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The United States military yesterday said it had destroyed an Iranian underground weapons facility housing anti-ship cruise missiles and mobile launchers threatening commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as a coalition of more than 20 nations pledged to restore safe passage through the vital waterway. Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said warplanes dropped 5,000-pound bombs on the coastal bunker, also destroying intelligence support sites and missile radar relays used to monitor ship movements. The strike, first announced on Tuesday, was described in full detail yesterday as thousands of Iranians marked Eid al-Fitr. The US statement was widely seen as an effort to steady rattled energy markets and reassure sceptical allies. It was swiftly followed by a joint declaration from more than 20 countries — among them the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the UAE, Bahrain, South Korea and Australia — condemning what they called Iran’s “de facto closure” of the Strait and vowing to contribute to efforts ensuring safe passage. “We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait,” the group said, welcoming nations already engaged in preparatory planning. The signatories also condemned Iran’s recent attacks on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf and strikes on civilian energy infrastructure, calling them unacceptable provocations against global trade.The G7 foreign ministers echoed that position, expressing readiness to take necessary measures to protect global energy supplies and standing firmly behind regional partners. Source link
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, announced that more than 60 people were killed in an attack targeting a hospital in southwestern Sudan.In a post on the X platform, Ghebreyesus said that Al-Daein Hospital, in the capital of East Darfur state, was attacked, leaving at least 64 people dead, including 13 children, and 89 others injured, forcing the hospital to suspend its medical services.The WHO chief stressed that the total number of victims of attacks on healthcare facilities during the conflict in Sudan has exceeded 2,000.For its part, the United Nations, through its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan, expressed deep dismay over the attack on the hospital in East Darfur. Source link
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that the United Nations was ready to contribute to efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions in the Middle East and ensuring the protection of the vital Strait of Hormuz. He explained that the UN had previously played a key role in facilitating the Black Sea Initiative, which enabled the export of Ukrainian food and fertilizers through a humanitarian corridor starting in July 2022. Guterres added that his main objective was to explore whether similar conditions could be created in the Strait of Hormuz. He noted that the UN was currently engaging with key parties in the Gulf, as well as the European Council. He further said that while the context and solutions would differ, the UN was willing to assist and had teams ready to manage such efforts, emphasizing a preference for working directly with the United States and other partners Source link
US President Donald Trump has branded Nato allies ‘cowards’ for not heeding his demand for military assistance against Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz shipping route.Trump has recently veered between saying that Washington needs no help to secure the vital waterway for oil tankers, and then lashing out at other countries for failing to help.’Without the U.S.A., NATO IS A PAPER TIGER!’ Trump posted on his Truth Social network.’They didn't want to join the fight to stop a Nuclear Powered Iran. Now that fight is Militarily WON, with very little danger for them, they complain about the high oil prices they are forced to pay, but don't want to help open the Strait of Hormuz, a simple military maneuver that is the single reason for the high oil prices.’So easy for them to do, with so little risk. COWARDS, and we will REMEMBER!’The 79-year-old Republican, a long-term sceptic of the Western military alliance, has launched a series of diatribes against the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) in recent days.On Thursday, six major international powers, including Britain, France, Germany and Japan said that they were ready to ‘contribute to appropriate efforts’ to secure the Strait of Hormuz.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made clear that this presupposed an end to combat.French President Emmanuel Macron said after a European Union summit in Brussels that defending international law and promoting de-escalation was ‘the best we can do,’ adding: ‘I have not heard anyone here express a willingness to enter this conflict – quite the opposite.’However, they have not formally committed to any mission to work in the crucial waterway – while other allies such as Germany and Italy have ruled out doing anything before a truce in the Middle East war.None of the countries Trump has called on to help was consulted before the US-Israeli mission started.An effective Iranian blockade has paralyzed commercial shipping through the crucial maritime chokepoint, which in peacetime sees a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass through it.Global oil prices have spiked as a result of the war, which erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, leading Tehran to retaliate with strikes across the Gulf region. Source link
