Bamenda: Pope Leo XIV blasted the “handful of tyrants” who are ravaging Earth with war and exploitation, as he preached a message of peace Thursday in the epicentre of a separatist conflict considered one of the world’s most neglected crises. Leo travelled to the western Cameroon city of Bamenda, w»»»

Visiting British Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer on Thursday called for a ceasefire in Lebanon where Israel and Hezbollah are at war, and welcomed direct talks between Israel and Lebanon. Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war on March 2 after militant group Hezbollah fired rockets at Isr»»»

Dubai/ Sharjah: As UAE schools prepare for the gradual return to in-person learning from Monday, April 20, some schools have informed parents they will not be reopening their campuses on that date — while certain schools have made physical attendance compulsory for students who travel by private tr»»»

Dubai: Pakistan on Thursday said no date has been set for the second round of talks between the United States and Iran, urging the media to avoid speculation as diplomatic consultations continue under a highly confidential process. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi, during »»»

In tonight's programme: Donors have pledged nearly $2 billion for Sudan as the country marks three years of war. Also, Pope Leo XIV delivers a strong message in Cameroon's capital Yaoundé. Plus Ghana is cracking down on overfishing fuelled by foreign vessels and destructive practices.»»»

François Picard welcomes Dallia Abdelmoniem, Political / Media Analyst and Commentator on African and Middle Eastern affairs. Sudan is a war-torn nation unraveling in real time, warns Abdelmoniem. She says that we are not just witnessing a conflict between rival armed factions; it is a systematic w»»»

Dubai: Pakistan has intensified its diplomatic and military outreach across the Middle East this week in a coordinated effort aimed at easing regional tensions, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif toured key Gulf capitals while the country’s army chief held high-level talks in Iran. The parallel engag»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Treasury is launching Operation "Economic Fury" against Iran to maximize economic pressure on the country, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Thursday. "At the same time, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and our friends over at Treasury are launching Operation 'Econ»»»

Gold prices rose on Thursday as growing optimism about a possible end to conflicts in the Middle East calmed inflation worries and improved prospects for lower interest rates. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $4,815.15 per ounce by 0926 GMT, after rising to a one-month high in the previous session. US gold f»»»

The US is in discussions on staging a second round of peace talks with Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said. The first direct meeting between the sides since the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28 took place in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, at the weekend, but deliv»»»

More than a dozen people, including at least one child, have been killed in Russian missile and drone attacks on infrastructure and residential buildings in Kyiv and in other Ukrainian cities like Odesa and Dnipro overnight to Thursday. Several dozens of civilians were also injured in the assaults.»»»

A Ukrainian firefighter battles a massive blaze early Thursday at the scene of a Russian missile strike in the capital, Kyiv, where four people were among 16 killed in large scale aerial attacks on several Ukrainian cities overnight. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA April 16 (UPI) -- An airborne Russi»»»

Iran's prominent speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told his Lebanese counterpart on Thursday that a ceasefire in Lebanon was "as important" as in Iran, according to a statement posted on Telegram. In talks to end the war between Iran and the United States, Ghalibaf said Tehran has "bee»»»

The climate-denialist Trump administration is pushing the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to stop focusing on clean energy development projects. We take a closer look. But first: Russia vows to make up for any shortfall in Chinese oil supplies due to the US-Israeli war on Iran, and crude»»»

Share: Israeli soldiers next to artillery vehicles near the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Florion Goga Optimism grew on Thursday that the Iran war may be near an end, with a key Pakistani mediator having made a breakthrough on “sticky issues”, a source said, alt»»»

Share: Photo- Israel claims killing a key member of Quds force in Lebanon. Iran’s IRGC is reportedly commanding Hezbollah war with Israel according to Lebanese government sources Lebanon earlier cast doubt on Donald Trump’s claim that the leaders were due to hold talks On Wednesday night in the US,»»»

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that he thanked Pakistan for its “gracious hosting” of the US-Iran dialogue as he received the country’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Tehran on Wednesday. Araghchi received Munir, who is heading a high-level political-security »»»

"We have already learned to act in a way that minimizes the consequences of such measures for our interests. We will continue to do so," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would not extend licenses that temporarily allowed purchases of Russ»»»

Britain's economy put on a burst of growth in February, suggesting it was in slightly better shape before the start of the Iran war than many economists had feared, official figures showed on Thursday. Gross domestic product expanded 0.5% month-on-month in February, the biggest increase since Janua»»»

Mariam Zein cradled her 11-week-old son on a mattress on the floor where she and her family have sheltered near Beirut since the Israel-Hezbollah war upended her young family's life. "I was really excited when I was in my ninth month of pregnancy... I never thought he'd be born and there'd be war,"»»»

Abu Dhabi: The UAE has presented its Tenth National Report at the Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Nuclear Safety (CNS), held at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The UAE delegation presented the report as part of the review process under the Convention, h»»»

China's foreign minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Beijing supported maintaining the ceasefire and negotiation momentum between Tehran and Washington during a phone call on April 15, China's foreign ministry said in a readout. »»»

China's foreign minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Beijing supported maintaining the ceasefire and negotiation momentum between Tehran and Washington during a phone call on April 15, China's foreign ministry said in a readout. »»»

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak directly with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on April 16.  Israel and Lebanon held their first direct bilateral negotiati»»»

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak directly with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on April 16.  Israel and Lebanon held their first direct bilateral negotiati»»»

China's foreign minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Beijing supported maintaining the ceasefire and negotiation momentum between Tehran and Washington during a phone call on April 15, China's foreign ministry said in a readout. »»»

