Category: World News

Massive plumes of dark smoke rose above the outskirts of Myanmar’s largest city Friday as government authorities incinerated over 50 tons of illegal substances — including heroin, opium, ketamine, methamphetamine, marijuana and crystal meth — representing roughly $600 million in confiscated narcotics destroyed across the country.

Myanmar, also referred to as Burma, has struggled for decades with drug production tied to political instability and economic hardship stemming from years of armed conflict.

Despite ongoing efforts to suppress the illegal drug trade, the country has long ranked among the world’s top producers of heroin and methamphetamine, serving as a primary supplier of illicit substances flowing into East and Southeast Asia.

Experts say that the violent political turmoil that followed the military’s seizure of power in 2021 — which sparked a civil war between the military government, pro-democracy forces, and various ethnic armed groups — has driven drug production even higher.

Back in January, the military government announced what it described as the country’s largest-ever seizures of illegal drugs and drug-manufacturing equipment, recovered from 12 production sites during raids conducted in the northern region of Shan state.

The street value of this year’s drug destruction was more than twice the total from last year, according to Police Lt. Col. Aung Myat Soe of Yangon’s Anti-Narcotics Police Force, who spoke with reporters at a bus station compound on the city’s outskirts where the burning took place.

In Yangon alone, authorities destroyed approximately $321 million worth of 31 different types of drugs, Aung Myat Soe said.

Similar destruction events were held in Mandalay and in Taunggyi, the capital of eastern Myanmar’s Shan state — regions closer to the drug production zones — in observance of the United Nations’ International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Large portions of Myanmar remain under the control of long-standing militias representing the country’s many ethnic groups. Several of these groups are engaged in fighting against the military-led government in a bloody civil war, alongside pro-democracy movements that emerged after the military ousted democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.

Earlier this year, elections took place that international observers described as neither free nor fair, with major opposition groups barred from participating. The military government won by a wide margin.

The government has argued that the country’s militias rely on drug profits to fund their armed campaigns and have little incentive to pursue peace because they benefit financially from the narcotics trade.

While some armed groups are known to be involved in drug trafficking — both now and historically — others have actually moved to suppress drug activity in areas they control.

One such group, the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, which seized large portions of northern Shan state during the civil war before agreeing to a ceasefire with the military in October, announced Thursday that it plans to destroy approximately $5.5 million worth of confiscated drugs within its own controlled territory.

A newly released United Nations report is sounding the alarm on the rapidly expanding global illegal drug trade, revealing that cocaine production and methamphetamine seizures have both reached record levels.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s annual World Drug Report, cocaine production climbed to approximately 4,100 metric tons of pure product in 2024 — the most recent year with available data. That figure represents a fourfold increase over the past decade. Meanwhile, methamphetamine seizures point to production growing at a rate of about 13% per year.

The agency’s executive director, Monica Juma, expressed serious concern about the changing drug landscape. “We have seen an unprecedented spike in new types of drugs on the market, and worryingly, some are more potent or dangerous than before,” she said in an official statement.

Part of what’s driving the shift is a dramatic drop in heroin availability. After the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan — historically the world’s dominant opium supplier — and banned opium production in 2023, the supply of heroin, which is made from opium, fell sharply and has not recovered.

That void appears to be getting filled, at least in part, by powerful synthetic opioids. The UNODC noted a significant rise in reports of new synthetic opioids in 2024, including fentanyls and even more dangerous substances known as nitazenes, particularly in Europe.

“Instances of new psychoactive substance synthetic opioids reported in early warning systems increased in 2023 and 2024 across most regions, but most prominently in Europe, Oceania and Africa, suggesting a recent diversification by market actors,” the report stated.

The report also highlighted regional differences in how the fentanyl crisis is evolving. “North America, where fentanyl has largely displaced heroin, reported around a 10% increase in the number of new psychoactive substance synthetic opioids identified in 2024 from the previous year, while that number rose by more than 80% in Europe and by 150% in Oceania,” it noted.

On the cocaine front, both supply and demand continued to climb, while the drug’s purity increased and its street price dropped. Researchers also found shifts in how and where cocaine is being used.

“Qualitative research conducted in 2024 indicates an expansion of cocaine use to social settings beyond the nightlife scene and its integration into daily routines, together with an upsurge in ‘crack’ cocaine use among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and a shift from heroin use to ‘crack’ cocaine use,” the report said.

Data tracking individuals seeking treatment for drug dependency strongly points to a rise in crack cocaine use across Western and Central Europe that began as far back as 2015, the report added.

Taiwanese shipping company Evergreen Marine announced Friday that one of its cargo vessels was struck by an unknown object in waters off Oman, though the ship has since safely cleared the Strait of Hormuz.

In a filing with the Taiwan stock exchange, the company disclosed that the starboard side of the bridge aboard the Ever Lovely — a vessel owned by its Singapore-based subsidiary — was hit by an unidentified object approximately 3.6 nautical miles off Oman’s Khawr Naiwah. The incident occurred a day before Friday’s announcement.

A crew inspection following the strike revealed damage in the area surrounding the bridge windows. However, the company confirmed that all crew members, the vessel itself, and its cargo are unharmed.

Evergreen Marine stated that the ship’s main engine and navigation systems are functioning normally and that there are no concerns about the vessel’s ability to remain seaworthy. The Ever Lovely has since exited the Strait of Hormuz without further incident.

The company also noted that the ship had been traveling along the recommended route provided by the British navy agency UKMTO while transiting the strait.

UKMTO had previously reported on Thursday that a cargo vessel had indicated a suspected attack as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz near the Omani coastline.

Montenegrin police, working alongside the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, have arrested an Iranian national suspected of carrying out cyberattacks that caused an estimated $3.4 billion in damage to U.S. infrastructure, according to officials in Montenegro.

The suspect, a 39-year-old man holding both Iranian and Turkish citizenship, is being sought by the Southern District Court in New York. He faces charges that include conspiracy to commit computer fraud, hacking, and identity theft.

Authorities say he was taken into custody in Kotor, a coastal resort town along the Adriatic Sea. Montenegro’s police directorate confirmed the arrest on Thursday.

In an official statement, police said that “from 2013 onward, … he carried out massive hacking attacks … targeting more than 150 universities in the United States, causing damage estimated at over $3.4 billion.”

The stolen data and access to compromised university accounts were reportedly used for the benefit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as other Iranian institutions, including universities, police said.

The case is now expected to go before a High Court judge in Montenegro’s capital city of Podgorica, where extradition proceedings will take place.

The FBI had not responded to requests for comment at the time of this report.

Iran and the IRGC have a well-documented history of state-sponsored cyber operations aimed at the United States. In April, U.S. cybersecurity, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies issued a warning about a growing wave of Iranian hacking campaigns targeting critical American infrastructure.

High in the Swiss Alps at the Great St. Bernard Pass, the iconic dogs that share its name still roam the same rugged mountain terrain their ancestors walked for centuries — once searching for travelers trapped under heavy snowfall.

Meanwhile, down in the valley below, a one-of-a-kind living museum dedicated to Switzerland’s national dog has just celebrated its first anniversary.

Barryland, located in Martigny, Switzerland, is the only museum in the world devoted exclusively to St. Bernard dogs. Since opening last summer after outgrowing a much smaller facility, it has drawn more than 130,000 visitors. Guests can observe live grooming and physical therapy sessions, experience the historic mountain pass through augmented reality, and dive deep into the breed’s remarkable story.

“We have a lot of demand and interest for this breed and this whole history and patrimony,” said Barryland director Mélanie Glassey-Roth. “So we decided to create a new park, a big one.”

Perched at 2,469 meters — roughly 8,100 feet — above sea level along the border between Switzerland and Italy, the Great St. Bernard Pass ranks among the country’s highest and most dangerous mountain crossings.

Large mountain dogs have called the pass home since the mid-1600s. They originally served as guard dogs, then became companions, and eventually developed a remarkable natural ability to locate hikers lost in snow and dense fog — a talent unlike anything the Alpine region had ever seen.

