Author: Admin

President Donald Trump and Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei are locked in a war of words, with both sides issuing stark threats while Washington and Tehran tell very different stories about the state of their diplomatic relationship — and remain sharply divided over control of a key waterway.

In a late Friday post on Truth Social, Trump declared that the United States has 1,000 missiles pointed at Iran and that a massive military response would follow if Tehran carries out — or even attempts — any plot to kill him. “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote, warning that thousands more could “immediately follow” if Iran tries to assassinate the sitting U.S. president, adding, “in this case, ME!”

Trump also stated that the U.S. military was “ready, willing, and able” for up to one year — with the possibility of extension — to “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran — PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal and other American news outlets reported that Israel had passed along intelligence about an alleged Iranian plan to assassinate the president.

On the Iranian side, Khamenei vowed revenge for those who died in military conflict, including his father, Ali Khamenei. A message issued on his behalf stated: “Tehran is committed to avenging your blood (his father Ali Khamenei) and the blood of all those killed in the two wars. This revenge is the will of our nation and it must be done soon.”

Amid these threats, Trump claimed Iran’s leadership had reached out to restart diplomatic discussions, even though he had previously declared that a Washington-Tehran memorandum of understanding was finished. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wrote Friday.

Iran flatly rejected that account. The Iranian news agency Fars cited a source close to the country’s negotiating team who said talks would not happen “until the American side backs down from its positions.” Iran’s state broadcaster added that Tehran would not return to the table due to what it described as U.S. noncompliance with the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.

The dispute also extends to the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that typically carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Senior U.S. officials said Friday that Washington is demanding Iran publicly commit to halting attacks on ships in the strait and allow free, unrestricted passage through all shipping lanes. Iran has refused to give up its grip on the waterway.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Oman to meet with his Omani counterpart, Badr al-Busaidi, to discuss how ships could move through the strait under the terms of the memorandum of understanding.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also held a conversation with Trump covering the U.S.-Iran talks, security in the waterway, and broader regional stability, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

CARACAS — The number of lives lost following two devastating earthquakes that hit Venezuela on June 24 has climbed to 4,333, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez announced to reporters on Saturday. He also revealed that housing distribution for survivors will get underway as early as next week.

Among those counted in the death toll, 315 victims have yet to be identified, Rodriguez noted.

The official injury count remains at 16,740. Rescue teams have pulled 6,462 people to safety, while approximately 17,000 individuals have been displaced from their homes.

Rodriguez said that acting President Delcy Rodriguez will assign the first 200 homes to earthquake victims next week, though no additional details were provided about the plan.

Rodriguez also reported that 856 structures sustained damage in the disaster, with 190 of those either fully collapsing or suffering significant structural failure.

Early government estimates indicate that around 25,000 homes will be needed to address the housing crisis. Authorities have already pinpointed roughly 40 parcels of land — totaling approximately 584,000 square meters — in the Osma and Chuspa areas that could be used for new housing developments.

Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing. Rodriguez offered an emotional statement about the continuing operations, saying, “As long as there is life, there is hope. We still have one or two sites where the situation remains uncertain, active sites where we are searching for survivors.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Leaders from the United States and Iran exchanged sharp threats on Saturday as a shaky interim ceasefire continued to fall apart and international mediators worked desperately to keep diplomatic channels open.

Overnight, President Donald Trump took to social media to threaten additional missile strikes against Iran, following the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, where crowds openly called for Trump’s death. Senior American officials also demanded that Iran publicly declare the Strait of Hormuz open and guarantee the safety of ships passing through it.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, responded by pledging that Iranians would press forward with avenging his father’s death. He declared that such revenge “is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out,” in remarks broadcast on Iranian state television. He had not appeared publicly since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28 — the day strikes killed his father.

Iran has maintained that it controls the strait and has the right to collect fees from vessels traveling through it, a position it adopted after the war began.

The war of words came after several days of American airstrikes on Iran, which were triggered by Iran’s attacks on three ships in the strait, and subsequent Iranian strikes targeting Arab nations throughout the region.

Trump declared the ceasefire finished but indicated the U.S. would keep negotiating. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Oman on Saturday — situated on the far side of the strait — for additional discussions, one day after Qatari mediators had met with Iranian officials in Tehran.

Trump says threats against him prompted his response

Trump wrote on his website that a thousand “missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat.”

He stated he was reacting to threats “to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate” him. During Khamenei’s funeral, mourners displayed posters and banners demanding the deaths of both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Khamenei, who was 86 years old, was buried this week.

Trump also wrote that the U.S. military would “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran — PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!” Trump has repeatedly used the Arabic name for God in his statements and threatened to obliterate Iranian civilization. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy organization, has spoken out against what it called Trump’s “deranged mocking of Islam.”

U.S. blames hard-liners for undermining the ceasefire

American officials, who spoke without attribution given the sensitivity of the situation, said the renewed strikes this week followed what they described as a rogue group of Iranian hard-liners attempting to derail the ceasefire agreement. Iran, however, has insisted that its government is united behind the new supreme leader.

After the U.S. completed its most recent round of strikes on Thursday, additional attacks reportedly struck Iran, raising questions about who else might be hitting the country. Israel did not claim responsibility, pointing to the possibility that Gulf Arab states carried out the strikes, possibly to discourage Iran from attacking them again. Iran had retaliated against U.S. strikes on Thursday by launching attacks on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar.

The two-day wave of strikes inside Iran killed at least 17 people and left 115 others wounded, according to Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour.

Any nuclear deal would require Iran to hand over enriched uranium

U.S. officials told reporters that Washington would not pursue a nuclear agreement with Iran unless Tehran first halted its attacks on ships in the strait. They also said any nuclear deal would require Iran to surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium — something Iran has consistently refused to do.

If no agreement is reached, the U.S. said it has military options to ensure the material stays buried underground permanently, though officials declined to provide specifics.

The uranium, enriched to levels close to weapons-grade, is believed to be stored at nuclear facilities that the U.S. bombed in 2025. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. The International Atomic Energy Agency, however, has noted that Iran is the only country in the world enriching uranium to such high levels without an active weapons program.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa has formally asked the United States to exclude it from proposed tariffs connected to an American investigation into whether dozens of countries are doing enough to prevent imports of goods made with forced labor.

A South African trade delegation, led by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, appeared before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington this week. The hearing was part of a Section 301 investigation looking at whether at least 60 countries are adequately enforcing bans on goods produced through forced labor.

The delegation made the case that South Africa has ratified major International Labor Organization conventions that prohibit forced labor and has laws on the books allowing authorities to block such imports. The delegation also pointed out that under South African law, goods made using prison labor are already banned.

South Africa urged the U.S. not to move forward with a proposed 12.5% tariff on South African exports. It also sought specific exemptions for several key export products, including platinum group metals, vehicles, citrus, seafood, wine, and nuts, saying there was no evidence those goods were tied to forced labor.

Trade relations between Washington and Pretoria have grown increasingly tense in recent years, with disagreements spanning tariffs, South Africa’s domestic policies, and differing stances on international conflicts, including the war in Gaza.

South Africa has historically enjoyed duty-free access to U.S. markets through the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a trade program that has helped drive billions of dollars in exports from sub-Saharan Africa. That program is set to expire unless the U.S. Congress acts to renew it.

