21-04-2026 LUANDA: Pope Leo says he was not seeking to debate Donald Trump when he criticized “tyrants” for spending billions on wars in a speech earlier this week. The pontiff said the remarks, delivered days after a high-profile spat with the US president, had been written a fortnight earlier “well …

21-04-2026 CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has publicly denied all allegations against him in his first statement after being charged with five counts of the war crime of murder last week. The Victoria Cross recipient, released on bail on Friday, said he was “proud of my …

21-04-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI/ TEHRAN: India summoned Iran’s ambassador in New Delhi for a meeting with the foreign secretary following a shooting incident earlier in the day involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. According to the statement, …

21-04-2026 TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: Iran says it will not open the Strait of Hormuz unless the US stops blockading its ports. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh says no date has been set for a new round of face-to-face talks with the US and slams Washington’s refusal to abandon its “maximalist” …

21-04-2026 SOFIA: Bulgarians have started voting in the eighth parliamentary election in five years after mass protests brought down the previous Conservative-led government in December. Polling stations opened at 7am local time (0400 GMT) and are due to close at 1700 GMT, according to media. Sunday’s vote is significant as …

21-04-2026 SANA’A/ MUKALLA: The Yemeni government’s measures to curb the devaluation of the Yemeni riyal have finally borne fruit, but they have created another problem: A severe liquidity crunch. The government’s central bank, based in the southern city of Aden, has shut down unauthorized exchange firms it says were involved …

21-04-2026 SEOUL: North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, accelerating its missile launches amid Iran war tensions and talk of possible meetings with the US and South Korea. Pyongyang’s intense missile activity, this was the fourth such launch this month and the seventh of the year is …

20-04-2026 By SJA Jafri + Bureau Report + Agencies Warning: This story contains distressing content CANBERRA/ MELBOURNE: Beaming into a small Sydney courtroom on Friday via video link, Ben Roberts-Smith sat silently as he appeared on war crimes charges for the first time. The country’s most-decorated living soldier was earlier …

20-04-2026 PARIS/ LONDON/ DUBAI: The UK and France will lead a multinational mission to protect commercial shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Sir Keir Starmer has said. Speaking after a meeting of 51 countries, the prime minister underlined the work would be “strictly peaceful and defensive” and would only …

20-04-2026 DUBAI/ LONDON: Suspected crime boss Daniel Kinahan has been arrested in the United Arab Emirates in relation to alleged serious organized crime offences. Kinahan, aged in his 40s, was arrested in Dubai under a warrant issued by the Irish courts, Irish national broadcaster RTE has reported. The US government …