NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks rushed higher worldwide, and oil prices eased as hopes built that the war with Iran could end soon. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and added to its leap from the day before, which was its best since last spring. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.2%.

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) – The head of an elite Madagascar military unit ousted the African island country’s president in a coup, capping weeks of youth-led protests over water and power cuts, the high cost of living and endemic poverty, among other issues.

WASHINGTON (AP) – King Charles III will deliver an address to Congress during his visit to Washington in late April, becoming the first British monarch to give a speech to a joint meeting of U.S. lawmakers in more than three decades. The joint address is part of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaring independence from Britain.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) – Andry Rajoelina was a young, man-of-the-people mayor when he led popular protests against the Madagascar government 16 years ago. The uprising resulted in a military-backed coup that brought Rajoelina to power as the transitional leader of his Indian Ocean country at the age of just 34.

LONDON (AP) – U.S. President Donald Trump says he’s strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO, ratcheting up his criticism of European allies and exposing a wider rift in the trans-Atlantic alliance – this time over the Iran war.

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) – The leader of Madagascar’s military coup told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he is “taking the position of president” and that the armed forces would be in charge of the African island nation for up to two years before any elections are held.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

NEW DELHI (AP) – From the Andes to the Himalayas, a new wave of protests is unfolding across the world, driven by generational discontent against governments and anger among young people.