South Africa’s Trade Minister Parks Tau said the United States remains a vital trading partner and that his government plans to continue engaging with Washington on this investigation as well as on existing U.S. tariffs affecting steel, aluminum, and automobiles.

Following the hearing, the U.S. trade office opened a window for additional written submissions due by Thursday, after which officials were expected to make a decision on the matter.

KYIV, Ukraine — U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that Ukraine could receive a license to manufacture Patriot air-defense systems has been hailed as a potential turning point for Kyiv, but both experts and Ukrainian officials caution that transforming the pledge into actual weapons will likely require years of work.

Trump made the announcement Wednesday while standing alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit held in Ankara, Turkey. He declared that the United States would permit Ukraine to manufacture the American-designed systems that Kyiv has desperately wanted to protect its cities and infrastructure from ongoing Russian missile and drone attacks.

“We’ll give them the right to make Patriots. We’ll show them how to do it,” Trump stated. “I think they can produce them pretty quickly.”

However, the announcement left a critical question unanswered: exactly what would Ukraine actually be permitted to produce?

“America has recognized Ukraine as a country that is ready to do this,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Thursday, saying that Ukrainian and U.S. diplomats and defense officials must now work “without pauses” to finalize the licensing arrangements.

Patriot interceptor missiles — used to shoot down incoming missiles, drones, and aircraft — are manufactured by U.S. defense contractors Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, which operates as part of RTX.

A production license would not automatically give Ukraine the ability to build complete Patriot battery systems from the ground up. A full battery includes launchers, radar systems, command posts, and missiles. Instead, the license might cover more limited aspects, such as assembling interceptor missiles from imported component kits or producing select individual components.

Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, explained that a U.S. production license would typically come with technical documentation, specialist training, supplier contacts, and foreign consultants to help get manufacturing off the ground.

Other analysts believe the initial steps would fall well short of full domestic production capability.

Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, development director of the Fly Group Ukraine defense company, said Trump’s language was vague because he spoke broadly about producing “Patriots” without clarifying whether he meant missiles, launchers, radar systems, command centers, or individual components.

Missile production alone involves an enormous supply chain, Khrapchynskyi noted, with hundreds of companies responsible for parts including control surfaces, engines, guidance systems, and communications equipment.

The Trump administration has not released specific details about the proposed Ukraine license, though an administration official — speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to comment publicly — said the U.S. is significantly speeding up and expanding Patriot production to meet rising demand and is forming industrial partnerships with allies and partners around the world.

Any additional Patriot systems would enter a conflict that has already demonstrated how rapidly weapons production can scale up when a country receives designs, technical support, and access to parts. Ukraine has emerged as a significant producer of low-cost, expendable drone systems. Russia has similarly expanded domestic production of Iranian-designed Shahed-type attack drones — called Gerans in Russia — at a factory in Tatarstan.

But experts note that Patriot interceptors are far more technologically complex, requiring precision guidance systems, advanced radar technology, solid-fuel rocket motors, military-grade electronics, and rigorous certification standards.

Yehor Chernev, deputy chairman of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, said the legal and administrative groundwork could be laid within months, but that actual production would take considerably longer.

Even if Ukraine received complete component kits imported from abroad, Chernev said, it would likely need a minimum of 18 to 24 months to launch its first pilot production line — followed by additional time before the first finished weapons were ready.

The PAC-3 missile, designed specifically to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles, is among the most technically advanced components in the Patriot family. Chernev said producing a PAC-3 MSE missile in the United States takes roughly 24 months, and manufacturing its solid-fuel rocket motor requires approximately 30 months.

He also noted that some technology — particularly the missile’s active radar seeker — is so sensitive that Washington would likely be unwilling to share full manufacturing documentation. That could mean Ukraine would need to import some of the most complex components and concentrate initially on assembly, integration, or less sensitive portions of the supply chain.

Dr. Thomas Withington, an analyst specializing in electronic warfare, radar, and military communications at the Royal United Services Institute, urged realistic expectations. Ukraine’s existing defense industry could contribute, he said, but the country would still need time to establish facilities, train a workforce, and secure reliable supply chains.

“This is not going to be a fix for the air-defense threats Ukraine is going to face tomorrow,” Withington said.

The United States has previously allowed Patriot-related production in other countries, and those examples show that licensed manufacturing is achievable — but slow.

Japan has been producing Patriot missiles under license for decades. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has assembled PAC-3 missiles under a licensing agreement with Lockheed Martin, and Japan later relaxed its postwar arms export restrictions to allow the sale of U.S.-designed Patriot missiles back to the United States — a move that could indirectly help replenish stocks used to support Ukraine.

Germany offers a more recent case. Raytheon and MBDA Deutschland announced in 2022 a plan to produce Patriot GEM-T missiles within Germany. A major NATO procurement contract followed in 2024 for up to 1,000 missiles, and a new production facility in Schrobenhausen is expected to help supply Ukraine and replenish European stockpiles.

But Ukraine would face a significant challenge that neither Japan nor Germany had to contend with: Russian airstrikes.

Khrapchynskyi warned that any facility contributing to Ukraine’s air-defense capability would immediately become a high-priority target for Moscow. Production sites would need to be placed in protected locations — potentially underground or inside reinforced shelters.

That reality makes the proposed license more of a long-term strategic investment than a near-term battlefield solution. If fully implemented, it could help Ukraine become a future producer of air-defense weapons and lessen its dependence on allies whose own stockpiles are already under pressure.

“It would not solve the current missile shortage in 2026,” Khrapchynskyi said, “but it would lay the foundation for Ukraine to become one of Europe’s leading producers of air-defense systems in the future.”

A tourist speedboat capsized off the coast of southern Vietnam on Saturday, claiming the lives of 15 Indian visitors, according to state media reports out of Hanoi.

The vessel was carrying 32 Indian tourists along with four crew members when it overturned approximately 400 meters — about 1,310 feet — from Hon May Rut Ngoai Island, located near Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s largest island, authorities said.

Witnesses told VN Express that boats in the area immediately rushed to help, pulling passengers from the water before border guards, naval personnel, coast guard units, and other rescue agencies arrived on scene. VN Express reported that the rescue operation was especially challenging because a number of those aboard were trapped inside the capsized vessel.

In total, 21 people were pulled to safety, and the bodies of all 15 victims were recovered. Those who sustained injuries were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Video footage broadcast on Vietnamese television showed rough waters and powerful winds at the scene, with rescue crews tossing life buoys to people struggling in the sea. Jet skis were used to bring survivors back to shore, where bystanders on the beach administered first aid.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung called for a full investigation into what caused the accident and directed officials to hold any responsible parties accountable. He also instructed authorities to conduct a safety review of waterway and maritime operations in the affected area and in comparable locations throughout the country.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed that the tourists were employees of a private mobile phone company who had been attending an annual company event. He posted on social media that staff from the Indian Embassy had been dispatched to the scene.

Phu Quoc, situated in the Gulf of Thailand, ranks among Vietnam’s most visited beach destinations. Hon May Rut island lies roughly 10 kilometers — about 6 miles — south of Phu Quoc. Both locations are celebrated for their white-sand beaches and crystal-clear waters, drawing millions of visitors from Vietnam and abroad each year.

The exact cause of the accident had not been determined as of Saturday, and an investigation remains ongoing.

