More than $71 billion will be needed over the next decade for recovery and reconstruction in war-ravaged Gaza, according to an EU-UN assessment published Monday. In their final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA), the United Nations and the European Union said that more than two years of »»»

The three strategic chokepoints are “critical passageways where a lot of trade, a lot of energy flows take place,” and prolonged closure would have a “huge impact in terms of energy prices…GDP growth, employment,” and could trigger a global recession or depression, says financial analyst Syed Javed»»»

Greece’s maritime affairs minister pledged Monday to “defend” the southern island of Crete against a wave of immigration in small boats that risk the long and dangerous passage from north Africa to reach European soil. Speaking during a visit to the island, Vassilis Kikilias said that Crete was his»»»

Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States, as Washington's delegation prepared to depart for Pakistan on Monday. The uncertainty over the talks on ending the war that engulfed the region and rattled global markets came as U.S. Presiden»»»

Share: The Israeli military said it viewed the soldier’s actions with “great severity” There has been widespread condemnation after an image of an Israeli soldier apparently hitting a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon went viral. Israel’s prime minister said he was “stunned an»»»

Moscow on Monday called for the US-Iran ceasefire to be maintained and for diplomatic efforts to continue, after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke with his Iranian counterpart, a close Russian ally. "The Russian side again emphasized the need to preserve the truce, which must be observed within »»»

Iraq has reopened the Rabia border crossing with Syria after more than a decade to accelerate overland fuel oil exports and revive cross-border trade amid disruption to Gulf shipping following the Iran war, Iraqi border officials said on Monday. The crossing, located in Iraq’s northern Nineveh prov»»»

1 of 3 | A coalition of journalists are calling on the White House Correspondents’ Association to push back on President Donald Trump’s attacks on the press ahead of his attendance at Saturday’s correspondents’ dinner. Photo by Graeme Sloan/UPI | License Photo April 20 (UPI) -- A coalition of journ»»»

Washington, United States: The United States said Monday it is committed to hosting further talks among G20 economies on how the Middle East conflict is impacting food and fertilizer supplies and prices. The United States is the current rotating chair of the Group of 20, which represents 85 percent»»»

A high-profile paramilitary commander in Sudan has changed sides and joined the country’s army in a move welcomed by army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan shortly after the war entered its fourth year. Burhan on Sunday welcomed Maj. Gen. al-Nour Ahmed Adam, who defected earlier this month from the Ra»»»

Luanda: And in Africa, the lion roared. There is a case to be made that Pope Leo XIV, the careful, reserved, Midwestern Augustinian, found his voice on his epic trip through Africa, blasting the “handful of tyrants” and “chains of corruption” that have held the continent hostage for centuries. But »»»

Hungary's incoming prime minister Peter Magyar said Monday the country will execute International Criminal Court warrants against anyone, after he invited Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu -- wanted under just such a warrant -- to Budapest later this year. In 2024, the ICC issued an arrest warrant »»»

The EU's top diplomat said Monday the bloc will gauge the willingness of member states to take measures against Israel, after Spain re-upped demands to suspend a cooperation deal. Foreign ministers from the 27-nation bloc are expected to discuss the matter at a meeting in Luxembourg Tuesday after a»»»

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that honoring commitments is essential for dialogue, while condemning U.S. demands for Iran’s surrender. "Honoring commitments is the basis of meaningful dialogue. Deep historical mistrust in Iran toward US gov conduct remains, while unconstructive & con»»»

Originally published at Napunk The soon-to-be-formed Tisza government in Budapest will differ from Viktor Orbán’s governments not only in personnel but also in structure. Over the four terms since 2010, Viktor Orbán has repeatedly reshaped his governments, abolishing traditional ministries and fold»»»

Share: File photo- Ambassador Simon Karam, was named by president Joseph Aoun to lead the negotiations with Israel Lebanese President Joseph Aoun named former Lebanese ambassador to Washington Karam to head the negotiations, and said the talks will be “separate from any other negotiations”, in refe»»»

