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France and Britain said Friday they will lead a multinational mission to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasising the force would be entirely defensive and only deployed once lasting peace in the region was agreed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the force was being set up as they co-chaired international talks in Paris focused on ensuring free-flowing trade through the critical shipping corridor. The conference, held mainly by video link, brought together a total of 49 countries from Europe and Asia, which were represented at various levels including dozens...

All ships can sail through the Strait of Hormuz but this needs to be coordinated ‌with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a senior Iranian official told Reuters, adding that unfreezing Iranian funds was part of the deal. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi wrote on X that the strait was open after a ceasefire accord was agreed in Lebanon, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come "soon", although the timing remains unclear. The Iranian official said transits would be restricted to lanes that Iran deemed safe, ⁠adding that military vessels were...

Oil prices have plummeted after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would be "completely open" to commercial ships for the remainder of the ceasefire. The cost of a barrel of Brent crude fell to $88 dollars a barrel, having been above $98 earlier on Friday. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water linking the Gulf to the Arabian sea, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquified natural gas is typically transported. US President Donald Trump welcomed Iran's statement, but maritime groups are still verifying the Iranian announcement. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: "The...

Two images of the rationed meals served to crews deployed to the Middle East have gone viral online, sparking concern about the conditions aboard U.S. warships and reports of dwindling food supplies.In the images, taken anonymously and provided by families to USA Today on Thursday, one tray contains little more than shredded meat and a single tortilla, and another depicts what relatives described as an unidentifiable “grey” processed slab alongside vegetables.

A highly respected figure from Hungary’s Catholic education sector is set to become the education minister in Péter Magyar’s incoming Tisza-led government, according to multiple independent sources. Telex reports that the party has asked the director-general of the Cistercian School Authority to take on the post, and that she has already accepted the role, although she declined to comment publicly before the new government is formally established. The reported appointment would be one of the clearest personnel signals yet about how seriously Tisza intends to pursue its promised overhaul of Hungary’s troubled public education system.

The price of oil plunged sharply and U.S. stock indexes opened at new all-time highs after the Iranian foreign minister said that the Strait of Hormuz was open for commercial vessels. U.S. crude oil plunged 10% to nearly $85 per barrel, while international Brent crude also slid more than 8% to around $90 per barrel. Heating oil futures, which are a proxy for jet fuel, plummeted 13%. Wholesale RBOB gas futures also fell 7%. At the opening bell, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1%. Both set new all-time highs in early trading as a result....

The Republican-led Senate on Wednesday rejected the latest Democratic attempt to halt President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, turning aside a resolution that would require the U.S. to withdraw forces from the conflict until Congress authorizes further action. The 47-52 vote was the fourth time this year that the Senate has voted to cede its war powers to the president in a conflict that Democrats say is illegal and unjustified. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote against it. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky voted with Democrats. Republicans say they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime...

“We’re very close to making a deal with Iran,” Trump said, adding that negotiators may meet again “over the weekend.” Pakistan, which has been mediating between the two sides, is expected to host the next round of talks. Trump said he would consider traveling there if an agreement is reached. “I would go to Pakistan,” Trump said. “If a deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go. They want me.” The ceasefire between the sides, which began last Tuesday, is set to expire next week, though Trump suggested it may not need to be extended.

In a little over a year in office, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has achieved a series of military triumphs that have not, perhaps, been equaled since World War II: the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, the arrest of Nicolas Maduro, and the air campaign against Iran’s regime. These missions have been flawlessly executed by Hegseth’s department, so naturally the Democrats want to impeach him.The first articles of impeachment were filed in January by Michigan Congressman Shri Thanedar, but got little attention. A new, expanded set of articles was filed today. You can read the document here. Axios describes the...

"Oh, to be in England, now that April's there," Robert Browning wrote nearly two centuries ago in Home Thoughts from Abroad, but this April, Britons might pine for the riches of... Mississippi?Yes, Mississippi, if they take just a brief gander at the new Institute of Economic Affairs report on the comparative wealth between Britain, American states, and Britons' sad delusions about where they stand. According to the IEA, ask the typical Brit where his country ranks, income-wise, if it were a state. And the typical answer is "Seventh place."Not quite, old chap. The sad fact is that if Britain were...

