International news from Saturday, April 19th, 2025

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering his forces to end hostilities at 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday until the end of Sunday.

Hamas's armed wing said on Saturday the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after the group found the guard who was holding the hostage killed.

Iran and the United States started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran's atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump's threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.

At least 148 people were found dead in Democratic Republic of Congo after a motorised wooden boat caught fire and capsized, media reports citing local officials said on Friday.

Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.