LONDON: Syria and Iraq reopened the crucial Al-Yarubiyah-Rabia crossing on Monday after nearly 13 years of closure due to the Syrian civil war, which spanned from 2011 to 2024. The reopening came after the General Customs Authority of Iraq completed rehabilitation work on its side of the Rabia cros»»»

Pristina: The trial in Pristina over an alleged secession attempt in northern Kosovo entered its final phase Monday, April 20, 2026, with the defence rejecting charges against three Serbs accused of "terrorist acts". In September 2023, a group of dozens of heavily armed men led by Serb Milan Radoic»»»

In the leadup and throughout the seven-week war, U.S. President Donald Trump has faced criticism from the left and from some of his own supporters that he followed Israel’s lead into launching the conflict. But Trump on social media is blaming the media for pushing what he claims is a false narrati»»»

The United Arab Emirates has warned the US Treasury that it could be “forced to use Chinese yuan” in oil trade, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. UAE Central Bank Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama delivered what the newspaper described as an “implicit threat” against the dollar’s dominant po»»»

Israel says it has established a "Yellow Line" in south Lebanon near the border, where its forces are operating despite a 10-day ceasefire with Iran-backed Hezbollah. What is the so-called "Yellow Line", how does it resemble an Israeli military demarcation in the Gaza Strip and where does it leave »»»

Iran was poised and ready to retaliate against a recent US attack on the Iranian Touska container vessel in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian Armed Forces’ Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters stated. "But due to the presence of some family members of the ship’s crew on board, an operational response w»»»

Iran said it had yet to decide whether to attend a new round of peace negotiations with the United States on Monday, casting uncertainty on a push to stop the Middle East war from resuming. US President Donald Trump said he was sending negotiators to Pakistan for talks on ending the war that engulf»»»

Brussels on Monday proposed EU states fully restart the bloc's cooperation agreement with Syria, in the latest step to help bolster the country after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. The deal -- which abolishes customs duties on imports of most industrial products from Syria -- was partially suspende»»»

Brussels, Belgium: Brussels on Monday, April 20, 2026, proposed EU states fully restart the bloc's cooperation agreement with Syria, in the latest step to help bolster the country after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. The deal -- which abolishes customs duties on imports of most industrial products »»»

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s aid agency KSrelief has implemented its Noor program to combat blindness and eye diseases in Yaounde, Cameroon. During the week-long campaign, its volunteer medical team examined 4,679 beneficiaries, distributed 926 eyeglasses, and performed 448 surgeries, the Saudi Press Age»»»

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced on Monday new partnerships in energy supply chains and critical technologies to address global trade fallout from the US–Israeli war on Iran. Lee arrived in India as the war, which started on Feb. 28, »»»

Tehran: Iran reopened its main Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad airports in capital Tehran on Monday, April 20, 2026, the country's aviation authority said, after closures caused by the weeks-long war with the United States and Israel. "Authorization for passenger flights at Imam Khomeini International A»»»

LONDON: For much of the Global South, the US-Israel-Iran war is no longer a distant geopolitical crisis. It is showing up in farm budgets, fuel queues and food markets, as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz drives up costs and strains already fragile economies. Iran’s blockade of Hormuz has rattled»»»

BEIRUT: Wael Mousawi, a 35-year-old Civil Defense responder in Tyre, says he has spent weeks moving “between death and death,” pulling bodies from the rubble of flattened homes in southern Lebanon as rescue teams struggled to keep pace with the scale of destruction. Paramedics and rescue workers ac»»»

TEHRAN/WASHINGTON: Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam ​al-Anbiya, accused the US of violating a ceasefire by firing at one of ‌Iran’s commercial ‌ships ​in ‌the ⁠Gulf ​of Oman, vowing ⁠to retaliate. State media quoted a Khatam Al-Anbiya spokesperson as saying early ⁠on Monday ‌that ‌the vess»»»

LONDON: Reverberations of the conflict in the Middle East are being felt across the region both physically and metaphorically. The booms and jolts of missile interceptions over Gulf cities and industrial sites may have halted since President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on April 8, b»»»

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan moved ahead Monday with preparations for a new round of talks between the United States and Iran days before a tenuous ceasefire is set to expire, even as renewed conflict around the Strait of Hormuz raised questions about whether the meeting would take place. Over the weekend, »»»