DHAKA — Relentless monsoon rains have unleashed devastating floods and landslides across southeastern Bangladesh, killing at least 44 people and leaving more than a million residents stranded as emergency crews worked urgently Saturday to get aid to overwhelmed communities.

According to the country’s disaster management ministry, the flooding has spread across seven districts — Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Moulvibazar and Habiganj — disrupting everyday life, cutting off thousands of families, and affecting 267,918 households.

Downed power lines, wrecked roads, and severed communication networks have hampered rescue and relief operations. Many residents have gone days without being able to prepare meals as floodwaters filled their homes, while others are dealing with thick mud that has covered kitchens and living areas.

Nurul Islam, a resident of a flood-affected neighborhood in Chattogram, described the desperate conditions his family is facing. “There is still water inside our home and we have no way to cook. The dry food we had has run out, and we spend the nights in the dark with our children because there is no electricity,” he said.

Countless families are surviving on ready-to-eat foods such as flattened rice, puffed rice, and biscuits that require no cooking. However, washed-away roads and collapsed bridges have made it extremely difficult for relief workers to access some of the most severely affected areas.

Both army and navy units are using boats to transport food, clean drinking water, medicine, and other critical supplies to communities that have been cut off from the outside world.

Disaster Management and Relief Minister Iqbal Hossain traveled to affected areas in Chattogram, where he addressed the ongoing response efforts. “The government is doing everything possible to support flood victims. Relief, safe drinking water and medical supplies are being distributed, and we urge people whose homes have been inundated to move to the nearest shelter,” he stated.

Earlier in the week, the heavy rainfall also triggered landslides inside Rohingya refugee camps located in Cox’s Bazar, where 16 refugees — including women and children — lost their lives. The camps are home to more than one million Rohingya refugees, many of whom live in makeshift shelters built on steep, tree-stripped hillsides that are particularly vulnerable when monsoon rains arrive.

Bangladesh ranks among the most disaster-vulnerable nations on earth, with seasonal monsoon flooding, river erosion, and landslides a recurring threat. Scientists have noted that climate change is intensifying extreme rainfall events, making disasters like this one more frequent and more severe.

BEJAR, SPAIN — Hundreds of firefighters, supported by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, spent Saturday racing to contain one of the most deadly wildfires Spain has seen in years, a blaze that has now claimed at least 12 lives.

Antonio Sanz, who leads Andalusia’s emergency services, said that lighter winds and higher humidity were giving crews some relief, but the enormous scale of the fire continued to make the battle difficult. The blaze has burned through approximately 66 square kilometers — about 25 square miles — of forest and farmland, an area comparable in size to Manhattan.

Sanz said firefighters conducted controlled burns overnight along the fire’s edges in an effort to slow its spread. The fire first ignited late Thursday in a dry, semi-arid region near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria province, striking just as Spain was enduring a brutal heat wave.

Authorities say most of the victims are believed to be foreign nationals who lost their lives after disregarding instructions to shelter in place. Seven of the dead were found on foot, having abandoned their vehicles. Four of those killed are thought to be British citizens — investigators identified the likely nationality based on the right-side steering wheel found in their burned vehicle, consistent with British cars.

Sanz confirmed Saturday that autopsies had been completed and DNA samples collected to help formally identify the victims.

In total, authorities evacuated 1,448 residents from roughly 11 different areas as a precaution.

Jeffrey and Christine Kember were relaxing at their Los Pinos farmhouse watching a favorite television program when a blaring siren warned them of the approaching fire. Jeffrey Kember described how both he and his wife jumped into separate cars, while also trying to assist a neighbor who had two young toddlers with her.

The couple became separated during the chaos, and Jeffrey had no way to reach his wife because she had left without her phone.

“I’m driving through the flames. It was actually flames. I thought, ‘I can’t stop, I just gotta go,’” Jeffrey Kember told the Associated Press, his wife standing beside him outside an evacuation center.

“It was eerie because all of a sudden I came out of the flames and it was all bright sunshine. It was like surreal. Ridiculous!”

Spanish authorities also arrested two individuals who defied evacuation orders and returned to a high-risk zone, according to Spain’s official EFE news agency. Search crews continue to comb through the Bédar area looking for any additional victims.

Spain has faced increasingly severe and frequent heat waves in recent years, with temperatures regularly topping 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit. A combination of high heat, wind, and dry conditions can quickly turn small fires into massive, uncontrollable blazes.

Justice Minister Félix Bolaños pointed to a “climate emergency” as the driving force behind the fire’s intensity on Saturday, noting that at its most ferocious, the blaze was advancing at a rate of 100 meters — roughly 328 feet — per minute.

This past June, Spain suffered through several days of record-breaking heat that contributed to more than 1,000 excess deaths.

According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is warming faster than any other continent — temperatures there have risen at twice the global average rate since the 1980s. Parts of Western Europe are currently enduring their third heat wave in just six weeks. Globally, 2025 ranked as the third-hottest year ever recorded, bringing with it a series of intense heat events across Europe.

France was also battling multiple active wildfires Saturday as temperatures spiked across the country. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced that 32 people have been arrested in France since the start of summer in connection with wildfire-related offenses.

“Those unacceptable acts, which have disastrous consequences and mobilize our firefighters at the risk of their lives, now fall into the hands of the justice system,” Nunez said. “We will continue our determined action and will not let anything slide.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also weighed in, noting in a post on X that nine out of every ten wildfires are sparked by human activity. More than 25,000 hectares — roughly 62,000 acres — have burned in France so far in 2026, approximately double the area burned during the same stretch last year.

France is currently at the height of its third heat wave this summer, with temperatures hitting 40 degrees Celsius across western and central regions, and around 37 degrees Celsius — about 98 degrees Fahrenheit — in Paris. Last month was France’s hottest June on record, with deaths climbing by nearly a third during the peak heat week.

Wildfires are not new to Spain. Last year’s fire season scorched more than 393,000 hectares — around 971,000 acres — an area twice the size of London, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. Four people died in those fires.

Spain’s deadliest wildfire on record occurred in 1979, when 21 people were killed in Lloret de Mar, a coastal town roughly an hour north of Barcelona. In neighboring Portugal in 2017, a wildfire killed 66 people in Pedrogao Grande, located about 200 kilometers — or 120 miles — northeast of Lisbon. In that disaster, 47 of the victims died on a single road while attempting to flee in their cars, much like several of the victims in this week’s Spanish blaze.

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — Maria Alejandra Sanz looked away the moment she learned rescue workers had recovered the lifeless body of one of her closest friends from the wreckage of a building destroyed by twin earthquakes that hit the state of La Guaira in northern Venezuela last month.

The 17-year-old had spent 17 agonizing hours pinned beneath the collapsed structure in the coastal town where she had spent her entire life. The June 24 quakes brought the building down around her, forcing her to drink her own urine to stay alive while she assumed the other members of her dance group had all perished.

Of the ten friends who had been rehearsing a routine for their upcoming high school graduation, four would not make it out alive.

“I’m fine,” Sanz said without conviction during an interview held in front of what used to be her home, nine days after the disaster. The air around her was still thick with dust and sorrow. Earlier that same day, rescuers had recovered the body of her friend, Gonzalo Marquez, from the debris.

A flood of questions she could not answer followed: Would her friends still be alive if help had come faster? Would things have turned out differently if the group had been practicing somewhere else? What if she had stayed downstairs with Marquez instead of going up to get him water? Why does she get to go to university when he does not?

Sanz and her friends had grown up amid economic collapse, mass migration and authoritarian rule. They began 2026 with cautious hope, believing that the U.S. removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro might finally open the door to a better future.

Then the earthquakes struck. The government reports that more than 4,000 people have been killed and nearly 17,000 others injured.

Saved by a Friend’s Thirst

In the weeks before the disaster, the dance troupe had been practicing seven days a week, sometimes rehearsing until 3 a.m. On the evening of June 24, they were in the ground-floor party hall of Sanz’s building, working on their moves to “Dangerous,” a 1991 Michael Jackson song. Graduation was just three days away.

About 20 minutes before the quakes hit, Marquez asked Sanz to bring him some water. She headed up to the third-floor apartment she shared with her parents, paused to pet her dog Bruna one final time, and was just about to grab the water when the building began to shake at 6:04 p.m.

She stepped into the nearest doorframe. Seconds later, darkness swallowed her as the floors below collapsed. A doorframe fell diagonally across her midsection, acting as a shield against a crumbling wall.

A thin sliver of light visible across her fingers told her she wasn’t buried too deeply. She managed to free her feet by sliding out of the oversized sneakers she had been wearing for the dance performance.

Knowing that her own urine might be her only source of hydration, she caught what she could in her hand and brought it to her lips. As the light disappeared, she prayed.

“If I have to die, let it be while I’m asleep,” she recalled thinking in that moment.

When light returned, Sanz woke and began clawing toward it, slowly squeezing her body through chunks of concrete until she carved out an opening large enough to escape through.

With half her body free, she called out to a neighbor for help. Her 71-year-old father, who had been outside with his wife when the quakes struck, ran up the pile of rubble to reach her. Still in a daze, she held onto him tightly. When she finally reached her mother, she learned that five of her ten friends had escaped without injury.

“What about Gonzalo? Isa?” she asked.

There was no word yet on Marquez, but volunteer rescuers reported that Isa Campos — a friend Sanz had known her entire life — had been spotted conscious beneath the rubble. She was alive, they said. At the time, that was true.

‘That Could Be My Daughter’

Jeffry Campos, Isa’s father, arrived at the scene within two hours of the disaster and spent the entire night digging through concrete and steel alongside the father of another dancer. By 11 a.m. the following day, a Caracas police unit joined the effort — working with only their bare hands.

The specialized equipment needed to free Isa from between two beams never came. Known for her sharp mind and vibrant energy, she died roughly 24 hours after the earthquakes. Her body remains in the rubble.

“Help arrived late,” her father said outside a church where a memorial mass was held in her honor. “Rescue workers, firemen and the military did not arrive until two or three days later.”

Civil engineer Andres Ganscka saw a TikTok video about the trapped dancers the night of the earthquakes and immediately set out from his home in central Colombia. He loaded his vehicle with hydraulic and power jacks, hand tools, diapers and baby cream.

“I saw it and thought, ‘That could be my daughter,’” said Ganscka, who has three children of his own.

He arrived the following night to a scene scattered with bodies. He took charge of coordinating volunteer rescue workers at the Sanz family’s building, searching the debris for the missing dancers and 15 other children who had been playing table tennis inside. Venezuelan authorities did not show up until three days after Ganscka had already arrived. In total, he spent approximately $35,000 on the rescue effort.

An Imagined Future, Now Gone

Both Sanz and Marquez had secured spots at universities in Caracas. He had planned to study engineering; she was set to pursue architecture. They had spoken about staying in Venezuela to help rebuild the country.

Like many young Venezuelans, they had watched their parents endure more than a decade of economic crisis, political turmoil and violence, while friends and family members left for other countries. The capture of Maduro by U.S. forces during a January raid had felt like a reason to hope.

When Marquez was assigned the desk beside hers during their freshman year, Sanz says she didn’t think much of it. By senior year, the two were inseparable. Though he wasn’t particularly funny at first, he later became known for his constant sarcastic jokes. They played Mr. and Mrs. Claus together at the school’s Christmas show and, when not dancing, practiced piano side by side.

“He was often the only boy, he didn’t care what anyone thought, full of personality and the protector of the crew,” Sanz said.

The group chat where they once coordinated costumes, set designs and rehearsal schedules has gone mostly quiet. Sanz says the surviving members of the group move between numbness and grief — fine one moment, in tears the next.

“We talked about how we weren’t going to see each other after graduation, we talked about how Gonzalo looked like his dad and would have gray hair,” Sanz said. “They’ll stay young forever, always young.”

Firefighting crews battling a devastating wildfire in Spain’s southeastern Almería province were set to begin pushing back against the blaze on Saturday, according to the region’s top emergency official — even as additional villages were cleared out overnight as a safety precaution.

Driven by strong winds, the fire exploded across the landscape on Friday, overtaking some victims before they could escape. Autopsies have been performed on all 12 bodies recovered near the forested district of Bédar, north of Los Gallardos where the fire originated, though none of the victims have yet been officially identified.

Antonio Sanz, who heads emergency services for the Andalusia region, spoke to reporters at the perimeter of the disaster zone, describing the fire as still “complex” and continuing to spread. However, he praised firefighting crews for successfully preventing the blaze from crossing a major highway toward more densely populated towns along the coast.

“So far we have been engaged in defense work, to prevent advances,” Sanz said. “Today is the first day we will be able to work on attacking the fire.”

The majority of those who died are believed to be citizens of Britain and Belgium, along with one Spanish national. Eight people sustained injuries in the fire, four of them critically, and all remain hospitalized in Seville.

The Institute of Forensic Medicine in Almería released a statement Friday evening noting that identification of the victims has not yet been possible. “No one has been identified yet, nor is it possible at this time to determine the age or sex of the deceased,” the institute stated.

Forensic samples have been sent to Madrid for further testing and comparison against DNA provided by the victims’ families.

Officials have sought to temper fears of a dramatically higher death toll, pointing out that only seven people have been formally reported missing by their families, compared to 23 informal reports that had circulated by Friday.

By late Friday, more than 1,400 residents had been evacuated as the fire continued to burn near Los Gallardos, with precautionary evacuations also carried out in several communities surrounding Bédar.

More than 500 firefighters and emergency personnel are working the scene, including regional fire crews, military soldiers, and 19 specialists from a national firefighting unit. Emergency officials said teams are focusing their efforts on the western edge of the fire, where the flames are burning most intensely and spreading most rapidly. In total, 6,600 hectares have been consumed by the fire so far.

Sanz offered a cautiously optimistic update on overnight conditions: “The night has passed relatively well, within the complexity and dimensions of the fire. The fronts have remained less active and no new direct threats to inhabited areas have occurred.”

Those who witnessed the fire’s terrifying speed on Friday described scenes of disbelief. At one point, the fire advanced 15 kilometres in just two hours, according to the regional president.

Víctor Manuel Fernández, the parish priest serving Bédar and Los Gallardos, recounted that he had traveled to a neighboring village to lead Mass when the fire began. “You could see smoke but far away, in a corner of the municipality,” he said. “I figured they would put it out because our firefighters always react very rapidly. But when we came out of the Mass there was a cloud of black smoke and looking up at the mountains, the flames were devouring everything. It was a matter of minutes.”

