Houthi attack injures 11 in Saudi, coalition says
A Houthi attack wounded 11 civilians in southern Saudi Arabia late Thursday, the Riyadh-led coalition said. Coalition spokesman General Turki al-Maliki said i…
Conflict & Security
Published stories in Conflict & Security.
Houthi attacks kill 58 Yemeni troops, source says
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis killed at least 58 Saudi-backed government troops and injured dozens in missile and drone attacks on Thursday, a military source told AFP. Medical sources had earlier put the death toll at 38. A military official told AFP the attac…
Syria minibus bomb kills 2, wounds 13, state media says
A bomb planted on a minibus exploded on Thursday in Jaramana, near Damascus, killing at least two people and wounding 13, Syrian state media reported, citing the health ministry. State TV cited an official source as saying preliminary information indicated th…
Yemen vows response as medics report 38 troops dead
Yemen's internationally recognised government said Thursday that its armed forces would respond to missile and drone attacks it attributed to Houthi rebels, after medical sources said 38 government troops were killed earlier in the day. The defence ministry s…
Damascus suburb minibus bomb explodes, state TV says
Syrian state television reported that a bomb planted on a minibus exploded on Thursday in Jaramana, a town in the suburbs of Damascus, citing an official source. An AFP photographer saw several ambulances heading to the scene, where a main street had been clo…
Israeli settlers burned West Bank homes, army says
Israeli settlers attacked the small Palestinian community of Khirbet al-Tuba in the occupied West Bank late on August 5, injuring people, burning homes and smashing the community's power source, the Israeli military and residents said. The Israeli military sa…
Houthis kill at least 38 Yemeni troops, medics say
Two medical sources told AFP that Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis killed at least 38 Saudi-backed government troops and injured 29 in missile and drone attacks on Thursday. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with b…
Iran threatened Gulf blackout if US hit plants, officials say
Iran warned it would “black out” Gulf countries if the United States attacked Iranian power plants, two officials told AFP. A Gulf official said Iran sent the message through intermediaries last week, and another regional official confirmed the messaging. Bot…
UK Prevent referrals hit record high, Home Office says
UK Prevent referrals reached a record 10,293 in the year ending September 2025, the Home Office said, with extreme right-wing concerns making up the largest ideology-related category. The Home Office said the total was the highest for a single year since repo…
Yemen war explained: who is fighting and why
A guide to the movements, governments and outside powers involved in Yemen's conflict, and how a decade-old civil war became a multi-front regional crisis. Key terms Head of State / Head of Government In Yemen's political system, the president serves as head…
Germany arrests Ukrainian suspected of arms maker spying
German police said Thursday they had arrested a 33-year-old Ukrainian man suspected of filming a Bavarian arms manufacturer in preparation for acts of sabotage. Police in Bavaria said the man was arrested on August 2 in Thuringia state. They said he is suspec…
North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile
North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile from the Wonsan area toward the Sea of Japan on Thursday, South Korea's military said. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch was detected at around 5:00 pm local time. It earlier said the missile…
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant power losses concern IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday that the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has lost access to external power 24 times since Russia invaded in February 2022, with half of those losses in the past four months. The…
Kharkiv strikes kill three, Ukraine officials say
Russian strikes killed three people in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials said Thursday. Vitalii Karabanov, head of the military administration in Balakliya, said strikes on a residential area killed two women and a man in the frontlin…
Central African militia revolt tests Bangui control
A militia that emerged with Central African government backing in the southeast of the country has turned against its former allies, adding to insecurity in the remote Haut-Mbomou region. The Azande Ani Kpi Gbe militia, known as AAKG, appeared in 2023 in an a…
Lebanon reports Israeli strikes near Tyre, four wounded
Lebanon's official National News Agency said Israeli airstrikes and shelling hit Tyre district from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, reporting four people wounded in Burj al-Shamali as renewed hostilities continued during US-mediated talks in Rome. The…
Russia denies Colombian mercenary links in Ukraine war
Russia's embassy in Colombia denied having links to suspected recruitment networks of Colombian mercenaries for the war in Ukraine, after a Colombian media investigation alleged Moscow had enlisted Colombians. The diplomatic mission said Wednesday it had no r…
Tanker reports two Hormuz explosions, UKMTO says
A tanker reported hearing two explosions while transiting the Strait of Hormuz near Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said Thursday. UKMTO said the incident happened about ten miles, or 16 kilometres, southeast of Kumzar, Oman. It said…
Colombia inauguration faces terrorism threat, minister says
Colombia's outgoing defense minister warned Wednesday of a possible threat of "acts of terrorism" during president-elect Abelardo De la Espriella's inauguration in Cali. Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez told radio broadcaster La FM that criminals would "most li…
Houthis say they hit Saudi tanker Daisy in Gulf of Aden
Yemen's Houthis said Wednesday they had attacked the Saudi oil tanker Daisy in the Gulf of Aden with a ballistic missile. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree made the claim in a statement. The group said it was the second Saudi oil tanker it had targeted in…
Puntland says over 100 arrested in Galkacyo raid
Puntland police said more than 100 people were arrested after forces from Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland state attacked a government-aligned military camp in northern Galkacyo on Wednesday. The camp near the city’s airport was occupied by troops formerly…
Qalandia camp raid injures eight, Red Crescent says
The Palestine Red Crescent said eight people were taken to hospital after Israeli forces raided Qalandia refugee camp near Jerusalem on Wednesday, during an operation Israeli authorities said targeted wanted individuals, weapons and what they called terrorist…
Kramatorsk children ordered evacuated amid Russian strikes
Ukrainian authorities ordered 525 children and their guardians to leave Kramatorsk and nearby areas in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday because of intensifying Russian strikes, Donetsk region governor Vadym Filashkin said. Filashkin said the evacuations would be…
Israel resumes Lebanon strikes, Lebanon says one killed
Israel's military said it resumed strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, citing what it called a Hezbollah ceasefire violation, as Lebanon and Israel held US-sponsored talks in Rome aimed at ending hostilities. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said…
Israel tells Al-Mansouri residents to evacuate
The Israeli military told residents of Al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon to leave their homes immediately on Wednesday ahead of expected attacks against Hezbollah. “In light of Hezbollah's violations of the ceasefire agreement, the Israel Defense Forces are com…
West Bank settler may have died by friendly fire, army says
An Israeli military probe said on August 5 that friendly fire may have killed Israeli settler and army reservist Benayahu Mellet during a deadly late-July clash with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Tell. The violence in Tell, in the northern…
Russian drone factory chief wounded in car blast, TASS says
Vladimir Tkachuk, the chief executive of Russian drone maker Uraldronzavod, was seriously wounded in a car explosion, Russian state media reported Wednesday. TASS quoted an emergency services source as saying Tkachuk was in intensive care in serious condition…
Houthis say they attacked two Saudi oil tankers
Yemen's Houthis said Wednesday they attacked two Saudi oil tankers, the Wafa in the northern Red Sea off Yanbu and the Daisy in the Gulf of Aden, as the group continued its declared maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said…
821,000 displaced in Lebanon start returning, UN says
More than 821,000 people displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon had begun returning to their areas of origin by July 30, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said. OCHA said more than 360,000 people remained displaced, including around 26,000 in governme…
Taiwan blocks Taipei-area bridge in China invasion drill
Taiwanese troops blocked the recently opened Danjiang Bridge near Taipei with concrete barriers, barbed wire and Hesco walls in an overnight drill to practise stopping a possible Chinese advance on the capital. The exercise took place on Thursday, the second…
Kyiv barrage kills 17; no missiles downed, Ukraine says
Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least 17 people and wounded more than 40 in Kyiv and the surrounding region overnight, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday, while Ukraine said it did not shoot down any of the missiles launched in the attack. Ukrai…
Crimea blackouts and drones disrupt summer life
Blackouts, fuel shortages and Ukrainian drone attacks are disrupting daily life in Russian-annexed Crimea during the summer holiday season, as Kyiv escalates strikes on the peninsula's fuel and electrical facilities. Warnings have become more frequent since U…
Kyiv strikes kill woman, wound at least 12, officials say
Russian strikes on Kyiv killed a woman and wounded at least 12 other people, Kyiv authorities said Wednesday, after Ukraine's air force warned of incoming ballistic missiles. AFP journalists heard explosions in the Ukrainian capital shortly after midnight, 21…
Colombia ex-guerrillas fear De la Espriella war pledge
Former Colombian guerrillas who laid down their weapons under a deal with outgoing President Gustavo Petro fear their future under president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella, who has pledged to end negotiations with armed groups and wage war on them instead. Th…
Indian ship sinks in Red Sea; Yemen blames Houthis
An Indian-flagged commercial ship sank in the Red Sea off Yemen on Tuesday after an attack, and all 14 crew members were rescued, a local official in the Yemeni city of Mokha said. Yemen's internationally recognised government blamed the Iran-backed Houthi re…
Gaza funeral held for 112 recovered, civil defence says
Hundreds of people attended a mass funeral in Gaza City on Tuesday for 112 people recovered from rubble, Gaza's civil defence said. Rows of Palestinian flags were laid over remains at a cleared plot between buildings flattened by airstrikes. Gaza's civil defe…
Libya clashes kill four as force halts fighting
Overnight clashes between rival armed groups in western Libya killed four people and wounded more than 10 before a neutral force intervened to stop the violence, security sources told AFP on Tuesday. A local security official said the fighting was between mem…
Najran airport operations suspended after Houthi claim
Operations were suspended on Tuesday at Najran Airport in southern Saudi Arabia after Yemen's Houthis said they had attacked the site with a drone, a regional source with knowledge of the matter told AFP. The source said the airport's main radar was hit, affe…
Black Sea drone attacks injure ship crews, Turkey says
Turkey's foreign ministry said drone attacks on two civilian vessels in the Black Sea injured several crew members after the ships left the Russian port of Novorossiysk late on Monday. The ministry identified the ships as Yasar and Nadezhda and said the condi…
Kherson drone video shows civilian hunt, Ukraine says
Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces on Tuesday of using a drone to deliberately chase and attack a civilian in Kherson, after a video circulated showing a man pursued by a first-person-view drone. AFP could not immediately verify the footage. It showed…
Moscow drone strike kills 5, wounds 10, governor says
Moscow regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said a drone strike on the Novoselki industrial zone outside the Russian capital killed five people and wounded 10 others, according to preliminary information. Vorobyov said several fires broke out after the strike ea…
North Korea warns of military options over Japan build-up
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said North Korea would set up “additional military options” in response to what she called Japan's transformation into a “war state,” according to a statement carried by KCNA on Wednesday. The warnin…
Bangladesh captain says crew trapped in Gulf 115 days
Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, a Bangladeshi captain, says he and his crew spent 115 days stranded in the Gulf as war disrupted shipping around the Strait of Hormuz. Islam, 51, told AFP after returning home to Cumilla that he was commanding the bulk carrier Banglar…
Russian strikes kill one in Sumy, official says
Russian strikes killed one person and wounded others in Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, Oleg Grygorov, head of the regional military administration, said Tuesday. Grygorov said on Telegram that guided aerial bombs hit civilian infrastructure in the city's Kovpa…
Hormuz ship hit; crew member missing, firm says
A crew member was reported missing after a vessel was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire, British maritime security company Vanguard Tech said. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said the vessel reported being hit 20 na…