The breed takes its name from the Great St. Bernard Hospice, established in 1050 by Bernard de Montjoux — the archdeacon of Aosta and a future saint — as a safe haven for pilgrims and merchants braving the perilous crossing. The dogs became essential to that mission, and by the early 1800s, soldiers who traveled with Napoleon Bonaparte’s army through the pass helped spread the breed’s legendary reputation across Europe.

The most celebrated of all the St. Bernards was Barry the First, who is traditionally credited with rescuing more than 40 people during his time at the hospice between 1800 and 1812. In honor of his legacy, the Barry Foundation — which oversees the breeding program — always keeps a male dog named Barry.

Today, the foundation employs 21 keepers who look after 32 dogs, with approximately 20 purebred puppies born each year. Because modern St. Bernards have grown too large to be airlifted by helicopter, they no longer participate in mountain rescues. Smaller breeds like Australian shepherds have taken over that role, though some St. Bernards remain on the pass to carry on the tradition.

The foundation’s dogs consume roughly 10 metric tons — about 22,046 pounds — of dry food annually. Each summer, they roam the mountain snowfields before making the 40-kilometer (25-mile) journey back down winding roads to their kennels at Barryland.

“We get to see them born, and we get to see them grow up, and then become mothers, and we get to accompany them through all those different challenges in life,” said keeper Alexandra Piatti. “We are their guide, so we can help them with socialization and educate them, and really be by their side for their whole lives.”

So far in 2025, the foundation reports that its dogs have completed 609 community visits to hospitals, care homes, schools, and prisons throughout Switzerland.

Keeper Déborah Dini sums up the responsibility of caring for such historically significant animals simply and warmly.

“We perpetuate the tradition,” she said. “We take care of them. We love them.”

LONDON — NATO’s number two military leader is calling on member nations to use an upcoming summit in Turkey as an opportunity to demonstrate unity, pledge stronger defense spending, and reaffirm the alliance’s backing of Ukraine.

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Stringer, NATO’s deputy supreme allied commander in Europe, sat down with The Associated Press in London less than two weeks ahead of the high-stakes Ankara summit scheduled for July 7-8. The gathering will serve as a major test of cohesion for the 77-year-old alliance.

The run-up to the summit has been marked by mixed signals from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has at times threatened to withdraw from NATO, pushed to annex Greenland, and offered flattering remarks toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth added to the tension last week by criticizing NATO allies for not allowing the use of their bases to strike Iran, while also announcing an unexpected six-month review of American military forces stationed in Europe.

Adding to the turbulence, government ministers in the United Kingdom have stepped down, citing concerns that the country’s military spending plans are insufficient to keep Britain secure.

Stringer, a senior British air force officer, acknowledged the alliance is going through a difficult stretch. “Are we in one of those moments at the moment? Yes, we are,” he said during an interview at a military conference in London, where AP also spoke with other senior European military leaders about their expectations for the summit.

He described summits as “highly political events” that serve as a demonstration of an organization’s unity, noting it would be unusual if decades of NATO expansion hadn’t produced some turbulence along the way.

Trump has long pushed European allies to take greater responsibility for their own defense, and with the notable exception of Spain, most member nations have responded with an unprecedented increase in military spending.

Maj. Gen. Indrek Sirel, a commander in Estonia’s armed forces, said Europe must strengthen its own militaries while also helping Ukraine chip away at Russia’s military capabilities, given Russia’s growing threat to the continent.

Brig. Gen. Jyri Raitasalo of Finland — which shares NATO’s longest border with Russia — put it bluntly: “Europe as a whole has a lot to do in order to be credible against Russia.”

Stringer said European nations are making investments to build a “really credible force,” pointing to examples like some countries quadrupling their production of 155 mm artillery shells. He said the summit will address ramping up production at a scale the alliance hasn’t seen in decades.

The results of Hegseth’s six-month force review will largely determine how quickly European nations must take over their own security responsibilities. Earlier this month, the U.S. military in Europe indicated that Washington would be pulling back some capabilities and expecting allies to fill those gaps.

While the Trump administration has maintained that troop reductions were long planned and coordinated with allies, Sirel said it remains unclear exactly how U.S. forces will be positioned in the Baltic states, including their role in deterring Russia along NATO’s eastern flank.

Sirel said he remained “confident” in a continued U.S. presence, while acknowledging that Estonia’s military is preparing to adapt quickly to sudden changes.

Stringer said replacing U.S. long-range strike and surveillance capabilities would be difficult, but expressed confidence that allies could bridge the gap — not necessarily with identical equipment, but through a “cocktail” of mixed capabilities. He noted that while only the U.S. operates B1 and B52 bombers, the loss of those assets could theoretically be offset by missiles fired from ground, sea, and smaller aircraft platforms.

NATO allies were caught off guard in May when Trump announced plans to send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering a similar number withdrawn from Europe.

Raitasalo, who serves as Finland’s military logistics chief, said such abrupt shifts are problematic because military planning depends on long-term strategy. “If you change your mind, or change your plan, every week or every month or even every year, you will not get very good results,” he said. He added that allies need to make firm commitments of actual capabilities rather than simply promising spending targets.

Sweden’s army chief, Maj. Gen. Jonny Lindfors, said a successful summit outcome would be “a common picture of how to realign when it comes to deterrence and defense.” He said he hopes for at least an outline — if not a clear vision — of how defense responsibilities should be redistributed, so that he can understand what “NATO 3.0 is starting to look like.”

British Defense Secretary John Healey resigned earlier this month alongside another minister, stating that the government was neither willing nor able to commit the resources Britain needs to “defend the country at this time of rising threats.” At last year’s NATO summit, members agreed to spend 3.5% of their gross domestic product on core defense, and the U.K. committed to hitting that target by 2035. However, Healey said the proposed defense investment plan would only bring spending to 2.68% of GDP by 2030.

The new defense secretary, Dan Jarvis, has pledged that Britain will honor its commitments, and the British government has agreed to publish its spending plan.

Stringer said the U.K. is “as beholden” as any other member to having a credible path to the 3.5% target by the time of the summit. He warned that Britain cannot rely on its reputation for strategic leadership within NATO alone, and must back that up with actual “forces and resources.”

At last year’s summit, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte managed to keep Trump engaged by framing the meeting as a major win for his push to get allies to spend more. Stringer said this year’s summit must demonstrate “cohesion and unity” among all 32 members, while also featuring honest conversations and credible action plans.

Raitasalo said the meeting must go beyond the usual “communiques, roadmaps and action plans” and show deterrence through real action. He warned that if NATO members fail to turn promises into deeds, the “credibility” of the entire alliance is on the line.

PARIS (AP) — A record-breaking heat wave descended on Paris this week, forcing the city’s elite fashion houses into a frantic scramble to keep guests comfortable — handing out ice packs, deploying mist machines, and serving chilled water on silver trays.

Despite those efforts, many venues remained stifling. Water supplies ran low, and air conditioning was either nonexistent or simply not up to the task.

And yet, the models kept walking — wearing leather, neoprene, and wool.

That striking contradiction defined Paris Fashion Week Men’s, where an extreme heat wave transformed a spring-summer showcase into a real-world question: Can the luxury fashion world dress — or even behave — in ways appropriate for the warming planet it often claims to care about?

“I honestly thought I was going to pass out,” said Ben Freeman, a London-based fashion critic originally from Australia.

Several attendees seated in the front row suggested that Paris may need to rethink the timing of fashion week altogether if climate change continues to produce more frequent and severe heat waves.

“I don’t know how the models did it this week in some of the leather and knit coats,” said Thomas Levy, a 24-year-old fashion student who spoke outside one of the shows. “The heat rarely seems to make it into the clothes. It shows up in the sets like at waterfalls and mist machines and ice packs.”

Throughout the week, designers largely treated the heat as a problem of hospitality, staging, or scheduling — almost never as a challenge for the clothing itself.

Attendees received cold towels, ice packs, and bottled water. Stage sets featured waves, fog, and cooling mist. Show times were pushed earlier in the day, with punctuality reframed as a safety measure against the heat.

