As tensions in the Middle East surged again over the weekend, the Iran-backed Houthis threatened to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a crucial oil shipping lane that still serves crude flows from the Middle East through Red Sea ports. A Houthis statement gives a hint of the risks to global shipping.»»»

BAGHDAD: Aboard an oil tanker plying the tense waters between the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, Iraqi Captain Rahman Al-Jubouri continues to work in one of the world’s most volatile maritime corridors, where the US-Israel war with Iran has disrupted global trade and left some crews strande»»»

PARIS: Foreign aid groups are struggling to work in the occupied Palestinian territories including in war-torn Gaza despite Israel’s top court lifting a ban against them, a director at one of the charities said Monday. Israel in December said it was banning 37 non-governmental organizations unless »»»

Oil and European natural gas prices surged after Tehran re-closed the Strait of Hormuz and fired on vessels following the US Navy’s seizure of an Iranian ship, halting all shipping traffic through the vital energy corridor. The turbulent weekend escalation saw Tehran re-impose restrictions on the w»»»

NEW YORK CITY: A group of UN experts said on Monday that the suspension of an EU-Israel trade deal would be the “minimum required” step required from the EU to comply with its obligations under international law, amid the continuing escalation of human rights violations by Israel. The call came ahe»»»

Dubai: The global financial system’s reliance on the US dollar for oil trade is being tested in real time as the Iran war approaches the two-month mark, with a fragile two-week ceasefire window now in focus. What began as a geopolitical shock has evolved into a deeper market shift, forcing investor»»»

GENEVA: 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 on Monday. In their final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, or RDNA, the UN and the EU said that more than two years of war in the »»»

LONDON: The death toll from the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip since Oct.7, 2023 has risen to 72,553, according to the Palestine news agency, Wafa. A total of 172,296 people have been injured in the conflict. Palestinian medical sources said on Monday that two people had been killed and 22 in»»»

CAIRO: Israeli strikes killed at least two Palestinians ​in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Monday, health officials said, and fighters from Hamas clashed with gunmen from an Israeli-backed militia, witnesses said. Medics said one man was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Bureij camp in»»»

SOFIA: Pro-Russian former President Rumen Radev has won ​Bulgaria’s parliamentary election by a landslide, official results showed on Monday, crushing long-dominant political forces and possibly pushing the EU and NATO member state closer to Moscow. The performance, exceeding opinion poll forecasts»»»

We welcome the temporary ceasefire announced in the war in the region. We emphasize the necessity of the full implementation of the temporary ceasefire on the ground and express our expectation that all parties will adhere to the agreement reached. The path to lasting peace can only be achieved thr»»»

Netanyahu, who has been described as the Hitler of our time due to the crimes he has committed, is a well-known figure with a clear track record. An arrest warrant has been issued against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Under Netan»»»

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 kilometers east»»»

KHARTOUM: Bending low in the baking sun and sheathed in heavy protective gear, Hussein Idris sweeps a metal detector across a vast minefield in central Khartoum that was once a park beloved by local families. The war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has moved on from t»»»

ADDIS ABABA: The Tigray People’s Liberation Front has announced the restoration of a regional parliament, the election of which was one of the triggers for the Tigray war, alarming observers fearing a resumption of the deadly conflict between the Ethiopian government and regional forces. The Tigray»»»

Iran has denounced a US attack on one of its vessels as “armed maritime piracy,” warning of retaliation. On Sunday, a US warship fired at and subsequently seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman. The military said the ship, identified as the Touska, was attempting to breach a nav»»»

After Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top leaders and commanders were killed on February 28, “it took Iran 10 minutes to retaliate” and start targeting US bases across the Gulf and in Israel, says veteran war correspondent Elijah Magnier. “Therefore, the IRGC is the one running the show,” Mag»»»

Helicopters are vital for countering drones and protecting shipping, says Andrei Vrublevsky, commander of the Northern Fleet’s new helicopter regiment. According to the lieutenant colonel, a major refurbishment of the regiment’s air base on the Kola Peninsula is due to be completed in 2027. Lieuten»»»

LONDON: King Abdullah of Jordan and the president of Finland, Alexander Stubb, attended a military tactical exercise in Amman on Monday. It took place at the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center, which trains special operations units at the regional and international levels. King Abd»»»

Greece has finally signed into effect legislation securing the status as a marine protected area of the uninhabited but richly biodiverse islet of Gyaros in the Cyclades island group, the Greek branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature said Monday. WWF Greece hailed Thursday’s signing of a president»»»

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»»»