When seaman Rex Pereira saw missiles flying above his vessel in the Gulf, it sparked in him one desperate wish: to get back home to India.
Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping on Friday, as a ceasefire came into effect in Lebanon, raising hopes that two of the main obstacles to a US-Iran peace deal could have been cleared.
Mild-mannered and measured no longer: US President Donald Trump's threat to destroy Iran's centuries-old civilisation was the red line that prompted Pope Leo to show his colours, analysts say.
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Sports
Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo has signed a lucrative seven-year contract extension that will keep him at Stamford Bridge until 2033.
April 17, 2026
RECENT NEWS
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Stock markets diverged and oil prices fell Friday as investors awaited news of a possible extension to the Iran-US ceasefire, with a first passing of Iranian oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in weeks bolstering hopes.
April 17, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Myanmar's former president Win Myint, detained since a 2021 military coup, was freed on Friday under a mass amnesty which, according to a source close to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, also reduced her sentence.
April 17, 2026
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
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Friday he was "furious" after it emerged his sacked US ambassador Peter Mandelson was appointed despite failing security vetting, as the scandal again threatens his hold on power.
April 17, 2026
Sports
Former three-time winner Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the Madrid Open beginning next week as he needs more time to recover from a shoulder injury.
April 17, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Tens of thousands of excited fans gathered at a landmark Tokyo stadium Friday to watch K-pop megastars BTS, in concert outside South Korea for the first time on their new world tour.
An Italian court has cleared mafia bestseller "Gomorrah" author and journalist Roberto Saviano of defamation charges brought by far-right deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, his lawyer said Friday.
Just days after eliminating Spanish giants Real Madrid to reach the Champions League semi-finals, Bayern Munich could round off a perfect week by winning the Bundesliga title on Sunday.
Millions of gamers around the world may not know Troy Baker's face but would recognise his voice -- perhaps as the heartbroken father Joel in "The Last of Us" or an intrepid Indiana Jones in "The Great Circle".
April 17, 2026
Politics
Tens of thousands of people streamed towards a stadium in Cameroon's economic capital Douala Friday for a huge, open-air mass by Pope Leo XIV, the biggest event of a visit marked by his calls for peace and spat with US President Donald Trump.
April 17, 2026
RECENT NEWS
The first Hong Kong Sevens took place in front of a few thousand curious spectators, and some of the players wore gym shoes in the mud instead of rugby boots.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes Hugo Ekitike can come back even stronger from a ruptured Achilles tendon that has ended the French striker's season, and his dreams of playing in the World Cup.
Thousands of displaced Lebanese civilians took to the road on Friday, hoping that a 10-day ceasefire with Israel would allow them to return to their homes in southern Beirut and the country's war-torn south.
An old Smith Corona typewriter, letters from literary contemporaries and photographs are part of the items spanning the life of renowned Mexican writer and journalist Elena Poniatowska to go on display this week in Mexico City.
April 17, 2026
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