Dior shifted its Wednesday show from 2:30 in the afternoon to 9 in the morning, but the heat still took its toll. Water was in short supply, there was no air conditioning, and some guests appeared to be feeling unwell.

Jonathan Anderson offered one of the more climate-conscious design responses with sheer silk-chiffon tailoring — but other collections leaned into heavy knits that seemed better suited for cooler climates than a Paris June.

“The calendar does not make any sense,” Anderson told reporters, pointing to disrupted delivery schedules and a shifting business model that has left the fashion calendar out of step with both actual weather patterns and the way luxury clothing is now sold.

These shows are labeled spring-summer, but the collections are far more complex than simple warm-weather wear.

Luxury lines are designed for worldwide markets, with deliveries staggered across months and customers who often spend the hottest parts of the year in air-conditioned environments. For many buyers, a wool coat purchased in June is not a seasonal oddity — it’s a deliberate choice.

At Saint Laurent, models moved through billowing clouds of vapor produced by a fog installation by artist Fujiko Nakaya inside the Bourse de Commerce, transforming heat into a visual experience rather than a problem to escape. Designer Anthony Vaccarello stripped down his tailoring to unlined jackets and soft, pale looks — lighter, he told reporters, because of the heat — before dialing the temperature back up with leather briefs, choker scarves, bare legs, and transparent shoes fogged with condensation.

The collection wasn’t a concession to summer — it was Saint Laurent’s own interpretation of it: cooler in construction, bolder in attitude.

At Louis Vuitton, designer Pharrell Williams sent models emerging from a massive artificial wave onto sand. Even so, the wetsuits were neoprene and the coats were cashmere and fur.

Issey Miyake’s IM Men label offered one of the week’s most practical responses. The show, titled “In Praise of Bamboo Shadows,” greeted guests with ice packs at the entrance, then showcased garments made from bamboo-thread fabrics blended with organic cotton and light nylon, featuring shadowy prints. The silhouettes were designed to hang away from the body, treating circulating air as part of the design concept rather than something the venue alone had to provide.

At Ami, designer Alexandre Mattiussi stated the obvious while standing next to an industrial fan — “Paris is burning” — and dressed the moment like a Parisian simply living through it: loose shorts, relaxed washed trench coats, and “I Love Paris” T-shirts.

Rick Owens came perhaps closest to making heat itself the central theme. He moved his Thursday show to an earlier time slot due to the heat, then sent models through mist at the Palais de Tokyo wearing garments with small fans built inside them. One prominent fashion critic described the show as “a metaphor for climate catastrophe.”

Pascal Morand, who leads France’s Haute Couture and Fashion Federation, said organizers were adhering to the French government’s official heat-wave response plan.

“We are conscious of the challenges and very attentive to preserving the Fashion Week experience in this context of structural change,” he told the Associated Press.

Fashion wasn’t the only Paris institution feeling the strain. The Louvre museum cut its operating hours during the heat wave, acknowledging that its historic building “remains vulnerable and is not sufficiently adapted to climate change.”

That vulnerability feeds into a broader French debate over air conditioning, which remains widely viewed with suspicion across much of Europe — seen by many as wasteful or environmentally irresponsible.

Fashion week became a glamorous version of the same challenge facing France as a whole: how to keep public events, workplaces, and cultural spectacles functioning in heat the country was never designed to handle — without simply filling every building with air conditioning.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government has leaned, as much of France has, toward solutions like shade, better insulation, and urban tree planting.

Europe is warming faster than any other continent, with cities built largely of stone and largely without air conditioning.

“Paris Fashion Week is the canary in the mine,” Freeman said.

From sports to tourism to construction, industries built around fixed schedules and outdoor audiences are being forced to adapt to heat that arrives earlier, lingers longer, and reaches higher temperatures than before.

Paris Fashion Week — outdoor, fixed in time, and watched by the world — became one of the most visible tests yet of that new reality.

In cities across northern Venezuela, desperate residents worked side by side Thursday to dig through collapsed buildings in search of missing family members and neighbors, one day after two powerful earthquakes struck the region and left a trail of death and destruction.

The official death toll climbed to approximately 235 by late Thursday, with at least 4,300 people reported injured, according to Venezuela’s Health Minister Carlos Alvarado, who spoke to state media. Authorities expect those numbers to rise, as thousands of people remain unaccounted for and rescue operations continue around the clock.

The two earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude — hit Wednesday evening and rank among the most powerful to strike Venezuela in over a century. The tremors were felt across a wide stretch of the region.

Rescuers pulled survivors from the wreckage covered in dust and blood, including children and animals. Venezuelan state television broadcast dramatic footage of the rescue efforts, including one scene where a woman was pinned beneath a concrete slab with only her bare foot visible before rescuers were able to pull her out alive. However, government-organized search teams were largely absent from areas outside the capital Caracas in the early hours following the disaster.

The coastal area of La Guaira, located north of Caracas, bore some of the worst damage and the highest casualty counts. Venezuela’s primary international airport, situated in that region, was forced to close because of structural damage, making it harder to bring in outside assistance.

By Thursday morning, stunned residents surveyed a landscape of gutted buildings, furniture dangling from broken windows, and helicopters sweeping overhead. Entire structures had been flattened and roads split open by the force of the quakes.

Families plastered walls with missing-person flyers bearing photographs of loved ones, while others passed around handwritten lists of names. Venezuelans living abroad struggled to reach relatives back home as phone service across the country was severely disrupted.

In central Caracas, hundreds of people spent the night in parks, parking lots, and other open areas, too afraid to return to their homes.

Dayana Delgado, a mother of three, demanded to know where the heavy machinery that government officials had promised was, saying it was ordinary residents who were doing the digging through collapsed structures.

BEIJING — Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman sat down with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Chinese capital on Friday, making a direct appeal for China to help shrink the trade gap between the two countries, broaden the range of Bangladeshi goods exported to China, and back key development initiatives in Bangladesh.

The meeting came during a three-day visit to China that began Wednesday — Rahman’s first trip to the country since he took office as prime minister in February.

Bangladesh has been working to strengthen its relationship with China, one of its biggest trading partners and a major source of development funding.

The trip also carries significant diplomatic weight. Rahman is working to maintain balanced relationships with both Beijing and New Delhi. His predecessor, Sheikh Hasina, was widely regarded as having closer ties to India. While relations between Dhaka and New Delhi have improved under Rahman’s leadership, tensions remain, including disagreements over border issues.

During his meeting with Xi, Rahman made the case that China could help reduce Bangladesh’s trade deficit by allowing more Bangladeshi products into its market.

“We request China to consider import our fresh mangoes, jackfruit, guava, aquatic products, raw leather, jute products and pharmaceutical products,” Rahman said, according to a media pool report.

He also stressed that Bangladesh needs China’s assistance in “implementing our major signature projects and upgrading and modernisation of our existing industrial units.”

Bangladesh became part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2016, a large-scale infrastructure and development program championed by Xi that aims to link Asia, Africa, and Europe.

In response, China indicated it is prepared to work with Bangladesh on importing more quality Bangladeshi products, encouraging Chinese companies to invest there, and growing cooperation in areas like new energy, the digital economy, and artificial intelligence, according to a statement from the Chinese government.

Earlier in the visit, Rahman met with Premier Li Qiang on Thursday, where the two sides signed several cooperation agreements aimed at strengthening bilateral ties, state media reported.

Bangladesh currently owes China $6.2 billion, according to World Bank figures. The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has provided an additional $2.3 billion in loans. By comparison, India has lent its neighbor $1.6 billion.

Chinese companies have also invested $7.7 billion in Bangladesh, roughly half of it in the country’s energy sector, according to data from the American Enterprise Institute think tank.

However, China has grown more selective about where it puts its financing dollars, said Chim Lee, a senior analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit in Beijing.

“Not least because it tends to be looking for key logistics corridors these days that can be scaled up, and Bangladesh is a bit tricky because it just doesn’t provide the same kind of corridor as say Central Asia or Myanmar,” Lee said.