Israel army chief says Gaza operations will continue
Israel's army chief said the military would continue to “operate proactively” in Gaza, as Israel disputed parts of a US-backed plan that includes Hamas disarming and an Israeli withdrawal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has not agreed t…
Al-Shabaab seizes strategic Teedaan in Somalia
Al-Shabaab has taken control of Teedaan in central Somalia's Hiiraan region after nearly 24 hours of fighting with government forces, according to local accounts. The Islamist insurgent group said it “took control of the strategic area of Teedaan in eastern H…
Ukraine front lines barely moved in July: AFP analysis
Ukraine’s front lines changed little in July as Russia’s momentum slowed, with Moscow gaining less than 40 square kilometres during the month, an AFP analysis of Institute for the Study of War data found. Russia had gained 30 square kilometres in June. Its re…
Russian strike burns 8 million books in Ukraine: publisher
A Russian strike on a warehouse in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, destroyed more than eight million books, publishing house Ranok said Monday. Ranok said the books were destroyed in a fire after a weekend strike, and said the losses included textbooks for chi…
Ukraine strikes kill 11 in Russia and Crimea: officials
Russian officials said Ukrainian strikes killed 11 people in a Russian Black Sea resort village and in Moscow-annexed Crimea, while Ukrainian officials reported deaths and injuries from Russian attacks in Ukraine. The crisis task force for Russia's southern K…
Nigeria kidnapping: gunmen seize at least 52, residents say
Residents said gunmen kidnapped at least 52 people, including children, during a weekend attack on Kasuwar Daji village and a military base in Zamfara state, northwest Nigeria. The gunmen rode motorcycles into the village in the Kaura Namoda local government…
Tanker off Oman reports nearby explosion, UKMTO says
The master of a tanker off Oman reported hearing an explosion near the vessel on Sunday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said. UKMTO said the vessel and crew were reported safe. The incident happened 20 nautical miles northeast of Khasab,…
Niger attacks force hundreds to flee homes, officials say
Hundreds of people have fled villages in Niger's southwestern Dosso region after mid-July attacks that killed and wounded civilians, state media and local sources said. A regional official told AFP that villagers had been forced to leave during the farming se…
Sudan army drone strike kills 35 at Darfur court, group says
Emergency Lawyers said Sudanese army drones struck a traditional court in Garra al-Zawaya, North Darfur, at about 1:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, killing 35 people and wounding others. The rights group said civilians had gathered for hearings on local cases a…
Ethiopia-Tigray clashes end near Sudan border
Fighting between the Ethiopian army and Tigray rebels has ended after clashes near Ethiopia's border with Sudan, local and security sources told AFP on Sunday. A member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, speaking anonymously, said there was a “de-escala…
Pakistan suicide attack kills 13 in Swat, police say
A suicide bomber attacked a crowded intersection near a police station during a civil society protest in Pakistan's Swat district, killing 13 people and wounding 22, police said Sunday. Swat Deputy Inspector General of Police Fida Hussain said the dead includ…
Russia-Ukraine strikes kill at least 14, officials say
Officials in Russia and Ukraine said attacks across both countries killed at least 14 people on Sunday, as Moscow and Kyiv continued long-range strikes nearly four-and-a-half years into the war. Russian officials said Ukrainian attacks killed at least nine pe…
Gaza authorities say 112 bodies found in rubble
Gaza's civil defence agency said Saturday it had recovered the remains or body parts of 112 people from rubble in Sabra, a neighbourhood in southern Gaza City. The agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas, said the remains were found after 136 h…
Houthis deny Bab al-Mandeb toll plan
Yemen's Houthis denied Saturday that they were seeking to charge ships for passage through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, after a minister in Yemen's internationally recognised government accused them of doing so. The Houthi-aligned Saba news agency published a st…
US embassies urge Americans to consider leaving Middle East
US embassies across the Middle East urged American citizens on Saturday, August 1, to consider leaving the region or be ready to leave if the conflict escalates, warning of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruption. “America…
Israel says it killed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon
The Israeli military said on Saturday that it killed several Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon and that an Israeli soldier was moderately injured, despite a ceasefire. The military said its forces identified Hezbollah fighters overnight inside what Israe…
Gaza strikes kill 13, civil defence says
Gaza's civil defence rescue service said Israeli strikes killed at least 13 people on Sunday, after attacks hit several residential buildings and other targets while Hamas said it had agreed to the latest stage of a plan to end the war. The rescue service, wh…
Boko Haram attack kills Niger forces, state media says
Niger's state ANP news agency said security force members were killed after a Boko Haram attack on the outskirts of N'Guigmi, a garrison town in the Diffa region near Lake Chad. Local residents told AFP that around 10 soldiers were killed in the attack on Fri…
Scarborough Shoal: China holds military, coast guard drills
China said it conducted military and coast guard drills on Saturday near Scarborough Shoal, a contested South China Sea reef claimed by China and the Philippines. A spokesperson for the Chinese army's Southern Theater Command said China held a joint naval-air…
Ukrainian drones sink Russian container ship, Rosatom says
Rosatom said Ukrainian drones sank the Russian-owned container ship Yanina in the Black Sea near the port of Novorossiysk early Saturday, forcing its 17-member crew to abandon the vessel. Russia's state-owned nuclear power operator said at least two Ukrainian…
Russia fired record 376 missiles at Ukraine in July: AFP
An AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force daily reports published Saturday found that Russia launched 376 missiles at Ukraine in July, a record monthly total in the data reviewed. The July missile figure was more than twice the number fired in June. Russia also…
Kyiv-area strikes kill 10 as Zelensky seeks Patriots
Russian attacks on Kyiv and the suburb of Brovary killed 10 people early Saturday, Ukrainian authorities said, as President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed for more Patriot air defence systems. Authorities said more than 30 people were wounded and five districts…
15 Tigray rebel bodies found in Sudan, medic says
Fifteen bodies identified by a medical source as Tigray rebel fighters were recovered Monday from the Setit River in a Sudanese border town after renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia sent hundreds of people across the border. The medical source at Wad al-Hul…
Israeli demolitions in Lebanon draw UN concern
The United Nations said Saturday that Israeli detonations and demolitions in southern Lebanon were “deeply concerning” and must stop, a day after Israel said it used about 700 tonnes of explosives to destroy what it called tunnels in the Beaufort area. The of…
20,000 Cambodians displaced near Thai border, UN says
More than 20,000 Cambodians remain displaced along the border with Thailand after clashes in 2025, UN special rapporteur Tom Andrews said Friday, urging both countries to resolve the crisis. A long-running border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia erupted…
Mali airstrikes killed 8 civilians, HRW says
Human Rights Watch said Friday that Russian Africa Corps paramilitaries supporting Mali's government killed eight civilians, including three children, in airstrikes on Kyrnia village in the Mopti region on June 15. The rights group said a Sukhoi Su-24 aircraf…
Palestinian shot during West Bank settler march
One Palestinian was shot and wounded Friday during an Israeli settler march through several Palestinian towns in the occupied West Bank, first responders, the Israeli army and an AFP journalist said. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its crews in Nablus were…
Gaza withdrawal depends on Hamas disarmament: source
An Israeli political source said Friday that Israel would not withdraw its forces from the current Yellow Line in Gaza unless Hamas genuinely disarmed, after Hamas said it had accepted a deal involving its disarmament and an Israeli exit. “Israel has reiterat…
Somalia AU mission faces US funding cutoff
Countries contributing troops to the African Union mission in Somalia were due to discuss its future in Uganda on Friday after the United States announced it would end critical funding and political support. The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission…
Wildberries hit by new Ukraine drone strike, Russia says
A Wildberries warehouse in Russia's Vladimir region caught fire after a Ukrainian drone strike overnight, the company and local authorities said Monday, with the regional governor reporting one injury. Wildberries said a fire broke out at one of its logistics…
RAF Akrotiri spying suspect faces UK extradition
A British-Azerbaijani dual citizen held in Cyprus is facing extradition to the UK after being accused of spying for Iran on the RAF Akrotiri air base, London police said Friday. Rashad Sultanov, 44, was arrested on July 17 as part of a Counter Terrorism Polic…
Taiwan drone bill: US lawmaker warns time is short
US Republican lawmaker Young Kim urged Taiwan on Friday to pass a comprehensive drone spending bill, warning during a congressional visit to Taipei that "time is short" as the island faces the threat of a potential Chinese attack. Kim spoke at the Presidentia…
Beaufort castle blasts may have caused damage: Lebanon
Lebanon's culture ministry warned that powerful Israeli detonations near the UNESCO-listed Beaufort castle may have caused damage in the castle's vicinity, after Israel said it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in the area. Lebanon's National News Agency said Israe…
Taiwan monitors China coast guard ships east of island
Taiwan said Friday it had deployed vessels to monitor two China Coast Guard ships east of the island, as Beijing asserted authority over waters in the Western Pacific. Taiwan's coast guard said the Chinese ships were “stationary and drifting” separately about…
Wildberries Volgograd site catches fire after attack
An overnight attack damaged a Wildberries logistics facility in Volgograd and started a fire, the Russian online retailer said Friday, adding that no one was hurt. Wildberries said fire crews were at the scene. The company said it had reorganised logistics ch…
Hamas official says Gaza committee will oversee arms
A senior Hamas official said on Friday that the Palestinian technocratic committee set up by the Board of Peace to govern Gaza would oversee the cataloguing and storage of Hamas weapons under an agreement with Israel. The official said the National Committee…
Saudi Arabia forms Red Sea maritime defence alliance
Saudi Arabia said Thursday it had set up a maritime defence alliance to secure navigation around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Saudi defence ministry issued a joint statement on behalf of 14 countries: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Dj…
US interceptor stocks raise concern in Iran war
Concerns over US missile interceptor stocks have grown as renewed Iranian missile and drone attacks in the Middle East force Washington to keep using weapons needed to protect American troops. The US military said this week it shot down multiple ballistic mis…
Zelensky says North Korean missile killed family
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused North Korea of supplying a missile that killed a family.
Damietta drone strike: captains feared port explosion
Marine officers who fought fires on two gas vessels hit by a drone at Egypt's Damietta port said they feared an explosion that could have damaged the port and parts of the city. The US-owned Energos Winter floating storage and regasification unit and the Gree…
Saudi Arabia faces Iran-linked attacks on oil routes
Saudi Arabia is facing growing pressure on its oil export routes from attacks and maritime threats linked to Iran-aligned groups, analysts said, months into the Middle East war. The pressure has come from Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and…
Gaza strikes kill four, civil defence says
Gaza's civil defence agency and two hospitals said Israeli attacks on Thursday killed four people, including two children, across the Gaza Strip, while Israel's military said it struck several Hamas infrastructure sites overnight. Civil Defence spokesman Mahm…
Turkey deploys five F-16s to Estonia for NATO mission
Turkey has deployed five F-16 fighter jets to Estonia for NATO's enhanced air policing mission, the Turkish defence ministry said Thursday. The ministry said the jets would take over from Portuguese counterparts and remain at the Amari military base near Tall…
Wildberries says Ukraine drones hit Russian warehouses
Russian online retailer Wildberries said Ukrainian drones hit two of its warehouses overnight, causing fires at facilities in the Penza region and in Sarapul. Penza regional governor Oleg Melnichenko said one person was injured and more than 200 employees wer…
Kuwait says Iranian strike kills worker at Chinese company
Kuwait's defence ministry said Thursday that an Iranian strike hit a building belonging to a Chinese company in the north of the country, killing one worker. The ministry said the strike caused severe material damage to the building. It described the incident…
Russia launched 74 missiles and 284 drones, Kyiv says
Kyiv said Russia launched 74 missiles and 284 drones at Ukraine overnight.
