International from Friday, April 10th, 2026

Iran said on Friday that blocked Iranian assets must be released and that a ceasefire must take hold in Lebanon before peace talks can proceed, throwing last-minute doubt over negotiations scheduled for Saturday in Pakistan.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani welcomed the US-Iran ceasefire and emphasised the importance of de-escalating tensions and enhancing regional stability during talks in Doha.

The Strait of Hormuz remained shut on Friday and Israel traded fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which the United States and Iran each described as violations of their ceasefire deal on the eve of their first peace talks of the war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the spring and summer months would be difficult for Ukraine as it would face pressure on the battlefield and also diplomatically to end the war.

Pakistan announced on Friday it would issue visas on arrival for diplomats, journalists and international delegates travelling to Islamabad for Saturday's Iran–US talks.

The four Artemis II astronauts, returning from the world's first crewed moon voyage in over half a century, hurtled back toward Earth on Friday aboard their gumdrop-shaped Orion spacecraft, headed for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off Southern California.