Saudi Aramco has restarted oil loading operations at its Ras Tanura terminal along the Gulf coast, ending a near four-month shutdown, according to shipping data from LSEG released Friday.

The data indicates two Very Large Crude Carriers — each with a capacity of 2 million barrels of oil — were actively taking on crude at the terminal, with a third vessel waiting in the area.

Attempts to reach Saudi Aramco for comment outside of business hours were unsuccessful.

According to the shipping data, the last time the company loaded a cargo from the Ras Tanura port was March 8, when a shipment was sent to China. After that, Saudi Aramco was forced to redirect all of its exports through the Red Sea port of Yanbu, after Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — during its war with the U.S. and Israel — cut off access to the Gulf for shipping vessels.

With the United States and Iran having reached an interim agreement to bring the war to a halt, energy producers across the Middle East have been increasing both their output and their export activity.

Australia’s prime minister said Friday he wants to ensure the nation’s ban on social media for children is as robust as possible, following a new study showing the world’s first such law has done little to curb teen use in its first six months.

The government intends to put the legislation through rigorous testing. The law prohibits platforms such as Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube from creating accounts for anyone under the age of 16.

“What we want to do is to make sure that the laws are as strong as possible and that they will withstand any legal challenges which are made,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Albanese added that a major priority would be ensuring the eSafety Commission — the country’s internet watchdog — has enough authority to carry out its responsibilities. He did not elaborate on what specific actions the government plans to take, and the regulator declined to offer any comment.

The Australian experiment is being closely followed by nations around the world that are grappling with concerns about the mental and physical wellbeing of young people. Britain, for instance, announced this month that it plans to go even further, extending similar restrictions to gaming and live-streaming platforms as well.

The eSafety Commission and Communications Minister Anika Wells have indicated they are preparing legal action against several platforms. Companies found to have systematically failed to enforce the ban could face fines of up to A$49.5 million, or roughly $34 million U.S.

Reddit has filed a High Court challenge against the ban, with preliminary hearings still underway. The company was not immediately reachable for comment Friday.

When the ban took effect last December, early reports suggested millions of accounts had been shut down. However, parents and researchers have since noted that teen social media habits appear largely unchanged.

A study published this week in the British Medical Journal found that 85% of Australians between the ages of 12 and 15 were still active on social media three months after the ban went into effect. The research was based on a study of 408 adolescents.

According to the paper, two-thirds of underage users got around the restrictions by either claiming to be older than 16 or submitting a selfie that the platform accepted as proof of being over the age limit.

“Despite the intent of the (ban) to delay access to social media platforms and reduce the potential for online harms, little evidence was found of immediate substantive reductions in reported social media use by adolescents,” the study concluded.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally watched a series of major weapons tests and demanded that his military build up what he called a “deadly and destructive offensive posture,” according to North Korea’s state-run media on Friday. The announcement came just days after the country put its first naval destroyer into service.

The move fits a broader pattern of Kim pushing to expand both nuclear and conventional military power while refusing to engage in diplomatic talks with South Korea or the United States.

Thursday’s tests were designed to measure the destructive power of a “special mission” warhead fitted to a tactical ballistic missile, an upgraded multiple rocket launch system, and the accuracy of shells fired at extended range from a self-propelled gun-howitzer, according to the official Korean Central News Agency, known as KCNA.

KCNA reported that Kim said the test results demonstrated technological advancement in efforts to shift the military’s fire posture along the southern border — a statement widely understood to mean the weapons systems are intended to strike targets in South Korea, including American military installations located there.

Kim described his country’s self-defense policy as one that aims to build “the deadly and destructive offensive posture to make no enemy dare to confront.” He added, “To make the enemies feel constant uneasiness and fear is just an important aspect of the exercise of war deterrent.”

State media also reported that the special mission warhead is specifically designed for “inflicting fatal damage on major targets including airfields, ports and power facilities of the enemy.”

Earlier this week on Tuesday, North Korea officially commissioned the Choe Hyon, a 5,000-ton destroyer that Kim described as a symbol of his nation’s expanding naval and nuclear strength. It is considered the most advanced warship in North Korea’s fleet.

Kim’s military buildup has accelerated since high-stakes diplomatic negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump fell apart in 2019. Since then, he has focused on growing both his nuclear and missile programs while also investing in more sophisticated conventional weapons.

In response to Trump’s repeated attempts to restart diplomatic conversations, Kim has indicated that talks could happen — but only if the United States drops its requirement that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons as a condition for negotiations. Kim has also taken an increasingly hostile stance toward South Korea, labeling it his country’s “principal enemy” and constructing additional military infrastructure along the heavily fortified border between the two nations.

In recent years, Kim has also expanded North Korea’s international relationships, most notably by deepening ties with Russia in support of its ongoing war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to North Korea for his first visit in seven years, where he met with Kim.

SEOUL — South Korea is moving aggressively to build up its drone warfare capabilities, with plans to train half a million so-called “drone warriors” and purchase more than 20,000 low-cost, expendable drones, according to the country’s Defence Ministry, which announced the initiative on Friday.

Beyond those acquisitions, the South Korean military intends to manufacture 110,000 drones between now and 2029, with the goal of distributing them across various military units. Officials described the effort as part of a larger strategy to strengthen the country’s unmanned systems and better position its forces against the threat posed by North Korea.

TOKYO — Fresh economic data released Friday shows that core inflation in Japan’s capital city gained momentum in June, reflecting growing price pressures tied to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The numbers are expected to be closely examined by the Bank of Japan when its board meets next month for a quarterly review of the country’s growth and price outlooks.

Tokyo’s core consumer price index — a measure that leaves out costs for volatile fresh food items — climbed 1.6% in June compared to the same month a year ago. That marks an increase from the 1.3% rise recorded in May and matched what analysts had predicted.

A separate index that removes both fresh food and fuel costs, which the Bank of Japan monitors closely as a more reliable indicator of underlying inflation trends, rose 1.9% in June, up from 1.6% in May.

The conflict in the Middle East has made it more difficult for the Bank of Japan to determine when and how quickly to raise interest rates. Higher energy prices are pushing inflation upward while at the same time putting strain on an economy that relies heavily on imported oil.

Earlier this month, the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to their highest level in 31 years — a significant move in its effort to return to more normal monetary policy. The bank signaled it could tighten rates further as it works to manage the inflationary effects of the energy shock stemming from the Iran war.

The Russian-appointed governor overseeing the occupied portion of Ukraine’s Kherson region announced early Friday that electricity had been completely or partially cut off throughout the area, which borders Crimea. Governor Vladimir Saldo made the announcement via Telegram but offered no additional details about the cause or extent of the outages.

In Sevastopol, Crimea’s largest city — which Russia seized and annexed in 2014 — authorities have been deliberately limiting power distribution to prevent the already-stressed electrical grid from being overwhelmed. Those restrictions followed a series of Ukrainian drone attacks that have also triggered a fuel shortage in the region.

The situation in Crimea is worsening on multiple fronts. The Russian-installed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, announced Thursday that train service to the peninsula will be gradually scaled back. Crimea is a popular warm-weather destination for Russian tourists during the summer months. Aksyonov had previously ordered the closure of children’s summer camps on the peninsula.

Aksyonov also confirmed that one person died Thursday in a drone strike near the crossing point between Crimea and the Russian-held section of the Kherson region.

Starlink, the satellite-based internet service that operates under Elon Musk’s SpaceX, announced Thursday that it will waive service charges for its Venezuelan customers for an entire month following two earthquakes that struck the South American nation.

Beyond the free service offer, the company stated it is moving quickly to get equipment on the ground. In a post on X, Starlink said it is working to “rapidly deploy Starlink terminals and restore connectivity to the hardest-hit areas.”

For Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, the challenge facing Israel starts long before any vote is cast or report is published. It begins, he says, with the culture inside the United Nations itself.

“I remind myself every time I walk in the UN that I’m entering a dystopian universe, not unlike 1984, as described by George Orwell, where there’s doublethink and doublespeak, and the truth is often erased and rewritten,” Neuer told The Media Line in Jerusalem.

