EU approves €90bn loan for Ukraine as pipeline is turned on ending deadlock

33 minutes ago
Paul Kirby

Europe digital editor
Ukraine says it has resumed pumping Russian oil through a pipeline into Hungary and Slovakia, bringing to an end months of deadlock over a €90bn (£78bn) loan seen as vital European Union support for Kyiv.

Capitol agenda: Jeffries vows ‘maximum warfare’

POLITICO
The minority leader is taunting Republicans after Virginia voters approved redistricting favorable to Democrats.
By Riley Rogerson, Calen Razor and Zachary Warmbrodt

04/22/2026

Virginia just delivered the moment Hakeem Jeffries has been waiting for. Voters approved a new congressional map that adds up to four Democratic-leaning districts, handing the party a stronger chance of retaking the House. The minority leader is leaning in, taunting Republicans and vowing “maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time.”

Magyar wants to put the Austro-Hungarian Empire back on the map

POLITICO

Hungary’s incoming prime minister wants to forge closer ties with Austria and other Central European nations to wield greater power in Brussels.

April 22, 2026 
By Nette Nöstlinger
Hungary’s next leader wants to revive Central Europe’s clout by tapping its imperial past.

Trump calls Iran’s leadership ‘fractured’. Is it, and who’s in charge?

 EXPLAINER  News|US-Israel war on Iran AL JAZEERA

Almost 53 days into the war, there is little evidence suggesting that the Iranian government is fragmented

By Priyanka Shankar and Abid Hussain
Published On 22 Apr 2026

United States President Donald Trump has described the Iranian leadership as “seriously fractured” as he announced an extension to a ceasefire.

Live Updates: Trump extends ceasefire as uncertainty over U.S.-Iran peace talks remains

By Tucker Reals, Mark Osborne

Updated on: April 22, 2026 / 1:45 AM EDT / CBS News

What to know about the Iran war today:

• President Trump announced Tuesday he is extending the ceasefire in the war with Iran "until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal," despite previously saying he wouldn't move the deadline, which was set to expire.
• Mr. Trump earlier said he expects to "end up with a great deal" with Iran to end the war, arguing that Tehran has "no choice" but to join a new round of peace talks despite the regime insisting it has no plans to attend negotiations in Pakistan this week.
• Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to lead a U.S. negotiating team in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, if negotiations resume.

Archaeologists discovered a papyrus with the list of ships from the Iliad inside an Egyptian mummy

 

The excerpt is known as the Catalogue of Ships, in which Homer lists the ships of the Achaeans who campaigned against Troy. The discovery of a classical Greek literary text inside an Egyptian mummy is extremely rare. 

EDITED BY: GIANNIS KATSAROS

April 21, 2026 • 06:35

Archaeologists working at the archaeological site of Oxyrhynchus in Egypt discovered a Roman-era tomb that combines rare burial objects with an unexpected literary finding: a papyrus fragment from Homer's Iliad, hidden inside a mummy.

Trump expects a ‘great deal’ with Iran, CNBC reports

The Greek Courier

Published Tue, Apr 21 2026

8:40 AM EDT

Updated 2 Hours Ago

President Donald Trump expressed his belief that the U.S. is “going to end up with a great deal” with Iran to conclude the ongoing war. 

During an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Trump stated that he does not intend to extend the ceasefire with Iran, which is set to expire on Wednesday. 

Trump’s statements on Iran increasingly contradict each other

The president has made conflicting comments on questions both large and small related to the war

April 20, 2026

By Natalie Allison, Isaac Arnsdorf 

and Cat Zakrzewski

Appearing on Sunday morning news shows, top officials in President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed the plan for the next round of diplomatic talks in Islamabad, Pakistan: Vice President JD Vance, whom Trump had tapped earlier this month to lead the U.S. negotiations, would be there again.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is leaving Trump’s Cabinet after abuse of power allegations

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, April 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
By SEUNG MIN KIM
Updated 10:16 PM PDT, April 20, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is out of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, the White House said Monday, after multiple allegations of abusing her position’s power, including having an affair with a subordinate and drinking alcohol on the job.

Mexico: Canadian killed in shooting at Teotihuacan pyramid

CRIME MEXICO

DEUTSCHE WELLE
Rana Taha with AFP, AP, Reuters

10 hours ago10 hours ago

A gunman opened fire at the popular tourist and archeological site outside Mexico city.