TEHRAN: Iran executed two men on Monday convicted of having links to Israel’s spy agency, the judiciary said, the latest in a string of executions since the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States. “The death sentences of Mohammad Masoom-shahi and Hamed Validi were carried out at dawn tod»»»

TOKYO/LONDON: British foreign minister ‌Yvette Cooper will cut short an intensive diplomatic tour designed to build consensus around making a ceasefire ​in the Iran war permanent and on the next steps to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Cooper's department is at the centre of a new crisis over Peter Ma»»»

BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Monday that planned talks with Israel aim to end “hostilities” and the Israeli occupation in the south, as he named ex-ambassador Simon Karam to lead a delegation. “The choice to negotiate aims to stop hostilities, end the Israeli occupation of southern r»»»

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “harsh action” Monday against a soldier caught on camera vandalizing a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon, as the image spread online. The photo, which the military determined was authentic, shows an Israeli soldier using a sledgeha»»»

Moscow: Russia said Monday it had arrested a German woman with a bomb in her backpack who planned to blow up up a services facility in a Ukrainian plot. Moscow has arrested dozens of people throughout the four-year war, mostly its own citizens, over allegations of planning sabotage attacks for Kyiv»»»

SINGAPORE: Oil prices jumped more than 6 percent on Monday, ​on fears that the ceasefire between the US and Iran could collapse after the US seized an Iranian cargo ship, while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stayed largely halted. Brent crude futures advanced $5.47, or 6.05 percent, to $95.85»»»

RIYADH: Startups in the Middle East and North Africa region secured multiple funding rounds across different sectors across the beginning of April, despite ongoing market uncertainty caused by the conflict in Iran. This positive momentum continues from the record $7.5 billion raised by MENA startup»»»

RIYADH: Algeria has launched a global bidding round for oil and gas exploration across seven fields, in a move that underscores the OPEC member’s efforts to boost production capacity and attract foreign investment amid a volatile global energy market shaped by the Iran war. Samir Bekhti, president »»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The policy of the West, which is aimed at deterring Russia and China, poses a threat to international peace and security, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeniy Ivanov said on Monday. "If we talk about the external perimeter, then the main threat to international peace and secur»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed "harsh action" Monday against a soldier caught on camera vandalizing a statue of Jesus Christ in southern Lebanon, as the image spread online. The photo, which the military determined was authentic, shows an Israeli soldier using a sledgehammer to str»»»

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said Monday that Lebanon needs a lasting solution to permanently end the state of war with Israel, rather than merely settling for a temporary ceasefire, calling direct negotiations a "necessity" Hezbollah "forced" upon Lebanon. In an interview with Sky News Arab»»»

Luanda: Pope Leo XIV heads to Angola’s remote and diamond-rich northeast on Monday in the latest stop on an Africa tour during which he has spoken out against the country’s glaring poverty. On the eighth day of a trip to four African nations, Leo will fly to the town of Saurimo, 800 kilometres east»»»

Poland: French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk are meeting Monday in the north of Poland to strengthen defence cooperation in the face of Russian threats and weakening US commitment to Europe. The meeting is the first since the two countries signed a treaty of friend»»»

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the US is working to extend the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, while President Joseph Aoun confirmed that “bilateral negotiations will be handled by Lebanon through a delegation headed by Ambassador Simon Karam, and no one will take part on Lebano»»»

London: Embattled UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will face lawmakers in parliament on Monday as he bids to quell anger over an unrelenting scandal involving long-time Jeffrey Epstein associate Peter Mandelson. Starmer, already widely unpopular with the public and many Labour MPs, is struggling to e»»»

More than 60 nations sent representatives to Brussels Monday to discuss with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Mustafa stability, security and long-term peace in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, as global attention largely remains focused in the Middle East on the ongoing crises in Iran and Lebanon»»»

The ceasefire in the Iran war hangs in the balance as Pakistan's capital stands prepared for possible new talks between Tehran and Washington. As of right now, the two-week ceasefire will expire at 0000 GMT Wednesday (8 p.m. ET Tuesday.) But the truce between Iran, Israel and the United States star»»»