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    US military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz

    CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisc. — The U.S. military said it shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz, Friday, and then struck some of the Islamic Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response, raising the risk to a shaky ceasefire as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran . “The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” U.S. Central Command said on social media. The military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s chokehold on the crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments, which has sent energy prices spiking and posed political problems for President Donald Trump's Republican Party ahead of the midterm congressional elections. U.S. Central Command said it hit the radar sites, including an island in the strait, “to defend against further attacks.” It was the latest in back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war and efforts to reach a deal to extend that truce. Earlier this week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger termin

    3 MIN READBy AP
    US military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz
  • World

    Iran FM urges Lebanon president to save country from 'real foe'

    1 MIN READBy AFP
    Iran FM urges Lebanon president to save country from 'real foe'
  • World

    Pope Leo heads to Spain with migrants and polarisation in focus

    2 MIN READBy Reuters
    Pope Leo heads to Spain with migrants and polarisation in focus
  • World

    Trump's UFC fight at White House combines punches and politics

    3 MIN READBy Reuters
    Trump's UFC fight at White House combines punches and politics
  • World

    NASA reverses evacuation alert order for astronauts aboard space station

    3 MIN READBy Reuters
    NASA reverses evacuation alert order for astronauts aboard space station
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World

Shippers seek clarity on Hormuz reopening after US-Iran ceasefire deal

SINGAPORE/OSLO — Shippers said on Wednesday they needed more clarity on the terms of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire before resuming transit through the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran issued fresh warnings about any vessels attempting to sail through the waterway. The six-week conflict had brought traffic through the strait — a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments — close to a standstill, pushing global energy prices sharply higher. Iran said it would offer safe passage in coordination with its armed forces, though its coastguards warned on Wednesday that any ship attempting to sail without permissions would be "targeted and destroyed." Major shipping companies remain cautious The first vessel had transited the Strait with Iran's permission following the ceasefire, its state TV said on Wednesday. The ship's identity was not immediately clear, but MarineTraffic data showed two Greek-owned and one Chinese-owned bulk carriers passing through since early Wednesday. Iran has previously agreed safe-passage arrangements with several countries, including India a

Apr 9, 2026By Reuters
Shippers seek clarity on Hormuz reopening after US-Iran ceasefire deal
World

Traders place large $950 mil. bet on oil price falling hours ahead of ceasefire

LONDON — Investors placed an approximately $950 million bet on oil prices falling just hours before the U.S. and Iran announced a ceasefire, the latest large wager on the direction of the world's most traded commodity ahead of a major policy announcement by President Donald Trump. On Tuesday, investors sold a combined 8,600 lots of Brent and U.S. crude futures at 1945 GMT, according to LSEG data. At around 2230 GMT on Tuesday, Trump stepped back from threatening the destruction of "a whole civilization" and announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, knocking crude futures down by some 15 percent to below $100 a barrel at the start of Wednesday's official trading session. Taking large positions on oil prices rising or falling is not unusual as traders use them to hedge large volumes of physical oil trade. But such deals are very rarely done in big lots, as traders prefer to use sweeping orders across many exchanges and ask brokers to use algorithmic trading over many hours to execute the order to avoid impacting prices with their bets. Large orders also are seldom executed after settlem

Apr 9, 2026By Reuters
Traders place large $950 mil. bet on oil price falling hours ahead of ceasefire
World

Israel strikes central Beirut without warning after saying Iran ceasefire doesn't apply there

BEIRUT — Israeli strikes hit several dense commercial and residential areas in central Beirut Wednesday afternoon without warning, hours after a ceasefire was announced in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Israel had said the agreement does not extend to its war with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, although mediator Pakistan said it does. Israel’s military called it the largest coordinated strike in the current war, striking more than 100 Hezbollah targets within 10 minutes in Beirut, southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley. Black smoke towered over several parts of the seaside capital. Explosions interrupted the honking of traffic on what had been a bustling, blue-sky afternoon. Ambulances raced toward open flames. Apartment buildings were struck. Emergency responders searched charred vehicles. It was not immediately clear how many people were killed or wounded, but several strikes were in busy commercial locations, causing panic in the streets. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that the airstrikes hit at least five different neighborhoods in Beirut'

Apr 8, 2026By AP
Israel strikes central Beirut without warning after saying Iran ceasefire doesn't apply there
World

Wall Street, global markets surge after US-Iran ceasefire sends oil prices below $100 per barrel

Wall Street surged in Wednesday premarket trading as oil prices plunged below $100 after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Futures for the S&P 500 jumped 2.7 percent before the opening bell and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 2.6 percent. Nasdaq futures soared 3.4 percent. Benchmark U.S. crude sank $18.43 to $94.52 a barrel, a nearly 16-percent decline. Brent crude, the international standard dropped $15.54 to $93.73 a barrel. Natural gas futures declined close to 5 percent. The drops reversed some of the rise in oil prices since the start of the war more than five weeks ago that had effectively blocked passage through the strait that’s a crucial route for global supplies. For now, market analysts see the ceasefire as more of a reprieve than a resolution. “Yet the mood remains one of cautious optimism rather than outright celebration," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade. "The ceasefire is only two weeks long, and markets will be watching closely to see whether shipping through the

Apr 8, 2026By AP
Wall Street, global markets surge after US-Iran ceasefire sends oil prices below $100 per barrel
World

Israel backs US decision for temporary ceasefire in Iran: PM's office

JERUSALEM — Israel said Wednesday it supported U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to suspend bombing of Iran for two weeks as part of a ceasefire deal if Tehran reopens the vital Strait of Hormuz. "Israel supports President Trump's decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the U.S., Israel and countries in the region," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. "Israel also supports the U.S. effort to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat to America, Israel, Iran's Arab neighbors and the world," the statement added.

