Three Iranian oil tankers carrying a total of five million barrels of crude have become the first such loaded vessels to leave the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz since a US blockade came into force, the tracking firm Kpler told AFP on Friday.
Thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians took to the road on Friday, hoping a 10-day ceasefire with Israel would allow them to return to their homes in southern Beirut and the country's war-torn south.
A jubilant crowd gathered in stifling heat Friday for a giant open-air mass by Pope Leo XIV at a stadium in Cameroon's economic capital Douala, the biggest event of a visit marked by his calls for peace and spat with US President Donald Trump.
- Oil drops, stocks mixed amid US-Iran peace hopes
- Myanmar ex-president freed from post-coup detention, Suu Kyi's sentence cut
Nature
A private rescue attempt for a whale stranded off Germany's Baltic coast has entered a "decisive phase", officials said Friday, with the sea mammal showing more activity than in recent days.
April 17, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Myanmar's former president Win Myint, detained since a 2021 military coup, was freed on Friday after being pardoned of convictions handed down during the post-putsch period of military rule.
April 17, 2026
RECENT NEWS
South Korea wants to host a Formula One race for the first time since 2013 after unveiling a new circuit design that officials say is financially viable.
April 17, 2026
French actor Gerard Depardieu on Friday dropped a lawsuit against broadcaster France Televisions over a 2023 television report that portrayed him as making sexual comments about a young girl.
April 17, 2026
Blistering temperatures rising to 40C and above will now be branded "cruelly hot" or "kokusho-bi" in Japan, the weather agency said Friday, as heatwave days become increasingly frequent in the region.
April 17, 2026
Politics
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced mounting pressure to quit on Friday over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as envoy to Washington, after it emerged the veteran politician had failed security vetting.
April 17, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Myanmar's former president Win Myint, detained since a 2021 coup, was pardoned on Friday of his convictions during the post-putsch period of military rule, a statement said.
The Wikimedia Foundation said Friday it will hold talks with the Indonesian government after Jakarta threatened to block Wikipedia over registration rules the firm says "departs from international human rights norms".
A 10-day ceasefire deal struck between Lebanon and Israel took effect on Friday, sending displaced residents streaming south towards their homes, even as the Lebanese army warned of "a number of violations" in the area.
There are no children in the Afghan border village of Barikot, where the school has been smashed by shells and the playground sits deserted after weeks of war with Pakistan.
April 17, 2026
Things to know
Photographer Joel Meyerowitz, famous for capturing everyday life on the streets of his native New York and elsewhere, has no qualms about now sharing the stage with hordes of phone-wielding amateurs.
April 17, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Russia is trying to produce more pro-war influencers through content creation camps, training teenagers to spread the Kremlin's hardline, anti-West narrative to the next generation.
Pope Leo XIV will give a giant mass on Friday in Cameroon's economic capital Douala, the biggest event of a visit marked by his calls for peace and spat with US President Donald Trump.
Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle visited Australia's Bondi Beach on Friday to meet survivors of last year's mass shooting at the famed surf spot.
Just days after eliminating European giants Real Madrid to reach the Champions League semi-finals, Bayern Munich can continue their perfect week by lifting the Bundesliga title on Sunday.
April 17, 2026
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