Author: By AFP

Audio By Vocalize Voters cast their ballots at a polling station during the country’s parliamentary elections in Sofia on April 19, 2026. [AFP] Bulgarians voted in the country’s eighth election in five years on Sunday, with ex-president Rumen Radev’s grouping tipped to win on a pledge to fight corruption, after an anti-graft movement triggered a long political crisis. The European Union’s poorest member has been through a spate of governments since 2021, when large anti-graft rallies brought an end to the conservative government of long-time leader Boyko Borissov. Radev, who has advocated for renewing ties with Russia and opposes military…

Audio By Vocalize Protesters during a demonstration organised by Israeli left-wing activists against the ongoing war with Iran and Lebanon and against the Israeli government, at HaBima Square in Tel Aviv on April 18, 2026. [AFP] Britain’s government is set to announce legislation next month to move the country closer to the European Union, as the Iran war sours the UK’s so-called special relationship with the United States. President Donald Trump’s unpredictability and stream of insults towards America’s historic ally is adding impetus to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s bid to deepen ties with the 27-nation bloc, a decade after Britons…

Audio By Vocalize A policeman walks past a hole made from a bullet in a window of a supermarket after a shooting in Kyiv on April 18, 2026. [AFP] Five people were killed in Kyiv on Saturday after a gunman opened fire and took hostages at a supermarket in the Ukrainian capital before being killed during an arrest attempt, officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that at least 10 people were hospitalised with wounds and trauma after the shooting, which took place in a residential district in the city’s south. Footage posted by the UNIAN news agency, which AFP…

Audio By Vocalize Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again over US blockade. [AFP] Iran’s military declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday, its military command said,  hours after reopening it and with more than a dozen commercial ships passing through the vital waterway. The toing and froing over the Strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s optimism the day before, that a peace deal to end the US-Israeli war with Iran was “very close”. Tehran had on Friday declared the strait, which usually carries a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, open on Friday…

Audio By Vocalize The Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East on a globe under a magnifying glass in Shanghai, China on March 26, 2026. [AFP] Tehran has 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. In Lebanon, displaced families packed their belongings onto the roofs of their cars and thronged the roads, taking the chance of a 10-day truce to return to homes in bomb-damaged south Beirut or the war-torn south…

Audio By Vocalize Markets climb as ceasefire hopes lift global sentiment. [File Courtesy] Stock markets advanced Thursday on expectations that a Mideast ceasefire would soon let oil and gas tankers resume transit through the Strait of Hormuz, easing inflation pressures that have upended economies worldwide. Signs of fresh talks aimed at ending the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran have pushed stock indexes to all-time highs, suggesting investors expect a quick economic rebound from the conflict. The Tokyo stock market reached a record high on Thursday, following all-time peaks for key US indexes on Wednesday as investors…

Stephen Currys late heroics powered the Warriors past the Clippers to keep their playoff hopes alive. Published Date: 2026-04-16 21:45:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Real Madrid blasted the unbelievable red card shown to Eduardo Camavinga as a turning point in their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich. Published Date: 2026-04-16 21:33:19 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize Cubans during celebrations marking the victory on the 65th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion and the declaration of the socialist character of the Cuban Revolution in Havana on April 16, 2026. [AFP] Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday his country was “ready” for a possible US attack on the communist island following months of mounting pressure from President Donald Trump. “We don’t want that (confrontation) but it is our duty to be ready to avoid it, and if it were unavoidable, to win it,” Diaz-Canel told thousands of people attending a rally in Havana to…

Audio By Vocalize A group of bloggers in Guinea denounced Thursday what it called a “targeted” blockage of social media sites by the West African country’s authoritarian government of President Mamady Doumbouya. The association of Guinea bloggers (ABLOGUI) said no reason had been given for shutting off access to Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and other sites. Doumbouya, a former army general, came to power in a 2021 coup and was elected president last December in a vote that excluded all major opposition leaders. The bloggers said the blockage “excludes any possibility of a normal outage” to the platforms. The association had…

Audio By Vocalize Members of the Iranian Kurdish opposition Komala party during the funeral of Ghazal Moulai, a Peshmerga fighter, at the “Sheikh Ahmed Hindi” cemetery in the city of Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan region on April 16, 2026. [AFP] US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a ceasefire Thursday, and said he was trying to set up the first-ever meeting between the leaders of the two countries. Following what he called “excellent” phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Trump said the truce would begin within hours. “These two Leaders…