A shooting at Mexico's Teotihuacan pyramids, a famous tourist and archaeological site, killed one Canadian woman and injured several others on Monday, Mexican authorities said.

The shooter later killed himself at the site, which lies outside Mexico City.

Day 52 of Middle East conflict - Trump says extension of ceasefire with Iran is ‘highly unlikely’

Updated 12:18 AM EDT, Tue April 21, 2026
1 hr 13 min ago
Key developments

• Seized ship: Iran’s Foreign Ministry called for the release of the Iranian cargo vessel seized by the US Navy on Sunday, as well as “its sailors, crew and their families.” Iran has vowed to retaliate for the seizure.

• Looming deadline: US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran ends “Wednesday evening Washington time,” adding it’s “highly unlikely” he would extend it if a deal is not reached before then.

• Status of negotiations: Vice President JD Vance and top US officials are expected to depart Tuesday for Pakistan ahead of a potential second round of talks, according to sources. Trump projected confidence Tehran would come to the table although Iran’s Foreign Ministry earlier insisted there were no negotiations.

• Lebanon-Israel talks: A second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon is scheduled for Thursday, according to Israeli and US officials.

Transcript: Trump Accidentally Reveals His Contempt for MAGA Voters

The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent / April 20, 2026

THE NEW REPUBLIC

PODCAST

As Trump rages at ex-allies in telling outbursts, the author of a piece on Trump and the global right explains how he’s shrinking MAGA—and politically damaging himself and the GOP.

The following is a lightly edited transcript of the April 20 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here.

Exposing a Global Surveillance Empire

Politics
Reveal April 18, 2026
In a major investigation, a young reporter uncovers a powerful technology used to spy on thousands of people across the world.

In June, a sharp-suited Austrian executive from a global surveillance company told a prospective client that he could “go to prison” for organizing the deal they were discussing. But the conversation did not end there.

26 years later, IDF restores its south Lebanon security zone — with key changes

 ToI in southern Lebanon   truce took effect 'exactly' as troops reached the deployment line  
While the military avoids calling it a ‘security zone,’ the boundaries are nearly the same; commanders say this time troops won’t face same threats

By Emanuel Fabian 19 April 2026

AYTA ASH-SHAB, Lebanon — The Israeli military is reestablishing a security zone that it left some 26 years ago, although commanders say that this time around, it will not carry with it the same dangers that troops faced during the 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon in 1982-2000.

Rumen Radev wins in Bulgaria, says Europe is 'a victim of its ambition to act as a moral leader.'

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

By Marina Stoimenova from Sofia

Published on 19/04/2026 - 20:05 GMT+2•Updated 22:19

'Europe has, in many ways, become a victim of its ambition to act as a moral leader in a world without clear rules, says Rumen Radev after winning the parliamentary vote.

The snap elections in Bulgaria are shaping up to have significant political implications across Europe. Radev, a former fighter pilot who stepped down as president in January, appears to be the clear frontrunner.

World weighs fate of Mideast ceasefire after US seizes Iranian cargo ship

By Daphne Psaledakis and Hatem Maher

April 19, 2026 7:06 PM PDT

Updated 1 hour ago

Summary

• US military says it intercepted Iranian ship trying to run blockade
• Iran says will respond to 'armed piracy.'
• IRNA says Iran rejects talks, citing US blockade
• Islamabad prepares for second round of negotiations

WASHINGTON/CAIRO, April 20 (Reuters) - Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the U.S. said ​it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate.

Canada’s prime minister says economic ties with US are a weakness that must be corrected

By JIM MORRIS
April 19, 2026
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address released Sunday that Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected.

White House Leak Reveals Trump Booted From Briefing After Hours-Long Freakout

 Politics 

WHINER-IN-CHIEF

Even the president may have doubts about his war.

Laura Esposito 

Breaking News Reporter

Updated Apr. 19 2026 11:19AM EDT Published Apr. 19 2026 10:36AM EDT 

Photo Illustration by Eric Faison/The Daily Beast/Getty Images

Donald Trump, 79, reportedly threw such a tantrum during a fraught rescue operation in Iran that his aides banished him from the room as they were briefed.