Georgia governor Brian Kemp says that two large wildfires in southeast Georgia, U.S., has destroyed over 120 homes.
Source:
WSB-TV 
April 24
Disasters and accidents
International relations
The European Union sanctions two Uzbekistan-based cotton manufacturing plants for supplementing raw material to the Russian defense industry.
Source:
Kun Uz
U.S. treasury secretary Scott Bessent announces that the Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed sanctions against financial networks linked to Iran, including digital asset wallets.
Source:
Middle East Monitor
Armed conflicts and attacks
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi announces that he will visit Pakistan, Russia, and Oman amidst a potential second round of ceasefire talks between Iran and the United States.
Source:
Reuters
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirms that U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with Araghchi. She also states that vice president JD Vance will travel to Pakistan if the second round of talks are proven "successful".
Source:
Reuters
U.S. Central Command confirms that the USS arrives in the Middle East, making it the first time three American aircraft carriers have been deployed in the region at the same time since the build-up to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Source:
Navy Times
Source:
The Kyiv Independent
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that Allied Democratic Forces insurgents killed at least 87 civilians in separate attacks last month in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source:
AA
Business and economy
The International Energy Agency estimates that the damage to liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Qatar will strain the natural gas market for at least two years, and along with the Strait of Hormuz closure, will cause the loss of 120 billion cubic meters of LNG supply by 2030.
Source:
CBS News
Law and crime
Syrian authorities say that they have arrested Amjad Youssef, an intelligence officer of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, for his role in the Tadamon massacre during the civil war. This comes after Interior Minister Anas Khattab annonunced that he was captured by the Syrian transitional government.
Source:
Middle East Eye
German biotech company CureVac sues Moderna, accusing their COVID-19 vaccine Spikevax of infringing CureVac patients.
Source:
Reuters
April 23
Business and economy
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock market index surpasses 60,000 points for the first time in a historic high, while South Korea's KOSPI also reaches a record high amid gains in technology shares.
Source:
Nikkei Asia
Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed as investors remained cautious despite a three-week extension of the 2026 Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, underscoring lingering geopolitical uncertainty.
Source:
CNBC
Armed conflicts and attacks
United States president Donald Trump orders the navy to open fire on any Iranian vessels placing mines along the Strait of Hormuz, after the military reportedly observed an Iranian mine-laying operation.
Source:
Axios
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command conducts a boarding operation on the stateless tanker M/T in the Indian Ocean, alleged to be carrying US-sanctioned Iranian oil.
Source:
Al Jazeera
An Israeli security source says that Israel is not conducting airstrikes in Iran following reports of explosions over Tehran, while defense minister Israel Katz states that the country is prepared to resume military action pending approval from the U.S.
Source:
Business Recorder
U.S. president Donald Trump says that the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has been extended to three weeks.
Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)Hezbollah–Israel conflict (2023–present)2026 Lebanon war2026 Israel–Lebanon peace talks
Source:
AP
Three people are killed and 10 others are injured in an overnight Russian drone strike on a 13-story apartment building in Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine.
Source:
Reuters
Arts and culture
Italian soldiers install a new statue of Jesus in the Christian village of Debel, southern Lebanon, in place of a previous statue given by the Israeli military, who destroyed the previous statue with a sledgehammer, drawing widespread outrage.
Source:
The Jerusalem Post
Disasters and accidents
More than 6.5 million, mostly southern, Somalis face hunger amid climate shocks, drought, and conflict, with children facing acute malnutrition risks.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Source:
AP
Eighteen people are injured, including five critically, when two trains collide near Hillerød, Capital Region, Denmark.
Source:
Reuters
Eight people are killed and two others are injured when a vehicle loses control and plunges into a gorge in Tehri Garhwal district, Uttarakhand, India.
Source:
Hindustan Times
Law and crime
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa suspends national police commissioner Fannie Masemola pending investigation into allegations of procurement violations linked to a R332 million (US$20 million) police health services tender.