Mikel Arteta said Arsenals tense run to the Champions League semi-finals shows they have the resilience to handle pressure and chase a long-awaited trophy. Published Date: 2026-04-16 16:15:50 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, visit Batyr, a mental health engagement programme, at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne on April 16, 2026. [AFP] Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle claimed Thursday she has been “bullied and attacked” on social media every day for a decade and was “the most trolled person in the entire world”. The 44-year-old former American actress made the comments during the couple’s four-day tour of Australia, as they both addressed a roundtable discussion with young people associated with an Australian mental health organisation. “Every…

Liverpool and France forward Hugo Ekitike will miss the 2026 World Cup after suffering a serious injury in his club’s Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain Published Date: 2026-04-16 11:43:34 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Harry Kane praised Luis Diaz’s late “moment of magic” which delivered the killer blow as Bayern Munich eliminated Real Madrid to reach the Champions League semi-finals Published Date: 2026-04-16 11:40:14 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Declan Rice said reaching another Champions League semi-final was “an amazing achievement” for Arsenal despite failing to silence critics in a 0-0 draw at home to Sporting Lisbon Published Date: 2026-04-16 11:36:14 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Liverpool suffered a heavy Champions League exit to PSG, piling pressure on manager Arne Slot after a trophyless and turbulent season. Published Date: 2026-04-15 18:00:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize Pope Leo XIV gestures during a visit to the Maqam Echahid Martyrs’ Monument in El Madania, near Algiers, April 13, 2026. [AFP] Pope Leo XIV left Algeria on Wednesday, headed for Cameroon for a four-day trip that includes a visit to the epicentre of a nearly decade-long separatist conflict, where he is due to bring a message of peace. After his historic visit to Algeria, marred by two suicide attacks and a spat with President Donald Trump, the pontiff is expected later in mainly French-speaking Cameroon, which has been ruled by President Paul Biya since 1982. In…

Audio By Vocalize An airliner belonging to an Iranian airline flies over the Shahid Boroujerdi residential complex in southern Tehran, Iran, April 14, 2026. [AFP] US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that China has agreed not to send weapons to its close partner Iran and that he has received personal assurances from leader Xi Jinping. “They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran. President Xi will give me a big, fat hug when I get there in a few weeks,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to his planned May 14-15 summit with Xi in Beijing. Trump told Fox…

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said that his team was ready to finally win the Champions League after knocking out Barcelona on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals. Published Date: 2026-04-15 11:29:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Slot had paired Ekitike up front alongside Alexander Isak, who was making his first start since breaking his leg in December. Published Date: 2026-04-15 10:06:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Ousmane Dembele’s double guided Paris Saint-Germain into the Champions League semi-finals as a 2-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield Published Date: 2026-04-15 09:53:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize US Vice President JD Vance arrives for a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran in Islamabad on April 12, 2026.[AFP] President Donald Trump said  on Tuesday that US-Iran peace talks could resume this week, while Israel and Lebanon agreed to launch direct negotiations, signaling movement on two key fronts in efforts to ease the Middle East conflict. The parallel diplomatic openings come even as violence persisted, underscoring both the fragility of the process and Washington’s push to stabilize a region shaken by the over-six-week war. Trump told The New York Post a new…

Jude Bellingham says Real Madrids Champions League clash against Bayern Munich will define their season as they risk finishing without silverware. Published Date: 2026-04-14 21:20:11 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize Tobias Adrian (left), director of monetary and capital markets at the IMF, during the 2026 IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. [AFP] The IMF cut its 2026 global growth projection Tuesday, warning that the world economy could be “thrown off course” by war in the Middle East — as the conflict roils commodity markets and sparks higher prices. The global economy is set to grow by 3.1 percent this year, said the International Monetary Fund in its World Economic Outlook report, released during its spring meetings in Washington. This…

IMF cuts 2026 global growth forecast on Mideast war Published Date: 2026-04-14 18:00:10 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize Gianinna Maradona, daughter of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona arrives at a courthouse for a preliminary hearing in a trial over his death in San Isidro, Buenos Aires, on April 14, 2026. [AFP] A new trial over the death of football legend Diego Maradona began Tuesday in Argentina, 10 months after a scandal involving a judge caused the first trial to collapse. Maradona, considered one of the world’s greatest players, died in November 2020 at the age of 60 while recovering from surgery for a brain clot. His seven-strong medical team is accused of gross negligence causing his…

Audio By Vocalize US President Donald Trump speaks to the press outside the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 13, 2026.[AFP] Manila said Tuesday it was seeking US permission to buy more Russian crude, as the import-dependent Philippines scrambles to shore up scant fuel supplies amid a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The Philippines’ sole oil refinery secured nearly 2.5 million barrels last month after seeing at least four million barrels in shipments cancelled since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Washington last month eased some sanctions tied to Russia’s war on…

