which has choked off all traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. She says that "right now both sides are testing each other" add»»»

WASHINGTON: Global air travel remains severely disrupted, with many people unable to fly as ‌planned to destinations after the Iran war forced the closure of major Middle Eastern hubs, including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. Below is the latest on flights, in alphabetical order: Greece’s largest carri»»»

The US military has dangerously depleted its stockpiles of critical missiles during the seven‑week war on Iran, creating a “near‑term risk” that could leave it vulnerable in any future conflict, according to a new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The report, pu»»»

I will be honest, when I heard we were heading to a place called Loft, I pictured exposed brick, high ceilings, maybe a view. What I did not expect was a ground-floor restaurant with not a single step in sight. It was my first hint that Loft at U Walk in Riyadh was going to keep me guessing all nig»»»

NEW YORK: It might be hard to imagine the Iran war weighing on stuffed toys with names like Snuggle Glove, Bizzikins and Wobblies, but even plush playthings are not immune when oil shipments from the Middle East are constrained. Like many soft toys, the creatures developed by a manufacturer in Fort»»»

PARIS: Iran hanged a man on Wednesday convicted of links to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, the judiciary said, with two NGOs based outside the country saying he worked for the Iranian atomic energy organization. The execution of Mehdi Farid was the latest in a number of hangings of high-profile convic»»»

Washington: The United States blocked a plane carrying nearly $500 million in banknotes from delivering the cash to Iraq, US media reported on Tuesday, piling pressure on Baghdad to fight Iran-backed militant groups. The Wall Street Journal reported that Washington has suspended cash shipments to I»»»

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran had halted alleged plans to execute eight women arrested over anti-government protests, after he urged Tehran to release them to help peace negotiations.Iran's judiciary, however, described the US president's claims as "false news," saying they had ne»»»

With their towering, cinnamon-colored trunks and dusky green canopies, ponderosa pine has long been a charismatic icon of the American West. Yet a quiet unraveling has begun: in the past decade, in a vast area from Santa Fe to the Sierras, more than 200,000 ponderosa have died. While some trees wil»»»

Dubai: Oil prices are likely to remain elevated, and could rise further in the near term, as ongoing disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and uncertainty surrounding the conflict involving Iran continue to tighten global supply conditions. Brent crude rose 1.7% to $100.16 per barrel on Wednesday, ref»»»

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez has formally asked the International Monetary Fund to release nearly $5bn in frozen assets, testing the limits of a diplomatic rapprochement that has forced the country's ruling Chavista movement to abandon decades of ideological hostility towards the Wa»»»

LONDON: Europe’s commercial aviation sector is moving closer to a jet fuel crunch as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to choke off supplies from the Gulf, threatening summer travel plans for millions and forcing airlines and governments to weigh rationing, cancellations and emergency fu»»»

RIYADH: When Saud Abdulhamid made the move to Europe in 2024, signing for AS Roma from Al-Hilal, it signaled an exciting moment for the growth of Saudi footballers on the global stage. Just 380 minutes of playing time across eight appearances last season quickly caused that excitement to fade, howe»»»

The war with Iran has been a strategic disaster for the US, leaving President Donald Trump in a weaker position at home and damaging American credibility, Quincy Institute co-founder Trita Parsi has told RT. He added that the conflict, which he said Israel had pushed for, had not unfolded as Washin»»»

Will the world have enough fuel to fill the tank and fertilize the crops? The seizure of ships by Iran adding to global jitters as the extension of a ceasefire offers zero visibility on prospects for the planet’s biggest choke point for oil and gas. Nearly two months on, the Paris-based Internation»»»

Oil refineries set ablaze, missiles hitting pesticide factories, an oil slick in the Strait of Hormuz... In under two months, the US and Israel’s war on Iran has inflicted a heavy toll on the environment, fuelling concerns over the public health impact on local populations. It’s too soon to evaluat»»»

Iranian forces targeted three container ships on Wednesday, seizing two, the latest incidents to threaten a crucial trade route in the Middle East war. Iran's parliament speaker said on Wednesday that the Islamic republic would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US naval blockade remain»»»

MAIDUGURI, ‌Nigeria: Suspected Boko Haram militants riding motorbikes stormed two villages in northeast Nigeria, killing at least 20 people, a local official said on Wednesday. The assaults are part of a surge by Boko Haram and its Daesh splinter Daesh-WAP, who have ‌stepped ⁠up deadly attacks on ⁠»»»

Large Western colonial powers are actively employing new instruments of control, trying to plunge developing nations into wars and saddle them with debts, Yemeni political analyst and author Hamid Abdel Kader tells Sputnik. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are one such tool. The c»»»

Syria has moved since early this year from internal unrest in the northeast, the coast, and the south to relative calm and attempts to impose a new security and political order, most clearly seen in the security file and in an agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces. But the shift has set up an»»»

Dahlia Cuartero, mother of a victim of an alleged extrajudicial killing during the war on drugs campaign of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, holds a picture of her son prior to watching a broadcast of an International Criminal Court proceeding from Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines»»»

Rising oil prices are no longer just an energy market story; they are feeding directly into the cost of clothing. From petrochemical plants to fabric mills and retail racks, a complex supply chain is passing on higher costs, pushing up the final price consumers pay. According to the “Materials Mark»»»

April 22 (UPI) -- A Montana moose went for a self-guided tour of Bozeman and even took a nap in front of a radio station called The Moose. Alivia Ballenger, a student at Montana State University, glanced outside her apartment Monday morning and saw a moose running across the neighboring vacant lot.»»»