At least 11 people were wounded — among them a child — after Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in the early morning hours Saturday, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

In a separate counter-strike, Ukrainian forces targeted Russian ships in the Sea of Azov, with Ukraine’s General Staff reporting damage to 21 tankers carrying oil and petroleum products. Four tugboats, two cargo vessels, and a dredging ship were also hit in the overnight operation. Ukrainian officials said those vessels had been used to support Russian military logistics.

Russian authorities disputed the scope of the attack, saying only four ships were struck and that the damage was minor. One person was killed — a sailor aboard a technical support vessel — according to local Gov. Yuri Slyusar. He said one of the four vessels hit was a tanker carrying methanol.

Explosions and fires broke out across three Kyiv districts: Solomianskyi, Darnytskyi, and Dniprovskyi, the emergency service announced via Telegram. A strike in Solomianskyi district set a three-story office and warehouse building ablaze, while a separate warehouse in Dniprovskyi district also caught fire after being hit.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired 12 missiles of various types — six of which were ballistic — along with 121 drones during the overnight assault. He noted that while most drones and some missiles were intercepted, none of the ballistic missiles were shot down, underscoring what he described as critical weaknesses in Ukraine’s air defense network.

Ukraine’s air defense forces reported shooting down or electronically disabling two missiles and 111 drones. The Air Force confirmed direct hits at 11 locations from ballistic missiles, two guided air-to-surface missiles, and seven attack drones, with debris from intercepted weapons falling at three additional sites.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed its forces had aimed at drone manufacturing facilities in Kyiv, as well as port infrastructure at Izmail and Chornomorsk in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region. The ministry also stated that Russian air defenses destroyed 178 Ukrainian drones overnight across eight Russian regions, as well as over Russian-occupied Crimea and portions of the Black and Azov seas.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a strong vow of retaliation on Saturday, declaring that avenging the death of his father and predecessor is both “the demand of the nation” and something that “must certainly” happen.

The statement was shared through a written message posted to Khamenei’s Telegram account, timed to coincide with funeral ceremonies for his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on February 28.

“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers,” Khamenei wrote in the message.

The ceremonies marking the elder Khamenei’s passing were held months after he was killed in those strikes, with his son now leading the country as Supreme Leader.

At least 15 Indian tourists lost their lives after a boat overturned in waters off Phu Quoc, a popular island destination in southern Vietnam, on Saturday, according to VnExpress, which cited local authorities.

The vessel had 36 people on board at the time of the accident — 32 Indian tourists, three crew members, and one attendant. Of those aboard, 21 people survived.

The boat was making its way from Hon May Rut Island to An Thoi Port when it capsized approximately 400 meters — roughly 440 yards — from shore. Authorities noted that sea conditions were dangerous at the time, with large waves in the area.

India’s embassy in Vietnam confirmed it is closely following the situation and has opened emergency response centers in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to provide support to the families of those involved.

In a statement, the embassy described the event as “tragic” and noted that “exact details of the incident are being ascertained as search and rescue operations by local authorities are ongoing.”

Phu Quoc is Vietnam’s largest island and has grown into one of the nation’s top tourist destinations, drawing a significant number of visitors from India in recent years.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has put forward financier Vasile Tofan as her choice for the country’s next prime minister, making the announcement during a press conference held Saturday.

Tofan, who is 44 years old, works as a senior partner at the investment firm Horizon Capital. He was a supporter of President Sandu during her 2024 presidential election campaign.

TIRANA — A Miami-based businessman wanted in Albania on allegations of laundering drug money is also suspected of forging the property documents used to sell land where Jared Kushner plans to build a multi-billion-dollar resort, according to case files from Albania’s organized crime-fighting agency reviewed by Reuters.

The businessman, Artur Shehu, denies every accusation leveled against him, according to his attorney, Kujtim Cakrani, who confirmed that Albanian prosecutors have issued a warrant for Shehu’s arrest on charges of laundering money on behalf of drug trafficking organizations.

The case files allege that Shehu and his associates smuggled South American cocaine into European ports and used the proceeds to build a real estate portfolio — including through the use of falsified land ownership records.

“Nothing that has been alleged regarding Mr. Artur Shehu’s character is true. He is neither a drug trafficker nor a forger of property documents,” attorney Cakrani said.

Cakrani added: “Mr. Shehu is aware of the allegations made by the Albanian prosecution. These allegations do not concern him because he maintains that the truth is entirely different from what the prosecution claims.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department declined to say whether authorities had received any request from Albania to locate or detain Shehu in Miami.

This past April, Shehu sold the pristine strip of Albanian coastline earmarked for the resort to a company called Albania Land Development, which is owned by Sazan Real Estate Development — the Kushner-backed developers — along with other investors.

“Reasonable suspicions are formed, based on evidence, that the above-mentioned assets were acquired through the use of forged documents,” prosecutors wrote in the case files.

Importantly, the files contain no allegations of wrongdoing against Kushner himself, Sazan Real Estate Development, Albania Land Development, or any other investors connected to the resort project. Reuters found no evidence that any of the investors had knowledge of suspicions surrounding Shehu when they purchased the land.

A spokesperson for Sazan Real Estate Development did not directly address the allegations against Shehu but stated that the company believes the land purchases were conducted lawfully. Albania Land Development did not respond to requests for comment, and a spokesperson for Kushner also declined to comment. While Sazan has confirmed Kushner is an investor in the project, the specific nature of his role and the size of his investment have not been made public.

The allegations surrounding the property documents add yet another obstacle to a project already generating significant controversy. Mass protests have erupted over concerns that the development threatens local wildlife, and residents of the nearby village of Zvernec have been challenging Shehu’s claim to the land in court for more than a decade.

Last month, a dozen of those residents showed Reuters title deeds and tax records they say prove they are the rightful owners. Their attorney, Kostandin Beko, said the legal dispute remains open and that they intend to seek a court order to stop the resort from moving forward.

Albania, once among the poorest and most secluded nations in Europe, is now a candidate for European Union membership and is experiencing a construction surge along some of the last unspoiled coastline on the Adriatic Sea.

The planned resort sits along a stretch of wild beaches, forests, and wetlands that serve as habitat for sea turtles and flamingoes. Those birds have become symbols for opponents of the project, who have branded their demonstrations the “Flamingo Revolution.”

Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump, has said the couple came up with the idea for the resort after spotting the coastline from a yacht years ago. In 2024, Kushner announced the plans on social media, sharing an artist’s rendering depicting a hotel, villas, swimming pools, and yacht docks covering the land. He has not publicly disclosed the amount of money he has invested.

Albania’s government has been a strong supporter of the project, dismissing the protests as politically motivated. Prime Minister Edi Rama told Reuters last month that the development was “beautiful” and would proceed regardless of opposition. A government spokesperson, when asked about the allegations against Shehu, said the government would not intervene in private transactions and that the project was moving forward in compliance with Albanian and EU regulations.

The European Union has previously urged Albania — as a membership candidate — to follow EU environmental standards in connection with the project. A spokesperson for the EU’s executive Commission declined to provide additional comment.

The case files against Shehu were compiled by Albania’s Special Structure Against Corruption and Organised Crime, known as SPAK, an independent agency established in 2019 to combat corruption using its own investigators and prosecutors, separate from the regular police and prosecution service.

The documents span 200 pages and have not been released to the public. A SPAK spokesperson confirmed the agency is investigating the matter but declined to elaborate further.