Audio By Vocalize Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) is attending a special meeting of the federal cabinet in Islamabad.[AFP] The United States said “the ball is in the Iranian court” on ending the Mideast war, as diplomats accelerated efforts on Tuesday towards a new round of peace talks after weekend negotiations failed to produce a deal. US Vice President JD Vance had left talks hosted by Pakistan on Sunday, saying he had handed Tehran the “final and best offer”. Iran has blamed Washington for making maximalist demands, but its leaders have, in the last hours, not dismissed efforts by…

Manchester United interim boss Michael Carrick blasted referee Paul Tierney for sending off Lisandro Martinez in Monday’s 2-1 defeat against Leeds. Published Date: 2026-04-14 10:12:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

The childhood home of the late Argentine football legend has been transformed into a soup kitchen for people squeezed by President Javier Milei’s austerity policies. Published Date: 2026-04-14 10:05:29 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize Peter Magyar, leader of the pro-European conservative TISZA party, delivers a press conference at the HUNGEXPO Congress and Exhibition Centre in Budapest, Hungary, on April 13, 2026.[AFP] JD Vance had two jobs last week: get an Iran deal and keep Hungary’s Viktor Orban in power. Neither happened for the US vice president. The 41-year-old Vance looked exhausted as he left Pakistan on Sunday after 21 hours that failed to produce an agreement with Tehran to end a war he had never wanted to begin with. At a terse press conference in Islamabad, Vance delivered the “bad news”…

Audio By Vocalize First responders gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighbourhood in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Roummane, on April 13, 2026. [AFP] Lebanese and Israeli representatives are scheduled to meet in Washington Tuesday for US-mediated talks on ending the war in Lebanon, but the prospects of an agreement appear slim. Naim Qassem — the leader of pro-Iran Hezbollah, which is battling Israel — called for the talks to be scrapped before they even began, describing them as “futile.” Lebanon was pulled into the region-wide Iran war on March 2 after Hezbollah attacked…

Audio By Vocalize Pope Leo XIV arrives to meet Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the Presidential Palace on April 13, 2026. [AFP] Pope Leo XIV said Monday he had “a moral duty” to speak out against war and didn’t “fear” President Donald Trump after the US leader criticised his calls for an end to the conflict in the Middle East. Before taking off from Rome headed to Algiers for a papal visit, the pontiff came under fire from Trump, who railed against Leo’s recent comments calling for peace with the Middle East grappling with the war triggered by a joint…

Audio By Vocalize Former Deputy Chief Operating Officer of the Lafarge Christian Herrault arrives at the Paris courthouse in Paris on April 13, 2026. [AFP] A French court on Monday fined the cement group Lafarge over $1.3 million and sentenced its former boss to six years in prison for paying protection money to the Islamic State group and other jihadists to maintain its business in war-torn Syria. The ruling follows a 2022 case in the United States in which the French firm pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to US-designated “terrorist” organisations and agreed to pay a $778…

Pep Guardiola insisted Manchester City must respect Arsenal when they face the Premier League leaders in a seismic title showdown next weekend. Published Date: 2026-04-13 12:23:36 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Liam Rosenior admitted Chelsea are in a “difficult place” after Sunday’s dismal 3-0 defeat against Manchester City piled pressure on the Blues boss. Published Date: 2026-04-13 12:20:57 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize US Vice President JD Vance and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ahead of their meeting on Iran amid the US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on April 11, 2026. [AFP] The US military said it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports on Monday, after talks between the warring sides in Pakistan collapsed with President Donald Trump blaming the Islamic republic’s refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Trump had announced on social media he would blockade the strategic Strait of Hormuz trading route that he has been demanding Tehran fully re-open, after his vice president, JD Vance…

Audio By Vocalize France’s President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron leave the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. [AFP] France’s lawmakers will on Monday debate a bill to simplify the return of artworks looted during the colonial era to their countries of origin. France still has in its possession tens of thousands of artworks and other prized artefacts that it looted from its colonial empire. The draft legislation to return them was unanimously approved by the upper house in January, and now needs to be backed by the lower house National…

Audio By Vocalize Beijing claims the strategic South China Sea in nearly its entirety, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. [File, Standard] The Philippines accused Chinese fishermen on Monday of pouring cyanide in waters in the Spratly Islands, a flashpoint in the disputed South China Sea that has been the site of violent confrontations with Chinese vessels. Beijing claims the strategic South China Sea in nearly its entirety, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. The Philippines’ National Security Council (NSC) alleged the poisoning began last year around Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly chain,…