More than two and a half years after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, a growing number of Israeli officials, legal advocates, policy researchers, former military figures, and Christian supporters of Israel are describing the country’s diplomatic and legal exposure as a battlefront of its own. At the JNS International Policy Summit held in Jerusalem this week, speakers repeatedly returned to a central theme: Israel’s military struggle is now deeply connected to a parallel contest playing out in the UN, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Western university campuses, and social media — all arenas where the language of legitimacy is being fought over.

The concern, as summit speakers framed it, goes beyond simple criticism of Israel. The argument is that international institutions, legal bodies, and public narratives can feed into each other — transforming reports into headlines, headlines into political pressure, and political pressure into court filings, mandates, and boycotts.

Asher Fredman, executive director of the Misgav Institute of National Security, asked what was driving what he described as “this campaign of accusations against Israel, claims against Israel, legal steps against Israel.” His conclusion was direct: “The United Nations is a central engine and catalyst of this campaign,” Fredman told The Media Line. He argued that too many policymakers still view the UN as a venue for symbolic gestures rather than as a system that actively shapes budgets, mandates, commissions, and legitimacy itself.

That analysis forms the foundation of a Misgav Institute report co-authored by Fredman and former Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan, which calls on the United States to move away from attempting to reform the UN and instead adopt a strategy of “Disengage, Withdraw, and Replace.”

Fredman said Washington should stop automatically funding UN operations and instead support only those functions that clearly benefit American interests. He also argued that Israel has made a comparable error by focusing heavily on bilateral relationships while treating UN votes as little more than diplomatic theater. “People don’t understand that the UN is actually really important, because the UN often gets to the very core legitimacy of a country, and that leads to legal proceedings, that leads to boycotts, that leads to blacklists,” he said.

The same concern emerged most sharply during the summit’s legal discussions, where a central strategic question was whether Israel should continue fighting within international institutions or concentrate more energy on challenging those institutions’ authority from the outside. That debate has grown more urgent since the ICC issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, while Israel has continued to contest the court’s jurisdiction over its actions.

International lawyer Ron Soffer described the ICC as “a strategic threat to the State of Israel” — noting that, unlike UN bodies that issue condemnations, the ICC can pursue actual arrest warrants. Alan Baker, a former Israeli ambassador to Canada who participated in the Rome Statute negotiations, said Israel’s decision to stay out of the court had been the right call. “We didn’t make a mistake,” he said.

Others at the summit argued that Israel and its supporters should stop expecting legal arguments alone to carry the day. “The ICC is not a court, it does not function as a court, and we can have the cleverest legal arguments. It will not help,” said Eugene Kontorovich, professor of law and director of the Center for the Middle East and International Law at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. He contended that pressure and sanctions would prove more effective than persuasion.

Not everyone agreed with that position. Yael Vias Gvirsman, founder and CEO of October 7 Justice Without Borders — which represents hundreds of direct victims of the October 7 attacks before courts including the ICC — argued that Israel should not surrender the legal arena to its opponents. The question, she said, is not whether the ICC is inherently good or bad, but “what place we choose to fill in this space.”

That disagreement extended to the International Court of Justice, where South Africa’s genocide case against Israel remains in its written phase. In May 2026, the court set November 22, 2027, as the deadline for South Africa to submit its reply to Israel’s written pleading.

Kontorovich called the South Africa case “a legal October 7th” and warned that because Israel accepted ICJ jurisdiction under the Genocide Convention, the court now has a platform that could be invoked in every future Israeli military conflict. Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel Charitable Trust, countered that disengagement cannot be the only answer. “We can say, until we’re blue in the face, that its advisory opinions are not binding,” Turner said — but without Israel and its allies presenting facts before the court, the world will never hear the rebuttal.

Vias Gvirsman took the same view on the ICJ, arguing that Israel should use precedent and evidence to challenge South Africa’s case. “If we want to respect ourselves, we have a good case; let’s bring it to the court,” she said.

The debate became most concrete around the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA. In the United States, efforts to hold the agency legally accountable have already hit a wall: a federal district court in New York ruled in 2025 that UNRWA, as a subsidiary organ of the UN, enjoys immunity in American courts and dismissed the case against it. Israel, meanwhile, has separately pursued domestic legislation to strip the agency of that immunity within its own borders.

In that US litigation, Joseph H. Tipograph of Heideman Nudelman and Kalik argued that UNRWA is “not a refugee agency” in the traditional sense because, in his view, it perpetuates refugee status across multiple generations. “If UNRWA is immune, it can do what it wants,” Tipograph said.

A parallel effort has unfolded in Israel. Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, founder of Shurat HaDin, said her organization pushed for legislation removing UNRWA’s immunity in Israel after representing the family of a victim whose body, she said, was transported into Gaza by UNRWA officials using a UNRWA vehicle. When the attorney general later filed a position in court, Darshan-Leitner said, the new Israeli law had already narrowed the space for argument. The attorney general’s position, as Darshan-Leitner described it, was that her “hands are tied” because Israeli law no longer recognizes UNRWA’s immunity in that case.

For Neuer, UNRWA sits at the heart of the broader UN problem. He argued that the agency has evolved into an institution that keeps the conflict alive through education, employment, and a political narrative centered on the right of return. UN Watch reports issued over the past two years allege deep Hamas infiltration of UNRWA staff unions and schools. UNRWA has rejected the broader allegation that it knowingly enables terrorism, saying it acts on neutrality violations when evidence is provided. “If we want to have peace in this region, de-radicalization begins and ends with UNRWA,” Neuer said.

Neuer also addressed the question of the UN’s future leadership. While arguing that the next secretary-general will have limited impact — because what he sees as anti-Israel machinery is embedded in mandates, bureaucratic culture, and member-state politics — he singled out former UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet for criticism. “She already was the UN Human Rights Chief, and she had a very poor record,” he said, arguing she gave China, Russia, and other authoritarian governments too much latitude. More broadly, he said the UN should operate more like an emergency room performing triage, adding, “We don’t need a UN if all they’re going to do is appease dictatorships. We need someone, we think, to speak out for victims, especially in non-democracies.”

Israeli leaders echoed those themes. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar framed the challenge in diplomatic terms, saying Israel must push back against language that transforms accusations into accepted political categories while simultaneously building new alliances. Referring to a European commissioner who had labeled Israel an apartheid state, Sa’ar said such language could not be treated as routine criticism. “We also, as a country, must draw red lines,” he said. At the same time, he argued Israel cannot devote all of its energy to “blocking initiatives against Israel,” and pointed to new Israeli embassies, efforts to expand the number of embassies located in Jerusalem, and what he described as his ministry’s “Latin America year” in 2026 as examples of proactive diplomacy.

President Isaac Herzog called on Israel to “employ truth to counter the bias, distortions, and double standards spread constantly in the media, online, and across the halls of the United Nations.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu framed the effort as another dimension of a long war, calling the battle against delegitimization and antisemitism the “Eighth Front” and declaring, “We will fight on the Eighth Front as well.”

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee delivered his message in the language of faith and history. After outlining President Donald Trump’s stance on Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, Huckabee described the US-Israel alliance as rooted in something deeper than modern politics, saying America is tied “more to Mount Sinai than it is to Athens or Rome.”

At a separate Christian-Israel Alliance Forum chaired by Josh Reinstein, president of the Israel Allies Foundation, the focus shifted from courts and UN agencies to faith networks, media outreach, and public advocacy. Troy Miller, president and CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters, said the issue is “not just about a battle that’s anti-Semitic or anti-Zionism,” but part of a broader struggle over Western civilization, Christian persecution, and the values that will shape the international order. “If we end up divided and fighting this separately, we’re going to fail,” he said.

Sagiv Asulin, a former senior Mossad officer and expert on influence operations and strategic perception at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, put the challenge in starker terms. Israel, he said, is winning militarily on many fronts but “losing terribly” in the arena of public perception and information warfare. After October 7, he said, he found himself thinking not just about that day but about “the paradigm of October 8th” — how quickly anti-Israel demonstrations and narratives appeared on Western campuses and streets.

