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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 …

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 …

17-04-2026 SINGAPORE/ LONDON: The first full day of a US blockade on vessels calling at Iranian ports made little difference to Strait of Hormuz traffic on Tuesday, with at least eight ‌ships including three Iran-linked tankers, crossing the waterway, shipping data showed. US President Donald Trump announced the blockade on …

17-04-2026 By SJA Jafri + Agencies ISLAMABAD/ WASHINGTON: Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports. Officials from Pakistan, Iran and …