Manchester City ignited the Premier League title race with a second-half blitz that sealed a 3-0 win against Chelsea as they closed the gap on leaders Arsenal on Sunday. Published Date: 2026-04-12 20:55:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during UFC 327 at Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, on April 11, 2026.  [AFP] Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto will depart for Russia on Sunday for talks with counterpart Vladimir Putin on oil, Prabowo’s office said. The presidency in Jakarta confirmed to AFP that Prabowo would leave Sunday evening. Foreign Minister Sugiono said Saturday that oil, which is “of strategic importance for the Indonesian nation”, would be on the agenda. “He will meet with President Putin and will also discuss global geopolitics and, certainly, the energy situation,” said…

Audio By Vocalize US Vice President JD Vance (centre) and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after attending talks on Iran in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. [AFP} Iran and the United States failed to reach an agreement to end the war in the Middle East, US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday after marathon talks in Islamabad, adding that he was leaving after giving Tehran the “final and best offer”. Vance said Washington was seeking a “fundamental commitment” from Iran that it would not develop a nuclear weapon, but that “we haven’t seen that” after…

Audio By Vocalize Ukrainian servicemen test an FPV drone during a training at an undisclosed location in Zaporizhzhia region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine on April 10, 2026. [AFP] Russia and Ukraine fired waves of drones at each other between late Friday and early Saturday, just hours before a temporary ceasefire between the two was set to take effect for Orthodox Easter, according to officials. Russia launched at least 160 drones at Ukraine, killing four people in the country’s east and south, Ukrainian authorities said. The southern Odesa region was among the hardest hit, with authorities reporting two dead…

Audio By Vocalize US Vice President JD Vance (L) shaking hands with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during their meeting before US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on April 11, 2026. [AFP] Senior Iranian and American delegations met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday to begin negotiations towards a deal to end the Middle East war unleashed six weeks earlier by US-Israeli strikes on Tehran. With the talks under way at Islamabad’s Serena Hotel, Iranian media said the negotiating format going forward had yet to be determined, and it was not clear whether the two sides would meet…

Audio By Vocalize Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi looking at the photos of the children killed in Madrasa Minab. [AFP] The United States and Iran have been sworn enemies since the 1979 Islamic revolution and the hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran. On Saturday, the arch-foes are set to hold talks in Islamabad to end more than a month of war in the Middle East, as a fragile ceasefire holds despite deep mutual mistrust. 1979: Hostage crisis On November 4, 1979, student activists demanding the extradition of Iran’s deposed monarch — Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was undergoing medical…

Audio By Vocalize A Ukraine soldier holds a portrait of 2-year-old Ganna Sapun in front of her coffin during her funeral ceremony three days after being killed in a Russian drone attack in Odesa on April 9, 2026. [AFP] A temporary ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for Orthodox Easter is set to begin on Saturday afternoon, as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war falter. The Kremlin said it had ordered a temporary truce from Saturday at 4:00 pm (1300 GMT) until the end of Sunday, a 32-hour period. Russia’s Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and army chief Valery Gerasimov have…

Audio By Vocalize US Vice President JD Vance disembarks from Air Force Two after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad on April 11, 2026. [AFP] US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Islamabad on Saturday for talks with Iran that the Pakistani premier hosting the warring sides called a “make or break” effort to permanently halt weeks of fighting in the Middle East. An Iranian delegation led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf arrived overnight at an airbase near the capital, disembarking from the commercial plane to embrace Pakistan’s powerful army chief Asim Munir, who also shares a…

Audio By Vocalize   This screengrab from a NASA livestream shows the Orion spacecraft on its way back to the Earth on April 10, 2026. [AFP] From false claims that a historic lunar fly-by was staged in a movie studio to unfounded narratives that footage of the crew was AI-generated, the Artemis II mission has been clouded by a blizzard of misinformation. The falsehoods — circulating across tech platforms including X, TikTok and Facebook — have also added fresh fuel to a longstanding conspiracy theory that NASA’s 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing was faked. Hashtags such as “fake space” and…

Audio By Vocalize   People hug as they watch a live broadcast of the return of the Artemis II crew members to Earth at the San Diego Air and Space Museum during a watch party for the crew’s splash down in the Pacific Ocean, in San Diego, California, on April 10, 2026. [AFP] The NASA spacecraft carrying four astronauts splashed down as planned Friday off the California coast, capping the US space agency’s successful crewed test mission around the Moon, the first such flyby in more than 50 years. Mission commander Reid Wiseman reported that the crewmembers — himself along…

Audio By Vocalize Supporters of jailed Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu demonstrate outside the Marmara-Silivri Prison and Courthouse Complex  [AFP] The corruption trial of Istanbul’s jailed opposition mayor entered its second month Thursday, in a case widely seen as a major setback for Turkey’s opposition. Jailed since March last year, Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition CHP party is accused of running a vast criminal network he allegedly influenced “like an octopus”. Prosecutors want him jailed for 2,430 years. “In this case, there is only one criminal organisation, and that is the prosecution!” said Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main rival,…