The media dimension was addressed directly by Katie Huch, creative director at New Beginnings Church and Larry Huch Ministries, who said younger audiences are being shaped by platforms where anti-Israel content vastly outnumbers pro-Israel content. “Social media is a problem, but it’s also a tool, and we can use it to our advantage,” she said, calling for both digital engagement and efforts to bring young Christians to Israel firsthand.

David Parsons, senior vice president and spokesman for the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, made the same case through the lens of tourism and public diplomacy. “Christians come and leave as goodwill ambassadors of this country,” he said.

Military and political voices pushed the argument further. Col. Richard Kemp said Israel cannot expect to win the information war when audiences begin from the assumption that Israel is illegitimate. Jonathan Conricus, a former Israel Defense Forces international spokesman, said Israel has invested far too little in the information space. “If you leave a vacuum for your enemy, he will populate it,” Conricus said.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was perhaps the bluntest voice on the subject. Israel, he said, has allowed its public image in the United States to deteriorate and cannot count indefinitely on the personal goodwill of any single president. “If Israel were a PR firm, I definitely would not hire us,” Bennett said.

Even Neuer, one of the summit’s sharpest critics of the UN, acknowledged that Israel can damage its own cause. While he said UN bias against Israel persists regardless of which government is in power, he specifically called out inflammatory rhetoric by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir as counterproductive. When Israeli ministers use language that appears to celebrate suffering, he said, “you lose almost all of your friends.”

For Fredman, the path forward involves concrete steps: linking bilateral relationships to multilateral behavior, conditioning UN funding, exposing hostile networks, and dramatically increasing investment in strategic communications. “Israel for years has not only been greatly under-investing in its strategic communications and public diplomacy, but on the level of creating people-to-people ties and cooperation with civil society, it has not received resources,” he said.

For Vias Gvirsman, any strategy must also preserve moral boundaries. In her closing remarks, she described law as a form of power — but power that must reflect “sanctity of life” and “human dignity.” The question, she said, is “how do we fight a battle we cannot lose” without surrendering identity and values in the process.

That tension may well define Israel’s next chapter. Its leaders say the country has shifted the military balance against Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Its lawyers, advocates, and supporters argue that the institutional battle remains far harder to win. In the UN, the ICC, the ICJ, and the broader court of public opinion, Israel is working not only to defeat individual accusations but to prevent those accusations from becoming the standard language through which governments, courts, and media evaluate it.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is preparing to bring a resolution before the Israeli government at an upcoming cabinet meeting that would formally recognize the Armenian Genocide — an official acknowledgment of the systematic mass killings of the Armenian people during the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

The resolution puts forward the position that Israel carries both a moral and historical responsibility to recognize the genocide and to stand against any efforts to deny, downplay, or distort what happened.

According to the explanatory text attached to the resolution, the genocide began in April 1915 when hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, community leaders, and educated professionals were arrested, deported, and killed in Constantinople. Ottoman authorities then launched a broader campaign against the wider Armenian population — drafting men into forced labor before executing them, while women, children, and elderly civilians were driven from their homes and forced on death marches toward the Syrian desert. Along the way, victims were subjected to mass murder, rape, deliberate starvation, and dehydration.

The resolution’s supporting text estimates that approximately 1.5 million people lost their lives, and that the campaign wiped out a cultural and historical legacy that had been present across Anatolia for thousands of years.

The proposal also points to ongoing organized efforts to deny or minimize the genocide, singling out what it describes as the manipulative rewriting of history books — primarily by Turkey — despite what it calls extensive and unequivocal historical documentation of the events.

As of now, 32 countries have formally recognized the Armenian Genocide through parliamentary resolutions, legislation, or official declarations, according to the proposal.

Beyond simply recognizing the genocide, the resolution calls on Israel to actively condemn all attempts to obscure, minimize, or deny the atrocities carried out against the Armenian people.

Should the Israeli government vote to approve the measure, it would then be forwarded to the Knesset for additional consideration and approval.

The US military announced Wednesday that an airstrike in northwestern Syria took out a senior commander within the Islamic State, known as ISIS, as part of continued operations targeting armed groups believed to be planning attacks on Americans and US interests abroad.

US Central Command, known as CENTCOM, confirmed its forces conducted the strike on June 19, resulting in the death of Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi. Officials described the operation as part of a sustained campaign to disrupt and eliminate terrorist threats aimed at Americans both overseas and on US soil.

In a post on X, CENTCOM stated: “CENTCOM and our partners remain committed to rooting out remaining remnants of ISIS to ensure its enduring defeat. We will continue to defend the U.S. homeland, our service members, and allies and partners across the region.”

The strike comes as ISIS has announced a new phase of operations inside Syria, specifically targeting the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The group has claimed credit for a string of attacks since February. Last year, President al-Sharaa’s government joined the US-led coalition working to combat ISIS.

Most recently, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack near the city of Manbij, located in Syria’s northeastern Aleppo province, this past Saturday.

At the peak of its strength during the Syrian civil war roughly a decade ago, ISIS controlled approximately a quarter or more of Syrian territory before being pushed out by the US-led coalition.

In a separate announcement, CENTCOM said Cooper is scheduled to travel to Israel on Thursday. The visit coincides with ongoing US-brokered negotiations between Israel and Lebanon. Cooper is expected to sit down with IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Defense Minister Israel Katz. Discussions are anticipated to focus on strategic coordination regarding Iran, security developments along Israel’s northern border, and the ongoing situation involving Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Two senior American officials told The Wall Street Journal that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps carried out an attack on a Singapore-registered merchant ship as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.

The vessel was traveling near the coast of Oman when it came under attack — just hours after Iran’s paramilitary naval force had put out a warning telling commercial ships to stay out of shipping lanes in the strategic waterway unless they had received explicit authorization from Tehran.

The ship took a hit to its bridge — the area aboard that houses navigation, communications, and command operations. UK Maritime Trade Operations confirmed the bridge sustained structural damage but reported that no crew members were injured in the incident.

The attack is being viewed as a significant challenge to a US-Iran deal reached in mid-June, which included commitments from both governments to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international maritime traffic. According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House declined to offer any comment on the attack.

Iran’s warning to merchant vessels came just hours before the ship was struck. Tehran had specifically directed ships to avoid unauthorized transit routes through the strait — meaning any passage not cleared by the Iranian government.

Over the weekend, Iran had already closed the Strait of Hormuz after demanding a halt to Israeli military operations in Lebanon. The most recent attack took place in spite of the agreement’s requirement that the waterway remain accessible to international shipping.

The International Maritime Organization confirmed that the Singapore-flagged cargo vessel targeted in the attack was not part of any evacuation program.

Before the regional conflict that erupted this spring, the Strait of Hormuz served as a transit corridor for roughly 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas shipments. Disruptions to shipping through the passage have historically caused significant swings in global energy prices.

Venezuela was struck by an unusual back-to-back earthquake event on Wednesday, claiming the lives of at least 188 people and leaving more than 200 others trapped beneath rubble. Thousands more have been reported missing, and over 1,500 people have been injured. Officials fear the death toll will continue to climb.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, two powerful earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude — struck just 39 seconds apart along the San Sebastian fault on Venezuela’s northern coast. They rank among the strongest earthquakes to hit the South American country in over 100 years.

The first quake, a 7.2-magnitude foreshock, struck west of Morón on the Caribbean coast, roughly 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of the capital, Caracas, at a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles). The second, a 7.5-magnitude mainshock, was centered about 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Morón at a shallower depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles).

The U.S. Geological Survey described the pair as a seismic “doublet” — two earthquakes that are similar in magnitude, timing, and location. Both resulted from shallow strike-slip faulting near the boundary where the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates meet.

Some of the worst damage occurred in La Guaira, a coastal area north of Caracas. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez described the city as a “disaster zone” and confirmed that rescue teams from across Venezuela have been deployed there. La Guaira sits approximately 165 kilometers (103 miles) east of the 7.5-magnitude quake’s epicenter, where dozens of buildings have collapsed.