Iran may be forced to ramp up imports of petrochemical products to supply feedstock for downstream industries after US-Israeli air strikes hit its main production hubs earlier this month, a government spokesperson said, in remarks carried by state news on April 16. »»»

China's foreign minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Beijing supported maintaining the ceasefire and negotiation momentum between Tehran and Washington during a phone call on April 15, China's foreign ministry said in a readout. »»»

Iran may be forced to ramp up imports of petrochemical products to supply feedstock for downstream industries after US-Israeli air strikes hit its main production hubs earlier this month, a government spokesperson said, in remarks carried by state news on April 16. »»»

China's foreign minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Beijing supported maintaining the ceasefire and negotiation momentum between Tehran and Washington during a phone call on April 15, China's foreign ministry said in a readout. »»»

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump has pivoted from military escalation to economic warfare, betting that a sweeping naval blockade of Iran’s ports and shipping can succeed where weeks of US-Israeli strikes have not — forcing Tehran back to the negotiating table. The strategy is stark: Cut off Iran’s ability»»»

US President Donald Trump has said he is “permanently opening” the Strait of Hormuz, presenting the move as benefiting “China and the world” after claiming Beijing agreed “not to send weapons to Iran.” Trump’s remarks come as the US military claims American warships have effectively blocked Iranian»»»

Famine. Massacres. And now badly needed food and other supplies are under strain. Sudan on Wednesday entered a fourth year of war that's been called an “abandoned crisis,” as a new Middle East conflict throws into shadow the fighting that has forced 13 million people to flee their homes. The North »»»

Fourteen-year-old Fadel al-Naji used to be a keen footballer but is now largely confined to his home in Gaza City since both legs were severed in an Israeli drone attack in September. He sits sullenly on a couch with one hollow pant leg dangling and the other tucked into his waist beside his 11-yea»»»

TEHRAN (Sputnik) - Iran wants to hold the United States and Israel accountable for the assassination of the Iranian leadership, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told Sputnik. "We have to do this. And I think not only Iran, but the entire international community is asking for accoun»»»

Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent makes remarks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC on Wednesday, April 15, 2026. Photo by Shawn Thew./UPI | License Photo April 16 (UPI) -- The United States blacklisted three people, 17 entities and nine oil tankers accused of aiding Iran»»»

Lebanon said Thursday it is "not aware" of any upcoming contact with Israel, after U.S. President Donald Trump said the leaders of Lebanon and Israel would speak on Thursday. In Lebanon, those negotiations have drawn backlash from Hezbollah and its supporters. Al Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper that i»»»

US President Donald Trump said Lebanese and Israeli leaders will speak for the first time in decades on Thursday, while Pakistan said peace in Lebanon was essential for talks it is mediating between Washington and Tehran on ending the Iran war. The Lebanon conflict spiraled out of the US-Israeli wa»»»

This article was originally published on April 4, 2026 – French lawmakers are on Thursday set to debate a controversial bill that proposes labeling any implicitly expressed "hatred" against the state of Israel as anti-Semitic, making it a crime under the country’s terrorism laws»»»

Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his opposition to Taiwanese independence during a meeting with Cheng Li-wun, leader of Taiwan's pro-Beijing opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party. Her official trip to Beijing, the first such visit in a decade, sparked controversy in the self-ruled»»»

London: British no-frills airline EasyJet on Thursday said it expects to post a deeper first-half loss compared with one year earlier after the Middle East war sent jet fuel prices soaring. EasyJet said it expected a headline loss before tax of between GBP540 million and GBP560 million ($733 millio»»»

Over 4 million people are set to be newly displaced around the world by the end of next year as donors step back from providing life-saving aid, the Danish Refugee Council said on Thursday. There are already some 117 million people forcibly displaced worldwide as the number of conflicts has surged »»»

The Israeli military killed four Lebanese rescue workers and wounded six others in three consecutive, targeted strikes Wednesday, paramedic groups said, a stark illustration of the human cost of the Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon a day after Lebanon and Israel held historic talks in »»»

US House Democrats introduced six articles of impeachment against Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, accusing him of "high crimes and misdemeanors" including waging war on Iran without congressional approval. The impeachment resolution is led by Yassamin Ansari, a Democratic Congresswoman fr»»»

Oil prices were little changed on Thursday, reversing earlier declines, on skepticism that peace talks between the US and Iran will reach a deal to end the war that has bottled up oil output from the key Middle East producing region. Brent crude futures were down 26 cents to $94.67 a barrel at 0611»»»

A U.S. official says President Donald Trump would welcome an end to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict as part of a broader peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon but has not specifically asked for one. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the Trump administration’s position d»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukrainian border guard troops have been recruiting Colombians into the Ukrainian armed forces at the border with Poland, a source linked to the Colombian recruitment circles in Ukraine and the Middle East told Sputnik. "Once mercenaries reach the Polish-Ukrainian border, they are»»»

The United States is discussing a possible second round of peace talks with Iran in Pakistan and is optimistic about reaching a deal, U.S. officials said, as Tehran threatened to shut down Red Sea trade unless Washington lifted a naval blockade of its ports. A Pakistani delegation arrived in Tehran»»»

TotalEnergies expects a significant increase in first-quarter earnings from a strong trading performance, as well as in its upstream production and oil sales due to higher prices caused by the war in Iran, even as the conflict shut down 15% of the French group's overall production, it said on Thurs»»»

Australia will raise defense spending to 3.0 percent of GDP by 2033 as armed conflicts flare worldwide, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Thursday. The new commitment follows pressure from US President Donald Trump's administration for Canberra to boost military expenditure as a share of total a»»»