Dollar nears 100 as strong jobs data and Iran war fuel safe-haven demand

The U.S. dollar index hovered near the 100-point mark on Friday as an unexpectedly strong March jobs report combined with deepening fears over a prolonged military conflict in Iran reinforced the greenback's status as the world's primary safe-haven currency. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, the largest gain since December......

Iran's supreme leader incapacitated by severe injuries, leaving regime without functioning head

More than a month after Israeli warplanes struck the supreme leader's compound in Tehran, Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public, and a hospital source told The Media Line that he remains in a medical intensive care unit at an underground location with devastating injuries, including a non-functioning arm, a paralyzed leg, spinal......

Pope Leo XIV calls Herzog and Zelensky on Good Friday to urge peace

Pope Leo XIV held separate telephone conversations with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Good Friday, April 3, 2026, pressing both leaders to pursue diplomatic paths to end the wars ravaging the Middle East and Ukraine. The calls, confirmed by the Vatican in a statement, mark the pontiff's most......

Analysts warn Iran could become a North Korea-style garrison state

More than a month into the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, a growing number of analysts and business leaders are warning that the conflict may not end in regime change or capitulation, but in the transformation of the Islamic Republic into a closed, militarized garrison state modeled on North Korea. Nikkei Asia published an analysis......

Iranian drones strike Kuwait's Mina al-Ahmadi refinery again, sparking fires

Iranian drones struck the Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery in Kuwait on Friday morning, igniting fires across multiple operational units in the latest attack on Gulf energy infrastructure since the U.S.-Israeli air campaign against Iran began in late February. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation told the official KUNA news agency that the 346,000-barrel-per-day......

European Q1 earnings set to rise 4% as energy sector surges

Corporate earnings for companies in the STOXX 600 index are forecast to grow 4 percent in the first quarter of 2026, marking a rebound after a decline in the final quarter of last year, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data cited by Reuters on Thursday. The turnaround is driven primarily by a surge in the energy sector, where crude oil prices inflated......

Container ship Safeen Prestige sinks in Strait of Hormuz after weeks ablaze

The Maltese-flagged container ship Safeen Prestige has sunk in the Strait of Hormuz, nearly a month after being struck by a projectile and abandoned by its crew, according to a maritime traffic advisory issued by regional operators on April 1. The vessel went down approximately 6.5 nautical miles northeast of Ras Mahrouk, with an oil slick......

Hegseth says US is directly confronting Russia and China over support for Iran

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a pointed warning to Russia and China on Tuesday over their alleged support for Iran, saying the United States is addressing the matter directly as the war enters its fifth week with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight. Speaking at a Pentagon briefing alongside Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine,......

Iran war wipes $255 billion from world's top billionaires in 2026

Market turbulence triggered by the American-Israeli military campaign against Iran has taken a heavy toll on the world's wealthiest individuals, erasing more than $255 billion in combined net worth from six of the ten richest people since January, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison suffered......

Houthi strikes raise fears of major disruption to global oil routes

Yemen’s Houthi forces launched their first direct strikes on Israel on Saturday, marking a new phase in the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. The escalation has raised concerns that the Red Sea, now a critical alternative route for oil shipments, could become a major flashpoint. Houthi military spokesperson......

Pentagon plans ground operations in Iran as war enters second month

Israel and the United States intensified their air campaign against Iran over the weekend, striking power plants, missile production sites, and nuclear facilities across Tehran and surrounding provinces as the conflict entered its second month. Iran retaliated with waves of drones and missiles targeting Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other......

Gold heads for worst month since 2008 as war-driven dollar surge hammers prices

Gold is on course for its steepest monthly decline since October 2008, falling roughly 15 percent in March as a surging U.S. dollar and rising Treasury yields stripped the metal of its traditional safe-haven appeal, even as a major war rages across the Middle East. The selloff has wiped more than $1 trillion in market capitalization from the......

UK raises concern over Israel’s planned expansion in Lebanon

The United Kingdom has expressed growing concern over Israel’s stated intention to expand its ground operations in Lebanon, warning of the risk of further escalation in an already volatile region. British Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer said the situation was “deeply concerning,” noting......

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