Rescue workers and civilians worked side by side to pull survivors from concrete debris, many of them covered in dust and blood. Families gathered in tears outside the wreckage of their homes. Desperate relatives posted missing-person flyers and shared handwritten lists of names in search of loved ones still unaccounted for.

The destruction extended well beyond La Guaira. Buildings in downtown Caracas were damaged, and evacuations were reported as far away as Brazil’s Amazon region, approximately 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from the epicenter. Hundreds of Caracas residents spent the night outdoors in parks and parking lots after losing power and cellphone service. Venezuela’s main airport in Caracas was damaged and shut down, subway service was suspended, and natural gas supplies were cut off. Schools will be closed for several days, as the buildings are being repurposed as shelters and donation centers.

Rodríguez announced the government would establish a $200 million reconstruction fund to help repair damaged hospitals and homes.

The earthquake disaster adds to an already difficult situation for Rodríguez, the former vice president who assumed office in January after the U.S. captured former President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are currently jailed in New York City while awaiting trial on drug trafficking charges. Rodríguez took over a nation already grappling with more than a decade of economic instability. Her leadership has drawn criticism from both those who reject her political movement’s legitimacy and some loyalists who have questioned her handling of the government and her closer ties with the United States.

On Thursday, the U.S. announced it would send two specialized urban search and rescue teams to Venezuela and provide $150 million in aid through nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The United Nations also said international rescue teams were expected to begin arriving within hours. Qatar and Mexico are among the other nations sending assistance.

Venezuelan communities in the United States have been quickly organizing donation drives. More than 770,000 Venezuelans currently live in the U.S., with large populations concentrated in Florida, Texas, and Utah.

Iran has once again put ships on notice: pass through the Strait of Hormuz without permission from Tehran, and face the consequences. The warning came even as ongoing negotiations aim to resolve the regional conflict and a United Nations-backed effort begins moving vessels that had been stuck during the fighting.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the ideological branch of the country’s military, issued a formal statement Thursday declaring that the only permitted route through the strategic waterway is one that Iran itself has designated.

“The only authorized route for passage through the Strait of Hormuz is the route announced by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Revolutionary Guards stated, adding that any ship crossing without that authorization would be “unacceptable and extremely dangerous.”

The Guards also took aim at a separate route through the strait that they said had been announced by “certain authorities,” rejecting it as illegitimate.

The warning came after a spokesperson for a United Nations shipping agency confirmed that vessels previously trapped by the conflict had begun moving through the Strait of Hormuz. The International Maritime Organization said the operation — which took months to plan and only began rolling out during the ceasefire — is designed to allow hundreds of ships carrying approximately 11,000 sailors stranded in the Gulf to safely pass through.

Adding another layer of tension, Iran has signaled its intention to charge what it calls “maritime service fees” — not tolls, it insists — for ships transiting the strait. That idea drew a sharp rebuke from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who addressed the matter at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting held in Bahrain.

“International waterways do not belong to any nation state. This is a foundational principle in the world today, without which the world would be in total chaos,” Rubio said.

He went further, warning of the global implications of allowing such fees to stand: “If in fact we accepted that you can charge money to use an international waterway because it happens to be near your territorial space, well then this will spread throughout the world like a contagion.”

Rubio added that while the Trump administration remains committed to reaching a resolution through a signed memorandum of understanding, it is not willing to accept peace “at any price” — and will not tolerate fees being imposed on ships using the Strait of Hormuz.

The strait is a narrow passage between Iran and the Gulf states that serves as a critical chokepoint for global energy supplies, with approximately 20% of the world’s crude oil and liquefied natural gas passing through it under normal conditions.

Venezuelan communities across the United States sprang into action Thursday, organizing donation drives after a pair of catastrophic earthquakes tore through their home country, leaving at least 188 people dead and hundreds more injured.

Oscar Torres, along with thousands of others, spent the past 24 hours glued to a WhatsApp group that keeps Venezuelan expatriates connected with their families back home. Torres lives in Doral, Florida — a city just outside Miami that holds the largest concentration of Venezuelans in the entire country.

“Already this morning, I was looking at the group in Doral and everybody’s pitching in — money, medicine, water. First, necessity items,” said Torres, a sales manager who relocated from Venezuela to the U.S. back in 1995. “They’re talking about making the first shipment ASAP.”

The back-to-back quakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude — struck Wednesday night and caused significant destruction to Venezuela’s primary airport in the capital city of Caracas. That damage could seriously delay getting emergency supplies into the country. The two earthquakes rank among the most powerful Venezuela has experienced in over 100 years.

Images from the disaster zone showed injured children, animals, and civilians covered in dust and blood being pulled from the wreckage of collapsed concrete structures.

Beyond the confirmed dead and injured, thousands of additional people are unaccounted for, leaving relatives living in the U.S. frantically trying to get updates. More than 770,000 Venezuelans currently reside in the United States, with large populations concentrated in Florida, Texas, and Utah.

In the Houston area, which is home to a sizeable Venezuelan community, residents turned to Facebook groups and other social media platforms to spread the word about local drop-off locations for donations. Items in high demand include first aid and medical supplies such as gauze, bandages, antiseptics, disposable gloves, face masks, syringes, thermometers, and blood pressure monitors.

Many of the collection sites are located in Katy, a suburb roughly 30 miles west of downtown Houston that has earned the nickname “Katyzuela” due to its high number of Venezuelan residents. Local resident Daniel Arenas translated a Spanish-language social media post into English and shared it Thursday on his LinkedIn page in hopes of reaching donors across the greater Houston area.

“I came to this country ten years ago, built a life here, but my heart is still in Venezuela,” Arenas said. “It’s devastating what’s happening over there. They don’t have the resources to handle this.”

Arenas, who works as a maritime industry consultant, said his wife has been deeply worried about her aunt, who lives in a high-rise apartment in Caracas. The aunt sent a distressed message on WhatsApp shortly after the earthquakes struck.

“She was crying and screaming and saying she was in pain but not sure from where,” Arenas recalled. “She said she lost everything. She was desperate.”

Arenas said his wife was eventually able to make contact with her aunt.

Back in Florida, local officials in Doral and various advocacy organizations used social media and press conferences to call on the public to contribute aid.

Torres said he plans to donate money to the relief efforts. He still has uncles and cousins living in Caracas and Valencia, another Venezuelan city that suffered heavy damage. He said some of his relatives were hurt while evacuating buildings during the quakes.

“Their homes are destroyed and a few buildings have collapsed,” Torres said. “Thankfully, I don’t know anyone who passed away.”

Israel’s national emergency medical organization, Magen David Adom, chose to mark National Paramedic Day on Thursday by shining a spotlight on one of its own — 20-year-old Druze paramedic Ghadir Saleh, a young woman whose life took an unexpected turn from concert stages to ambulance calls.

Saleh grew up in the northern Druze city of Maghar and is now a volunteer on Magen David Adom Mobile Intensive Care Units, a role she stepped into after finishing the organization’s paramedic training program through her National Service.

Before emergency medicine became her focus, music was her world. She began playing the violin at age nine and went on to represent Israel in multiple international delegations. After finishing high school, she gave back by teaching violin to at-risk youth and children on the autism spectrum through the Ministry of Education.

Her path toward a musical career began to shift after a doctor recommended she ease the physical demands on her hands. But an earlier experience had already planted the seed for a different calling.

“I’ve been playing since I was nine years old. I represented Israel on several international delegations around the world, and I never imagined I would pursue anything other than music,” Saleh said.

A serious accident when she was 16 years old proved to be another turning point. Watching those around her struggle to respond — not even knowing to call 101, MDA’s emergency hotline — left a lasting impression during her long recovery.

“When I was injured in the accident, the people around me didn’t know how to help. They didn’t even know they should call 101, MDA’s emergency hotline. Throughout my recovery, which involved countless hospital visits and medical examinations, I kept thinking about how important it is to know what to do in situations like that,” she said.

Saleh went on to enroll in MDA’s intensive paramedic training course, which she described as both rigorous and transformative — helping her grow not just as a medical professional, but as a person.