Audio By Vocalize First responders look for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Choukine on April 9, 2026. [AFP] Over 20 rocket alerts sounded through Thursday morning in communities near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon as Israeli forces fight Hezbollah despite the US-Iran ceasefire. AFP footage from the border area showed long rocket trails in the sky and plumes of smoke signalling interceptions. Calls have been mounting for the ceasefire between the US and Iran — agreed late on Tuesday — to be extended to Israel’s war with Hezbollah, which Israel…

Audio By Vocalize Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer disembarks from the plane upon his arrival at the airport in Abu Dhabi on April 9, 2026. [AFP] British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday that Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon were “wrong” as he travelled to discuss the shaky Middle East ceasefire with Gulf leaders. “Let’s be really clear about it, they’re wrong”, Starmer told Britain’s ITV News when asked about Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon. “That shouldn’t be happening, that should stop, that’s my strong view,” the prime minister added, calling this a “matter of principles”, while acknowledging he did…

Audio By Vocalize Relatives mourn over the coffin of 2 year-old Ganna Sapun during her funeral ceremony three days after being killed in a Russian drone attack on a multi-storey residential in Odesa on April 9, 2026, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine. [AFP] Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire with Ukraine for the duration of the Orthodox Easter holidays, the Kremlin said Thursday, after Kyiv also proposed a pause in hostilities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that he had passed a holiday truce proposal via the US, as talks to end the four-year conflict were derailed…

Audio By Vocalize  Staff at the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office conduct a logic and accuracy test of ballots in Tampa using a high-speed DS300 tabulator, Florida, on March 26, 2026, ahead of local and state primary elections. [AFP] Democrats are clashing this week over the influence of pro-Israel lobbying on American politics and the US ally’s military actions in the Middle East at a key strategy gathering ahead of November’s midterm elections. Attendees at the three-day Democratic National Committee (DNC) conference in New Orleans on Thursday began weighing resolutions to recognize a Palestinian state, restrict military aid to…

Audio By Vocalize Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Choukine, on April 9, 2026. [AFP] Just 10 vessels have passed through Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East war ceasefire took effect, according to maritime tracking data, amid lingering fears about using the strategic waterway. Iran and the United States said the 167 kilometer (104 mile) strait between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean would reopen after the two-week truce was announced on Wednesday. But statements by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and Israel’s attacks on Lebanon despite the…

Andy Robertson will bring down the curtain on his nine-year career at Liverpool at the end of the season, the faltering Premier League champions announced on Thursday Published Date: 2026-04-09 22:15:49 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

The Angolan football federation said Thursday it had hired Senegalese Africa Cup of Nations winner Aliou Cisse as the new head coach of the national team. Published Date: 2026-04-09 21:47:26 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize Joao Pedro, 14, during a conversation with AFP journalists at the Minas Gerais Municipal Public School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 24, 2026. [AFP] Alana Anisio Rosa, 20, politely turned down the man from her gym who kept sending her flowers and chocolates. A month later, he burst into her home and stabbed her around 50 times with a pocket knife. Her mother, Jaderluce Anisio de Oliveira, 53, was confronted by the scene in February after returning early to their home in Sao Goncalo, a city across the bay from Rio de Janeiro. “He just…

Audio By Vocalize Five Stars Movement leader Giuseppe Conte addresses the lower house of the Italian Parliament, in Rome on April 9, 2026.[AFP] Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Thursday the European Union should consider temporarily suspending its strict spending rules if the  Iran war and the resulting energy shock worsens. But Brussels cautioned that under EU rules a suspension was possible only if the 27-nation bloc was to experience a severe economic crisis ,  a condition currently not met. “If the Middle East crisis were to experience a new escalation, we should seriously consider the issue of a European…

Audio By Vocalize Ukrainian soldiers hold portraits of the three victims killed three days before in a Russian drone attack on their multi-storey residential building [AFP] France’s top general on Thursday said the possibility of a war with Russia in the next few years remained his “primary concern” as he defended efforts to ramp up defence spending. The chief of the defence staff General Fabien Mandon spoke in parliament as he presented France’s draft legislation to boost defence spending between 2024 and 2030. “The persistence of a Russian threat on our continent, with the possibility of an open war, remains…

The Premier League has secured a fifth UEFA Champions League spot after topping UEFAs performance rankings for the second consecutive season. Published Date: 2026-04-08 20:00:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize Israel has been battling Iran-backed Hezbollah since the group launched rocket fire at Israel in March.[AFP] The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday in an 11th-hour bid to avert all-out destruction threatened by US President Donald Trump. Here’s what we know about the truce between the two countries, which are set to begin negotiations but remain poles apart in their positions on ending the war: What has the US said about the truce? Trump told AFP the ceasefire deal was a “total and complete victory” for Washington. The US will suspend attacks…

