US destroys Houthi missiles, drones in new Yemen strike
United States Central Command forces operated "in self-defense" when they engaged and destroyed the anti-ship missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles,...Geostrategy
Israel spy chief to discuss Gaza truce with Qatar PM: source
The talks in the Qatari capital are the first after weeks of intense negotiations involving Qatari, US and Egyptian mediators...Geostrategy
Iran Guards seize vessel smuggling fuel in Gulf
Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized a foreign vessel smuggling fuel in the Gulf and arrested its crew members, state media said...The crewmen's nationalities were not specified
On April 15, Iranian media reported the seizure of a boat carrying 250,000 liters of smuggled fuel and the arrest of its seven-member crew
Macron on course to defeat far-right Le Pen for second term
Macron was set to win 57.0-58.5 percent of the vote compared with Le Pen on 41.5-43.0 percent, according to projections...The result is narrower than their second-round clash in 2017, when the same two candidates met in the run-off and Macron polled over 66 percent of the vote.
The relatively comfortable margin of victory will nonetheless give Macron some confidence as he heads into a second five-year mandate.
Six dead, 48 rescued after migrant ship capsizes off Lebanon
At least six people died, including a little girl, and almost 50 others were rescued after a migrant boat capsized...The boat capsized on Saturday night near the northern port city of Tripoli, the departure point for a growing number of people attempting a potentially lethal sea escape.
The deadly accident, weeks ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for May 15, is not the first of its kind for the crisis-hit country.
Protests, pension, pandemic mark Macron presidency
Emmanuel Macron, who had never held elected office before becoming president in 2017, has weathered several crises throughout his presidential...Macron became the youngest president in French history at 39 when he saw off far-right leader Marine Le Pen in 2017
He is now looking to become the first French leader since Jacques Chirac in 2002 to win a second term
French language in focus as controversies rise in Canada
The question of whether Canadian corporate leaders should be bilingual received a lot of attention last fall, after the president...Under Canadian law, state-owned businesses are required to provide services in both French and English to clients
According to some French language proponents in Canada the government has failed to meet their expectations
UN chief to visit Turkey before trips to Russia and Ukraine
Turkey has been trying to negotiate an end to the conflict between the two countries, hosting meetings between Russian and...Antonio Guterres’ trip comes as the Russia-Ukraine war enters its third month, with fierce battles continuing in Ukraine’s east
Scores of civilians and Ukrainian soldiers are said to be trapped in the besieged port city of Mariupol, with evacuation interrupted
Losing Russian energy would weigh on Europe’s economy: IMF official
Europe can get by without Russian gas for six months, but beyond that, the economic impact would be severe, a...Alfred Kammer, head of the IMF's European Department, urged countries in the region to take a series of steps to ease the blow, including reducing consumption to build up inventory
The International Monetary Fund projects that a total loss of Russian gas and oil supplies could cost the European Union three percent of GDP
Saudi Arabia and Iran restart talks in Baghdad
Regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia have resumed key talks in the Iraqi capital Baghdad after negotiations were suspended last...Iran's Nour news agency confirmed a meeting attended by "senior officials from the secretariat of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and the head of the Saudi intelligence
Shiite-majority Iran and the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia support rival sides in several conflict zones across the region
Gunmen kill bodyguard of Iran Revolutionary Guards general
Gunmen killed the bodyguard of a general from Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday in an attack on a checkpoint in...State television said "criminals" had opened fire at the checkpoint, located at the entrance to the provincial capital of Zahedan
IRNA said the security forces arrested those behind the attack
Hopes down for Easter truce in Ukraine as Russia presses on
Russian forces, which withdrew from around Kyiv and the north of Ukraine earlier this month after being frustrated in their...Ukrainian authorities have vowed to fight on and drive the Russian troops from their land, but they also sought an Easter pause
‘Unfortunately, Russia rejected the proposal to establish an Easter truce,’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday
