Topic: Middle East — Neutral reports only
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 02:19 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Manila Times
Snippet: (UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the excise taxes on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene suspended for three months to help ease the financial burden of households in the face of the energy emergency driven by the war in the Middle East.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 02:10 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Middle East Eye
Snippet: Footage used in the trial of six Palestine Action activists facing charges connected to a break-in to an Israeli-owned arms factory contains "perceived gaps", a UK court has heard.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 02:09 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: South Korea
Snippet: (ATTN: RECASTS para 2; UPDATES with more info, details in paras 6-8, 10-16)By Song Sang-ho
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 02:07 UTC+10:00] [Airlines] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Politico
Snippet: BRUSSELS — There is “no indication” of jet fuel shortages causing widespread flight cancellations in Europe, Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said Friday, speaking hours before Iran lifted its Strait of Hormuz blockade.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 02:06 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Manila Times
Snippet: THE account of how successful United States President Donald Trump’s war on Iran was, which has been made by Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, in a recent press conference, makes one wonder whether the US should have demanded unconditional surrender from Iran, instead of agreeing to a ceasefire and sit down and talk peace.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 02:01 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Manila Times
Snippet: ERROR 404 page not found Click here to go to the home page
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:58 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Nikkei Asia
Snippet: Many investors still consider the Middle East situation fluid and fragile, but some started taking risks in the markets. © Reuters
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:49 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The National (UAE)
Snippet: Saudi Arabia’s Neom is seeking to position itself as a new logistics hub with the development of a new trade corridor connecting European and Gulf markets.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:41 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: ABC News
Snippet: A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province. (File photo via Reuters)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:34 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Manila Times
Snippet: LAS VEGAS — US President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran had agreed to never again shut the Strait of Hormuz, during a string of social media posts indicating a peace deal with Tehran was near.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:26 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: BBC News
Snippet: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund bought a majority stake in Newcastle United in 2021
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:22 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: BBC News
Snippet: With not one, but two ceasefires in place across the Middle East, is the scene now set for a pair of historic breakthroughs?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:20 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Zero Hedge
Snippet: The rise of "war unicorns" will be an impressive development to watch over the next several years, as we've diligently laid out for readers for months, well before the U.S.-Iran conflict, how a massive government push and in capital markets would begin to prioritize the next generation of defense-tech firms rather than big, bloated legacy defense contractors.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:18 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Snippet: If Iran does not get heavy Chinese help with reconstituting its ballistic missiles program, the damage the Israeli and American militaries caused it means the regime will not be able to obtain thousands of missiles for multiple years, the IDF said on Friday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:18 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Snippet: Despite the newly mounted Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, the IDF will continue to attack fighters of the Lebanese terror group who have remained in the southern part of the country should they not surrender, the IDF said on Friday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:18 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 92]
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Snippet: Hamas will soon enter the disarmament process, the IDF said on Friday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:18 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Snippet: Israel is prohibited from “bombing Lebanon any longer,” said US President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post on Friday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:16 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: South China Morning Post
Snippet: At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, Erdogan also stressed the importance of acting with ‘prudent understanding’ to end the Iran war
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:16 UTC+10:00] [Iran] [Factuality: 100]
Source: South China Morning Post
Snippet: At the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, Erdogan also stressed the importance of acting with ‘prudent understanding’ to end the Iran war
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:12 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: AfricaNews
Snippet: Iran's Foreign Minister said on Friday that the strategic Strait of Hormuz is declared “completely open” for all commercial vessels for the remaining period of the Middle East ceasefire.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:12 UTC+10:00] [Conflict] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Politico
Snippet: 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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:09 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The National (UAE)
Snippet: Tension related to Iran and the crisis in the Middle East have spurred conversations about the idea of technological sovereignty and, more specifically, artificial intelligence sovereignty.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:00 UTC+10:00] [US-Israel war on Iran] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Guardian Australia
Snippet: See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 01:00 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: New York Post
Snippet: President Trump had stern words for Israel as he made clear the US is in the driver’s seat for the 10-day cease-fire between the Jewish home state and Lebanon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:55 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Al Jazeera
Snippet: Even as Israel was attacking his home country of Lebanon, killing hundreds, and occupying territory within the country’s south, Antoun Sehnaoui was being publicly praised for his support for Israel, and his family’s history of being “Lebanese Christian Zionists”.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:54 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Al Jazeera
Snippet: Islamabad, Pakistan – Standing on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding his helicopter for Las Vegas on Thursday, United States President Donald Trump offered his most optimistic assessment yet of the war with Iran.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:54 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Middle East Eye