Iran says two Hormuz tankers struck under US escort
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday they struck and halted two oil tankers trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under US “air escort”. The Guards called the vessels “non-compliant oil tankers” and said four other oil tankers quickly changed course…
IS-K claims killing of Taliban official in Afghanistan
Islamic State-Khorasan claimed responsibility for killing a Taliban official in northeastern Afghanistan, monitoring organisation SITE Intelligence Group said. Zabihullah Amiri, head of the information and culture department in Badakhshan, was shot dead Tuesd…
Iran says its missiles targeted Jordan's Al Azraq base
Jordan's military said on July 30 that its air defences shot down five missiles launched from Iran early that morning, with no casualties reported. An official military spokesperson said the missiles targeted Jordanian territory and were detected, intercepted…
Crimea's role in the Russia-Ukraine war explained
Crimea remains central to the Russia-Ukraine war because of its strategic Black Sea location, its 2014 annexation by Moscow and its use as a military and logistics hub. Russia seized the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 after masked gunmen without insignia took…
Kryvyi Rig strike kills six, including two girls: official
A Russian missile strike killed at least six people, including two girls, in a village on the outskirts of Kryvyi Rig in central Ukraine, the head of the city's military administration said on July 30. Oleksandr Vilkul said a direct strike by an Iskander-M ba…
Iran warns region against cooperating with US
Iran's military warned countries in the Middle East on Saturday not to cooperate with Washington, accusing the United States of escalating the region's war after US President Donald Trump repeated threats to hit Iran "very hard". Ali Abdollahi, head of Iran's…
UK nuclear submarines get £8.4bn investment
Britain announced a £8.4 billion ($11.2 billion) investment on Wednesday for the next phase of its Dreadnought Class nuclear submarine programme. Downing Street said Prime Minister Andy Burnham was set to present the funding as an investment in the UK's nucle…
Pakistan checkpoint attack kills 9 police, force says
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said nine police officers were killed and 26 injured when militants attacked a checkpoint in Hangu district in northern Pakistan on Wednesday. The police force said officers killed 15 militants and wounded dozens more in the fighting…
Sudan drone attack kills nine civilians, medic says
A medical source told AFP that a Rapid Support Forces drone strike killed nine civilians and injured 14 others in Al-Jamama village in Sudan's North Kordofan state on Wednesday. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said the a…
Ukraine buries Kryvyi Rig family killed in Russian strike
A funeral was held in central Ukraine on Monday for five members of the Voronov family killed when Ukrainian authorities said a Russian ballistic missile hit their home in Kryvyi Rig on July 30. Ukrainian authorities said the house in President Volodymyr Zele…
Damietta port says operations continue after drone fire
The Damietta Port Authority said operations were continuing normally on Thursday after a fire the previous day that Egypt's government said was caused by a drone attack. The authority said all terminals and berths were seeing regular vessel arrivals and depar…
Kenya police patrol ambush kills five near Somali border
Suspected jihadists ambushed a police patrol in northeastern Kenya, killing five people, including four police officers, local officials told AFP on Wednesday. The attack happened on Tuesday near Lafey, about 10 kilometres from the Somali border, in Mandera c…
Iraq vows security plan after US-Saudi strikes
Iraq said Wednesday it would adopt a comprehensive security plan after deadly US-Saudi strikes on the country, vowing to defend its sovereignty and prevent its territory being used to threaten neighbouring states. Iraq's Ministerial Council for National Secur…
Gaza mosque hit as Israel says Hamas stored weapons
A Gaza mosque was hit in an Israeli strike, with the Israeli military saying Wednesday that Hamas had used a mosque in the northern Gaza Strip as a weapons storage facility. AFP photos from Gaza City on Tuesday showed fire and a large plume of smoke rising ab…
Iraq groups say response to US-Saudi strikes inevitable
Pro-Iran Iraqi groups said Wednesday that a response to US-Saudi strikes was “inevitable”, after two sources from Hashed al-Shaabi told AFP that five Iranian advisers were among those killed in the attacks. The Hashed al-Shaabi sources said the Iranians died…
Mali soldiers' killings may be war crimes, Amnesty says
Amnesty International said the killing of at least 19 Malian soldiers after an insurgent attack in northern Mali should be investigated as possible war crimes. The rights group said Wednesday that it analysed 12 videos from a July 18 attack on a convoy leavin…
Israel says Hezbollah drone breached Lebanon truce
The Israeli military accused Hezbollah on Wednesday of violating a ceasefire in Lebanon by launching an explosive drone toward an Israeli army engineering vehicle in southern Lebanon. The military said the drone was launched overnight toward the vehicle in th…
Qeshm US strike kills family including 2-year-old: Fars
Iranian news agency Fars reported Thursday that a US attack on a residential home on Iran's Qeshm island killed a father, a mother and their two-year-old child, and injured two other children. Fars cited Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences for the report…
Maoist leader Misir Besra arrested in India
Indian security forces arrested Maoist leader Misir Besra in the eastern state of Jharkhand, officials said Wednesday. Besra, a central committee member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), was arrested on Tuesday evening in the forests of Dhanbad…
Jordan says it intercepted five Iranian missiles
Jordan's army said its air defences intercepted and downed five missiles from Iran on Wednesday that were targeting Jordanian territory. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out the strike. In a statement carried by state TV, it said its A…
New Zealand seeks one-way strike drones
New Zealand is looking to buy “one-way strike drones” as it modernises its military, Defence Minister Chris Penk said Wednesday. Penk said Wellington wanted human-operated strike drones fitted with explosive payloads as a cheaper alternative to conventional m…
Iran Guards say they struck 3 Hormuz oil tankers
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said their navy struck and halted three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported Wednesday. Tasnim News agency quoted the Guards' navy as saying that “three violating oil tankers” ignored warnings and continued o…
Zelensky says Trump agreed to Ukraine Patriot licences
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said US President Donald Trump had accepted giving Ukraine licences to co-produce Patriot air-defence systems, in a Fox News interview broadcast Tuesday during Zelensky's trip to Washington. Zelensky said the systems wer…
Taganrog strike kills woman, Russian governor says
A strike on Taganrog in Russia's Rostov region killed a woman and wounded a man when rocket debris fell on residential buildings, Governor Yury Slyusar said Wednesday. Slyusar said residents of the building were being evacuated and a temporary accommodation c…
Iran receives bodies of 5 Guards killed in Iraq strikes
Iranian state media said Friday that the bodies of five Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in US-Saudi strikes in Iraq had been returned to Iran. IRNA reported that the bodies were brought into the country through the Mehran border crossing in w…
Russia sanctions bill clears US Senate hurdle
The US Senate voted 86-12 on Tuesday to begin considering a sanctions bill aimed at Russia's energy revenues, clearing a first procedural hurdle but leaving debate and a final vote still ahead. The bipartisan measure would target Russian officials, oligarchs,…
Iran missiles intercepted by US military, CENTCOM says
US Central Command said Tuesday that American forces intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched from Iran at US forces based in the Middle East, ending a several-day lull in attacks between the two countries. CENTCOM said on X that Islamic Revolutionary…
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted drones targeting oil sites
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said late Tuesday that its air defences intercepted and destroyed several drones targeting oil installations in the kingdom’s east. Ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the drones attempted to target oil facilities. He said…
Netanyahu, Trump reaffirm non-nuclear Iran aim: source
A senior source in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's delegation said Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump held an "extremely positive" meeting in Washington on Tuesday and reaffirmed a commitment to ensuring Iran never has nuclear weapons. The so…
Houthis say Saudi tanker NCC Ghazal targeted in Red Sea
Yemen's Houthi rebels said Tuesday they targeted the Saudi oil tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea with ballistic missiles, alleging it had violated a blockade on Saudi ports announced by the Iran-backed group. A Houthi military spokesman said the Saudi vessel w…
Lebanon arrests man accused of sending $400,000 to IS
Lebanese security forces arrested a man accused of stealing $400,000 from his father's safe and transferring the money to the Islamic State group in Syria, a Lebanese judicial official told AFP on Tuesday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, sa…
UK army drills in Kenya to proceed after permit dispute
Britain will hold one of its annual military training exercises in Kenya later this year after Nairobi agreed to issue the required licences and permissions, both countries said Tuesday. A British government spokesman said Kenya had agreed to issue the necess…
Russia fuel limits ease after refinery strikes
Several Russian regions have begun easing limits on petrol sales after Ukrainian strikes on refineries contributed to nationwide shortages. Local media and officials reported that some restrictions were being relaxed in recent days. In Moscow and Saint Peters…
Lebanon: UNIFIL says it found 4 tonnes of explosives
UNIFIL said it found about four tonnes of mainly ammonium nitrate explosive material in Hula, a south Lebanon border village in an area where Israeli forces have been operating. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said peacekeepers found 385 abandoned…
Iranian Kurdish Rebels Say 14 Drone Strikes Hit Iraq Bases
Iranian Kurdish rebels said at least 14 drone strikes had hit their bases in Iraq's Kurdistan region since Monday, and one opposition commander blamed Iran for the attacks. Amjad Panahi of the Komala party told AFP on Tuesday that Iranian forces had launched…
World Endurance Championship Cancels Qatar, Bahrain Races
The World Endurance Championship will end its season with races in Spain and Italy after planned events in Qatar and Bahrain were cancelled, organisers announced on Tuesday. The final two rounds are now scheduled for Barcelona on October 16-18 and Monza on No…
Taiwan to Escort Supplies in Simulated China Blockade Drill
Taiwan will deploy naval and coast guard ships to escort critical supplies during a simulated Chinese military blockade in waters east of the island, defence officials said Tuesday. The exercise will be part of Taiwan's annual Han Kuang military drills, sched…
Equatorial Guinea student says Russian recruiters sent him into Ukraine war
Daniel Angel Masie Nchama, a 22-year-old former IT student from Equatorial Guinea, has returned home after what he described as a recruitment trap that sent him from Russia to the front line in Ukraine. Nchama told AFP at his parents’ home in Malabo that he l…
New Zealand intelligence questions Russia claim it recruited Khabarovsk spy
New Zealand's intelligence service has cast doubt on Russia's claim that Wellington recruited a Russian citizen in Khabarovsk to pass on sensitive information. Russia's Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, said a man living in the southeastern city had…
Russia says 356 Ukrainian drones downed as Moscow mayor reports over 390 inbound
Russia’s defence ministry said 356 Ukrainian drones were downed across more than a dozen regions overnight, while Moscow’s mayor reported that more than 390 had flown towards the capital region. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the drones approached the Moscow regi…
Jordan shoots down drone after airspace breach near Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Jordan’s military said its air force shot down a drone that entered the country’s airspace over the eastern desert near Iraq and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. The army said the Royal Jordanian Air Force detected the drone through its monitoring and surveillance sy…
US begins review of military presence in Europe, officials say
The United States began reviewing its military presence in Europe on July 27, officials said, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO counterparts last month that Washington was planning the analysis. US Defense Under Secretary Elbridge Colby wrote on…
Yemen says IRGC helping Houthi Red Sea fee plan
Yemen's internationally recognised government accused Houthi rebels on Wednesday of working under Iranian guidance to establish a system to charge ships transiting the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Information minister Moammar al-Eryani told AFP that…
Sudan RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo tells fighters they are ‘unleashed’ after Kordofan highway loss
Sudan paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo told Rapid Support Forces fighters on Monday to consider themselves “unleashed” in their war against the Sudanese army, a day after army sources said troops pushed the RSF off a key highway in North Kordofan. Dag…
UN experts urge Iran to cancel 10 protest death sentences after two executions
UN experts urged Iran on Monday to cancel death sentences imposed on 10 young men linked to anti-government protests in January, after two other defendants in the same case were executed. The experts said 12 men, aged from their late teens to early twenties,…
At least 31 civilians killed in DR Congo ADF attacks, including 18 in mining village
At least 31 civilians have been killed in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the middle of last week in attacks attributed to Allied Democratic Forces fighters, local and security sources said on Monday. Jospin Paluku, head of the Mambasa civil s…
Albania approves $302m US loan for military upgrade as opposition boycotts vote
Albania’s parliament approved a $302 million loan from the United States on Monday to upgrade the country’s military, as opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote and accused the government of rushing the agreement through without transparency. The deal passed…
Iran says four PJAK members killed in clash near Iraq border
Iranian authorities said on Monday that security forces killed four members of PJAK, an outlawed Kurdish group, during an armed clash in western Iran near the border with Iraq. Police said in a statement carried by state television that border guards killed t…
Oil prices rise 3% after US says Iran launched missiles
Oil prices jumped more than 3% in early Asian trade on Wednesday after the US military said it had intercepted multiple missiles launched by Iran. At around 0015 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 3.67% at $82.17 a barrel. North Sea Brent crude…
Pakistan Kashmir Clashes Kill Officer, Official Says
A security force member was killed and three others were wounded in clashes with protesters during voting in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Rawalakot's top civilian official Sardar Waheed said on Tuesday. Waheed said the unrest began on Monday, the day voting…
Singapore detains three teenagers over alleged school, air base and bomb attack plots
Singapore authorities said on Monday that three teenage boys had been detained over separate alleged plans to carry out stabbing and bomb attacks, warning of a growing threat from youth radicalisation. The Internal Security Department said the three suspects,…
Israeli military denies checkpoint delay claim after West Bank stillbirth in ambulance
The Israeli military denied Palestinian health workers' allegation that soldiers delayed an ambulance at a West Bank checkpoint before a 28-year-old woman delivered a stillborn baby in the vehicle on Monday. Medic Bashar Qaryouti said the woman was six months…
Iraq probes Saudi claim drones launched from its territory targeted oil facilities
Iraq said it would investigate Saudi Arabia’s claim that drones launched from Iraqi territory had targeted the kingdom, including oil facilities, after Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered security authorities to look into the allegation. Government spok…
Ukraine detains weapons show organiser after Russian strike kills 11 near Kyiv
A Ukrainian court ordered weapons industry association chief Vasyl Goncharuk detained without bail on Monday after a Russian ballistic missile strike killed at least 11 people at a weapons exhibition outside Kyiv. Prosecutors accused Goncharuk of negligence l…
India summons Ukraine ambassador after Black Sea ship attack kills Indian sailor
India summoned Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksandr Polishchuk in New Delhi on Monday after an attack on a commercial vessel in the Black Sea killed an Indian national. India’s foreign ministry said the July 18 attack struck the MV Omforfi while it was travelling t…
Kuwait says it destroyed Iranian drones
Kuwait's defence ministry said Friday that Kuwaiti forces destroyed Iranian drones targeting “vital and military facilities”, reporting material damage from falling shrapnel but no recorded casualties. Iran's military had earlier said it launched drone strike…
Drone strikes hit El-Obeid after Sudan army says it retook key Khartoum highway
Drone strikes hit Sudan’s city of El-Obeid at dawn on Monday, hours after army sources said troops had regained control of the highway linking the city to Khartoum. Local officials blamed the Rapid Support Forces for the strikes. An AFP reporter saw the local…
Five killed in Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia as Kyiv targets oil sites, officials say
Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia killed five people, including a child, early on Monday, Russian officials said, as Kyiv reported attacks on an export terminal and oil facilities deep inside the country. Rostov regional governor Yuri Slyusar said the dead in…
Jordan shoots down two drones after Israel detects UAVs near border
Jordan’s air force shot down two drones on Monday morning after the Israeli military reported detecting and intercepting two unmanned aircraft near the Jordanian border. Israel’s military said the drones were identified close to the border but did not enter I…
Iran says it summoned French ambassador over alleged interference by two diplomats
Iran’s foreign ministry said it summoned the French ambassador in Tehran after accusing two diplomats, who were briefly detained earlier this month, of interfering in Iran’s internal affairs. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said at a weekly press…
Iran Guards fire warning shots and turn back six vessels in Strait of Hormuz, state TV says
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy fired warning shots and turned back six vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state television reported on Monday. A state television correspondent reporting from the Gulf said the vessels had attempted to use routes not ap…
Bomb explodes outside Philippine justice ministry; suspected device found near Senate before Marcos speech
A homemade bomb exploded outside the Philippine justice ministry early on Monday, and a suspected unexploded device was later found near the Senate hours before President Ferdinand Marcos was due to deliver his annual State of the Nation address. Officials sa…
Gaza student Saba Rabah tops Palestinian science exams after displacement and father's death
Palestinian student Saba Rabah, 18, scored 99.9 percent and ranked first in the science stream of the Tawjihi national secondary school exams after repeated displacement in Gaza and the death of her father during the war. Rabah celebrated with relatives and n…
UK pledges Stone Cloak drone jammers to Ukraine as Zelensky visits
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledged new Stone Cloak electronic jamming technology to Ukraine on Monday during talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky at a naval base in Portsmouth. Downing Street said the tablet-sized, military-grade devices can be at…
Russian and Ukrainian strikes kill at least 10, officials say
Russian and Ukrainian strikes killed at least 10 people on Sunday, July 26, according to officials on both sides of the war. Ukrainian officials said a Russian strike hit a supermarket in the northern city of Chernigiv, killing two people, including a 10-year…
Lebanese army deployment reassures Zawtar residents
The Lebanese army's deployment in Zawtar al-Gharbiya has allowed residents to inspect damaged homes and has reassured some locals, as the south Lebanon village becomes an early test of a US-sponsored framework agreement with Israel. The Lebanese military bega…
Houthis say they downed Saudi reconnaissance drone
Yemen's Houthis said they had downed a Saudi reconnaissance drone. The brief report did not give a location, time, evidence, Saudi response, or details of any damage or casualties.
West Bank settler attacks hit all-time high, UN says
Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank and the creation of settlements and outposts are hitting an all-time high, the UN human rights office said Wednesday, warning that violence and territorial annexation were "only getting worse". Ravina Shamdasani, a spo…
Syrian state media reports Israeli incursion and shelling in the south
On 26 July 2026, Syrian state media said Israeli forces had carried out a new incursion in southern Syria, one day after visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for respect for Syria's sovereignty. State news agency SANA said Israeli forces ente…
Iran army says it halted retaliation as US holds fire
Iran’s army said it had halted retaliatory attacks as the United States held fire. The statement adds to an earlier army warning that the war would widen if the United States resumed attacks on Iran. In the earlier report, army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia to…
Iran discusses Strait of Hormuz with Oman and Saudi Arabia amid regional lull
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has discussed the Strait of Hormuz in separate phone calls with Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Iranian state television said Tuesday. State TV said the ministers str…
Zelensky says Russia wants 30,000 more North Korean troops
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has sought another 30,000 troops and missile launchers from North Korea for the war in Ukraine. Zelensky said in a social media post late Saturday that preparations to receive the additional troops were being…
Israel Says US Warplanes Used Its Bases to Strike Iran
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said American warplanes used Israeli bases during attacks on Iran, while warning that Israel was ready to retaliate if it came under fire. Katz told Israel's Channel 14 on Tuesday that Iranian forces were firing at targets…
Iran warns Ukraine of ‘unforeseen consequences’ after Caspian strike kills sailor
Iran warned Ukraine on Monday that a strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea would have “unforeseen” consequences after the attack killed one sailor and injured several others. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei described the Ukrainian action…
Dubai residents use softer property market to seek cheaper homes
Some Dubai residents are taking advantage of a cooler property market after the outbreak of the Middle East war affected demand in the emirate. Steve, a 35-year-old media worker using a pseudonym because of sensitivity in Dubai around the subject, said he mov…
Berlin Pride Suspect Pledged to IS, Prosecutors Say
German prosecutors said Tuesday that the man blamed for the deadly attack near Berlin's Pride parade had recorded a video pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group. Prosecutors told AFP the clip was found on the phone of Abdul Rahman Ballout, 21, and was…
Iran oil ministry says it sold $18 billion during war and ceasefire
On 25 July 2026, Iran's oil ministry said it sold a total of $18 billion worth of oil during the war and the ceasefire with the United States. In a statement carried by its official website, the ministry said it sold $11.5 billion of oil during the war and $6…
Israeli army reports violent clash in West Bank settlement
The Israeli military said a violent confrontation broke out on Saturday between Israelis and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, a day after a separate clash elsewhere in the territory left six people dead. The military said the latest confrontation happe…
Houthis say they attacked Saudi oil sites as fighting spreads
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi oil facilities on Saturday, as fighting involving regional allies of the United States and Iran opened another front. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a…
Ukraine drone strikes hit Russia as Kazakh leader tells Putin war should end
Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery in Siberia on July 25 during a new wave of attacks on Russia, while Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine should end during a forum in Omsk. Russian-i…
Houthis say they targeted Aramco sites in Saudi Red Sea cities
Yemen's Houthi rebels said Saturday they had targeted oil facilities on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast and warned they could escalate if attacked by Saudi Arabia. In a video statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group targeted sites operated…
Iran Guards say they stopped four ships near Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that their naval forces stopped four ships that were trying to pass through the southern area of the Strait of Hormuz during the previous 24 hours. In a statement quoted by state television, the Guards said the vessel…
Panama says nationals were recruited for Russia-Ukraine war
Panamanian authorities said at least 15 Panamanians have been recruited to take part in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and that one of them has died. Panama's foreign ministry said it was investigating the presence of Panamanian nationals in the conflict…
Iran foreign minister says Yemen conflict has no military solution
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said there was no military solution to the escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, after both sides traded attacks. In an interview published by the state-run Iran Daily new…
UK maritime agency reports tanker incident in Gulf of Oman
A UK maritime agency reported an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman. The short report did not give further details about the tanker, the military forces involved, or what happened.
Moscow says Ukrainian drones hit Russia as far as Yekaterinburg
Ukraine launched more than 300 drones into Russia on Saturday, Moscow said, killing at least two people in a border region and reaching as far as the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. Russia's defence ministry said it intercepted 328 drones, including over the Mos…
Russian and Ukrainian strikes kill at least 16, officials say
At least 16 people were killed in Ukrainian and Russian strikes on Saturday, according to officials on both sides, as attacks continued across Russian-occupied Ukraine, north-eastern Ukraine and Russian border areas. Russian occupation authorities in southern…
Canadian NATO intern arrested in Belgium on spying suspicions
A Canadian citizen of Chinese origin was arrested in Belgium on suspicion of carrying out espionage while working as an intern at NATO, Belgian authorities said. The Federal Prosecutor's Office said the intern worked at the US-led defence alliance's Supreme H…
US military says it disabled tanker near Iran port blockade
The US military said on Friday that it fired on and disabled a tanker ship that it said was trying to evade an American blockade on Iranian ports. Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, said the tanker was disabled after its crew had tr…
Sumy official says drone strike on post office killed two people
A drone strike killed two people in Sumy in northern Ukraine, the head of the city's military administration said Saturday. Sergiy Kryvosheenko said a jet-powered drone struck a post office. He said two people were killed, including a 49-year-old man, and tha…
Bahrain ministry says sirens sounded and urges people to seek shelter
Bahrain's interior ministry said Saturday that sirens had sounded in the country, where the source says Iran has been conducting regular strikes. In a statement on X, the ministry urged citizens and residents to remain calm and go to the nearest safe place. T…
Houthi media says two people injured in Saudi strikes
Yemeni Houthi media said Saturday that two people were injured by Saudi air strikes: a worker in the city of Hodeida and a woman on Kamaran island. Al-Masirah television said a worker at a telecommunications building was injured in what it called Saudi aggres…
Yemeni official says Houthis want to copy Iran in Hormuz after declaring Saudi maritime blockade
Yemen's foreign minister designate Afrah al-Zouba said on July 27 that Houthi rebels want to "copy" Iran's moves in the Strait of Hormuz, after the group announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia. Speaking to reporters, al-Zouba said Yemen was worried tha…
Saudi official media says ship hit in Red Sea had minor hull damage
Saudi official media said a Saudi ship was hit in the Red Sea on Friday and sustained minor damage to its hull. Saudi Arabia's SPA news agency cited an official source at the Public Transport Authority as saying the vessel, identified as NCC MASA and belongin…
Houthis claim missile strike on Saudi Arabia as wider fighting spreads
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed a missile attack on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, as fighting involving regional allies of the United States and Iran widened. Houthi media said the rebels targeted Jizan, a Saudi city on the Red Sea. Saudi civil defence…
Trump says US has ‘more ammunition than it could ever use’ after Iran war concerns
US President Donald Trump dismissed concerns on Monday that American ammunition stockpiles were running low after five months of bombing Iran, saying the United States had more munitions than it could use. Asked aboard Air Force One whether he was concerned a…
India says citizen killed in Black Sea attack on commercial ship
India said on Friday that one of its nationals was killed in an attack last week on a commercial vessel in the Black Sea. The foreign ministry said the MV Omorfi, which had three Indian nationals on board, was attacked on July 18 while transiting the Black Se…
EU agrees to delay Copernicus satellite images over Gulf after US request
The European Union has agreed to a US request to delay the release of Copernicus satellite images over the Gulf by 24 hours, according to a decision published in the EU's official journal. The request covered data from the Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellites…
UN chief alarmed after Houthi strikes on Red Sea tankers
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply alarmed after Yemen's Houthi rebels struck oil tankers in the Red Sea, his spokesman said. The spokesman said attacks on commercial vessels claimed by the Houthis risk further raising regional tensio…
Irish police charge second person after explosive device found near border
Irish police said Saturday that they had charged a man in his 40s after an explosive device was found in a vehicle near the border with Northern Ireland earlier in the week. Ireland's police force, the Gardai, said the man was due in court in Dublin late Satu…
Pakistan military says 15 killed in attack on security post
Pakistan's military said on Friday that militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security check post in north-western Pakistan overnight, killing 15 people. The military's media wing said the dead included 12 military personnel, two policemen and a…
Ukraine targets Wildberries warehouses as Kyiv alleges military supply links
Ukraine has hit warehouses of Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer, at least three times in a week, causing fires, deaths among employees and business losses. Kyiv accuses the e-commerce company of storing drone parts and helping the Russian army. Th…
UNESCO adds Lebanon and West Bank sites to danger list
On 24 July 2026, UNESCO placed sites in southern Lebanon and the occupied West Bank on its list of World Heritage in Danger. The UN cultural agency listed five castles in the Jabal Amel area of southern Lebanon, including Beaufort Castle, also known as Qalaat…
Russian strike on arms show near Kyiv kills at least 10, officials say
A Russian strike on an arms show near Kyiv on Friday killed at least 10 people and wounded about 100, Ukrainian officials said, prompting questions in Ukraine about why the event was held during wartime. Ukraine's prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, announ…
Iran Guards warn civilians as US-Iran war developments widen
Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned civilians in the Middle East on Friday to stay away from US forces after Iran said it attacked American military bases in the region. In a statement carried by state television, the Guards warned people in countries where Am…
Governor says Russian bomb attack killed five in Sloviansk
A morning Russian bomb attack on Sloviansk, a Ukrainian city close to the eastern front line, killed five people and wounded nine, Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin said Friday. Filashkin said in a social media post that Russian forces dropped two aer…
Russian governor says Ukrainian strike in Kirov killed six
A Russian regional governor said a Ukrainian strike on Friday killed six people and wounded 26 in Kirov, more than 1,000 kilometres behind the front line. Kirov regional governor Alexander Sokolov said on social media that 32 people were affected by what he c…
Iran Guards warn civilians to avoid areas near US forces
Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned civilians in the Middle East on Friday to stay away from US forces, state media reported. In a statement carried by state television, the Guards warned people in countries where American soldiers are stationed to stay outsid…
Russian and Ukrainian long-range strikes kill at least 21
At least 21 people were killed Friday in Russian and Ukrainian long-range strikes, including a Russian missile strike near Kyiv, a Russian aerial bomb attack on Sloviansk and Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. Ukraine's prosecutor general said the Russian strik…
UN calls for evacuation of 6,000 sailors stranded in Hormuz
The United Nations on Friday called for the safe evacuation and repatriation of about 6,000 sailors stranded in what it described as a dire humanitarian and human rights crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. UN human rights chief Volker Turk urged action to protect…
Iran Guards say they targeted Amazon data centre in Bahrain
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that they targeted a data centre in Bahrain belonging to Amazon, state media reported. In a statement aired by state television, the Guards said they had targeted and destroyed what they called an intelligence data c…
Romania says it shot down drone in its airspace for first time
Romania shot down a drone in its airspace on Friday, President Nicusor Dan said, describing it as the first such shootdown since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Dan told a press conference that a Romanian pilot flying an F-16 shot down t…
Philippines says Chinese water cannon hit government ship near disputed reef
The Philippines accused the China Coast Guard of hitting a Filipino government vessel with a water cannon near Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Friday, during an attempt to resupply Filipino fishermen. The Philippine Coast Guard said a Chinese vess…
Kurdish forces say coalition downed five drones over Erbil
Kurdish forces said US-led coalition forces shot down five drones over Erbil, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan region, on Friday. An AFP journalist had earlier seen drones over the city before air defences were activated. Explosions followed, and smoke was vis…
Tell buries four Palestinians killed in settler clash
