Monday, 13 April, 2026 , 12:49 AFP — A French court on Monday fined the cement group Lafarge over $1.3 million and sentenced its former boss to six years in prison for paying protection money to the Islamic State group and other jihadists to maintain its business in war-torn Syria.

Monday, 13 April, 2026 , 11:47 AFP — Nouri al-Maliki's prospects of becoming Iraq's next prime minister are fading as the country's leaders aim to settle the question as a ceasefire takes effect in the region, political sources said.

Monday, 13 April, 2026 , 11:29 AFP — Nouri al-Maliki's prospects of becoming Iraq's next prime minister are fading as the country's leaders aim to settle the question as a ceasefire takes effect in the region, political sources said.

Monday, 13 April, 2026 , 11:16 AFP — A Paris court on Monday ruled that cement conglomerate Lafarge was guilty of paying protection money to the Islamic State group and other jihadists to maintain its business in war-torn Syria.

Monday, 13 April, 2026 , 08:02 AFP — Operations resumed on Monday at a major gas facility in Iraq's Kurdish region, the Emirati company running the complex said, after more than a month of disruption due to the US-Iran war.

Monday, 13 April, 2026 , 04:10 AFP — Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest number since 1989, two NGOs said Monday, warning it risked using capital punishment even more extensively after protests in January and the war against Israel and the US.

Monday, 13 April, 2026 , 01:49 AFP — A Paris court will deliver its verdict on Monday in the case of cement conglomerate Lafarge, accused of paying the Islamic State group and other jihadists protection money to maintain its business in war-torn Syria.

Saturday, 11 April, 2026 , 20:07 AFP — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply criticised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday after comments he made about the US-Iran ceasefire, vowing that Israel would continue fighting Tehran and its regional proxies.

Saturday, 11 April, 2026 , 17:55 AFP — Iraqi lawmakers elected Nizar Amedi as the country's new president on Saturday, following political disputes that delayed the vote and the formation of the next government.

Saturday, 11 April, 2026 , 09:34 AFP — Some three-quarters of the airstrikes during the Middle East war targeted sites in Iran or Lebanon, according to an AFP analysis of data from ACLED, a non?profit that tracks political violence worldwide.