Audio By Vocalize A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is seen at a port in Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture on April 8, 2026. [AFP] Two ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since Iran agreed to reopen the waterway as part of a ceasefire deal, maritime monitor Marine Traffic said Wednesday. “The Greek-owned bulk carrier NJ Earth crossed the Strait at 08:44 UTC, while the Liberia-flagged Daytona Beach transited earlier at 06:59 UTC, shortly after departing Bandar Abbas at 05:28 UTC”, MarineTraffic said on X. The United States and Iran agreed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire,…

Audio By Vocalize Artemis II crewmember sleeping bags illuminated inside the Orion spacecraft on April 4, 2026. [AFP] During their historic lunar flyby, astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission witnessed meteorites striking the rugged surface of the Moon, a sight that has piqued scientists’ curiosity. “That was definitely impact flashes on the moon. And Jeremy (Hansen) just saw another one,” mission commander Reid Wiseman reported on Monday while flying around the Moon — the first such journey by humans in more than half a century. “Amazed,” replied Kelsey Young, the mission’s lunar science lead, as she followed the spacecraft from…

Audio By Vocalize Protestors rally against US military action in Iran during demonstration in Houston, Texas, on April 7, 2026. [AFP] The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire barely an hour before President Donald Trump’s Wednesday deadline to obliterate the country was set to expire, with Tehran to temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz. Both sides claimed to have won the more than month-long conflict that has roiled global financial markets and sent oil prices skyrocketing, with Trump telling AFP the deal was a “total and complete victory” for the US. Iran too cast the ceasefire as…

Audio By Vocalize Iraqi school children play on US and Israel flags on the ground during anti-US and Israeli demonstration in Baghdad. [Ahmad Al-Rubaye, AFP] President Donald Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die” in Iran on Tuesday if the country does not heed his ultimatum to accept US war demands. “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Trump did not give details, but he has already said the US military could bomb Iran’s bridges, power plants,…

Audio By Vocalize Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on the village of Arnoun in southern Lebanon as seen from nearby Marjeyoun (Marjayoun) on April 7, 2026. [AFP] Iranian officials reported damage to at least two bridges, railway infrastructure and a key highway on Tuesday as part of a wave of deadly US-Israeli airstrikes on infrastructure targets. A bridge near the holy city of Qom and another carrying a railway line in the central city of Kashan were struck, according to regional officials quoted by state media. Two people were killed and three were injured in Kashan, senior regional security…

Audio By Vocalize A general view of the hall during the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Gaza and the situation in the Middle East at UN headquarters in New York, United States on August 13, 2024. [AFP] The UN Security Council is expected to vote Tuesday on a watered-down resolution calling for the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz — far from the sponsoring Gulf countries’ initial goal of obtaining clearance to free it by force. The vote is expected at 11:00 am (0300 GMT), though the outcome is not certain. The text in question has been diluted…

Audio By Vocalize Iranian drones launched at US targets at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Kharj base and Kuwait’s Al-Adiri base. [AFP] Overnight attacks on Saudi Arabia hit a petrochemical complex in a sprawling industrial area in the eastern city of Jubail, a witness who requested anonymity told AFP on Tuesday, hours after similar installations in Iran were struck. “An attack caused a fire at the SABIC plants in Jubail. The sounds of explosions were very loud,” the source said, referring to the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. Jubail in eastern Saudi Arabia is home to one of the world’s largest industrial cities, where…

Audio By Vocalize Boxes containing ketamine and crystal methamphetamine buried under cabbages in the bed of a pickup truck in Ayutthaya province. [AFP] Thai police have seized 1.6 tonnes of ketamine and crystal methamphetamine buried under cabbages in the bed of a pickup truck, with the driver arrested on drug trafficking charges. The Thai man, aged 39, was arrested over the weekend when he stopped his truck at a petrol station in central Ayutthaya province, police said. Authorities found 900 kilograms (one US ton) of ketamine and 700 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine in packages hidden underneath bags of the leafy…

Audio By Vocalize A fuel pump. [AFP] Oil prices rose Tuesday while equities edged up tentatively as investors assessed Donald Trump’s latest deadline for Iran to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz or be “decimated”. As the Middle East war entered its sixth week, the US president warned Tehran that its civilian infrastructure would be destroyed if it did not let ships through the waterway, through which a fifth of global crude and gas passes. The remarks came as he and the Islamic republic said a proposal touted by international mediators for a 45-day ceasefire was not yet ready. Trump…

