International from Thursday, April 9th, 2026

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a 32-hour ceasefire over a two-day period for Orthodox Easter and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would abide by the measure.

Kuwait condemned what it described as drone attacks by Iran and its proxies targeting vital facilities in the country on Thursday evening, calling the strikes a violation of its sovereignty and airspace, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

US first lady Melania Trump on Thursday denied having any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, reviving a highly sensitive issue that her husband has repeatedly sought to downplay.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' personal envoy Jean Arnault met Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi in Tehran on Thursday as part of the United Nations' efforts to bring about an end to the Iran war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he has given an instruction for Israel to begin peace talks with Lebanon that would also include the disarming of Hezbollah.

Four people died after a group of migrants attempted to board an inflatable dinghy and cross the Channel from France to Britain, prompting a rescue operation off the coast of Calais, authorities said on Thursday.

Israeli forces shot and killed a young female student on Thursday while she was attending a class held in a tent in the town of Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, health and education officials said.

Israel bombed more targets in Lebanon on Thursday, putting the Middle East ceasefire in further jeopardy after its biggest attacks of the war on its neighbour killed more than 250 people and threatened to torpedo Donald Trump's truce from the outset.

Afghanistan is set to face further rough conditions on Thursday, the country's weather authorities warned, following floods, earthquakes, and landslides that have killed 148 people over the past two weeks.

Iran's lead negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammed Bager Qalibaf, has suggested it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal with the US after Israel pounded Lebanon with its heaviest strikes yet on Wednesday, killing hundreds.

The operator of Bahrain International Airport, Bahrain Airport Company, has confirmed the gradual resumption of flights following the reopening of the Kingdom’s airspace.

US President Donald Trump vented his frustration with NATO during a private meeting with its secretary-general, Mark Rutte, on Wednesday as relations in the military alliance reached a crisis point over the Iran war.