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  • Pope Leo XIV spins basketball on his finger, with help from Harlem Globetrotters

    Pope Leo XIV spins basketball on his finger, with help from Harlem Globetrotters

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    Pope Leo XIV was seen spinning a basketball on his finger at his weekly general audience in Saint Peter’s Square.

    Players from the US exhibition basketball crew, the Harlem Globetrotters, aided the pontiff, who learned the new skill in front of a cheering crowd.

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  • Trump targets Greenland again as Iran war deepens NATO rift

    Trump targets Greenland again as Iran war deepens NATO rift

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    WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES – APRIL 6: The United States President Donald Trump holds a Press Conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington DC, United States.

    Celal Gunes | Anadolu | Getty Images

    U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have set his eyes on Greenland again while venting frustration at NATO, as the diplomatic fallout from Iran war exposes rifts in Washington’s ties with the security alliance.

    In a Truth Social post Wednesday evening stateside, Trump said that “NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!”

    The latest broadside comes after Trump announced a 2-week ceasefire after more than a month of fighting with Iran. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for not joining the war effort in Iran, saying his call for action was “a great test,” while threatening to pull out of the alliance.

    Trump has taken aim at NATO and Greenland in recent days. “It all began with, if you want to know the truth, Greenland,” Trump told reporters at a White House press conference Monday. “We want Greenland. They don’t want to give it to us. And I said, ‘bye, bye.’”

    U.S. relations with European allies have frayed after Trump threatened tariffs on European countries and signaled military action to acquire Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory. In January, Trump said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had reached “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.”

    The Iran war has brought fresh tensions in the diplomatic ties, as several NATO members have resisted supporting the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran, denying American military aircraft use of their airspace and declining to contribute naval forces to efforts aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz to energy shipping.

    Trump’s comments Wednesday followed a meeting with Rutte at the White House earlier in the day, with spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt reportedly saying that NATO had “turned their backs on the American people.”

    President Trump's threat to leave NATO must be taken seriously: Analyst

    Rutte acknowledged the friction, in an interview with CNN following the meeting, saying that “He is clearly disappointed with many NATO allies, and I can see his point.”

    Last week, Trump called NATO a “paper tiger” and said he was “absolutely” considering to withdraw from the 32-member alliance, arguing that European members have relied on U.S. security guarantees while offering inadequate support when Washington needed them most.

    “Trump can’t attack the alliance forever without making it hollow,” said Michael Feller, chief strategist at Geopolitical Strategy, as Iran was “testing unity” by offering Spain and Turkey waivers to get their oil via the Strait of Hormuz.

    Alongside Trump’s remarks, the Pentagon timed leaks on new military activities in Greenland, Feller, said referring to a New York Times report earlier this month on the Pentagon looking for military expansion in Greenland. The U.S. was in talks with Denmark for access to three additional bases in Greenland, in what would be the first U.S. expansion there in decades, according to the report.

    “This doesn’t augur invasion, but is likely designed to intimidate,” Feller said.

    Meanwhile, less than 24 hours into the truce with Iran, the country’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that Washington had violated the terms of the ceasefire deal.

    Israel reportedly launched its heaviest strikes yet on Lebanon, killing hundreds of people and drawing a threat from Iran, saying that it would be “unreasonable” to proceed with peace talks with the U.S., underscoring the fragility of the ceasefire agreement.

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  • Asia-pacific markets: U.S., Iran, Negotiations

    Asia-pacific markets: U.S., Iran, Negotiations

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    An electronic stock board displays the Nikkei 225 Stock Average outside a securities firm in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 28, 2025.

    Toru Hanai | Bloomberg | Getty Images

    Asia-Pacific markets trade lower Thursday, as investors fret over news that Iran’s parliamentary speaker charged the U.S. of breaching the terms of the two-week ceasefire agreement.

    On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump had announced a “double sided” ceasefire, more than a month into a war with Iran.

    “I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “We received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”

    The ceasefire was contingent on Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran had said that it would stop “defensive” operations if attacks on the country were halted, according to a statement from Iran’s Foreign Minister. Israel has also agreed to the ceasefire, media reports said.

    Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf subsequently accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire deal. The violations are the denial of the Islamic Republic’s right to enrich uranium and Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, a drone’s entry into Iranian airspace, he said.

    South Korea’s Kospi was down 1.41% while the small-cap Kosdaq declined 1.61%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell by 0.76%, while the Topix was 0.75% lower. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.10%.

    China’s CSI 300 fell 0.72%, tracking broad losses among other Asian markets. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index declined 0.63%.

    Oil futures extended gains. The West Texas Intermediate futures for May rose 3.80% to $97.96 per barrel by 9:06 p.m. ET. International benchmark Brent June futures gained 2.88% to $97.48 per barrel.

    S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.1%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 32 points, or less than 0.1%.

    Overnight in the U.S., stocks surged after President Donald Trump suspended attacks on Iran for two weeks, pausing a five-week conflict that closed a crucial waterway for global energy supplies.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average ripped 1,325.46 points higher, or 2.85%, to 47,909.92. That was the benchmark’s best day since April 2025, when Trump first backed down from the severity of his initial tariff announcement.

