World - Thursday, April 9, 2026

This live blog has now closed. Our coverage of the Middle East crisis continues here The UK foreign minister, Yvette Cooper , has said Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement. In other remarks now being reported by Reuters, Cooper added that shipping through the strait of Hormuz must be toll-free . Amid ceasefire talks, Tehran has proposed fees or tolls on vessels to safely pass through the strait. Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested the US and Iran could collect tolls in a joint venture, while the White House said the priority was reopening the strait without limitations. And my principles and values made sure that our decisions were that we wouldn’t get involved in the action without a lawful basis, without a viable, thought-through plan.” Continue reading...

Iran has insisted that Lebanon is covered by the cease-fire, while the United States and Israel have said it is not, threatening the truce.

An anonymous Iranian woman detailed to The Australian the nightly explosions, celebrations and fear in Tehran as Trump's two-week ceasefire with Iran tentatively took hold.

Cross-border raids from militant Islamists are increasingly threatening the West African state's stability.

Follow updates live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Head of IMF says Iran war will permanently scar global economy even if peace is reached The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the Iran war will permanently scar the global economy even if a durable peace deal in the Middle East can be reached. But now, even our most hopeful scenario involves a growth downgrade. Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo. Penny Wong’s previous statements, whether it’s concerned or gravely concerned, have had no effect. But cancelling more than a billion dollars in Israeli arms contracts – that would not only respond to the moral situation of the appalling Israeli military attacks, it would also have the benefit of putting a very real material pressure on Israel to pull back from what is a disastrous, illegal, immoral war in Lebanon that is threatening the entire globe’s peace. We should not be buying weapons that have been tested by Israeli defence manufacturers in conflicts like Gaza and Lebanon, and we should not be contributing any weapons parts. Right now it also would have the important additional benefit of making it clear to Israel that this comes at a direct and real cost to them. Continue reading...

Both sides have reason to end the war but share no common ground.

John Healey, the defense secretary, said the vessels were gathering information about undersea pipelines, and said he believed President Vladimir V. Putin “would want us to be distracted by the Middle East.”

A Haifa man was allegedly recruited by an Iranian handler to build bombs for an assassination plot believed to target ex-PM Naftali Bennett.

Astronauts prepare for re-entry several miles off coast of southern California after 10-day lunar fly-by mission The crew of Artemis II is set to return to earth on Friday following its historic 10-day lunar flyby mission, and Nasa leaders have described the precise logistics needed to get them home. The return will see the Orion capsule traveling at nearly 24,000mph before making a final splashdown several miles off the coast of San Diego. The operation requires multiple teams and careful coordination to safely extract the crew from the spacecraft. Continue reading...

Erick Valencia Salazar, a co-founder of one of Mexico’s deadliest gangs, faces 10 years to life in prison after making a plea deal in a Washington court.