The files are dated June 12, 2026 — the same day SPAK publicly announced arrest warrants for 20 individuals on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering. While the case files identify suspects by their full names, the arrest warrants follow standard Albanian practice and list suspects only by initials. The initials in the warrants correspond to the full names in the case files, including one suspect listed as “A.Sh.”

Shehu’s attorney, Cakrani, confirmed his client is a target of the warrant but expressed little concern, saying it was “widely believed” that Albanian prosecutors act under the influence of political and business figures. SPAK has not disclosed whether any of the 20 suspects have been arrested or formally charged.

According to the SPAK documents, Shehu sold the resort land for approximately €110 million. Prosecutors say they have ordered those funds frozen in a notary’s account, blocking the money from reaching Shehu.

The documents allege that Shehu and his associates “purchased land using illegally obtained funds and forged ownership documents by creating false property titles or artificially increasing the size of properties,” and that “the properties were then transferred or exchanged so they could not easily be traced by the authorities.”

Sazan Real Estate Development’s spokesperson responded: “We continue to believe the underlying land acquisitions were conducted lawfully and in accordance with applicable procedures. As always, we respect and will cooperate with any lawful process as required.” The company did not respond to follow-up questions asking why it considered the transactions lawful in light of the prosecutors’ allegations.

Shehu’s attorney told Reuters that Shehu’s family has held ownership of the land since the era of the Ottoman Empire, more than a century ago, and that the sale to resort investors was entirely legitimate. Cakrani also described Shehu as a law-abiding individual who sought political asylum in the United States in 1998 after witnessing “criminal gangs” kill his brother and uncle. Reuters was unable to independently verify that account.

LONDON (AP) — A 26-year-old man arrested in connection with the death of former British Member of Parliament Ann Widdecombe has been released by police and is no longer considered a suspect in the case.

Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed the release Saturday, stating that “detectives continue to carry out numerous enquiries as part of the ongoing investigation and we remain committed to establishing the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Widdecombe, 78, was discovered dead Thursday inside her secluded rural residence on the outskirts of Dartmoor National Park in southwest England. The man had been taken into custody Friday in a nearby town located several miles from the scene.

Authorities have since clarified that the killing is not believed to be an act of terrorism, and investigators have found no evidence suggesting the death was connected to Widdecombe’s political background.

The news sent a wave of grief and shock through British political circles. Widdecombe had served as a lawmaker in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010 and held the position of prisons minister during Prime Minister John Major’s Conservative government in the 1990s.

After stepping away from Parliament, Widdecombe became a familiar face on British television, appearing as a contestant on the reality programs “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.”

In her later years, she aligned herself with the Brexit Party and took on a spokeswoman role for the anti-immigration Reform UK party.

ISTANBUL — Turkish prosecutors have issued detention orders for 36 individuals, among them the mayor of an Ankara district controlled by the country’s main opposition party, as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged bribery and manipulation of government contracts, the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office announced Saturday.

Of the 36 people named in the orders, 27 have already been taken into custody. Authorities are still actively searching for the remaining suspects, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

Huseyin Can Guner, the mayor of Ankara’s Cankaya district and a member of the Republican People’s Party — commonly referred to as the CHP — addressed the situation in a post on X. He said he had voluntarily informed authorities of his location and even left a spare key to his home so officers could carry out a search while he made his way back to Ankara.

“Since taking office, we have managed this institution in the best possible way and have not engaged in the slightest conduct that would embarrass anyone who has placed their trust in us,” Guner wrote.

The latest action is part of a broader pattern of legal investigations targeting municipalities run by the CHP. The Turkish government maintains that its judicial system operates independently. The CHP, however, has pushed back against the allegations, characterizing the investigations as politically driven rather than based on genuine legal concerns.

Russian authorities confirmed Saturday that one person was killed following a drone strike on four ships in Taganrog Bay, part of the Sea of Azov.

Yuri Slyusar, governor of the southern Rostov region, shared the news on Telegram, writing: “A seaman on a technical support vessel has lost his life. I offer my condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased. No one else was injured.”

Slyusar noted that the vessels suffered damage to varying degrees, but assured that “there is no risk of a methanol spill or leak” from the tanker involved in the attack.

Among the ships struck was a tanker transporting methanol. The governor also reported that more than 18 drones were shot down during the defense of the region against the aerial assault.

Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that air defense units destroyed a total of 178 Ukrainian drones across various regions throughout the night.

The attack follows a series of drone strikes on Friday, which triggered fires at two fuel storage facilities and at the Taganrog sea port.

PAMPLONA, Spain — A participant in Spain’s famous San Fermin festival was pierced in the face by a bull’s horn Saturday, while dozens of others narrowly escaped serious injury during a frenzied morning run through the streets of Pamplona.

Six bulls and a group of accompanying steers thundered through tightly packed crowds along the festival’s narrow cobblestone course. The massive animals sent runners tumbling to the ground, and stumbling participants triggered multiple pile-ups throughout the two-and-a-half-minute dash from the starting pen to the bullring, where the animals are killed by bullfighters later in the day.

According to the University of Navarra Hospital, one person sustained a horn wound to the face, while 12 others were treated for various bumps and injuries sustained during the run.

A black bull separated from the rest of the herd early in the 875-meter (957-yard) course and barreled into a crowd of runners, striking one person squarely in the face with its horn. It remains unclear whether that specific moment resulted in the goring.

Throughout the run, many participants appeared completely oblivious to the bulls right behind them. Rather than attempting to gore the runners, some of the bulls simply shoved them aside.

Saturday’s run was the fifth of eight morning runs that make up the festival, which is held in northern Spain.

This year’s San Fermin carries special historical significance — it comes exactly 100 years after the publication of Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises,” the book widely credited with bringing the festival its international reputation.

The most recent fatality at San Fermin’s bull runs took place in 2009. However, gorings and broken bones remain a regular occurrence at the event, due in large part to the many inexperienced runners and foreign tourists who participate alongside seasoned locals.

A loud explosion that shook the eastern portion of Tehran province on Saturday was the result of a planned, controlled disposal of ammunition left over from wartime, according to Iranian state media citing a local official.

The official confirmed that the operation was conducted safely and presented no threat to residents, adding that no emergency or incident had taken place as a result of the blast.

Before that explanation was provided, Iranian state media had initially reported the explosion without identifying its source or pinpointing its exact location. Residents living in the areas of Pakdasht and Qiyamdasht said they heard the blast, prompting early concern about its cause.

LONDON — British police announced Saturday that a 26-year-old man who had been taken into custody on suspicion of murdering former government minister Ann Widdecombe has been freed and is no longer considered part of the investigation.

Devon and Cornwall police released a statement from Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman, who said authorities remain committed to finding those responsible. “Our priority remains identifying those responsible and ensuring that all available evidence is thoroughly examined,” Longman said.

He added that while the investigation is still in its early phases, it is progressing rapidly. “Our murder enquiry is in its early stages but moving at a significant pace. We are deploying all of the necessary resources to find out exactly what has happened,” he said.

The case began Thursday when ambulance workers responded to Widdecombe’s home in rural southwest England and alerted police after discovering her dead with serious injuries.

Widdecombe was 78 years old and well known for her socially conservative political positions. She served as a junior minister under Conservative Prime Minister John Major during his 1992 to 1997 government, and more recently held a role as an immigration and justice spokesperson for Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party.