On 25 July 2026, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Tell buried four men killed during a clash with Israeli settlers the previous day, local officials said. Walid Zidan, head of the Tell village council, said the families held a joint funeral e…
Iran warns countries against helping US attacks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Iran would hold accountable any country that assists the United States in an attack on Iran. Speaking at a meeting in Kyrgyzstan, Araghchi said any participation, cooperation or assistance in aggression…
Russia says it downed 571 Ukrainian drones overnight
Russia said on Friday that it shot down 571 Ukrainian drones overnight, describing one of the largest drone swarms sent by Kyiv as Ukraine steps up long-range strikes. The defence ministry said the drones targeted more than a dozen Russian regions and annexed…
Zelensky says Ukrainian strikes hit warehouses supplying Russian army
Zelensky said Ukrainian strikes hit warehouses supplying the Russian army. An earlier published report said Ukrainian drones struck warehouses used by Russian e-commerce company Wildberries on Friday, including logistics sites in Saint Petersburg and Simferop…
Rights groups warn Iran is increasing executions during war
Rights groups say Iran has executed dozens of political prisoners since the war with the United States and Israel began, and fear the pace could increase after the breakdown of a ceasefire. Vahid Baniamerian, a 34-year-old academic who taught physics, was sen…
Australia announces extra US$3.2 billion for nuclear submarine project
Australia said on 24 July that it would add Aus$4.6 billion, equal to US$3.2 billion, to work on its nuclear-powered submarine programme under the AUKUS defence pact with the United States and Britain. Defence Minister Richard Marles said the money would go t…
Tehran criticizes Trump plan to use Iranian assets for shipping damage
Tehran criticized President Donald Trump's threat to use Iranian assets to pay for damage to ships, cargo or related property caused by strikes in and around the Gulf, calling it an "incendiary precedent." Trump had said the United States would begin using fr…
Nigeria approves recruitment of 28,000 military personnel
Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu approved the recruitment of 28,000 military personnel to strengthen national security, his spokesman said, as the country faces several conflicts. Spokesman Bayo Onanuga said in a statement on Thursday that Tinubu had approved…
Houthis say Bab al-Mandeb traffic is not closed despite Saudi blockade
A Houthi spokesman said the rebels are not blocking traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, after declaring a maritime embargo this week against Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Abdusalam, who is also a senior Houthi negotiator, said there was no closure of Bab al-Ma…
Tasnim reports US missile hit site on Qeshm Island
Iranian news outlet Tasnim reported on Thursday that a US missile had hit a site near the town of Suza on Qeshm Island, in the disputed Strait of Hormuz. Tasnim said the relevant authorities were assessing the extent of the incident and the possible level of…
US House passes symbolic Iran war powers rebuke to Trump
The US House of Representatives passed a largely symbolic resolution Thursday calling for President Donald Trump to halt military action against Iran, in another congressional rebuke as the Middle East war escalated. The measure passed 214-208 after four Repu…
Ukraine’s former defence minister says he wants only his old post back
Ukraine’s former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said he would not accept any new government role unless President Volodymyr Zelensky returned him to the defence ministry. Fedorov said in a statement to reporters that only the defence minister’s post would…
Jordan says it intercepted Iranian missiles and drones
Jordan’s military said it intercepted seven missiles and six drones launched by Iran on Friday, as Tehran continued attacks on US allies in the Middle East. The military said air defence systems and air force planes carried out the interceptions. It said ther…
EU agrees new Russia sanctions and freezes oil price cap
European Union countries have agreed a new round of sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war after weeks of negotiations, while freezing the level of an oil price cap on Russian crude exports. The package is the EU's 21st sanctions package since Moscow's 2022…
NATO members approve 27-billion-euro fuel network overhaul
NATO countries have approved a 27-billion-euro plan to overhaul the alliance's fuel network for supplying forces in Europe in coming decades. Ambassadors from NATO's 32 member states signed off on the project at a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. NATO said t…
UN chief warns Middle East conflict is widening
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday that continuing conflict in the Middle East had pushed the region close to a point he described as unimaginable. Speaking at a Security Council meeting, Guterres said the situation was getting out of co…
Britain cancels Kenya military training over licence issue
Britain has cancelled one of its annual military training exercises in Kenya after failing to obtain a licence from the Kenyan government, the British defence ministry said. Kenya hosts a permanent base for the British Army Training Unit Kenya in Laikipia, ab…
Hezbollah says Lebanese president's US visit failed to secure Israeli withdrawal
The Iran-backed Hezbollah group criticised Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's recent visit to Washington on Thursday, calling it a failure and saying it showed submission to a foreign power. In a statement, Hezbollah lawmakers said the visit revealed what they…
UN says Gaza food security has improved but remains fragile
Food security and child nutrition have improved across the Gaza Strip, but the gains remain fragile because only one aid crossing point is open, the UN's World Food Programme said on Thursday. The Rome-based agency said the improvement was driven largely by e…
IEA says Middle East war is driving more coal-fired power generation
Coal-fired power generation is set to rise in 2026 because of supply difficulties and soaring natural gas prices linked to the war in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency said. The IEA said the conflict, pitting the United States against Iran, has…
Rescuers say Israeli killed in West Bank attack
Rescuers said one Israeli was killed in a West Bank attack. The brief report did not give further details on the exact location, the circumstances of the attack, or the identity of the person killed. An earlier report, citing the Israeli military, said three…
Iran says US projectiles hit Guards naval base in Gilan
On 24 July, Iranian authorities said the United States struck a Revolutionary Guards base in the northern province of Gilan, state media reported. Ali Bagheri, deputy governor for the province, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying that an IRG…
UN seeks probe into killing of Malian soldiers near Anefis
The United Nations demanded an investigation on Thursday into the killing of at least 50 Malian soldiers in an attack by Tuareg separatists and jihadists. The attack took place on Saturday against an army convoy leaving Anefis, a strategic town in northern Ma…
Iran foreign minister criticises US approach to Tehran
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticised the United States on Thursday, saying Washington had taken an “irrational,” “excessive” and “domineering” approach in dealing with Tehran. Araghchi told state TV that what he described as the US approach had…
Shipping firms avoid Ukraine grain ports after Russian strikes
Some shipping companies have suspended services to Ukraine's Black Sea ports after increased Russian attacks on the coast, officials said on 23 July 2026. Lloyd's List Intelligence, a maritime data company, said the escalation in a region important to global…
Seafarer dies after strike on Ukraine-bound gas tanker in Black Sea
One of three seafarers wounded in a strike on a propane tanker bound for Ukraine has died in a Romanian hospital, Romania's health ministry told AFP on Thursday. The Gas Lisbon tanker, which flies the Liberian flag, was struck outside Romanian territorial wat…
India warns ships with Indian links to use caution in Black Sea
India issued a security warning on Thursday for ships entering the Black Sea if they are Indian-flagged or employ Indian seafarers. The advisory followed a Russian attack on Sunday on a cargo ship leaving Ukraine's port of Odesa. Four Indian nationals were ki…
UK withdraws remaining diplomatic staff from Iran
Britain said on 23 July 2026 that it had temporarily withdrawn its remaining diplomatic staff from Iran because of the security situation, as the conflict between Iran and the United States escalates. The Foreign Office said on its website that UK staff had b…
Greece approves Israeli-made systems for Achilles Shield defence dome
Greece approved the purchase of Israeli anti-missile, anti-aircraft and anti-drone systems to create an "Achilles Shield" protective dome, a defence ministry source said on Thursday. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said around three billion eu…
UK condemns Houthi strikes on Saudi shipping
The UK government strongly condemned strikes by Iran's Houthi allies on Saudi shipping that have sent oil prices higher. Britain's Foreign Office said the actions endangered lives, risked environmental damage and regional instability, and amounted to a seriou…
Malaysia signs missile purchase deal for delayed warship programme
Malaysia has signed a deal to buy surface-to-air missiles for its long-delayed warship programme from European manufacturer MBDA, the defence ministry said. The announcement followed the cancellation of an earlier contract for naval strike missiles. Malaysia…
UNESCO adds ancient Crimean city to endangered heritage list
UNESCO added the ancient city of Chersonese in Crimea to its list of endangered heritage sites on Thursday, saying the site was under threat from construction work and archaeological activity while under Russian occupation. The ruins of Chersonese were founde…
Air alert sirens sound in Bahrain, interior ministry says
Air alert sirens sounded in Bahrain on Thursday, the interior ministry said. Correspondents heard the alerts in the capital, Manama. The ministry said the siren had been sounded and urged citizens and residents to stay calm and go to the nearest safe place. T…
Oman says it is working to restart Yemen talks after Houthi strike on Saudi ship
Oman said on Thursday that it was working to resume Yemen talks after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels hit a Saudi ship in the Red Sea a day earlier. Oman's foreign ministry expressed great concern about the Red Sea situation and said it was coordinating wit…
Albanian police use tear gas and water cannon at resort protest
Albanian police used tear gas and water cannon outside parliament on 23 July 2026 during protests against a planned tourism project linked to the Trump family.…
Iran says overnight US attack near Ahvaz killed at least four people
Iranian state media reported that an overnight US attack on Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran killed at least four people and injured several others. Valiollah Hayati, the province's deputy governor, was quoted by the official IRNA news agency as saying…
Strikes in Ukraine, Russia and annexed Crimea kill at least seven
A Russian strike on the Ukrainian city of Pavlograd killed three people on Thursday, while Kyiv's counter-strikes on Russia and Moscow-annexed Crimea killed four others, including a three-year-old child, officials said. Oleksandr Ganzha, the governor of Ukrai…
Palestinian officials warn of crisis if Israeli banks cut banking links
Israeli banks have told Palestinian counterparts that they plan to end important banking services within weeks, Palestinian and Israeli officials said, raising fears of an economic crisis in the West Bank. The banking links are used to finance imports from Is…
Lavrov warns Rubio against US arms deliveries to Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Thursday meeting in Manila that continued US weapons deliveries to Ukraine were unacceptable, Russia's foreign ministry said. The meeting took place on the sidelines of a…
US and Russian diplomats discuss Ukraine war in Manila
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the war in Ukraine during a meeting Thursday on the sidelines of Association of Southeast Asian Nations meetings in Manila. Rubio hosted the meeting. Journalists saw Rubio…
Sudanese civilians fear army-allied militias may deepen war cycle
Civilians in Sudan fear that the army’s reliance on allied militias could repeat the pattern that helped produce the country’s current war. The source describes young militiamen, some said to be no older than 15, moving through Sudan’s capital in pickup truck…
Thailand checkpoint attack kills five soldiers and wounds six civilians
Five soldiers were killed and six civilians were wounded in a shooting and pipe-bomb attack at a checkpoint in Narathiwat province in Thailand's south on Wednesday evening, officials said. The army said five members of Task Force Ranger Regiment 45 died after…
Local officials say gunmen killed more than 20 people in Zamfara villages
Local officials said gunmen killed more than 20 people on Wednesday in villages in Zamfara state, northwestern Nigeria, in violence blamed on armed criminal gangs known locally as bandits. Nasiru Lauwali, a councillor representing Sauna district in Talata Maf…
Iran Guards say they stopped three tankers in Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that they stopped three oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway where the United States and Iran are competing for control. In a statement quoted by Iranian state media, the Guards sai…
Kuwait says drone attack hit Iraq border post
The Kuwaiti military said Thursday that a new drone attack had targeted one of the country's border crossings with Iraq. Army headquarters said in a statement on social media that the Al-Abdali border post was again targeted in the evening by enemy drone atta…
Rubio says Iran drew Houthis into Red Sea attacks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that Yemen's Houthi rebels had been drawn into attacking Red Sea shipping by Iran. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Manila, Rubio said the Houthis had largely stayed out of t…
Iran says it would answer infrastructure attacks in kind
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Iran would respond in kind to any attack on its infrastructure. His comments came after Washington threatened to bomb a bridge or power plant for every ship targeted in the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi…
Israel says 12 Gaza football figures it killed were militants
The Israeli military accused 12 Palestinian football figures it killed during the war in Gaza, including a FIFA-registered referee, of being members of militant groups. A Palestinian Football Association official in Gaza rejected the allegations. The military…
Iraq official says war has cost country over $40 billion in revenue
An Iraqi government official said on Wednesday that Iraq had lost more than $40 billion in revenue since the start of the Middle East war, mostly because of a steep fall in oil exports. The report said the conflict and Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz…