Snippet: Campaigners around the world marked the annual Palestinian Prisoners' Day on Friday, calling for the release of more than 9,000 detainees and the repeal of a new Israeli law permitting executions of Palestinian prisoners.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:48 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Middle East Eye
Snippet: Iran will require all vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz to obtain IRGC permission, according to an Al Jazeera report of an address by an Iranian military official.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:41 UTC+10:00] [Oil] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Guardian Australia
Snippet: Brent crude drops and gas prices slide amid hopes Donald Trump will succeed in reaching deal with Tehran
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:40 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The National (UAE)
Snippet: The US and Iran announced on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz has reopened.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:39 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: AP News
Snippet: Colombia’s Environmental Minister Irene Vélez Torres talks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Botanical Garden Jose Celestino Mutis in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, April 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:36 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: BBC News
Snippet: At least four vessels tracked from Iranian ports appear to have crossed a US blockade line in the Gulf of Oman, BBC Verify analysis of ship-tracking data suggests.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:31 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: BBC News
Snippet: At the stroke of midnight, gunfire and fireworks celebrated the start of the ceasefire in Beirut.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:29 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The National (UAE)
Snippet: When Israel and Hezbollah agreed on a ceasefire in November 2024, almost immediately Hassan Younes rushed to Beirut's devastated southern suburbs as people returned to celebrate and survey the damage.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:21 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Middle East Eye
Snippet: On 8 April, Israel's military launched the psychopathically titled Operation Eternal Darkness against Lebanon, with predictably macabre results. In the span of a mere 10 minutes, Israel struck more than 100 sites across the country, killing more than 300 people and wounding at least 1,150.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:19 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 90]
Source: The Moscow Times
Snippet: Russian stocks fell on Friday after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” on the heels of a ceasefire announcement between Israel and Lebanon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:13 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: AP News
Snippet: Judges walk to their seats before reading the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on what Israel must do to ensure humanitarian aid reaches Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, file)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:12 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 90]
Source: Middle East Eye
Snippet: US President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that “the Strait of Hormuz is completely open and ready for business and full passage, but the naval blockade will remain in full force as it pertains to Iran, only,” until the US’ “transaction with with Iran is 100% complete.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:12 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: BBC News
Snippet: Oil prices have plummeted after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would be "completely open" to commercial ships for the remainder of the ceasefire.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:05 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 92]
Source: Zero Hedge
Snippet: US intelligence is flagging early signs that Beijing may have been eyeing a move into the Iran conflict - quietly considering sending advanced radar systems, which it is said to have been mulling since near the opening of the US-Israel war which kicked off last month.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:03 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: Middle East Eye
Snippet: Campaigners around the world marked the annual Palestinian Prisoners' Day on Friday, calling for the release of more than 9,000 detainees and the repeal of a new Israeli law permitting executions of Palestinian prisoners.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:03 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: South Korea
Snippet: WASHINGTON, April 17 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday thanked Iran for opening the crucial Strait of Hormuz but said the United States' naval blockade of Iranian ports will remain "in full force" until the two sides agree to a deal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-18 00:01 UTC+10:00] [World / Middle East] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Age
Snippet: Beirut: US President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister have confirmed the Strait of Hormuz is now fully open to commercial vessels, as a 10-day truce in Lebanon appeared to hold.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-17 23:57 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 92]
Source: New York Post
Snippet: Stocks surged as oil prices plunged sharply on Friday, with US crude for May delivery falling 9.8% to $85.37 a barrel after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-17 23:51 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: South China Morning Post
Snippet: Tehran said ships would have to follow a route through the waterway outlined by Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-17 23:51 UTC+10:00] [Hezbollah] [Factuality: 100]
Source: South China Morning Post
Snippet: Tehran said ships would have to follow a route through the waterway outlined by Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organisation
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-17 23:47 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 90]
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Snippet: In the traditional architecture of statecraft, a “firewall” once existed between domestic and foreign audiences. A government could broadcast one narrative to its citizens and another to foreign capitals. That world has vanished.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-17 23:47 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 90]
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Snippet: Like all good revolutions, the current Iranian protest movement against the regime is being accompanied by music. Protest songs have always traveled farther than the protests themselves – carried across borders in ways that bodies cannot be, arriving in cities where the demonstrations are watched from a distance.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-17 23:47 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Snippet: At first glance, it almost didn’t look real: more than 60 Palestinian men packed into the back of a garbage truck – a place meant for refuse, not people – who were pulled out one by one by police officers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
[2026-04-17 23:47 UTC+10:00] [General] [Factuality: 100]
Source: The Jerusalem Post
Snippet: Pakistan's air force escorted Iranian negotiators home from inconclusive peace talks with the US last weekend, launching a major operation after the Iranians said Israel might seek to kill them, three sources told Reuters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------