News of her passing broke on Friday and prompted tributes from politicians across the political spectrum in Britain, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

WASHINGTON/CAIRO — President Trump announced Friday that the ceasefire reached last month between the United States and Iran is no longer in effect, though he confirmed both sides have agreed to keep diplomatic talks going.

The week had seen a sharp escalation in hostilities, with three commercial tankers from Qatar and Saudi Arabia coming under attack. The U.S. responded with strikes on Iranian targets, and Iran retaliated with hits on American military installations in Gulf states. Friday brought a relative pause in the fighting as regional mediators scrambled to prevent further escalation.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Iran pushed back on that characterization, with state television reporting that Tehran had not requested direct talks with the U.S. but had agreed to receive a Qatari mediator. A source familiar with the situation confirmed to Reuters that Qatari negotiators were in Iran on Friday, working to reduce tensions and address the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also issued a stark military warning, saying he had ordered U.S. forces to be ready to strike Iran if the country moved forward with any assassination plot targeting him.

“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!” he posted.

He added: “Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran — PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”

The Wall Street Journal and other American media outlets reported this week that Israel had passed along intelligence to Washington indicating Iran had recently developed a plan to assassinate Trump.

At the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday — who was killed in an airstrike on the opening day of the war — massive crowds gathered, with some attendees carrying banners that read, “We Will Kill Trump.”

The conflict began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and is now entering its fifth month. It has claimed thousands of lives, disrupted global energy markets, and raised alarm about a potential worldwide economic downturn.

A major focus of diplomatic efforts is the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply before the war began. Iran has largely taken control of the strait during the conflict. The U.S. is demanding that Iran publicly commit to halting attacks on ships passing through the waterway and guarantee that all shipping lanes remain open with no tolls.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is set to travel to Oman to discuss arrangements for safe passage through the strait, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Iran’s Health Ministry reported that at least 17 people were killed and 115 wounded in U.S. strikes on six Iranian cities on Wednesday and Thursday. Despite the violence, senior U.S. officials said recent conversations between the two governments had been productive.

Iran’s foreign ministry warned that any failure by Washington to honor commitments would be met with “reciprocal action,” according to state media.

The renewed fighting has also hit American consumers at the pump. After weeks of falling prices, crude oil posted its largest weekly gain in eight weeks.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump issued a sweeping military threat against Iran on Saturday, responding to open calls for his death that emerged during the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — the latest flashpoint in an already deeply unstable situation across the Middle East.

Trump took to his Truth Social platform to post the warning after senior U.S. officials pressed Iran to publicly declare that the Strait of Hormuz is open and that vessels passing through the critical waterway will no longer face attack.

Tehran has refused to make any such declaration. Instead, Iranian officials have insisted on maintaining exclusive control over the strait and have called for ships to pay fees to Iran for passage — a position that defies decades of international understanding treating the corridor as open international waters.

Earlier this week, Iran attacked three ships in the strait, prompting a series of U.S. airstrikes against Iran. Iran responded with retaliatory strikes targeting countries across the region, setting off multiple days of back-and-forth military action.

“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat,” Trump wrote in his post.

Trump framed his warning as a direct response to threats against his life. During Khamenei’s funeral, crowds of mourners held up posters and banners calling for Trump to be killed, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Khamenei, who was 86 years old, was killed in an airstrike on February 28 — the opening moment of the Iran war. His body was transported to cities in both Iran and Iraq over the course of a multi-day funeral ceremony before being buried this week.

Trump also wrote in his post that the U.S. military would “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran — PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”

Throughout the conflict and its uneasy ceasefire period, Trump has repeatedly invoked the name of God in Arabic and threatened to obliterate Iranian civilization. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national advocacy organization, has previously condemned what it called Trump’s “deranged mocking of Islam.”

U.S. officials, speaking anonymously to describe the current state of negotiations, said the renewed military strikes this week were triggered by what they characterized as a rogue faction of Iranian hardliners attempting to derail the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.

Iran, however, has pushed back on that characterization, maintaining that its government is unified under the country’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, following the war.

Those same U.S. officials said Friday that Trump is giving American negotiators only a limited window to reach a deal with Iran, while also making clear that the president has a broad range of options available if those talks break down.

Just before the U.S. officials spoke, Iran’s diplomat at the United Nations told reporters that any decisions about the Strait of Hormuz — including whether it is open or subject to demining — “rests exclusively with Iran.”

Iran has demanded that all vessels pay fees to Tehran to pass through the strait, overturning a global norm that has treated the waterway as international territory for decades. Before the war began, roughly one-fifth of all oil and natural gas traded worldwide passed through the strait.

Iran’s stranglehold on the strait during the conflict triggered a worldwide energy crisis. Oil prices have since fallen sharply from a wartime peak of $120 per barrel, though tensions remain high.

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has directed the U.S. military to stand ready to launch a massive strike against Iran if the Iranian government moves to assassinate him or attempts to do so.

Taking to his Truth Social account, Trump issued a blunt warning: “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!”

The president went further, stating that standing orders have already been given to the armed forces. “Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran,” Trump wrote.

The warning comes amid what Trump described as threats against his life that have been reported across multiple parts of the world.

SEOUL — North Korea lashed out at the United States and its allies on Saturday, accusing them of strengthening military alliances and ramping up arms buildups in the wake of this week’s NATO summit, according to a report from state media outlet KCNA.

The country’s foreign ministry issued a statement declaring that Pyongyang would protect its sovereignty and security interests, along with regional peace, through what it called the responsible exercise of its sovereign rights.

JAKARTA — One of Indonesia’s most powerful prosecutors stepped down Saturday after police carried out a wave of raids connected to corruption investigations, including a search of his own home, netting more than $20 million in cash and 74 kilograms of gold bars.

Febrie Adriansyah, who served as head prosecutor of special crimes within the Attorney General’s Office, submitted his resignation in order to preserve neutrality while the police investigation proceeds, according to a press statement issued by the Attorney General’s Office in the early morning hours of Saturday.

Detectives from both the national police and Jakarta police descended on 12 separate locations and spoke with 15 witnesses throughout the week. During those operations, officers recovered the gold bars along with cash exceeding $20 million, held in a mix of Indonesian rupiah, U.S. dollars, Singapore dollars, and Saudi riyals. Jakarta police spokesperson Budi Hermanto disclosed those details during a press conference Friday evening.

Budi noted that authorities have not publicly explained the full scope of the investigation or outlined specific allegations against Febrie, as the probe is still active.

Police had previously indicated the raids were tied to a broader corruption and bribery inquiry involving the management of state insurance companies Jiwasraya and Asabri, along with irregularities in coal procurement for electricity generation that contributed to recent power outages.

Before submitting his resignation, Febrie spoke to reporters Friday morning and denied any wrongdoing. He said he had no understanding of why he was being investigated in connection with the power blackouts.

Following his resignation, Febrie did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

During his tenure, Febrie oversaw some of the Attorney General’s Office’s most high-profile criminal cases, including controversial corruption proceedings against Gojek startup founder Nadiem Makarim and former trade minister Thomas Lembong, who became a government critic, as well as a case involving illegal fuel imports by state energy company Pertamina.

Febrie also held a role in President Prabowo Subianto’s forestry task force, a body that has seized plantations and mining operations from companies accused of breaking forest use regulations.

