Stocks slumped and oil prices soared Thursday after President Donald Trump vowed the U.S. will continue to attack Iran and failed to offer a clear timetable for ending the conflict in the Middle East.

Iran was hit by a powerful new wave of strikes on Wednesday when massive explosions and thick plumes of smoke rose over Baharestan, in the Esfahan region of central Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks in Moscow with Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, focusing on the war in the Middle East and economic cooperation.

The male suspect gained access to the daycare facility by posing as a parent, according to local media. Police said the four children killed were aged bewteen two and three.

Pope Leo XIV led the Holy Thursday Chrism Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, using the occasion to speak against the abuse of power and the drive for domination.

Britain accused Iran on Thursday of holding the world’s economy hostage as diplomats from more than 40 countries held talks on ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that has been choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

Mob violence erupted on Wednesday in Jos, in north-central Nigeria, after a gun attack on a bar killed over 30 people during the weekend.

Burundi’s army has confirmed that 13 civilians were killed and 57 others wounded after explosions tore through a military arsenal in Bujumbura earlier this week. Three soldiers were also reported among the injured, though no military deaths have been disclosed.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has launched its first national census in over 40 years, a move UN officials say could reshape development planning across the vast central African nation.

Armenia is home to a rare underground clinic beneath Yerevan, where asthma and allergy patients descend 235 metres into the Avan salt mine to breathe mineral‑rich air in a setting unlike any conventional hospital.

Vigário Luís Balanta’s body was found in the Ndam area, about 30 kilometres from the capital Bissau, according to local media. The 35-year-old activist was a vocal critic of Guinea-Bissau’s military junta.

In Kenya, Greenland Girls School in Kajiado County is breaking new ground by providing education to teenage mothers, many of whom bring their children with them to the boarding school.

Garry Conille served as prime minister of Haiti twice. His second term, in 2024, coincided with the first deployments of Kenyan troops as part of a UN-backed force designed to help Haiti restore security amid acute gang violence.

Deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon hit a building in Zebdine, near Nabatieh. The raid came as Hezbollah launched rockets and drones across the border and regional tensions deepened.

Mozambique has fully repaid its debt to the International Monetary Fund, clearing more than 630 million dollars ahead of schedule.

“The fight you engage in fights back”: Malawi’s former president Chakwera on power, corruption and political reality

The remarks come amid continued uncertainty over the direction of the conflict, with Trump signaling both a possible endgame within weeks and further escalation through intensified strikes.

Four astronauts have blasted off aboard a massive NASA rocket, beginning a long-anticipated journey around the Moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

Indonesia was struck by a powerful 7.4‑magnitude earthquake early on 2 April in the Molucca Sea, off Ternate in North Maluku, killing at least one person and briefly triggering a tsunami warning.

A NASA rocket carrying four astronauts blasted off from Florida, marking the first crewed lunar mission in more than 50 years.

The bodies of 19 migrants were recovered from an inflatable boat south of the island of Lampedusa on Wednesday by the Italian coastguard

South African soldiers moved into gang-ridden Cape Town townships on Wednesday, as two people were killed in fresh violence, nearly 50 days after the president ordered the deployment.

Uganda’s state minister for foreign affairs has met with Egypt’s foreign minister in Cairo to discuss how the ongoing war involving Iran is affecting Africa’s energy security, inflation and food prices.

Mobs formed across the Nigerian city of Jos on Wednesday, a reporter for the press agency AFP saw, appearing to lead to the deaths of two people.

Dozens of people have been killed after powerful explosions ripped through Bujumbura following a fire at a military arsenal late Tuesday night. The blasts originated from the main ammunition depot in Musaga, sending shockwaves and widespread panic across the city.

Iran has reiterated its uncompromising position as pressure mounts for a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing conflict. A senior Iranian official emphasized that Tehran will not accept any agreement unless its core conditions are fully met.

The Senegalese TikTokker Khaby Lame has been appointed an ambassador for the upcoming Youth Olympics, set to be staged in Dakar this year.

South African motorists were on Tuesday headed to gas stations in large numbers in anticipation of record fuel hikes that will come into effect at midnight as the world continues to feel impacts of the Iran war that has affected global oil and fuel prices.

A cultural expert and the general public voiced their thoughts and reactions to a lawsuit by comedian Lebo M against fellow comedian Learnmore Jonasi, whom he accused of intentionally “mistranslating” the famous Lion King chant from Zulu.

The achievement marks a long-awaited return, with the nation last appearing at the tournament in 1974 under the name Zaire.

Apple is marking its 50th anniversary at a pivotal moment, as the tech giant faces growing pressure to deliver its next major innovation.

Cubans were relived on Tuesday to learned that a Russian tanker docked at the Cuban port of Matanzas laden with 730,000 barrels of oil, marking the first time in three months that an oil tanker reached the island.

Authorities announced a reduction of the general fuel levy by three rand per litre, a measure aimed at cushioning the impact of soaring global oil prices linked to the Iran war. However, the relief has done little to offset one of the steepest pump price increases on record.

With ten representatives heading to the 2026 edition, expectations are high that African nations could make an even deeper impact — signaling a new era for the continent in world football

Singer and actor Brandy was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Monday

Helen Zille, a well-known South African politician, wore a wetsuit, a mask and snorkel, and a pink-and-white swimming cap as she doggy-paddled through the pool of muddy brown water in an upscale Johannesburg suburb

In a show of force in Cape Town, around 500 military and police personnel paraded ahead of a year-long deployment targeting gangs, illegal mining, and organized crime across the Western Cape.

Gran Grif attacked Petite-Rivière de l’Artibonite early Sunday, burning homes and leaving bodies strewn on the streets. The gang attacked again on Monday, said Bertide Horace, spokesperson for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite, an activist group

Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has signed into law legislation doubling the maximum penalty for same-sex relations, making them punishable by up to 10 years in prison amid a crackdown on the country’s gay community.

On a dusty field in Kano, coach Hida Ghaddar is doing far more than running football drills. Through her Breakthrough Soccer Academy, she offers young people an alternative to the growing risks around them, combining sport with discipline, education, and job support.