Share: Photo- Blackened buildings and burned-out cars… scenes from Beirut’s southern suburbs. © Fadel Itani, AFP Residents on Friday began to return to their homes in Beirut’s southern suburbs after a 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon came into effect. For many, Israel’s relentless bombing ca»»»

An Irish man alleged to run the day-to-day operations of an international money laundering and firearms trafficking cartel was arrested this week in Dubai. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo April 17 (UPI) -- An Irish man who allegedly laundered money and trafficked drugs and firearms t»»»

Washington: Minister of Finance HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari held bilateral meetings with Secretary of the Treasury of the United State of America HE Scott Bessent; President of the World Bank Group HE Ajay Banga; and President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Zou Jiayi. Held on th»»»

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired the most senior civil servant in the Foreign Office for failing to disclose that former ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson failed his security check. Pool Photo by Betty Laura Zapata/EPA April 17 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fir»»»

Washington: Minister of Finance HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari held a series of bilateral meetings with Minister of Economy and Finance of Italy HE Giancarlo Giorgetti; Chancellor of the Exchequer of the UK HE Rachel Reeves; and First Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister of Economy, T»»»

Istanbul: The emergency item submitted by the State of Qatar, represented by the Shura Council, has secured overwhelming approval for inclusion on the agenda of the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), currently underway in Istanbul. The vote marks the first time an emerge»»»

US President Donald Trump’s war of words with Pope Leo XIV appears to have split his own MAGA movement. While a number of prominent Republicans have distanced themselves from the exchange, others have stepped in to reassure him of their continued support. Read more Trump casts himself as Jesus afte»»»

Washington, April 17 (SANA) Syrian Finance Minister Mohamed Yisr Barnieh met the President of the OPEC Fund for International Development, Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, to explore the resumption of the Fund’s activities in Syria, on the sidelines of Syria’s participation in the IMF–World Bank Spring Meetin»»»

Carnival Cruise Line must pay a California woman $300,000 in a lawsuit over serving her 14 shots of tequila before she fell down a stairwell and was injured. File Photo courtesy of Carnival April 17 (UPI) -- Carnival Cruise Line must pay a California woman $300,000 in a lawsuit over serving her 14 »»»

Heavy traffic develops before the Qasmiyeh Bridge as displaced residents return to their homes near Tyre, southern Lebanon, on Friday. Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day cease-fire, Photo by Wael Hamzeh/EPA BEIRUT, Lebanon, April 17 (UPI) -- The Israel-Hezbollah war, temporarily halted by a»»»

Tunis, April 17 (TAP) - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad Mohamed Ali Nafti on Friday received a phone call from his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand, during which they reviewed the various aspects of the excellent...»»»

A former parliamentary police officer has been sentenced to multiple life terms by a court in Athens after being convicted of serious sexual offences against his children. The first-instance Athens Mixed Jury Court imposed four life sentences on the defendant, along with an additional 80 years and »»»

Doha: The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani expressed hope that the Antalya Diplomacy Forum would play a meaningful role in strengthening dialogue and fostering mutual human understanding. In a post published on his account on X, HH the Amir said that he had participated in the Antalya Diplom»»»

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy says a new order is now in effect in the Strait of Hormuz following the Lebanon ceasefire and the current battlefield pause Under the new rules:Civilian vessels may transit only through routes designated by IranAll military ships remain banned from passing through th»»»

An 85-year-old woman from France whose late husband was a U.S. veteran returned to France Friday after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 16 days. File Photo by Craig Lassig/UPI | License Photo April 17 (UPI) -- An 85-year-old woman from France whose late husband was a U.S. v»»»

People from the industry pose with a copy of the new mining law at Venezuela's National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, on April 9. The law allows foreign investment and was introduced under acting President Delcy Rodriguez after a visit by U.S .Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in early March. Photo »»»

The U.S. State Department said Friday that President Donald Trump’s announced prohibition on Israeli strikes inside Lebanon applies only to offensive attacks and not to actions taken in self-defense, and referred to the third point of Wednesday’s agreement by Israel and Lebanon. That point says “Is»»»

Doha: Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the State of Qatar HE Yun Hyunsoo and Ambassador of Japan to the State of Qatar HE Naoto Hisajima visited the ice rink at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, located at Al Sadd Sports Club, to review the facilities dedicated to ice sports. The visit came»»»

Armed police patrol near the Israeli embassy as counter terrorism police investigate discarded items found in Kensington Gardens in London, Britain, on Friday. Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA April 17 (UPI) -- London police closed down Kensington Gardens Friday after a video was shared online by a group m»»»

President Joseph Aoun said on Friday that Lebanon is on the verge of a "new phase" of "permanent agreements," after the ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war went into force. "Now, we all stand before a new phase," Aoun said in his first speech to the nation since the truce, adding that "it is the »»»

Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI company Anthropic, is meeting with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Friday as his company remains in a legal battle with the Trump administration. File Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo April 17 (UPI) -- Dario Amodei, the CEO of AI company Anthropic, is meet»»»

Raisa Atambayeva, the wife of former Kyrgyzstan’s president Almazbek Atambayev, has been summoned for questioning by the Interior Ministry, her daughter Aliya Atambayeva reported. Aliya Atambayeva said in an Instagram post that her mother had been served with a summons requiring her to appear at a »»»

Hezbollah said its fighters would “keep their fingers on the trigger” hours after a ceasefire took effect between Lebanon and Israel, warning it would not stay silent over any Israeli violations and would not repeat its past restraint under the October 2024 ceasefire, when Israel continued attacks »»»

Antalya (Turkiye): The Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani; HE President of the Republic of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and HE Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif held Friday a joint meeting on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026. Discuss»»»

Tunis, April 17 (TAP) - European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica on Friday unveiled the action plan for the new Pact for the Mediterranean, adopted in October 2025 and officially launched last November in Barcelona. Speaking...»»»