Ben Roberts-Smith has been granted bail pending his war crime trial, despite claims by the prosecution that the former soldier had been “on the cusp of moving overseas” and that he might try to interfere with witnesses. The decision by Judge Greg Grogin at a bail hearing in Sydney on Friday means Mr Roberts-Smith is likely to be freed from Silverwater Correctional Complex later this afternoon. Judge Greg Grogin said the court needed to be satisfied before bail could be granted, that there were exceptional circumstances which exist to justify bail. “There is a presumption of innocence in, in place...

U.S. Conservatives were down in the dumps about Viktor Orbán's loss in the parliamentary election in Hungary. As Beege wrote last night, perhaps that sentiment was a bit premature, based more on the European Union's desire to replace Orbán than any real reason to worry about his successor, Péter Magyar. Magyar, after all, was not some socialist opponent of Orbán, but until recently his right-hand man. He defected from Orbán over what appear to be legitimate concerns about massive corruption in the Orbán regime, rather than over policy differences with the political platform of Orbán's party, Fidesz. The European Union...

On Thursday, President Donald Trump was boarding Air Force One on his way to Nevada, then Arizona, to tout the Working Families Tax Cuts and the gains by average Americans because of them. During his typical impromptu press scrum before boarding, the president dropped some bombshells: the biggest breakthrough: Iran has agreed to give up its enriched uranium.Trump said: Very important is that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon and they've agreed to that. Iran's agreed to that, and they've agreed to it very powerfully. They've agreed to give us back the nuclear dust, which is way underground because...

Ben Roberts-Smith was taking his teenage daughters on a shopping day trip to Sydney when he was arrested getting off a Qantas flight and charged with war crimes. The Victoria Cross recipient had flown from Queensland to NSW with his 15-year-old twins and partner Sarah Matulin on the morning of April 7 and all four were holding return tickets to Brisbane. Roberts-Smith, who will apply for bail today in Downing Centre Local Court, had treated his girls to an Easter school holidays expedition and none of the group had checked any luggage. Federal authorities knew the 47-year-old was making the...

President Trump claimed Thursday that the US and Iran have a “good” chance of finalizing a peace deal in the coming days after the Islamic Republic agreed to two major demands put forward by the White House — and teased that he may go to Pakistan himself to seal the agreement. “It’s very important that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, and they’ve agreed to that,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a two-day western trip. Trump then claimed that Iran “agreed to give us back the nuclear dust that’s way underground because of the...

April 15 (Reuters) - China has told Danish shipping group Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), opens new tab and Switzerland-based Mediterranean ​Shipping Company (MSC Shipping) to cease operating ports ‌on the Panama Canal, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. In a meeting with China's state planner last month, ​Maersk and MSC Shipping were told to ​withdraw from the Balboa and Cristóbal ports ⁠immediately, the report said, citing two people ​familiar with the talks. Maersk and MSC were told not to "engage ​in illegal activities that harm the interests of Chinese companies, ‌and ⁠to uphold commercial ethics and international rules," the report said. Panama...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a new law criminalizing antisemitism and making it punishable by up to eight years in prison. The new law – signed on Holocaust Remembrance Day – amends Article 161 of the Criminal Code on the violation of citizens’ equality based on their race, nationality, religious beliefs, or disability. This now features the words and “manifestations of antisemitism,” according to the draft law seen by The Jerusalem Post. Part one of the article relates to deliberate actions aimed at inciting hatred or manifestations of antisemitism and at humiliation of honor and dignity. Incitement to antisemitism...

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. “I just had excellent conversations with the Highly Respected President Joseph Aoun, of Lebanon, and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, of Israel. These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “On Tuesday, the two Countries met for the first time in 34 years here in Washington, D.C., with our Great Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. I have directed Vice President JD Vance and...

President Donald Trump on April 14 directly addressed Pope Leo XIV in another Truth Social post, drawing attention to the Iranian regime’s reported killing of thousands of protesters in the past two months. “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable,” he wrote.Protests in Iran erupted in late December 2025 over economic hardships and quickly turned into broader anti-government demonstrations, Zeale News previously reported. Iranian security forces reportedly responded with live ammunition against the...

On Friday Nigel Farage sought to minimise his personal relationship with Trump. “I happen to know him, but that’s by the by,” said the Reform UK leader. Farage told the FT the bilateral partnership was “our most important relationship in the world . . . whether it’s [Joe] Biden in the White House or Trump.” Last year he said he hoped to become prime minister “quickly while Donald Trump is still in office.” Lord David Frost, the UK’s former Brexit negotiator, made an even more dramatic shift this week. The Conservative peer, who once welcomed Trump’s re-election as the “first...