Zelensky says he spoke with Trump envoys on reviving Ukraine diplomacy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that he had spoken with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about efforts to revive diplomacy aimed at ending the war with Russia. Zelensky said on X that the conversation was good and important and…
ACLED says Sahel jihadist groups are exploiting mines
Conflict monitor ACLED said jihadist groups behind deadly violence in the Sahel are increasingly exploiting mines to finance their activities and expand their influence. Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali are rich in mineral resources and have faced violence for mo…
Shipping group says Houthis sent radio warning to vessels
The International Chamber of Shipping said Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis were recorded sending a radio warning to ships after the group announced a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia. The Houthis announced the embargo on Monday. The source report described the mo…
Angola sentences two Russians after unrest case
An Angolan court has sentenced two Russian nationals to prison terms of eight and 11 years for terrorism and espionage after protests last year that turned into riots and looting, a lawyer representing some of the accused said on Wednesday. The demonstrations…
Iranian Gulf islands face attention amid fight over Hormuz
A US missile struck Iran's Larak island on Wednesday, the Tasnim news agency reported, in the latest reported attack on Iranian islands in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The islands have been struck several times as Iran and the United States fight over the…
UNESCO adds Lebanon's ancient Tyre to heritage danger list
UNESCO has added Tyre, an ancient Phoenician city in southern Lebanon, to its list of world heritage sites in danger after recent Israeli bombardment damaged the site. The UN cultural body said the site had been directly hit and had sustained damage. It also…
Bulgaria approves US refuelling plane deployment
Bulgaria's parliament voted on Wednesday to allow the United States to station refuelling aircraft and military personnel in the country. The US administration requested the deployment on Friday. Parliament approved it by 136 votes to 13, with two abstentions…
EU keeps Russian oil price cap fixed in new sanctions package
European Union countries agreed a scaled-back new sanctions package against Russia over the Ukraine war, keeping a price cap on Russian crude exports fixed at $44 for the next 12 months. The package is the EU's 21st round of sanctions since Moscow's 2022 inva…
Kolang mountain draws US threat amid suspected Iran nuclear work
An Iranian mountain that US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack is suspected of concealing a deeply buried nuclear complex, while Tehran denies that nuclear work is taking place there. Trump said Tuesday that US forces would soon hit Mount Kolang,…
Bahrain ministry says sirens sounded as explosion heard in Manama
Bahrain's interior ministry said sirens sounded in the country on Wednesday. The ministry said in a statement on X that citizens and residents should remain calm and go to the nearest safe place. An AFP correspondent in Manama heard an explosion. The report c…
Kremlin says Ukraine command change will not alter front-line situation
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Ukraine's appointment of a new commander-in-chief would not change the situation on the front line. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he did not think the appointment would lead to any changes on the front lines. He added th…
Pakistan condemns Houthi threats against Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping
Pakistan said Wednesday it was deeply concerned by attempts to pull Saudi Arabia into the Middle East war and condemned threats by Yemen's Houthis against the…
Israel says Saudi recognition would be a step toward Middle East peace
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Saudi Arabia's recognition of Israel would be a significant step toward peace in the Middle East. The…
Dubai offers residents visitor discounts to support tourism
Dubai is offering residents more than $800 in discounts and deals if they invite friends and family to visit, the emirate's media office said on Wednesday, as the tourism sector deals with the effects of months of war. The Dubai media office said the Dubai De…
Lebanon PM says government is pursuing full Israeli withdrawal
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his government would continue political and diplomatic efforts to secure a complete Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. He spoke on Wednesday in Zawtar al-Gharbiya, a village where Lebanon's army has recently dep…
Ukraine hits Wildberries sites again as Zelensky alleges army supply role
Ukrainian drones struck warehouses of Wildberries, Russia's biggest online retailer, in southern Russia on Wednesday, the second such attack on the company in a week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the e-commerce company of helping supply the…
New York mayor says city cannot enforce ICC warrant for Netanyahu
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration does not have the independent legal authority to enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he comes to the city. Mamdani called on the US fe…
Dnipro hospital treats constant flow of war wounded
A central hospital in Dnipro has become a main treatment centre for soldiers and civilians wounded in eastern and southern Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. Hospital director Sergiy Ryzhenko and staff described a constant flow of patients and said the inj…
Iranian state media reports air defence activity across Tehran
Iranian state media said Wednesday that air defence was triggered across Tehran and reported strikes in other parts of the country. State TV posted on Telegram that news sources had reported air defence activity in the west, east and northeast of Tehran. Stat…
Former Ukraine defence minister says new commander brings hope
Former Ukrainian defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Tuesday that the replacement of the country's top commander brought new hope. His removal had triggered…
Hegseth puts US cost of Iran war at $37.5 billion
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Iran war has cost the United States $37.5 billion so far. He said the new estimate was up from a previous estimate of nearly $29 billion in mid-May. Hegseth gave the figure while testifying before the Senate Appropri…
Ukrainian soldiers and civilians welcome new army commander
Ukrainian soldiers and civilians said they welcomed the appointment of Mykhailo Drapaty as the country's new army commander in the fifth year of Russia's invasion, while some said they still hoped for the return of former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Pr…
Indonesia orders 12 Leonardo light combat aircraft
On 21 July 2026, Italian aircraft maker Leonardo and local partner PT ESystem Solutions Indonesia announced that Indonesia had ordered 12 M-346 F "Block 20" light combat aircraft as the country strengthens its air defence system. Leonardo said the aircraft wo…
Gaza rescuers and witnesses say Israeli strikes killed 12 people
Gaza's civil defence agency and witnesses said Israeli strikes killed 12 people, including a family of six, in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday. A fragile ceasefire remains in place between Israel and Hamas, but violence has continued in Gaza and efforts…
Kuwait says Iran targeted tanker in Hormuz and summons ambassador
Kuwait's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it had summoned Iran's ambassador over a strike that it said targeted a Kuwaiti tanker in the Strait of Hormuz the previous day and wounded several people. The ministry said on X that it delivered a protest note…
Pakistan prime minister urges restraint in meeting with Iran's interior minister
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for restraint from all warring sides during a meeting with Iran's interior minister on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Pakistani premier's office. The statement said Sharif urged all sides to exercise…
Kuwaitis cut power use as Iranian strikes hit grid
Residents in Kuwait are cutting electricity use during peak summer heat after Iranian strikes on power plants made rationing a national priority. Kuwaiti authorities have called on the public to use less energy so they can maintain round-the-clock electricity…
UN condemns intensified Israeli attacks in Gaza
The United Nations on Tuesday condemned what it described as intensifying Israeli military attacks in Gaza. The UN rights office said the attacks had killed at least 57 Palestinians, including six children and eight women, from July 13 to 20. A ceasefire agre…
Kuwait says Iranian attacks hit power and water facilities
Kuwait said Tuesday that Iranian attacks hit several electricity power plants and water desalination facilities a day earlier, causing fires at several sites. The electricity, water and renewable energy ministry said on X that the attacks targeted electricity…
Profile: Syrsky leaves Ukraine army command after criticism and protests
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed Oleksandr Syrsky as commander-in-chief of Ukraine's army after a week of political pressure, protests and disputes over military reform. Syrsky, 60, had led some of Ukraine's most important campaigns since…
Kuwait reports intercepting Iranian missile and drone attacks
Kuwait said on Tuesday that its air defences were intercepting Iranian attacks, while sirens sounded in Bahrain and AFP correspondents in both capitals heard explosions. Kuwait's defence ministry said on X that Kuwaiti air defence was intercepting hostile mis…
UN reports sharp rise in civilian casualties in Ukraine-Russia war
The United Nations said civilian casualties in the war between Russia and Ukraine rose by 37 percent in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. Danielle Bell, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, told reporte…
Kuwait says air defences are intercepting Iranian missiles and drones
Kuwait's armed forces said Thursday that the country's air defence batteries had opened fire on incoming Iranian missiles and drones. The general staff said in a social media message that Kuwaiti air defences were intercepting what it called hostile missile a…
Lebanese army says Israeli fire near troops hindered southern deployment
Lebanon's military said Israeli troops fired near Lebanese soldiers Tuesday as they were deploying in Zawtar al-Gharbiya in the Nabatieh region, one of the so-called pilot zones from which Israel is expected to withdraw under a US-backed agreement. Israel sai…
Strike on Ukraine-bound gas tanker wounds three in Black Sea
A strike hit the Liberian-flagged LPG tanker Gas Lisbon in the Black Sea while it was carrying propane to the Ukrainian port of Reni, wounding three seafarers and forcing the crew to evacuate, Romanian President Nicusor Dan said Tuesday. Dan said the ship was…
Ukrainian drone names mix humour and wartime messaging
Ukrainian drone makers are using jokes, wordplay and anger in the names of their weapons, turning branding into part of the psychological side of the war with Russia. Some Ukrainian drones intercept attacks on Ukrainian cities, while others are used for strik…
IMF approves about $690 million for Ukraine after loan review
The International Monetary Fund said Monday that Ukraine can immediately access about $690 million after a review of its loan program. The IMF said the move would bring disbursements under Ukraine's $8.1 billion financing arrangement to around $2.2 billion. T…
US warns citizens worldwide to use more caution over Middle East tensions
The US State Department issued a worldwide alert on Monday urging American citizens to exercise increased caution because of the war with Iran. The alert said heightened tensions in the Middle East meant the security environment remained complex and carried t…
Chickenpox cases rise in overcrowded Gaza camps
Doctors and displaced families in Gaza say chickenpox has surged in recent months as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forced by war into crowded tent camps with little clean water for hygiene. Eight-year-old Ruba Saadeh is staying inside the te…
Trump says US will help Lebanon as Aoun seeks support on Israel deal
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States would help Lebanon as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun sought Washington's support for efforts to disarm Hezbollah and move toward peace with Israel. Aoun, the first Lebanese president invited to Was…
Iran Guards say two oil tankers stopped after fires in Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Tuesday that they stopped two oil tankers trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, state news agency IRNA reported. In a statement carried by IRNA, the Guards described the vessels as "non-compliant oil tankers" and said t…
Japan says China and Russia held live-fire drill in its economic waters
Chinese and Russian naval forces conducted a joint live-fire exercise with machine guns inside Japan's exclusive economic zone, Tokyo said Tuesday. China rejected the accusation and said Japan had exaggerated the issue. Japanese media said the Sunday incident…
UK maritime agency reports tanker hit by projectile off Oman
A tanker was reported hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz off Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said. The agency said it had received multiple reports that a tanker had been struck. It said the incident happened eight…
Iran expands attacks as Gulf states report interceptions
Iran increased attacks in the Middle East on Tuesday, two weeks after its war with the United States resumed. Bahrain sounded sirens after its military reported intercepting Iranian attacks, and Jordan said it intercepted two waves of Iranian drones and missi…
North Korea reaffirms support for Russia over Ukraine
North Korea reaffirmed its support for Moscow's war on Ukraine as the North Korean and Russian foreign ministers held talks in Moscow, Pyongyang's state media reported Tuesday. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lav…
MSF calls on Israel to release detained Palestinian health workers
Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, called on Monday for Israel to immediately release all Palestinian healthcare workers it said were arbitrarily detained. The Geneva-based medical charity said it was outraged by the treatment of healthcare workers,…
Israeli flag and checkpoint mark access limits in south Lebanon security zone
An Israeli flag and a checkpoint marked the start of an Israeli-announced security zone on the road to the south Lebanese coastal town of Naqura, where an Israeli soldier ordered a convoy of journalists to turn around. The journalists were travelling with L'O…
Jordan says it downed three Iranian missiles
Jordan's army said on Monday that its air defence system intercepted and downed three missiles that came from Iranian territory, entered Jordanian airspace and targeted the kingdom. The army said the incident happened at night and caused no injuries or materi…
Air France suspends flights to Dubai and Riyadh
Air France has suspended flights to Dubai and Riyadh as war continues in the Gulf. The source did not give further details on the length of the suspension or the number of flights affected.