Apr 8, 2026By AFP
Israel backs US decision for temporary ceasefire in Iran: PM's office
World

US, Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire but Israel says deal doesn't include fight against Hezbollah

TEL AVIV — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel backed the U.S. ceasefire with Iran but that the deal doesn’t cover fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Netanyahu’s office said in the statement Wednesday that Israel supported U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the Strait of Hormuz and stopping all attacks on the U.S. Israel and countries in the region. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled back on his threats to launch devastating strikes on Iran late Tuesday, as the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump swerved to deescalate the war less than two hours before the deadline he set for Tehran to capitulate to a deal or face attacks on its bridges and power plants meant to destroy Iranian “civilization.” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it has accepted the ceasefire and that it would negotiate with the United States in Islamabad beginning Friday. Neither Iran nor the United States said when the ceasefire wo

Apr 8, 2026By AP
US, Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire but Israel says deal doesn't include fight against Hezbollah
World

NATO chief set for Trump talks as US-Iran truce begins

WASHINGTON — NATO chief Mark Rutte will hold talks with Donald Trump in Washington on Wednesday, one day after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. The U.S. president has expressed anger at Western partners' refusal to back his war on Iran, rocking the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance. He branded NATO partners "cowards" for limiting U.S. forces' access to bases on their territories and for refusing to lead efforts to open the Strait of Hormuz. But NATO's secretary-general touts a record of pulling Trump back onside — and will be looking to do so again when he meets the president, as well as US top diplomat Marco Rubio and defense chief Pete Hegseth. NATO has been thrust repeatedly into crisis since Trump returned to power last year — most acutely by his threat to seize the vast Arctic island of Greenland from fellow member Denmark. That followed him pulling the rug from under Ukraine in its war against Russia, threats not to protect allies if they don't spend more on defense, and warnings that Washington could pull troops from Europe. Dubbed a "Trump whisperer

Apr 8, 2026By AFP
NATO chief set for Trump talks as US-Iran truce begins
World

Iraqi armed group releases US journalist

BAGHDAD — Iraq's powerful armed group Kataeb Hezbollah on Tuesday released U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson, a week after she was kidnapped in Baghdad, the Iranian-backed group and the United States said. Her release was announced hours before the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire in more than one month of war, which spread into a regionwide conflict. "In recognition of the national stances of the outgoing prime minister, we have decided to release the American defendant Shelly Kittleson, on the condition that she leave the country immediately," Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official in the Iran-backed group, said in a brief statement. He added that this was an exceptional gesture that would "not be repeated again in the coming days, as we are in a state of war launched by the Zionist-American enemy against Islam, and in such cases many considerations are discarded." Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said that she had been freed. "We are relieved that this American is now free and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq," Rubio said in a statement. A senior I

Apr 8, 2026By AFP
Iraqi armed group releases US journalist
World

How Trump's deadline delays, threats escalated leading up to 2-week ceasefire with Iran

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said he would suspend his threatened attack against Iran less than two hours before the deadline the president set for Tehran Tuesday, which followed weeks of deadline delays and escalating threats, including Trump's earlier post that “a whole civilization will die tonight.” On Truth Social, Trump posted that he would withhold “the bombing and attack of Iran” for two weeks, subject to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials said they had accepted a two-week ceasefire and that passage through the strait would be allowed for that same period. The temporary agreement comes after weeks of the Republican president posting a slew of heated threats, announcing deadline delays and proclamations that the negotiations were going well, sometimes in the same statement. That was true in Trump's Truth Social post before his now-suspended Tuesday 8 p.m. ET deadline. After threatening a “whole civilization," Trump had said Iran's new leaders were more reasonable and “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

Apr 8, 2026By AP
How Trump's deadline delays, threats escalated leading up to 2-week ceasefire with Iran
World

Iran agrees to safe passage through Hormuz strait for two weeks 'if attacks halted'

TEHRAN — Iran said Wednesday it would guarantee safe passage for maritime traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz for two weeks, announcing that the pause would be used for talks with the United States on ending the war, starting Friday in Islamabad. "For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X. The Islamic republic's Supreme National Security Council said in a separate statement the negotiations were set to last two weeks but could be "extended by mutual agreement of the parties."

Apr 8, 2026By AFP
Iran agrees to safe passage through Hormuz strait for two weeks 'if attacks halted'
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