14-04-2026 BAGHDAD: Iraq’s parliament has elected Nizar Amedi as the country’s new president, ending a political deadlock that had paralyzed government formation. Amedi was nominated by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and secured 227 votes in a second round of voting on Saturday, comfortably defeating independent candidate Muthanna Amin …

13-04-2026 VATICAN CITY: Pushing back against United States President Donald Trump’s broadside, Pope Leo XIV says the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he did not fear the Trump administration. “I don’t want to get into a debate with him,” Leo said on …

13-04-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ MANESAR: India’s auto-making state of Haryana ordered a 35% hike ​in minimum wages on Friday, after factory workers boycotted work and staged protests this week over rising living costs as a result ‌of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Haryana’s government said it was raising the …

13-04-2026 WASHINGTON: As Melania Trump walked up to the White House podium on Thursday, standing where US President Donald Trump had just over a week ago made his address to the nation on Iran, there was absolutely no indication that this would be a jaw-dropping appearance. There was curiosity, yes …

13-04-2026 BUDAPEST: On the eve of Hungary’s bitterly fought and highly significant election, the two main rivals are taking their campaigns to the wire, as Peter Magyar attempts to end 16 years of continuous rule by Viktor Orban’s party Fidesz. “We’re at the gates of a two-thirds majority victory. Let’s …

13-04-2026 PERM: A 20-year-old man has been arrested by San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman early on Friday morning. Police in the United States said the suspect targeted the property at about 4am local time (11:00 GMT), …

13-04-2026 BOGOTA: Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism has announced it will raise tariffs on neighboring Ecuador to 100 percent from 30 percent. The sum, confirmed on Friday, will match the rate Ecuador set a day earlier, amid an escalating trade and diplomatic spat between the two South American …

13-04-2026 WASHINGTON: NASA’s Artemis II astronauts have returned safely to Earth, completing the first crewed mission to travel around the Moon in more than 50 years. The Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California at 5:07pm local time (00:07 GMT) on Friday, following a …

13-04-2026 LIMA, PERU: A record 35 candidates are vying for the presidency in Peru on Sunday. Only one, however, pitched himself as the most pro-Donald Trump option. Rafael Lopez Aliaga, a chubby-cheeked business magnate and former mayor who goes by the nickname “Porky”, had been the race’s frontrunner since August. …

12-04-2026 By SJA Jafri + Agencies ISLAMABAD/ TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: The United States and Iran have failed to reach a peace deal after high-stakes talks in the Pakistani capital, with Vice President JD Vance saying Tehran refused to accept Washington’s terms after 21 hours of talks in Islamabad. “The bad news …