Audio By Vocalize Ben Roberts-Smith who was arrested by police on April 7, 2026, and charged with murdering unarmed prisoners captured in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012. [AFP] One of Australia’s most-decorated soldiers was charged Tuesday with murdering unarmed prisoners captured in Afghanistan, police said following a sweeping war crimes probe. A landmark military report in 2020 revealed grave allegations against Australian troops sent to fight Taliban forces, accusing elite units of torture, summary executions and “body count” competitions. Police levelled murder charges against former Special Air Service officer Ben Roberts-Smith, a distinguished soldier awarded Australia’s highest military honour for…

Audio By Vocalize A firefighter and a medic carry an injured person to the ambulance following a drone strike in Nikopol, Ukraine on April 7, 2026. [AFP] Two boys were killed in Russia and Ukraine overnight, officials said Tuesday, as the two sides exchanged latest strikes more than four years after Moscow sent troops into its neighbour. Moscow has been launching drones and missiles at Ukraine almost nightly throughout its offensive — the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II. Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks in a bid to reduce Moscow’s earnings…

When PSG and Liverpool last met in the UCL a year ago, the Anfield outfit were marching towards the Premier League title and were described as “an almost perfect team” Published Date: 2026-04-07 10:11:13 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Kompany says he would wait until matchday to make a final call on Harry Kane’s fitness to start the Champions League visit to face Real Madrid Published Date: 2026-04-07 10:01:04 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Napoli are still in the hunt to retain their Serie A title after the champions beat Scudetto rivals AC Milan 1-0 on Monday. Published Date: 2026-04-07 09:50:37 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize The Artemis II crewed lunar mission lifts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026. [AFP] The four astronauts embarking on NASA’s lunar flyby became on Monday the humans to travel furthest from our planet, as they get set to view areas of the Moon never before seen by the naked eye. The Artemis II team broke the previous record set by 1970’s Apollo 13 mission, which they are expected to surpass by approximately 4,105 miles (6,606 kilometers) when they reach this journey’s furthest distance from Earth — 252,760…

Audio By Vocalize A view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant is seen from the Persian Gulf in the south of Iran, on April 29, 2024. [AFP] The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog on Monday warned attacks near Iran’s Bushehr atomic power plant “pose a very real danger to nuclear safety and must stop”. The facility, located in the south of the country and equipped with a 1,000-megawatt reactor, has been targeted four times since the US-Israeli war on Iran began. The latest strike was reported by Iranian state media on Saturday. Strikes near the operating plant “could cause…

Audio By Vocalize Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on the area of Ali al-Daher in southern Lebanon on April 6, 2026. [AFP] Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that US President Donald Trump’s threats to strike power plants and bridges in Iran could amount to war crimes. “The American president, as the highest official of his country, has publicly threatened to commit war crimes,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X, citing Article 8(2)(b) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Iran strikes on Israel kill two  Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service said two people died…

Audio By Vocalize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disembarking his plane upon his arrival in Istanbul for security talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. [AFP] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Istanbul on Saturday for security talks with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The visit comes a day after Erdogan spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who accused Kyiv of attempting to target the gas pipeline between Russia and Turkey that also supplies several European countries. “Arrived in Istanbul, where important meetings are scheduled. Substantive talks have been prepared with the President of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,” said Zelensky on…

Audio By Vocalize Afghan passengers wait to cross a flooded road at Zawul district in Herat province on April 2, 2026. [AFP] Heavy rain and storms have killed at least 121 people over two weeks across Afghanistan and Pakistan, disaster officials in both countries said Saturday. Stormy weather has brought rain sweeping across Afghanistan since late March, causing floods, landslides, and hitting homes and crops. “Since March 26 till today, 77 people have been killed and 137 wounded across the country because of the floods and rains,” Afghanistan’s disaster management authority (ANDMA) spokesman Mohammad Yousuf Hammad told AFP on Saturday.…

Audio By Vocalize Drops of petrol fall from the nozzle of a petrol pump at a gas station in Mulhouse, eastern France, on April 1, 2026. [AFP] The price of diesel fuel has rocketed by more than 30 percent across Europe since the start of the Middle East war highlighting the continent’s dependence on imported energy and the lingering prominence of  diesel on the car market. The Easter holiday weekend across Europe is expected to see a surge in demand with queues at petrol stations. Diesel has been worse hit than other fuels, and was already under pressure before the…