    The S&P 500 popped 2.51% to 6,782.81, and the Nasdaq Composite surged 2.80% to 22,635.00.

    Sarah Min, John Melloy and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to the report

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  • He's Australia's most decorated soldier. Now he's at the centre of a historic war crimes case

    He's Australia's most decorated soldier. Now he's at the centre of a historic war crimes case

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    Ben Roberts-Smith’s case is not only unprecedented for Australia but “extraordinary” for the globe too, historians say.

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  • Prosecutors seek Tiger Woods' prescription drug records after Florida arrest

    Prosecutors seek Tiger Woods' prescription drug records after Florida arrest

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    A legal order seeking the golfer’s medications – including dosage and warnings about driving on pill bottles – will be issued later this month, court record shows.

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  • Pioneering wildlife cameraman Doug Allan dies in Nepal

    Pioneering wildlife cameraman Doug Allan dies in Nepal

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    The cameraman and photographer won eight Emmy Awards for his work on acclaimed series like Blue Planet alongside Sir David Attenborough.

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  • Everything you need to know about BTS’s comeback tour

    Everything you need to know about BTS’s comeback tour

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    BTS kick off their grandest tour, the largest in K-pop history, in Seoul on Thursday.

    The BBC is in the South Korean capital to explain everything you need to know about their comeback, after they went on hiatus for over three years to complete their mandatory military services.

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  • Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Nvidia lead tech rally after Iran ceasefire

    Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Nvidia lead tech rally after Iran ceasefire

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    Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    U.S. stocks soared on Wednesday after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, and beaten-down tech names shared in the rally.

    Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Nvidia led the way among the Magnificent 7 names. Meta shares surged higher after the social media giant announced its latest artificial intelligence model called Muse Spark.

    Chipmakers also soared, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. gaining 6%, with ASML and Applied Materials popping about 9%. Micron added nearly 8%.

    Western Digital gained nearly 9%, Lam Research added nearly 10% and Intel added 11%.

    Trump backed down from his Tuesday threat that “a whole civilization will die” shortly before his 8 p.m. ET deadline and said that the U.S. would pause fighting. He said the U.S. had received a proposal from Iran and the two sides would continue to negotiate.

    Despite the truce, ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has yet to return to pre-war levels and Saudi Arabia’s east-west pipeline was hit by a drone hours after Trump’s Truth Social post.

    The relief rally comes after tech names suffered a bruising start to 2026. Tech stocks were hit particularly hard last month amid a broader market selloff driven by concerns about the Iran war.

    Software stocks have crumbled over the past few months on fears that artificial intelligence could disrupt software business models.

    The wipeout coincided with shares of Big Tech companies coming under pressure in February as investors questioned when they’ll start to see a return on their massive AI spending plans.

    Microsoft shares have been battered more than most tech names due to worries over its AI strategy. The stock slumped 23% in the first quarter, a steeper drop than any of its tech peers or the Nasdaq, which fell 7% over that stretch.

    CNBC TechCheck Evening Edition: April 8, 2026
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  • U.S. has violated ceasefire agreement, Iran parliamentary speaker says

    U.S. has violated ceasefire agreement, Iran parliamentary speaker says

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    U.S. has violated ceasefire agreement, Iran parliamentary speaker says

    Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the U.S. on Wednesday of violating the two-week ceasefire agreement.

    “The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments — a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again,” Ghalibaf said in a statement posted on social media.

    Three parts of Iran’s 10-point ceasefire proposal have been violated, Ghalibaf said. The violations are Israel’s continued attacks on Lebanon, the entry of a drone into Iranian airspace, and the denial of the Islamic Republic’s right to enrich uranium, he said.

    “In such situation, a bilateral ceasefire or negotiations is unreasonable,” the parliamentary speaker said. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran’s proposal was a workable basis for negotiations.

    The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

    U.S. oil prices were down more than 15% near $95 per barrel by 2:59 p.m. ET even as the fragile ceasefire agreement appeared at risk of unraveling.

    Ghalibaf’s statement comes less than a day after Trump said he agreed to halt attacks for two weeks in exchange for Iran allowing ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during that period.

    A large gulf has emerged between the U.S. and Iranian interpretations of the ceasefire since the agreement was announced Tuesday evening, particularly over the strait.

    Trump said Tuesday that the ceasefire was subject to the complete, immediate and safe opening of the strait. But Iran plans to demand that ships pay tolls to pass through the vital sea route, according to a report in The Financial Times.

    Trump wants the strait open “without limitation, including tolls,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday.

    Iran state news agency Fars said earlier that oil tanker traffic through the strait has been halted as Israel continues to attack Lebanon.

    The amount of tanker traffic through the strait has plunged during the war due to Iranian attacks, triggering the largest crude oil supply disruption in history. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the strait before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28.

    Ship traffic through the strait has not picked up beyond the slow trickle observed during most of the war, freight and oil analysts have told CNBC.

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  • Nigeria begins mass trial of 500 terrorism suspects

    Nigeria begins mass trial of 500 terrorism suspects

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    Very few people are ever prosecuted following terror attacks with suspects often held without trial.

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