Just a trickle of cargo ships and tankers has made it through the Strait of Hormuz since Iranian forces blocked the crucial trade route in the Middle East war.
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced that France's next nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will be called "France Libre" (Free France), as the country looks to reinforce its status as a major maritime power.
Oil prices surged Wednesday following a strike on one of Iran's gas facilities that raised the spectre of a further escalation of attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf region.
- Foreign press group slams Israeli police for breaking journalist's wrist
- Aston Villa want to be more than 'maybe team' in Europa League quest
Sports
Rory McIlroy is pleased with his recovery from a back injury and excited to play the Masters in three weeks as defending champion after last year's emotional Augusta National triumph.
March 18, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Chilean GDP beats 2025 forecast despite mining dip
Economy
March 18, 2026
The global music industry generated $31.7 billion last year, driven by online streaming, industry body IFPI said Wednesday, as it called on the sector to ensure AI-generated content compensates musicians.
March 18, 2026
RECENT NEWS
Nigeria's defence chiefs visited Maiduguri Wednesday after one of the deadliest attacks in the Borno state capital in years, in a show of defiance.
March 18, 2026
A Belgian court Wednesday adjourned a case pitting TotalEnergies against a farmer seeking compensation for climate-change damage, pending the outcome of a separate trial against the French energy giant in Paris.
March 18, 2026
With his belongings stuffed into a plastic bag, Thai fisherman Narongsak Kongsuk heads home, far from the sea.
March 18, 2026
Sports
Jeremy Doku believes Manchester City demonstrated enough quality while being knocked out of the Champions League to show that Pep Guardiola's men could yet enjoy a successful season.
March 18, 2026
RECENT NEWS
A mass funeral for some of the hundreds of victims of a Pakistani strike on a Kabul drug treatment centre was held in Afghanistan on Wednesday, with the Taliban government promising retribution but leaving the door open for talks to end the conflict.
Stocks markets fell and oil prices surged Wednesday after a closely watched US inflation gauge came in hotter than expected and Iran said that Israel struck one of its gas facilities.
King Charles III ceremonially welcomed Nigerian President Bola Tinubu at Windsor Castle on Wednesday in the first state visit by the leader of Africa's most populous nation in nearly four decades.
The line of cars stretched as far as the eye could see along the coast of southern Lebanon, as residents of areas bombarded in the Israel-Hezbollah war poured into the ancient city of Sidon in search of safety.
March 18, 2026
Sports
Jos Buttler is refusing to accept his England career is over despite admitting he had a "poor tournament" at the recent T20 World Cup.
March 18, 2026
RECENT NEWS
The Israeli-US war on Iran has provoked a reaction from Tehran that has effectively choked a large chunk of the world's oil supply, and untangling the blockage will take a regional effort beyond what is currently being proposed, experts have told AFP.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Wednesday led urgent calls for young people who visited a nightclub at the centre of a deadly meningitis outbreak to come forward, as the number of cases rose.
EU lawmakers on Wednesday approved a ban on AI systems generating sexualised deepfakes, after a global outcry over non-consensual nudes created by Elon Musk's chatbot Grok.
Senegal football fans slammed the decision to strip the country of its Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and give it to Morocco, calling the move a "disgrace for Africa" as they woke up to the news Wednesday.
March 18, 2026
- Under Hezbollah fire, people in north Israel hope for better days
- Iran women's football team cross Turkish border to head home: AFP
- Fear in central Beirut as Israel strikes, with and without warning
- 'France is wild': Macron to unveil name of Europe's largest warship
- Arsenal's Trossard says Leverkusen win ideal ahead of League Cup final
- Israel conducts wave of strikes on Beirut
- Seven-year term sought for Norway princess's son for alleged rapes
- US govt says Anthropic AI an 'unacceptable risk' to military