Audio By Vocalize This photograph shows the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, on April 4, 2026. [AFP] Shrapnel from intercepted drones injured four people in Bahrain, authorities said on Saturday, as Iran pressed its attacks on its Gulf neighbours. Separately, two buildings in Dubai were hit by debris, including one housing the US cloud computing firm Oracle, authorities in the United Arab Emirates said. Bahrain’s interior ministry said on X: “As a result of Iranian aggression, 4 citizens sustained minor injuries & several houses in Sitra were damaged…

Audio By Vocalize The Indian-flagged tanker Jag Vasant, carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) after transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. [AFP] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in remarks made public Friday said his country could help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure by Iran has rattled the global economy. Iran has placed a stranglehold on the key shipping lane — threatening fuel supplies and roiling the global economy — in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war. “No one has involved us specifically in the issue of the Strait of Hormuz. During my visits, I told representatives…

Audio By Vocalize An airplane prepares to land at the Tribhuvan International airport in Kathmandu on April 2, 2026. [AFP] Israel said Friday it was under attack from a new barrage of Iranian missiles, as US President Donald Trump warned Washington had yet to begin “destroying what’s left” of Iran’s infrastructure. The war started more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide. Strikes from both sides have increasingly targeted economic and industrial sites, raising fears of wider disruption…

Audio By Vocalize Chief of Staff General Randy George (L) in Washington, DC on September 19, 2025 and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Washington, DC, on March 31, 2026. [AFP] Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has asked General Randy George to step down as chief of staff of the US Army, an official said Thursday. George is the latest senior military officer to be ousted during President Donald Trump’s second term. His removal as the top Army officer comes with the United States engaged in a war with Iran that the president has indicated could last for several…

Audio By Vocalize US acting Attorney General Todd Blanche with fired Attorney General Pam Bondi at a past event. [AFP] US President Donald Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday and named his former personal lawyer to serve as the acting chief of the Justice Department. The move, which the Republican president announced in a social media post, comes amid criticism of Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files and her failure to successfully prosecute several perceived Trump political foes. “Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the…

A Florida judge granted golf superstar Tiger Woods’s request to leave the US to seek “comprehensive inpatient treatment” after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. Published Date: 2026-04-02 10:32:55 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize US President Donald Trump speaks during a televised address on the conflict in the Middle East from the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC on April 1, 2026. [AFP] President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that the United States was nearing victory in Iran as he laid out his case more than a month into a war that has sent his approval rating tumbling. In an evening speech from the White House, Trump broke little new ground on how the war would end and vowed two to three weeks further of “extremely hard” strikes against…

Audio By Vocalize The Artemis II crewed lunar mission lifts off from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 1, 2026. [AFP] Four astronauts blasted off aboard a massive NASA rocket Wednesday on a long-anticipated journey around the Moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. With a thunderous roar that reverberated far beyond the launchpad, the enormous orange-and-white rocket carried three Americans and one Canadian away from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at approximately 6:35 pm (2235 GMT) local time. NASA teams and spectators alike were ecstatic as the spacecraft ascended into…

Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi insists his side was fully focused on the World Cup after a 2-1 friendly win over Paraguay, despite the ongoing controversy of the AFCON final. Published Date: 2026-04-01 10:18:30 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Tottenham appointed Roberto De Zerbi as the club’s third manager of the season as they battle to avoid relegation from English football’s top-flight for the first time in nearly 50 years. Published Date: 2026-04-01 10:12:56 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Tiger Woods says he is “stepping away” to seek treatment and focus on his health after his arrest last week in Florida for driving under the influence. Published Date: 2026-04-01 10:09:57 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Messi scored one and set up another as Argentina thrashed Zambia 5-0 in the South Americans’ final game on home soil before launching the defence of their World Cup crown. Published Date: 2026-04-01 10:06:36 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Delirious football fans took to the soaked streets of the capital Kinshasa and danced into the night in the rain after the DR Congo reached the World Cup for the first time in 52 years. Published Date: 2026-04-01 10:02:25 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the World Cup, defeating Bolivia 2-1 in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico to seal their first appearance at the finals in 40 years. Published Date: 2026-04-01 09:58:16 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Live Published Date: 2026-03-29 06:00:00 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Senegal on Saturday paraded the Africa Cup of Nations trophy they have been ordered to return ahead of a friendly against Peru at the Stade de France in Paris. Published Date: 2026-03-28 20:13:54 Author: By AFP Source: The Standard

Audio By Vocalize People gather to stage a protest against U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran, at Sabeen Square in Sanaa, Yemen on March 27, 2026. [AFP] Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced their entry into the Middle East war on Saturday by launching a ballistic missile towards Israel, as the world struggled to contain the economic damage of a conflict now entering its second month. The intervention of Iran’s Yemeni allies into Tehran’s conflict with Israel and the United States will spark concern about disruption to Red Sea shipping, with trade from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz already choked…