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Kim Ju-ae aboard a tank at the Pyongyang Training Base No 60 under the Capital City Defence Corps…
Chinese and Macau flags flutter at the Golden Lotus Square in Macau, China. (Reuters/File Photo) Lawmakers in Macau, a city under Chinese rule, unanimously approved a bill Thursday that allows court proceedings to be held behind closed doors when deemed necessary to protect national security interests. The city enacted its first national security law in 2009 and tightened it with amendments in 2023. Last July, leading democrat Au Kam San was arrested for alleged collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, the first known arrest under that law.The new legislation stipulates that judges must refer cases to the city’s Committee for Safeguarding National Security if they believe national security may be at risk during a public hearing.The committee has the ultimate authority to decide whether the matter pertains to national security and order that hearings be held behind closed doors. Its decisions are final, not subject to appeal or judicial review.The law will take effect a day after its publication in Macau’s official gazette.The Macau government said the approval had demonstrated the successful implementation of the principle of “patriots governing Macau”.Unlike in Hong Kong, which saw big social movements challenge Chinese Communist Party rule in 2014 and 2019, the democratic opposition in the former Portuguese colony has always existed on the fringes amid tight Chinese control.After Au’s arrest last year, rights groups have called for his unconditional release and urged authorities not to suppress peaceful criticism. Source link
Jeepney drivers and activists display placards during a protest in support of a jeepney drivers’ strike in Manila Thursday. (AFP) The ripple effects of the war in the Middle East are hitting home hard for Philippine jeepney driver Toni Prado, whose daily earnings have been gutted by soaring fuel prices. He was one of thousands of jeepney drivers who took to the streets across the country on Thursday to protest a more than doubling of local diesel prices after global oil prices surged because of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.”We are losing our income. What we earn just goes to paying for diesel,” said Prado.”Before I could earn at least 1,000 pesos ($16.65) for three trips, now I only take home 200 pesos,” said the father of four. “How can I support my children? How can I send my daughter to school? How do I pay for electricity, water, and food?”The Philippines relies heavily on Middle Eastern oil, and the surge in fuel prices is threatening to stoke inflation in the consumption-driven economy. Like many of its Southeast Asian neighbours, Manila has taken steps such as shortening the work week and providing fuel subsidies to counter the impact of rising costs. This week, Congress granted the president emergency powers to suspend or reduce fuel taxes.Mody Floranda, who heads the transport group leading the national strike, said those measures were not enough, and called for the repeal of a law that stripped the government of its authority to control fuel prices.Drivers said the pain of surging diesel prices was compounded by the suspension of a fare hike that could have provided some relief.Jeepneys, which were originally created from abandoned U.S. military jeeps after World War Two, are a vital mode of public transport across the Philippines.Reggie Manlapit, who has been a jeepney driver for two decades, said he needs to work longer hours but still gets less pay.”Because of what’s happening, we work longer hours and we’re lucky if we can take home 200 pesos,” he said. Related Story Source link
The European Union has condemned Iranian attacks on energy facilities in Qatar, warning that such actions risk plunging the region into further chaos.Speaking on the sidelines of a European Council meeting in Brussels, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said the attacks exacerbate ongoing military conflicts in the region. “We need to exit this war, not escalate it further,” she stated.Kallas noted that she has been in contact with Iranian officials regarding the situation and stressed that the EU is working closely with the United Nations to secure safe maritime corridors, as oil, gas, and fertiliser exports through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted due to insecurity.She also emphasised that Europe is coordinating with partners to seek a resolution between the conflicting parties and bring an end to the ongoing hostilities in the region. Related Story Source link
A woman goes through the process of finger scanning for the Unique Identification (UID) database system, also known as Aadhaar, at a registration centre in New…
Thailand’s caretaker Prime Minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul (centre) is applauded by fellow party members after the new parliament elected Anutin as prime minister…