Pakistan's army chief to meet Iranian officials over US-Iran talks

Pakistan’s army chief is set to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.

A remarkable exchange between pope and president

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) – There is an odd sense of isolation when you are covering Pope Leo XIV from inside the Vatican’s traveling press pool: Escorted from venue to venue with police motorcades that clear even the most congested of traffic jams, it’s a membership that has many privileges.

New Israeli strikes hit southern Lebanon a day after historic talks in Washington

TYRE, Lebanon (AP) – Israel pressed on with bombarding southern Lebanon on Wednesday, a day after historic talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials in Washington. Smoke rose over the coastal city of Tyre, underscoring the fragility of diplomatic efforts.

Xi calls China-Russia ties 'precious' in current international context

BEIJING (AP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly “precious” in the face of an international landscape intertwined with change and chaos.

Today in History: April 15, the Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic

Today is Wednesday, April 15, the 105th day of 2026. There are 260 days left in the year. Today in history: On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland just over two and a half hours after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage.

What to know about the direct talks between Lebanon and Israel

BEIRUT (AP) – Lebanon and Israel’s first direct talks in decades this week, spurred by the latest war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, have been met by both high hopes and condemnation.

From dropping bombs to pressuring banks: US pivots to economic warfare on Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) – If the U.S. and Iran aren’t able to soon come to a deal to end the war or extend the ceasefire that expires next week, the Trump administration is setting the stage to shift its war campaign toward a more economic-focused effort aimed at choking Tehran into submission rather than relying on bombs alone.

Hungary's Magyar says new government could take power in May

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) – Hungarian opposition leader and election winner Péter Magyar said Wednesday that the country’s president had assured him in a meeting that his new government could take power in the first week of May, an accelerated timeline for the end of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s 16-year reign.

Trump promised peace in the Middle East. In Michigan, it feels farther away

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) – Eighteen months after the nation’s largest Arab American community helped propel Donald Trump to a second term as president, the prayers have not stopped. In Dearborn, just outside of Detroit, families wait restlessly for word from relatives abroad.