New York: Air Canada will suspend service to New York's JFK International airport over the summer as the war in Iran creates jet fuel shortages that have sent prices soaring. Canada's flag carrier said Friday that service from Toronto and Montreal to JFK will cease June 1 and resume Oct. 25. Servic»»»

Research identified 1,389 seismic events in southern Santiago, Chile, between 2017 and 2025. Additional records suggest the activity has persisted for more than 30 years. Photo by Alisha Lubben/Pexels SANTIAGO, Chile, April 17 (UPI) -- Researchers in Chile have identified a persistent cluster of mi»»»

Velichie leader Ivelin Mihaylov called for a change in politics at the party's campaign closing event at the National Palace of Culture on Friday. "We must change politics. People need to see the change," Mihaylov said, adding that a new generation committed to working responsibly for the public is»»»

President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov received CSTO Secretary General Taalatbek Masadykov on April 17, the presidential press service reported. During the meeting, the parties discussed strengthening collective security, countering modern threats, including extremism and terrorism, and increasing t»»»

Hassan Abu Khalil's family miraculously survived six weeks of war in southern Lebanon, but tragedy struck in the final minutes before a ceasefire came into force. An Israeli strike late on Thursday killed 13 of his relatives, leaving him the sole survivor. Abu Khalil, 36, stepped out to see friends»»»

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday resisted demands he resign over revelations that his scandal-tainted pick for UK ambassador to Washington was appointed despite failing security checks. Starmer says he was not informed that the Foreign Office had overruled the recommendation of securit»»»

A bar owner on the eastern Aegean Sea island of Ikaria was arrested Friday for allegedly serving alcohol to two minors who subsequently became so drunk that they required hospital treatment, authorities said. A police statement said the incident occurred Thursday evening. Together with the bar owne»»»

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the south killed one person on Friday, despite the start of a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. The truce, announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, went into force at midnight (Thursday 2100 GMT), seeking to end more than s»»»

Tunis, April 17 (TAP) - The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) on Thursday paid tribute to 128 members of the Tunisian helicopter unit, including seven women, in recognition of...»»»

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was offered a meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his government during her visit to Spain but she declined because she did not consider it "opportune", Sanchez said on Friday. Machado's lack of contact with any members of Spain's leftist »»»

US President Donald Trump told AFP on Friday there were "no sticking points" left for a peace deal with Iran, adding that an agreement was "very close." Trump's comments came after a series of social media posts in which he touted progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending Iran's nuclear»»»

Drone and rocket strikes in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region on Friday killed three Iranian Kurds, including two women fighters, an exiled opposition group said, blaming the attack on Iran. "Iran launched a new wave of missile and drone strikes today targeting... civilian camps of the PDKI," killin»»»

Minister of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, Ruslan Suinaliev, met with representatives of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development in Washington, D.C. to discuss the provision of budget support and the implementation of priority infrastructure projects, including the reconstruction of Ar»»»

The draft of a new Bolivian hydrocarbons law prioritizes the reactivation of mature fields and traditional wells to maximize recovery of remaining reserves. File Photo by Martin Alipaz/EPA April 17 (UPI) -- The government of Rodrigo Paz has finalized the draft of a new hydrocarbons law, marking a k»»»

One of Thessaloniki’s last Holocaust survivors, Heinz Kounio, has died aged 98, an association representing Greece’s Jewish communities said Friday. The Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece, or KIS, described Kounio as an “emblematic figure” who was among the first Greek Jews to write abou»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump told AFP on Friday there were "no sticking points" left for a peace deal with Iran, adding that an agreement was "very close." Trump's comments came after a series of social media posts in which he touted progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending Iran's nucle»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday welcomed Iran's announcement that the crucial Strait of Hormuz will reopen to shipping, but said a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a peace deal is signed. "THANK YOU!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, saying that Iran had announced »»»

Sharjah: Air Arabia said it is operating a limited number of flights to and from the United Arab Emirates, subject to regulatory and operational approvals, as services gradually resume following recent disruptions. The airline said passengers can book available flights through its website, mobile a»»»

Oil prices plunged by about 13% on Friday after Iran's foreign minister said passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz was open for the remaining ceasefire period and US President Donald Trump said Iran has agreed to never close the strait again. Brent crude futures fell $12.8»»»

Kosovo's parliament on Friday passed a law authorizing the potential deployment of a small number of troops to Gaza as part of a peacekeeping force proposed by US President Donald Trump. According to local media, the government intends to send 22 members of the Kosovo Security Force if the plan goe»»»

Fujairah: UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today met with His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah. During the meeting, Their Highnesses discussed a number of national issues in light of the UAE’s continued developme»»»

Brussels, Belgium: The European Union said Friday that it was updating an age verification app unveiled this week after independent developers pointed to vulnerabilities. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday that the app, which aims to better protect children from online harm, was "technica»»»

For the first time in its history, Kyrgyzstan has awarded state-issued diplomas conferring the academic degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Innovation reported. According to the ministry, PhD training programs in the country began in 2013 as part of a»»»

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the south killed one person on Friday, despite the start of a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war. The truce, announced by US President Donald Trump, went into force at midnight (Thursday 2100 GMT), seeking to end more than six»»»

An average of at least 47 women and girls were killed each day during the war in Gaza, according to figures published by UN Women on Friday, and the agency warned that deaths have continued six months into a fragile ceasefire. More than 38,000 women and girls were killed in Gaza between October 202»»»