Source:
The Peninsula
Exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi is splashed with red liquid after leaving a federal press conference building in Berlin, Germany in which he criticized the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S.
Source:
AP
Sports
U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio states that Iran's national football team can participate in the upcoming FIFA World Cup, while indicating that entry restrictions may apply to non-athlete delegation members with alleged links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Source:
FMT
In American football, the 91st edition of the NFL draft is held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the Las Vegas Raiders selecting former Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick.
Source:
ESPN
April 22
Armed conflicts and attacks
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy seizes two vessels after attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz. A third vessel is also reportedly "disabled off Iran's coast".
Source:
CNN
Three members of the Kurdistan Freedom Party are injured in a drone attack in the Khabat District, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The group attributes the attack to Iran.
Source:
Al Jazeera
A French UNIFIL peacekeeper dies from his wounds sustained from an ambush last week blamed on Hezbollah.
Middle Eastern crisis (2023–present)2026 Lebanon warApril 2026 attack on French UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon
Source:
AFP via Al Arabiya
Source:
Al Jazeera
Suspected Boko Haram insurgents on motorcycles kill at least 20 people in shootings in Borno State and Adamawa State, Nigeria.
Source:
Reuters
Ten people are killed and eight others are injured in an attack on a copper and gold mine in Chagai District, Balochistan, Pakistan. A Turkish citizen is among the fatalities, while another is kidnapped.
Source:
AFP via Al Arabiya
Business and economy
Russia announces it will halt the transport of Kazakh oil to Germany via the Druzhba pipeline starting May 1, citing technical reasons, while the German economic ministry states that the interruption is not expected to significantly disrupt fuel supply.
Source:
AFP via France 24
Politics and elections
Nepali home minister Sudan Gurung resigns to allow an impartial investigation into his financial activities, becoming the second minister to leave prime minister Balen Shah's government following recent elections.
Source:
The Straits Times
The Greek parliament votes to lift the immunity of 13 legislators from the ruling New Democracy party to allow investigation into alleged fraud involving European Union agricultural subsidies.
Source:
Reuters
Peruvian defence minister Carlos Díaz Dañino and foreign minister Hugo de Zela resign following president José María Balcázar's decision to postpone the purchase of F-16 fighter jets from the United States.
Source:
Reuters
Incoming Hungary prime minister Péter Magyar will be sworn-in on May 9, 2026. The inaugural session is called by president Tamás Sulyok.
Source:
The New Voice of Ukraine
International relations
Islamabad, Pakistan, remains on lockdown ahead of a potential, unconfirmed second round of talks between Iran and the U.S. in the city.
Source:
Digital Journal
France and the United Kingdom host a military conference involving over 30 countries in Northwood, London, to discuss the use of military forces for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz once conditions allow.
Source:
AA
Disasters and accidents
A leak results in a violent chemical reaction involving nitric acid and another substance at a facility in Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, killing two people and injuring 19 others.
Source:
AP
Eleven people are killed, including children, in a multiple-vehicle collision in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Source:
Deccan Herald
Nine people are killed and around 27 others are injured when a bus crashes into a tree on a highway near San Juan del Río and Amealco de Bonfil, Querétaro, Mexico.
Source:
in Spanish
Two people are killed and 16 others are injured when a passenger bus carrying Ukrainian citizens strikes a group of people and crashes into a ditch in Burgas, Bulgaria.
Source:
Ukrainska Pravda
Law and crime
Moldovan oligarch and former politician Vladimir Plahotniuc is sentenced to 19 years in prison for embezzling about US$1 billion from the country's banks.
Source:
Reuters
International Criminal Court (ICC) judges dismiss former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte's jurisdictional challenge regarding the ICC's authority over alleged crimes committed while the Philippines was still a member, allowing proceedings to continue against Duterte on charges of crimes against humanity linked to his anti-drug campaign.
Source:
Reuters