The UAE Embassy in Beirut has urged the public to exercise caution over suspicious messages and calls requesting financial transfers, falsely claiming to be from the embassy or its staff. In a post on its official account on X, the embassy said all its services are provided exclusively through appr»»»

One of the more surprising turns of the US-Israeli war on Iran has been the sophistication of Tehran’s multi-pronged PR response. From memes to sleek AI-generated cartoons to official messaging, pro-Iranian online content looks like anything but the product of a stiff-necked self-centered bureaucra»»»

Former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes resigned from his post as CEO of Trump Media and Technology Group Wednesday as the company’s losses topped $1 billion. File Photo by Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo April 22 (UPI) -- Former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes resigned from his post as CEO of Trump Media an»»»

BEIRUT: Israeli attacks on Lebanon during its latest war with Hezbollah damaged or destroyed more than 50,000 housing units in the country, a government estimate found on Wednesday. “Within about 45 days (of the war), we had 17,756 destroyed housing units and 32,668 damaged housing units,” Chadi Ab»»»

Deir al-Balah in central Gaza will hold the enclave’s first local elections in nearly two decades, with voting set to begin on Saturday alongside municipal polls in the occupied West Bank. A decree by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas designated Deir al-Balah as the only voting site in Gaza, citi»»»

After Israel imposed a new reality on the ground following a ceasefire, a new deterrence equation has emerged, confining hostilities to the area south of the Litani River. Israeli forces continue operations in zones under their control, while Hezbollah has limited its attacks to that area, with res»»»

As the US-Israel-Iran war enters its second month, one of the most consequential geopolitical actors has been conspicuous by its silence. China has not intervened, has not condemned, and has not chosen sides in any meaningful public way. But Beijing is not simply watching. It is calculating — and a»»»

The conflict that has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for one-fifth of global crude and a significant share of gas supplies, has done more than spike oil prices. It has laid bare how dangerously concentrated energy supply had become around a single chokepoint, sending importers s»»»

Nigeria’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery is advancing plans to build a Linear Alkylbenzene (LAB) production facility with a capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year, marking a major expansion of its downstream petrochemicals portfolio. »»»

The conflict that has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for one-fifth of global crude and a significant share of gas supplies, has done more than spike oil prices. It has laid bare how dangerously concentrated energy supply had become around a single chokepoint, sending importers s»»»

Iran's Assembly of Experts has selected Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's new supreme leader, succeeding his father, the late Ali Khamenei, Tasnim News Agency reported on April 22. The appointment was confirmed as Sunni an»»»

Iran's Assembly of Experts has selected Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's new supreme leader, succeeding his father, the late Ali Khamenei, Tasnim News Agency reported on April 22. The appointment was confirmed as Sunni an»»»

Iran's Assembly of Experts has selected Mojtaba Khamenei as the country's new supreme leader, succeeding his father, the late Ali Khamenei, Tasnim News Agency reported on April 22. The appointment was confirmed as Sunni an»»»

An article by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti takes a critical tone on the Paks nuclear project and cautions Hungary’s incoming leadership against revisiting the agreement, 444.hu writes on April 21. RIA ran the »»»

Russia's coal industry is heading toward a systemic crisis from which the Kremlin's patronage network can no longer shield it, according to a paper published this week by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The»»»

After nearly 3 years in office, Borislav Sarafov resigned as Bulgaria's acting prosecutor general on Wednesday morning. His tenure was overshadowed by a lingering controversy over his legitimacy. A number of Bulgarian courts argue that, under Judicial System Act amendments effective January 21, 202»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran will not open the Strait of Hormuz as long as the United States violates the ceasefire, including with its naval blockade, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Wednesday. "A full ceasefire only makes sense when it is not violated by a naval blockade an»»»

The United Nations is pushing its proposal for a humanitarian corridor to get fertiliser and other essential goods through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked since the start of the Iran war. This plan, which FRANCE 24 has seen, has yet to be approved by several countries.»»»

American surveillance tech contractor Palantir released a 22-point manifesto over the weekend, calling for a “new era” of AI-enabled US military supremacy. The internet went wild, with the text being labeled a blueprint for “technofascism.” Posted on X on Saturday, the document goes far beyond the »»»

DOHA: ​The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has announced the vaccination requirements for Hajj 1447H/2026, reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding the health and safety of pilgrims to the Holy Mosque and visitors to the Prophet's Mosque. These measures aim to allow pilgrims to perform their rit»»»

FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. A federal judge in Houston tossed Patel's lawsuit against a former FBI counterintelligence official accusing him of defamation. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Phot»»»

The issue of the Israeli war against Lebanon remains a key topic in the U.S.-Iranian contacts and separating the Lebanese file from the Islamabad talks does not appear to be certain, informed sources told al-Akhbar newspaper. "This issue continues to exert pressure on the American side, which is at»»»

President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that a second French soldier had died following an attack on United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon last week, which he said was carried out by Iran-backed Hezbollah. The soldier, Chief Corporal Anicet Girardin, was severely wounded on April 18 and died o»»»

KHARTOUM: For nearly two years, Al-Shubbak watched through ancient grey eyes as Tuti, the crescent-shaped island in the heart of the Sudanese capital she calls home, emptied of its inhabitants under a punishing paramilitary siege. She refused to leave. “I didn’t even move for the English when they »»»

WASHINGTON: FIFA is putting more World Cup tickets on sale after angering some fans by adding new, more expensive categories. Soccer’s governing body announced Tuesday it will make more tickets available at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday for all 104 games in Categories 1, 2 and 3 plus the new “front categor»»»