International

18-04-2026 CANBERRA: Australia’s wealthiest person Gina Rinehart must part with some of her riches, a court has ruled in a high-profile dispute over her mining empire. Worth an estimated AU$38bn (£20bn; $27bn), Rinehart inherited the iron ore ventures of her father in 1992, before going on to develop mines in …

18-04-2026 ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT: Pope Leo set off for Cameroon, ‌where he is expected to appeal for peace in the simmering conflict in the country’s English-speaking regions on the second leg of an ambitious 10-day tour of four African countries. Leo, who was attacked again, opens new tab overnight …

18-04-2026 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: India’s merchandise trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in March as a surge in exports to ‌the US helped cushion the impact of the ongoing Iran war that has disrupted shipping routes and inflated energy costs. The deficit fell to a nine-month low of $20.67 billion, with …

18-04-2026 WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said the war with Iran could end soon, telling the world to watch out for an “amazing two days”, while US forces imposing a blockade turned back vessels leaving Iranian ports. With the ​prospect of US and Iranian officials returning to Pakistan for more …

18-04-2026 TEHRAN: Iran has demanded that it receive compensation for the destruction caused by the United States and Israel’s attacks, as the country remains defiant and regional powers continue their attempts to mediate an end to the conflict. Tehran’s envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday that five regional …

18-04-2026 VIENNA/ PYONGYANG: North Korea is showing a “very serious increase” in its ability to produce atomic weapons, according to Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The diplomatically isolated country is believed to operate multiple facilities for enriching uranium, a key step in making nuclear …

New Delhi/Vienna April 17 (PMI) India and Austria have jointly established a fast-track mechanism aimed at streamlining and accelerating investment processes between the two countries, strengthening bilateral economic ties, and improving ease of doing business for investors. The new framework is designed to facilitate quicker clearances, reduce bureaucratic delays, and …

17-04-2026 BEIRUT/ JERUSALEM: Attention turned to Lebanon Thursday night to see if a new ceasefire, announced by President Trump, would pause the fighting by Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Israel and Lebanon agreed to the 10-day ceasefire, but Israel vowed to keep its forces in southern Lebanon, saying …

17-04-2026 MADRID: A retrial into the death of the football legend Diego Maradona began on Tuesday, a year after the first case collapsed in a mistrial. Seven members of his medical team are charged with negligent homicide after he died from a heart attack, aged 60. They have denied the …

17-04-2026 CAIRO/ GAZA STRIP: Hamas has rejected the disarmament plan of a top figure in President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace efforts, a senior Palestinian official familiar with the negotiations has told media. He accused Nickolay Mladenov, the high representative for Gaza on the US-led Board of Peace, of bias towards …