Sirens sound in Jordanian capital Amman
Sirens sounded in the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday evening, according to an AFP correspondent. Jordan's state-run Al-Mamlaka channel also said sirens had sounded in the kingdom. The report came as the United States and Iran exchanged attacks in the regio…
Trump threatens Iran infrastructure as Tehran warns of matching response
US President Donald Trump said the United States would destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant for every attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran warned it would answer attacks on its infrastructure in kind. The threats came as fighting over th…
Iran Guards say they destroyed US military assets in Jordan
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that they attacked and destroyed several American military assets in Jordan. In a statement aired by Iranian state TV, the Guards said the targets included a radar for the US THAAD missile defence system, a Patriot…
UK agency says vessel hit by unknown projectile off UAE coast
A British maritime agency said a vessel was struck off the coast of the United Arab Emirates after reporting that it had been hit by an unknown projectile. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said the impact damaged the vessel's steering gear.…
Nigerian media report Ansaru leaders plead guilty in terrorism case
Two leaders of the Nigerian jihadist group Ansaru pleaded guilty on Monday in a 32-count terrorism case, local media reported. The government-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported that Mahmud Muhammad Usman and fellow commander Mahmud al-Nigeri changed their…
West Bank family says Israeli order blocks access to bathroom
A Palestinian family in the occupied West Bank said Monday that an Israeli military order had blocked them from reaching their bathroom for three weeks, after tensions with nearby settlers led the army to intervene. Ikhlas al-Hathalin, 42, lives with her fami…
Zelensky faces sustained protests over Ukraine defence minister's dismissal
President Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to manage a deepening political crisis in Ukraine as protests continue over the dismissal of reformist defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The demonstrations have entered a fifth day, making them the longest sustained pro…
EU condemns Iran over French diplomats in Tehran
The European Union condemned what it called an aggression by Iranian security forces against two French diplomats in Tehran after France said the officials were detained, interrogated and one was physically abused. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tue…
Lebanese army says Israeli fire near troops will hinder pilot-zone deployment
Lebanon's military said Tuesday that Israeli troops fired near Lebanese soldiers who were deploying in a so-called pilot zone in southern Lebanon. The army sa…
War damage remains at Syria’s Saint Simeon monastery
A French archaeological delegation has inspected Saint Simeon monastery in northern Syria to assess damage from war, looting, illegal excavations and neglect, and to consider what restoration work can begin. The fifth-century monastery and its church are part…
Officials report civilian deaths in Ukrainian and Russian strikes
Officials on both sides said Ukrainian and Russian strikes killed civilians on Monday, with six deaths reported in Russia's Belgorod border region and eight deaths reported in Ukraine. Alexander Shuvaev, the acting governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said o…
UN spokesman says Houthi threats risk wider regional escalation
The spokesman for the UN secretary-general warned Monday that renewed threats by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen against Saudi Arabia and freedom of navigation could lead to wider regional escalation. Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations had seen r…
Hamas names Gaza negotiator Khalil al-Hayya as new chief
Hamas named veteran leader Khalil al-Hayya as its new chief on Monday, choosing the figure who had led the group's indirect ceasefire negotiations with Israel during the war in Gaza. A senior Hamas official said Hayya was elected by an overwhelming majority a…
Bahrain military says it destroyed Iranian air attacks
Bahrain's military said Tuesday that its air defences had intercepted and destroyed a number of Iranian aerial attacks. The Bahrain Defence Force made the statement on X. The report said the announcement came nearly two weeks after the resumption of US-Iran h…
Palestinian officials say Israeli forces killed two men during West Bank settler attack
The Palestinian health ministry said Monday that Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian men when Israeli settlers attacked the town of Deir Jarir in the occupied West Bank overnight. The Ramallah-based ministry identified the men as Odeh Abdul Rahim Odeh Fa…
US criticises China after reported clash with Philippine navy personnel
Washington condemned what it called dangerous and aggressive action by China after Chinese personnel were accused of injuring a Filipino sailor at Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed South China Sea. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the United Sta…
US imposes sanctions on Sudan over chemical weapons allegation
The US State Department imposed a new round of sanctions on Sudan's government on Monday, accusing it of using chemical weapons during its war against the rival Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. Washington has not given details on where or when the all…
Iran says it will act to protect security in Strait of Hormuz
Iran said on Monday that it would not allow the Strait of Hormuz to be used by its opponents to threaten the country's security. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference in Tehran that the waterway must not be misused again to threat…
Iran says mediator contacts with US are continuing
Iran said on 20 July that diplomatic exchanges with the United States were continuing through mediators despite US military strikes on Iran. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference in Tehran that Iran had been informed by me…
Taiwan reports rise in Chinese maritime activity near island
Taiwan detected a sharp increase in Chinese government ships entering waters around Taiwan and its outer islands in June, a Taiwanese coast guard official said. The official said the activity showed a significant rise in what Taiwan describes as Chinese grey-…
Explosions heard in Manama after air raid sirens
Explosions were heard in Bahrain's capital, Manama, on Monday morning after air raid sirens were triggered. Bahrain's interior ministry wrote on X that the siren had been sounded and urged citizens and residents to remain calm and go to the nearest safe place…
Iran Guards give details of claimed strikes on US targets in Kuwait
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they hit US military targets in Kuwait, in a statement reported by Iran's state news agency IRNA. The Guards said Iranian forces destroyed a US early-warning radar system in a drone strike. They also said separate attacks hit…
Russian authorities say Moscow region drone strikes wounded at least 10
Russian authorities said Ukraine launched scores of drones at the Moscow region on Monday night, causing fires and wounding at least 10 people. Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobyov said the wounded included a child and three Chinese citizens. He said severa…
Iran Guards say US aircraft at Aqaba airport were hit by missiles
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Monday that they had targeted US military aircraft at Aqaba Airport in Jordan, according to state media. In a statement carried by Iran's state broadcaster, the Guards said American heavy transport aircraft and command and con…
Iran Guards say two oil tankers halted in Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that two oil tankers trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz had exploded and been brought to a halt. In a statement reported by the Tasnim news agency, the Guards said the incident happened late Sunday night. Th…
Crew leaves burning vessel after reported attack near Hormuz
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said Monday that the crew of a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz safely abandoned ship after it was hit by an unknown projectile and caught fire. UKMTO said the crew had been recovered by a tugboat. It said the fire had no…
Trump warns Iran over US troop deaths after new fatalities announced
President Donald Trump warned Iran on Monday that it would pay "many times over" for every US soldier it killed, after Washington announced three new military fatalities and one service member missing in action over the weekend. Trump posted the warning on Tr…
US says service member died detonating unexploded drone ordnance in northern Iraq
A US service member died Saturday during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone in northern Iraq, the US military said Sunday. The death brought the confirmed number of American military fatalities to 17 since the United St…
Israelis march near Gaza border calling for settlements to return
Thousands of Israelis, including settlers and right-wing activists, marched towards the Gaza border on Sunday to call for the government to re-establish Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territory. The demonstrators gathered near the border and then walk…
India protests to Russia after deadly attack on cargo ship near Odesa
India summoned Russia's top envoy in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest against an attack on a cargo ship leaving Ukraine's port of Odesa that killed four Indian…
Iran Guards say they attacked command centre in Syria
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Monday that they had launched what they called a surprise attack on an enemy command centre in Syria, state media reported. The IRNA state news agency said the Guards announced the attack in a statement posted on Telegram. The…
Israeli leaders warn Iran after missile launched toward Aqaba
Israel's defence minister said Sunday that Israel would respond powerfully to any attack by Iran, after Israeli and Jordanian forces intercepted an Iranian missile launched toward the Jordanian city of Aqaba. Israel Katz made the comments during a visit to a…
Niger state media says 16 soldiers killed in western attack
Sixteen soldiers were killed in an attack in western Niger, the country's ANP state news agency reported Sunday. ANP said a terrorist attack targeted a military deployment in the Tera area of Tillaberi region on Friday July 17. It said 23 soldiers were wounde…
Sirens sound in Amman during US-Iran exchanges
Sirens sounded in Jordan's capital, Amman, on Sunday as the United States and Iran exchanged drone and missile attacks, an AFP correspondent reported. Jordan's state-run Al-Mamlaka channel also reported that sirens had been activated in different parts of the…
Jordan and Israel report intercepting Iranian missiles near Aqaba
Israeli and Jordanian forces intercepted an Iranian missile aimed at the Jordanian city of Aqaba on Sunday, the Israeli military said, after Jordan denied repo…
Palestinian official says settlers torched West Bank mosque and factory
A Palestinian official said Israeli settlers set fire overnight to a mosque in the occupied West Bank village of Al-Tuwani. An AFP journalist saw the entrance of the mosque scorched and Hebrew graffiti on its walls. Mohammed Rabie, head of the village council…
Sources say more than 50 Malian soldiers killed near Anefis
Local and military sources said at least 50 Malian soldiers were killed in an attack by Tuareg separatists and jihadists while leaving the northern strategic town of Anefis. A local elected official close to Mali's ruling junta said the toll was provisional a…
Iranian Kurdish group says drone strike wounded eight members in Iraq
An exiled Iranian Kurdish opposition group said a drone strike in Iraq's Kurdistan region wounded eight of its members on Sunday, and blamed Iran for the attack. Adib Khaldian from the exiled Kurdistan Freedom Party, known as PAK, said Iranian forces attacked…
Bahrain says Iran targeted air navigation systems with drones
Bahrain's civil aviation body said Iran targeted its air navigation systems with drones on Monday, but said air traffic was not affected. In a statement, the…
Kyiv missile attack kills one as Ukraine reports wider Russian strikes
Russia fired ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight on Sunday, killing one person and wounding 16, Ukrainian officials said, as attacks also hit other Ukrainian cities and domestic political tensions grew over changes in Ukraine's defence leadership. Ukrainian…
Beirut exhibition uses house keys to remember destroyed homes in south Lebanon
A Beirut museum exhibition is using house keys, photos, videos and recreated rooms to preserve memories of south Lebanon after recent conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah destroyed many homes. At Beit Beirut museum, the exhibition "Hkeeli ya Jnoub", or "Tel…
Kyiv reports building hits after blasts heard in capital
Several blasts were heard in Kyiv overnight from Saturday to Sunday after Ukraine's air force warned that ballistic missiles were heading toward the capital. One explosion was strong enough to set off alarms in cars parked in the city centre. Moments earlier,…
Zelensky signals possible army changes as Ukraine protests continue
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted on Saturday at possible changes in the army after protests over the removal of defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov continued for a third day. Fedorov, 35, was dismissed earlier in the week in a reshuffle by Zelensky…
Gaza officials say Israeli attacks killed 11, including children
Gaza's civil defence agency and hospitals said Israeli attacks on Saturday killed 11 people across the territory, including three children and their parents. A family of five was killed when an Israeli strike hit a residential apartment in northwest Gaza City…
US says it struck Iranian Guards linked to deadly Jordan attack
The US military said Saturday that it carried out an eighth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, including strikes on Iranian military facilities. US Cen…
Pentagon says two US service members killed after Iranian strikes on Jordan
The Pentagon said on Saturday that two US service members were killed and one was missing in action in Jordan after a barrage of missile and drone strikes from Iran. US Central Command said the service members were killed Friday when US and partner forces def…
Palestinian youth footballer dies after West Bank shooting, officials and relatives say
A 17-year-old Palestinian footballer died on Saturday, a week after he was shot during an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to officials and relatives. Fadi Hamdallah al-Nassan played for Al-Mughayyir Club and was a member of the…
Ethiopians rally in Addis Ababa over alleged Tigray recruitment drive
Thousands of people gathered in Ethiopia's capital on Saturday for a pro-government rally against an alleged forced recruitment campaign by authorities in the northern Tigray region. The allegation follows accounts from youths who said in June that they had e…
Botswana says more citizens are being lured into Russia’s war in Ukraine
On 18 July 2026, Botswana's international relations ministry said an alarming number of Botswana nationals are being forced into combat in Russia's war against Ukraine after being misled by deceptive recruitment schemes. The ministry said recent reports show…
Hezbollah holds mass funeral in southern Lebanon village
Hezbollah held a mass funeral on Saturday in Majdal Selm, a heavily damaged village in southern Lebanon, for dozens of people, most of them fighters killed in the latest fighting with Israel. The group buried 44 people in the village. The report said 39 were…
Malian army convoy attacked near Anefis, officials say
A Malian army convoy leaving the northern town of Anefis was attacked on Saturday morning by Tuareg separatists, military and security officials said. A military source based in Gao said the convoy was travelling from Anefis to Gao when it was attacked near T…
Kuwait accuses Iran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure
Kuwait accused Iran on Saturday of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country. The accusation came after Kuwait reported attacks on an oil facility and on a power and water plant. Kuwait's foreign ministry said the repeated targeting of…
Jordan summons Iranian diplomat to protest attacks
Jordan's foreign ministry said on Sunday that it summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Amman to demand an immediate end to Iranian attacks. In a statement, the…
Gulf council head calls Iran attacks on civilian facilities war crimes
The head of a Gulf council said Iran's attacks on civilian facilities were “war crimes”. The statement came amid continuing Iran-related fighting affecting Gulf infrastructure, as described in the existing coverage.