At the time of his resignation, Febrie was also leading a corruption investigation into the National Nutrition Agency, the government body responsible for running President Prabowo’s free school meals initiative.

JOHANNESBURG — South African authorities have taken a British fugitive into custody after tracking him to the city of Johannesburg, where he had been hiding following the alleged murders of his wife and two young daughters in England.

Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, a British citizen originally from Zimbabwe, was apprehended in the Johannesburg neighborhood of Kensington. The arrest was the result of an intelligence-driven operation carried out jointly by Interpol and South African law enforcement.

British investigators had been searching for Tshuma in connection with the deaths of his wife, Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and the couple’s two daughters — 15-year-old Natalie and 5-year-old Nala. The three victims were found dead inside the family’s home located near Bedford, north of London.

Acting National Police Commissioner Lt. Gen. Puleng Dimpane stated that the successful arrest highlights South Africa’s commitment to working with law enforcement agencies around the world to bring fugitives to justice.

“This arrest demonstrates that South Africa is not a safe haven for fugitives,” Dimpane said. “Anyone who believes they can evade justice by fleeing to our country should know that (the South African Police Service) will work tirelessly with international law enforcement partners to trace, locate and arrest them.”

Police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe confirmed that authorities will move forward with the required legal and extradition procedures in coordination with officials in the United Kingdom. While Britain and South Africa do have an extradition agreement in place, Tshuma must first go through the South African court system before he can be transferred to British custody.

Sources with knowledge of the case said the identity of Tshuma’s legal representation is expected to be revealed once the matter is formally called before a court. Tshuma is set to make his first court appearance in South Africa this coming Monday.

WASHINGTON — The United States and a coalition of Latin American nations issued a joint statement Friday expressing what they called “deep concern” over efforts to undermine confidence in Colombia’s recent presidential election.

“We observe with deep concern the recent statements and actions that, without duly substantiated grounds, cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral process in the Republic of Colombia,” the statement, released through the State Department, read. The statement did not point to any specific comments or actions.

The declaration was signed by the U.S., Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The statement came following a narrow presidential election victory last month by Colombian right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella, who had received a public endorsement from President Donald Trump.

The coalition behind Friday’s statement is known as the “Shield of the Americas,” a military alliance established by Trump that brings together right-wing leaders committed to combating drug trafficking.

Trump had previously engaged in a public dispute with outgoing Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel who became the country’s first leftist leader. Colombian leftist senator Ivan Cepeda conceded the presidential race late last month.

Following his concession, Cepeda raised several allegations — claiming that Trump had improperly interfered in the election, that voters had been manipulated through artificial intelligence-generated content, and that De La Espriella had engaged in vote-buying. He offered no evidence to support any of those claims.

De La Espriella, who ran on a platform of cracking down on crime and reviving the economy, also leveled a vote-buying accusation against Cepeda — likewise without providing supporting evidence.

The joint statement emphasized that transferring power between governments is not a political choice but a constitutional obligation. “The transition between governments does not constitute a political concession, but rather a constitutional and institutional duty designed to guarantee the continuity of the State, democratic stability, and the effective fulfillment of the popular will,” it stated.

The statement carries notable context given Trump’s own history of challenging election outcomes. Trump falsely claimed he had won the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to former President Joe Biden. His supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed attempt to block Congress from certifying those results. Trump later won the 2024 election and returned to the White House.

More broadly, Trump has been working to expand American influence across Latin America. He ordered a raid targeting ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro that resulted in fatalities, and U.S. military forces have conducted multiple strikes on vessels in the Caribbean, operations that have left dozens dead.

Human rights advocates have condemned these actions as unlawful and tantamount to extrajudicial killings. The Trump administration frames them as necessary measures to combat drug trafficking and curb illegal immigration.

KYIV — Russian forces bombarded Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv with ballistic missiles in the early morning hours of Saturday, according to city officials.

A reporter on the ground for Reuters heard multiple powerful blasts ring out across the city before authorities had even issued an air raid warning to residents.

According to the city’s military administration, which posted updates on the Telegram messaging platform, the strike caused damage to a non-residential building in one part of the city. In another district, smoke was visible rising from a location, and a separate office building was reported to be on fire following the attack.

Israeli soldiers conducting operations within the security zone in southern Lebanon have discovered and demolished a series of Hezbollah weapons facilities, underground tunnels, and arms stockpiles, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Members of the Golani Brigade Combat Team, working under the command of the 36th Division, came across weapons depots holding an array of military hardware, including launchers, machine guns, explosive devices, and missiles, along with other Hezbollah armaments.

The IDF reported that soldiers eliminated both the storage facilities themselves and all weapons found within them. Military officials stated that the weapons had been intended for use against Israeli troops and civilians.

In the Majdal Zoun area of southern Lebanon, soldiers uncovered two separate underground tunnel systems with a total combined length of around 200 meters. The tunnels were found to contain residential living areas, three launch shafts pointed in the direction of Israel, and dozens of additional weapons.

A further stockpile of arms was also discovered, which included mortars, launchers, and RPG rockets, the IDF said.

The Israeli military stated it will press forward with its mission to neutralize threats facing Israeli forces and made clear it will not permit Hezbollah to carry out attacks against Israeli civilians.

A cybersecurity company has released a report claiming that Pakistani police networks were targeted by hacking groups linked to both China and India in a series of separate cyberattack campaigns.

SentinelOne, a cybersecurity firm based in Mountain View, California that specializes in AI-driven threat defense, published the report on Thursday. It found evidence of multiple intrusions carried out by hacking groups associated with both countries between February 2024 and April 2026.

The most significant target identified in the report was the Balochistan Police, which serves Pakistan’s southwestern province. According to SentinelOne, the compromised assets there included network equipment, web servers, and online applications — among them a complaint management system containing both police and citizen data, including criminal and biometric records. Researchers say a suspected China-linked actor embedded custom malicious software into one of those web applications.

Aleksandar Milenkoski, a principal threat researcher at SentinelOne, wrote in the report that “When multiple cyberespionage actors operate against law enforcement institutions of a single state, the convergence itself is a signal of target value.”

Beyond Balochistan, the report identified additional targets including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, the Islamabad Police, and the Punjab Safe Cities Authority.

SentinelOne said the China-linked hacking activity relied on tools including PlugX, ShadowPad, and Cobalt Strike. Researchers believe the motivation was primarily concern for the safety of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan, particularly those connected to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, following a series of attacks by groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army.

The India-linked activity, associated with a tool called Remcos and actors identified as TAG-179, focused heavily on Balochistan. The report suggests this stemmed from the broader rivalry between India and Pakistan, with hackers seeking intelligence on how the province manages its security amid ongoing accusations between the two countries over support for militant groups.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police acknowledged that one user login credential had been compromised but said no core systems were accessed. The Balochistan Police and other agencies did not respond to requests for comment. China denied any involvement in such activities, while India had not commented on the report at the time of publication.

SentinelOne noted that Pakistani law enforcement agencies are attractive targets for foreign intelligence-linked hackers because they hold detailed information about the country’s internal security situation, including threats and responses to them — drawing interest from both a strategic partner and a regional rival.

The report comes as Pakistan faces a significant increase in terrorist violence, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where security forces have experienced frequent attacks and insurgent activity has grown more intense.

As of now, no official government source has confirmed or denied the report’s findings.