Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on April 17 the Strait of Hormuz was open following a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, while US President Donald Trump said talks could take place this weekend and he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come “soon”.
Mr Araqchi said in a post on X the strait was open for all commercial vessels for the remainder of the US-brokered 10-day truce that was agreed on April 16 between Israel and Lebanon to halt fighting between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Shortly after Mr Araqchi’s statement, Mr Trump posted on Truth Social: “IRAN HAS JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THE STRAIT OF IRAN IS FULLY OPEN AND READY FOR PASSAGE.”
But statements from both sides left uncertainty over how quickly shipping could resume.
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PHOTO: AFP
Pope Leo XIV on April 17 warned that the AI boom could fuel “conflict, fear and violence” while on a trip to Cameroon marked by his ongoing spat with US President Donald Trump.
While Leo has called for caution on artificial intelligence several times since his election in May 2025, his latest warning comes as Mr Trump faces a backlash over a now-deleted AI-generated post seemingly depicting the US leader as Jesus.
After holding Mass in the stifling heat in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala for more than 120,000 joyous worshippers – the biggest event of his landmark Africa trip so far – the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics sounded the alarm over the perils of the technology.
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PHOTO: AFP
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 17 that Ukraine believed Russia was making preparations that showed that it would once again try to involve its ally Belarus in the four-year-old war pitting Kyiv against Moscow.
Mr Zelensky made his remarks, posted on the Telegram messaging app, in response to what he said was an intelligence report issued by top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi.
“According to intelligence, road construction in areas leading to Ukraine and the establishment of artillery positions are going on in the Belarusian border area,” Mr Zelensky wrote.
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PHOTO: REUTERS
An Indian government Bill to expand assemblies that would have brought forward plans to reserve a third of the seats for women did not get enough votes to get through Parliament on April 17, in a rare defeat for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Opposition groups said while they were in favour of quotas for women legislators, the linking of the plan to a mass redrawing of constituency boundaries was a government bid to manipulate the system and get more votes.
“The amendment Bill has fallen. They used an unconstitutional trick in the name of women to break the Constitution,” opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X, minutes after the Bill failed to get through.
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PHOTO: ACTION IMAGES VIA REUTERS
Coventry secured promotion to the Premier League on April 17 as the Championship leaders’ 1-1 draw against Blackburn ended their 25-year exile from the top-flight.
Frank Lampard’s side needed a point from their trip to Ewood Park to be certain of automatic promotion.
Having led the Championship table for much of the season, the Sky Blues have wrapped up their return to English football’s elite with three games to spare.
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