Moscow mayor says more than 370 drones flew toward region overnight
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Saturday that more than 370 drones were launched toward the Moscow region overnight. In a post on the state-backed MAX platform, he said the drones had been flying toward the region since 8:30 pm (1730 GMT). Sobyanin said…
Ukraine drone strikes on Russian warehouses kill eight, officials say
Ukrainian explosive-laden drones struck e-commerce warehouses in Russia's Moscow and Tambov regions on Saturday, killing eight people and causing large fires t…
Jordan says its forces intercepted 10 Iranian missiles
Jordan's army said on Saturday that its air defence systems intercepted and shot down 10 Iranian missiles that had entered Jordanian airspace. The army said the missiles were targeting the kingdom's territory. It said there were no casualties and no material…
Fuel shortages disrupt drivers across much of Russia
Fuel shortages are affecting drivers across much of Russia as Ukrainian strikes on Russian depots put pressure on fuel supplies. In Vologda, about 480 kilometres north of Moscow, residents Yelena and Dmitry passed four petrol stations before finding one with…
Rubio says Iran is using Hormuz as leverage and urges others to help
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late Sunday that Iran was using the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in the ongoing Middle East conflict. Speaking to reporters before traveling to the Philippines for a meeting of foreign ministers with the Association of S…
US denies Iran Guards claim that tankers hit mines near Hormuz
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday that two oil tankers exploded and caught fire after hitting mines while transiting near the Strait of Hormuz, a claim the US military denied. In a statement carried by Iran's state news agency IRNA, the Guards said th…
Iranian agencies report blasts in Yazd and southern provinces
Iranian state news agency IRNA reported that five explosions were heard in the early hours of Saturday in Yazd, in central Iran. Another Iranian news agency, Mehr, reported that explosions were heard in several provinces in southern Iran. The reports came aft…
Venice protesters clash with police over US ambassador's yacht
Police and demonstrators briefly clashed in Venice on Friday during a protest against the arrival of a mega-yacht owned by the US ambassador to Italy, Texan businessman Tilman Fertitta. Several hundred protesters shouted slogans hostile to US policies in the…
IRNA says US attacks killed three and wounded eight in Hormozgan
Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Saturday that US attacks killed three people and wounded eight in Hormozgan province in southern Iran. IRNA said on Telegram that the deputy political, security and social affairs governor of Hormozgan announced the…
Officials say strikes kill at least 10 across Ukraine, Russia and occupied areas
Russian and Ukrainian strikes killed at least 10 people in total on Friday across both sides of the border, local officials in the respective territories said. In Ukraine, deputy mayor Oleksandr Filatov said two people were killed and eight wounded when a mis…
UN says humanitarian conditions are worsening in Sudan's El-Obeid
The United Nations said Friday that the humanitarian situation in El-Obeid in Sudan is worsening rapidly as displacement camps receive more people. The UN has warned for weeks that atrocities similar to those committed during the paramilitary assault on El-Fa…
Gaza officials say Israeli strike near market killed eight and wounded 22
Gaza's civil defence agency and Al-Awda hospital said an Israeli airstrike killed eight people on Friday near Al-Balata market in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. The hospital said it received the eight dead and 22 wounded people after the strike. M…
Mother of UK student killer jailed for hiding knife used in attack
The mother of a British Sikh man jailed for killing a white student was sentenced to three years in prison on Friday for taking away the ceremonial knife used in the fatal stabbing. Henry Nowak was handcuffed by police in December as he lay dying after his at…
Romania announces €1 billion radar and helicopter purchases
Romania's defence ministry announced on Friday deals worth one billion euros, or about $1.1 billion, to buy helicopters from Airbus and air surveillance radars from Thales. The ministry said the purchases include 12 multi-mission helicopters from Airbus for 7…
Iraqi Kurdistan's prime minister urges Iran to halt attacks
The office of Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on Friday condemned attacks it blamed on Iran and urged Tehran to stop the escalation. The office said it condemned what it called unjustified attacks by the Islamic Republic…
Iran urges IAEA to condemn alleged US strike on Darkhovin nuclear site
Iran urged the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Monday to condemn US strikes that it said targeted the Darkhovin nuclear power plant, which is under construction in southwest Iran. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference i…
UN chief condemns attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran-US escalation
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said attacks on civilian infrastructure are unacceptable after Iran accused the United States of targeting bridges and transport hubs. His spokesman, Farhan Haq, said Guterres remained deeply concerned by the continuing m…
Iran's Guards say they attacked US aircraft in Jordan with missiles and drones
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday that they had struck US military aircraft stationed in Jordan with ballistic missiles and drones. The Guards said the attack was in retaliation for overnight US strikes. In a statement, they claimed to have destroyed se…
Qatar says child injured after missile attack intercepted
Qatar said on Friday that its armed forces intercepted a missile attack targeting the country, and that a child was injured by falling debris after the interception. Qatar's Ministry of Defense announced on X that the armed forces had intercepted a missile at…
Kurdish group says strikes killed nine members in Iraq as drones downed over Erbil
Drone and rocket strikes killed nine members of the Iranian Kurdish armed opposition group Komala in Iraq's Kurdistan region on Friday, the exiled party said, blaming Iran for the attack. Idriss Kohlwazi, from the exiled Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, sai…
UK agency says tanker hit off Oman, crew safe
A tanker reported being hit by an unknown projectile off the coast of Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Friday. The agency said the strike caused minor structural damage to the vessel's port side. It said the incident took place overnight…
Iran health ministry says 38 killed in US strikes since June 22
Iran's health ministry said Friday that at least 38 people had been killed and more than 400 injured in the country since fighting resumed with the United States. Health ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour posted on X that the number of injured from US atta…
Kurdish forces say US-led coalition downed eight drones over Erbil
Kurdish counterterrorism forces said the US-led coalition shot down eight explosive-laden drones over Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region, on Friday. The forces said the drones were downed between 04:19 and 05:25 local time, or 01:19 and 02…
Iran's Guards say they struck US radar sites in Oman
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Friday that their forces struck two radar sites belonging to the United States in Oman. In a statement, the Guards said they had targeted and destroyed a maritime surveillance radar at the Salamah Rocks and a US air surveillan…
Syrian military source denies Iranian strike on Al-Tanf area
A Syrian military source on Friday denied that Iran had bombed the Al-Tanf base near Syria's southeastern borders with Jordan and Iraq. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there had been no Iranian bombardment targeting the Al-Tanf area. The…
Several blasts heard in Doha as safety alert urges shelter
Several blasts were heard early Friday in Qatar's capital, Doha, as Iran attacked US allies in the renewed Middle East war. A public safety alert warned that the security threat level was "elevated" and urged residents to take shelter. The brief report did no…
Iranian state media says overnight US strikes killed eight in Iran
Iranian state media reported Friday that overnight US strikes on infrastructure in southern and western Iran killed eight people and wounded 20 others. The IRNA news agency said some infrastructure in several provinces came under US military attack. It report…
White House says Trump remains open to Iran diplomacy
The White House said President Donald Trump remains open to diplomacy with Iran and that Washington is still talking to Tehran despite renewed hostilities. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump would hold Iran accountable if i…
US adds Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras to terrorist organization list
The United States has designated Mexico's Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras group as foreign terrorist organizations, the State Department announced Thursday. The move adds to six other designations Washington issued last year against cartels and organized crime…
Kyiv protesters oppose Zelensky's dismissal of defence minister
Thousands of people gathered in Kyiv on Friday for a second day of protests against President Volodymyr Zelensky's dismissal of defence minister Mykhailo Fedor…
UK court denies bail to captain of alleged Russian shadow fleet tanker
A UK court denied bail to Ajay Pant, the Indian captain of an alleged Russian shadow fleet tanker seized by British forces in the Channel last month. Pant, 38, appeared by video link in a London court and is charged with directly or indirectly supplying or de…
Ukraine says Russia returned 501 bodies
Ukraine has received 501 bodies from Russia that are believed to be those of fallen soldiers, Ukrainian authorities said Thursday. Kyiv's prisoners of war centre said 501 bodies of deceased people had been returned to Ukraine through repatriation efforts. It…
Israeli families move into new West Bank settlement near Nablus
Israeli families moved into a new settlement on Mount Ebal, above the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, on Thursday, according to the settler regional council for the area. The Samaria Regional Council said families from what it called the Ebal foundi…
Russian and Ukrainian strikes kill five, officials say
Russian and Ukrainian strikes killed five people on both sides of the war border, officials said Thursday. The attacks came as Ukraine has increased drone barrages against Russia, which Kyiv describes as retribution for Moscow's invasion, now in its fifth yea…
Iranian state media report new explosions in southern Iran
US forces launched strikes against Iran for a sixth night in a row on Thursday, the US military said, as Iranian state media reported new explosions and US strikes in southern Iran. Iranian state TV reported two explosions in Bushehr, the city that hosts Iran…
IAEA chief condemns reported killing at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The head of the United Nations atomic agency condemned the reported killing of Aleksandr Yakovlev, described by Russia as the chief engineer of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in a drone strike that no one has claimed. Russia blam…
EU and Ukraine announce drone production deal
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced a drone deal with Ukraine on Wednesday aimed at increasing joint production of battlefield drone technology. Speaking in Kyiv after receiving an award from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, von der Leyen said the…
Authorities say Russian strikes kill 13 people across Ukraine
Russian strikes killed 13 people and wounded about 50 across Ukraine on Wednesday, regional authorities said. The daytime attacks targeted industrial and medical facilities in the Black Sea port city of Odesa and in Sumy, a northeastern city near the border w…
UN seeks investigations into reported Kashmir unrest deaths
The United Nations called for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into dozens of reported deaths in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during unrest ahead of regional elections. Jeremy Laurence, spokesman for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker…
Body of Indian sailor found after ship attack off Oman
The body of an Indian sailor who went missing after an attack on a ship off Oman has been recovered, a seafarers' union official said Wednesday. Heramb Karmarkar, a 30-year-old marine engineer from Pune in western India, had been missing since Sunday's attack…
Iran army says US missile strike killed seven military personnel near Iranshahr
Iran's army said US strikes killed seven Iranian military personnel in the country's southeast on Wednesday, as the United States and Iran increased their fighting. The army said in a statement that the personnel were killed in a missile attack on a barracks…
UN says Sudan resource trade is helping sustain war
The United Nations human rights office said Wednesday that Sudan's rival factions are profiting from control over the country's resources and that a war economy is helping sustain the civil war. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the…
Kuwait says air defences are confronting Iranian missiles and drones
Kuwait's military said on Monday that its air defences were confronting hostile missile and drone attacks, which it blamed on Iran. The army statement came as Tehran pressed attacks against Gulf countries and the United States expanded its strikes across Iran…
Ukraine official says three killed in strikes on merchant ships
A senior Ukrainian official said Russian attacks on a merchant ship in southern Ukraine and two other merchant ships in the Black Sea killed three people on Tuesday, including one ship's captain. Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region's military administrat…
Kuwait says Iranian barrage hit naval vessel and wounded four crew
Kuwait's military said Tuesday that one of its naval vessels was hit during an Iranian missile and drone barrage, wounding four crew members. Defence ministry spokesman Colonel Saud Abdulaziz Al-Atwan said the Iranian attack targeted vital and civilian facili…
Iran attacks test Oman's neutral stance, analysts say
Analysts said increased Iranian attacks around Oman are testing Muscat's long-held policy of neutrality and pushing the sultanate toward a firmer tone. Oman has historically acted as a mediator between Tehran and its opponents and shares control of the Strait…
Houthis say they downed Saudi-operated drone in central Yemen
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they shot down a Saudi-operated reconnaissance drone on Tuesday, a day after the first exchange of hostilities between the two sides in years. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the fighters downed what he called an en…
Colombian military frees 39 people kidnapped by ELN
The Colombian military liberated 39 people on Tuesday after they were kidnapped by the National Liberation Army, or ELN, an official said. The ELN had captured the group, which included a minor, on a highway in the remote Choco region, where the armed group h…
Netanyahu warns Iran of stronger Israeli response if it attacks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran on Tuesday that Israel would respond with stronger force if Iran carried out a new attack on his country. Speaking at a conference in Dimona, Netanyahu addressed Iran's leaders and told them not to expect…
Former FARC leader warns against threats to Colombia peace process
Former FARC commander Rodrigo Londono warned that hostile rhetoric against former guerrillas could help fuel new violence in Colombia after president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella vowed to jail him and roll back part of the country's 2016 peace deal. Londono…
EU seeks Russia sanctions deal before oil price-cap deadline
European Union countries were trying on Tuesday to agree on a new sanctions package against Russia before a deadline that could weaken a measure aimed at limiting Moscow’s oil export revenues. Ambassadors from the 27 EU member states were due to hold talks in…
Bahrain says it intercepted Iranian attacks
Bahrain said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks on Tuesday morning, as fighting between Washington and Tehran escalated over the Strait of Hormuz. Bahrain's military said in a statement that air defences had stopp…
Company says Norwegian tanker was hit by explosion off Oman
A crisis response company said a Norwegian tanker was hit by an explosion caused by an unidentified device off the coast of Oman early Tuesday. MTI Network said shipping company Stolt Tankers reported that the tanker Stolt Magnesium suffered an explosion from…
Kyiv says Russian forces executed hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war
Ukraine says Russian forces have executed hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war since Moscow's 2022 invasion, while Russia rejects accusations of war crimes. The exact number is unclear and varies between Ukrainian and international sources. Ukrainian offici…
Iran says renewed US blockade has wrecked truce deal
Iran warned on Tuesday that the announced resumption of a United States naval blockade of its ports had wrecked a deal with Washington to pause the conflict so peace talks could take place. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said US President Donald Tr…
Some ships cross Hormuz despite security risks, data firm says
A small number of ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday despite heightened security threats linked to the confrontation between Tehran and Washington, according to maritime tracker Kpler. Kpler data showed that 14 vessels crossed the strait on Sunday,…
US military says sea drones struck Iranian port
The United States used one-way attack sea drones in combat for the first time to strike the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, the US military said. US Central Command said on X that three US Corsair drones targeted a submarine and ship maintenance facility at the…
Nine European countries and Ukraine form anti-ballistic missile coalition, statement says
Nine European countries and Ukraine have formed an anti-ballistic missile coalition. The source item did not identify the nine European countries or provide further details about the coalition, its members' roles, timing or planned activities.
EU sanctions Russian companies behind state-backed Max app
The European Union announced sanctions against the company behind Russia's state-backed messaging app Max, saying the app had been used to help suppress dissent. The EU targeted Russian media giant VK and its daughter company Communication Platform. The EU sa…
MSF accuses Russia of systematic attacks on Ukraine healthcare
Doctors Without Borders, known as MSF, said Monday that Russia's attacks in Ukraine appeared to form a deliberate strategy to damage the country's healthcare system and punish civilians, rather than being only an incidental result of the war. MSF said it had…
Maritime group says Hormuz vessel strike death toll rises to two
A maritime group said the death toll from the latest strikes on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz had risen to two. An earlier report said the attacks killed one Indian seafarer and wounded several other people, and that India summoned Iran's senior…
Mali army says about 30 troops killed retaking Anefis
Mali's army chief said about 30 soldiers were killed in recent fighting to retake the northern town of Anefis from Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists and their Tuareg separatist allies. General Jean Elysee Dao told Malian state TV that around 60 soldiers were also wou…