Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this April 18th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Starmer faces calls to step down after appointing Epstein associate
Opposition leaders demanded Starmer’s resignation on Thursday after it emerged that US envoy Peter Mandelson was appointed despite having failed his security check.
Lebanon president says his country is in ‘a new phase’ after Israel truce
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun declared Friday that the newly brokered ceasefire marks the start of a “new phase” for Lebanon, vowing the country will move toward permanent agreements with Israel.
Iranian gunboats fire on tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, UK military says
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre says two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz after Iran said it had reimposed restrictions on the vital waterway.
Latest news bulletin | April 18th, 2026 – Morning
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond this April 18th, 2026 – latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
EU to ‘play its part’ to restore energy and trade flows from Middle East
The EU is prepared to send additional warships as part of a mission to protect shipping in the Middle East and keep the Strait of Hormuz open “once a ceasefire takes hold,” the bloc’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said Friday. Dozens of European leaders, including those of France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, convened…
Italy: 25 hostages freed as Naples bank gang vanishes underground
A group of three masked robbers held 25 people hostage during a bank heist in Naples on Thursday 16 April 2026 before escaping through a tunnel connected to the city’s sewer network, authorities said.
Military operation against Hezbollah ‘still not complete,’ Israel’s defence minister says
US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire on Friday after a meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors, the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades.
Nearly 900 Rohingya refugees dead and missing in shipwrecks in 2025, UNHCR says
The Rohingya mainly leave from huge camps in Bangladesh, where more than 1 million refugees forced to flee across the border from Myanmar’s Rakhine state live in squalid conditions.
Sleepy Kitten & a Rose: A Tiny Moment of Pure Cozy Magic
The room was quiet in that soft, peaceful way that only happens when nothing urgent is demanding attention. A lady quietly stepped closer, holding her phone like she was about to capture something far more important than it probably looked to anyone else. In a cozy little basket, her kitten was fast asleep curled up…