Abdiwahab Ahmed

As Pope Leo XIV begins a 10-day tour of Africa, a growing rift between the Vatican and President Donald Trump’s administration has come sharply into focus. Ties between the Holy See and Washington have long shifted with the political winds. But tensions escalated after the Pope suggested over the weekend that a “delusion of omnipotence” was helping drive the war on Iran, prompting a swift rebuke from the US President. “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” Trump said. In a social media post, he branded the leader of the Catholic…

Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has acknowledged defeat in parliamentary elections, ceding power to conservative challenger Peter Magyar — a former government insider turned political newcomer who campaigned on a promise of “system change”. “The election results, though not yet final, are clear and understandable; for us, they are painful but unambiguous,” Mr Orbán said after overseeing the central European country for 16 years. “We have not been entrusted with the responsibility and opportunity to govern.…

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a stark warning on Monday, saying any military vessel that moves toward the Strait of Hormuz would be treated as a breach of the two-week ceasefire with the US and met with a forceful response. In a statement carried by Iranian state media, the Guards said the strategic passage remains under the control and “smart management” of Iran’s Navy. They added that the waterway remains “open for the safe passage of non-military vessels in accordance with specific regulations”. The warning followed…

Shane Lowry lit up Augusta National with a stunning hole-in-one at the Masters, a moment he later described as "wild" as it thrust him firmly into the hunt going into the final round. The Offaly golfer has built an enviable catalogue of aces over the years, and this latest effort gave him another slice of history: it was his second at Augusta National, making him the first player ever to achieve that feat. Lowry’s tee shot at the 190-yard sixth vaulted him from six under to eight under par, and he closed with a 69 to sit on…

With diplomacy faltering and the risk of a wider confrontation rising again, the US military said it will impose a blockade on all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports and coastal waters after weekend talks collapsed without a deal to end the war with Iran, putting a fragile two-week ceasefire in jeopardy. The talks in Islamabad, held from Saturday into early yesterday, marked the first direct meeting between the US and Iran in more than a decade and the highest-level engagement since Iran's 1979 Islamic…

After 21 hours of talks in Islamabad, the US and Iran have steered clear of the worst possible outcome: a complete collapse of peace negotiations. Only by the narrowest of margins, though. The two delegations were so divided that they walked out of the five-star Serena Hotel without even locking in another meeting — a modest benchmark that even hardened sceptics had assumed was within reach. Although Iran had all but signalled it might stay away, and the opening of the talks slipped behind schedule, there was early cause for…

Asha Bhosle, the iconic Indian playback singer whose voice became inseparable from Bollywood’s golden decades of the 1970s and 80s, has died in Mumbai at the age of 92, her family said. Bhosle, a two-time Grammy nominee, died at Breach Candy Hospital after being admitted with what doctors described as "extreme exhaustion" and a chest infection. "My mother passed away today (Sunday). Her last rites will be held tomorrow at Shivaji Park in Mumbai," her son Anand Bhosle told reporters. Across a career that stretched over seven…

Charges of truce-breaking flew from both Kyiv and Moscow over Orthodox Easter, with each side alleging thousands of violations as the war stretched into its fifth year. The two countries had agreed to a ceasefire for the religious holiday. Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the pause on Thursday, more than a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky first proposed suspending hostilities. "As of 7:00 a.m. (5am Irish time) on 12 April, 2,299 ceasefire violations were recorded. Specifically: 28 enemy assault…

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." Oscar Wilde’s line is a reminder that setbacks can sharpen judgment as much as successes do. People test an idea, assess the outcome and, ideally, use what they learned to navigate the next challenge with greater care. For the most part, that has defined how Democrats have responded during the second Trump administration. Until this week, that approach included a notable hesitation to embrace demands to force Mr Trump from office. That caution may have reflected worries…

Eamonn Holmes is “doing okay given the circumstances” after suffering a stroke, with his eldest son Declan saying the family is still coming to terms with the sudden medical emergency. Declan Holmes said his father's health scare “came as a real shock” and thanked well-wishers for their support, adding: “It means a lot to us as a family.” GB News said on Saturday that Holmes, 66, had suffered a stroke last week and was recovering in hospital. In a statement issued on Sunday, his son said: “What happened came as a real shock,…