She now responds to emergencies on mobile intensive care units across Israel and says she has been met with overwhelming support from her family and the broader Druze community.

“I want to help people and save lives. The Druze community is known for being traditional, but in the end, it doesn’t matter what religion I am or what religion my patient is. It’s about one person helping another,” she said.

While Saleh still picks up her violin from time to time, she says emergency medicine has given her a deeper sense of purpose. Serving others and her country, she added, has become the most fulfilling chapter of her life so far.

The standoff over the Strait of Hormuz has shifted away from military confrontation and into the realm of diplomatic language — where the precise meaning of a few carefully chosen words could determine who ultimately controls one of the globe’s most vital shipping corridors.

At the center of the dispute is not an outright toll provision, but a collection of ambiguous phrases: a “no charge” clause covering 60 days in a US-Iran memorandum, references to “maritime services” and “associated costs” in a joint statement between Oman and Iran, and Washington’s firm position that the strait cannot become a passage requiring permission from any single nation.

Following talks in Muscat that included Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman, and Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Oman and Iran released a joint statement backing the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between Washington and Tehran. The statement identified Oman and Iran as the two coastal nations bordering the Strait of Hormuz, called for safe passage consistent with international law, and underscored both nations’ sovereignty over their territorial waters.

The statement’s most contentious section announced that Oman and Iran would continue discussions through a joint foreign ministry working group aimed at reaching an agreement on the future management of navigation through the strait, the services to be offered, and the costs connected to those services. The two countries also said they would seek input from other coastal nations in the region.

Notably, the statement never uses the word “tolls.” However, by referencing services and costs, it opens the door to debate over where a toll ends and a maritime service charge, safety fee, or administrative cost begins.

The US-Iran memorandum, as described by a senior US official and published by Arab Center Washington DC, takes a similarly cautious approach. It states that Iran will make its “best efforts” to ensure safe passage for commercial ships “with no charge, for 60 days only,” traveling between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman in either direction. It also calls for Iran to engage in dialogue with Oman to define future administration and maritime services in the strait, in coordination with other Gulf coastal states and in accordance with international law.

The three parties are reading these documents very differently. Washington interprets “no charge” to mean no tolls, no fees, no insurance costs, and no Iranian-run payment system. Tehran appears to view the language as leaving space for future negotiations over maritime services and their associated costs. Oman’s position is more balanced, weaving together safe passage, international law, coastal-state sovereignty, regional consultation, and a working group process.

Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, cautioned against reading the Oman-Iran discussions as an immediate decision to charge ships for passage.

“Unlike some reporting, they are not announcing that they will collect tolls,” Parsi told The Media Line. He said the two countries were instead laying the groundwork for “future navigation” of the strait and the “services” to be provided, along with the cost of those services.

In Parsi’s assessment, the Oman-Iran statement signals negotiations over how the strait will be governed once the 60-day window closes — not an immediate imposition of charges. He also pointed out that the statement calls for consultations with other coastal states, suggesting an effort to make management of the strait “a regional affair” rather than something handled solely by Iran and Oman.

The legal framing carries significant political weight. A unilateral Iranian charge on vessels transiting Hormuz would be viewed in Washington as a direct challenge to freedom of navigation. But a regional maritime safety framework involving Oman, Iran, and other Gulf coastal states gives Tehran a more defensible position — framing the discussion as one about sovereignty, safety, and administration rather than coercive control. US officials remain concerned that even this softer approach could allow Iran to use its geographic position as leverage.

US Department of State adviser Willian I., who asked to be identified only by first name and last initial, said the conflicting accounts reflect deliberate political messaging rather than simple diplomatic misunderstanding.

“What we’re seeing isn’t confusion, it’s two governments performing for two different domestic and international audiences at the same time. Iran has to prove to its own hard-liners, especially the Revolutionary Guard, that it didn’t capitulate. Washington has to prove to its own public that it won, that the strait is open, and that the pressure campaign worked. Both narratives can’t be fully true simultaneously, so we get contradictory statements almost daily, and that gap is where disinformation thrives,” Willian I. told The Media Line.

The same text is being used to serve different political purposes. Washington wants to present the arrangement as evidence that the strait is reopening without tolls or Iranian conditions attached. Tehran, on the other hand, needs to avoid looking like it accepted a US-dictated framework or gave up its claim to a role in managing the waterway.

That leaves the most difficult question for a later date: who, if anyone, will have the authority to attach costs to passage through Hormuz once the 60-day period ends.

Willian I. acknowledged that a formal assurance on tolls exists, but warned against treating it as politically permanent.

“On the tolls, I can say this with confidence: Iran has given a direct, head-of-state-level assurance that there will be no toll. That commitment exists. But you have to separate the official channel from the fake news; there’s a faction within the IRGC actively spreading conflicting signals to undermine the negotiations, and Iranian positions on this have shifted quickly before. So the guarantee is real, but it’s fragile, and it would be naive to treat any single statement from Tehran as final,” he said.

That assessment aligns with the US government’s public position that Iran has assured Washington it is not pursuing tolls or other charges. Still, the practical details remain unsettled. The documents do not define what qualifies as a “service,” who provides it, who sets the price, whether payments would be voluntary or mandatory, or whether any payment mechanism would involve Iranian-linked institutions or security forces.

The longer-term challenge is political and strategic, not just financial. The Strait of Hormuz is not an ordinary shipping lane. It is a narrow chokepoint through which a significant portion of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows. Even modest uncertainty over transit rights, naval authority, registration requirements, insurance obligations, or administrative fees can ripple out to affect shipping markets, energy prices, and military positioning across the Gulf region.

Willian I. said the toll dispute is really part of a broader argument over who holds authority in the strait.

“There’s a second, distinct issue people are conflating with the toll story: Iran and Oman are jointly exploring a future framework to administer the strait, built on the claim that those waters fall under their sovereignty. That’s a different fight, about control, not just money, and it’s one Washington will not accept, now or later. The US has made clear it will not tolerate any arrangement that lets Iran convert a strategic chokepoint into a permission-based corridor,” he said.

For Washington, that is the line it will not cross. The United States can accept de-escalation language, a temporary reopening of the strait, Omani mediation, and even a regional consultation mechanism. What it cannot accept is any arrangement that effectively gives Tehran veto power over commercial shipping or creates a payment system that acknowledges Iranian authority over transit.

The Oman-Iran statement attempts to balance those competing pressures. It invokes safe passage and freedom of navigation, but also stresses sovereignty and sovereign rights. It references international standards, but leaves undefined who will determine what services are provided and what they cost. It calls for consultations with other regional states, but starts with a bilateral Oman-Iran working group.

That structure allows Oman to function as both a mediator and a coastal state, while giving Tehran language it can use domestically to argue that it has not surrendered the strait as a strategic asset.

A similar gap between public language and unresolved implementation appears in the nuclear dimension of the US-Iran process. The framework also addresses Iran’s nuclear program, enriched material, and oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Washington has characterized the arrangement as a path toward inspections and nuclear restraint. Iranian public messaging has been more guarded, focusing on principles rather than specifics.

“Yes, Iran has agreed in principle to allow the nuclear agency to visit, that much is confirmed. What hasn’t been confirmed is any detail of how, where, or when, because those details don’t exist yet. My read is that this is a stalling tactic. Iran’s strategic objective hasn’t changed: it still wants the capability to be feared on the world stage. Fully abandoning the weapons track would be read, both internationally and by the regime’s own hard-line base, as a humiliating defeat. No Iranian government survives that politically,” Willian I. said.

The same political constraints apply to the Hormuz situation. Iran may be willing to accept language that eases immediate pressure, restores shipping traffic, and keeps negotiations going. But publicly conceding that it has no future role in the strait, no ability to shape maritime services, and no leverage over passage would be a much harder sell for a leadership trying to frame the outcome as a win rather than a retreat.

“There’s a pattern here worth naming directly: authoritarian regimes don’t publicly concede. Iran is not going to announce that it’s accepting UN inspectors unconditionally, abandoning its programs, or fully relinquishing control of the strait, even if, behind closed doors, that’s exactly the direction things are moving. No head of state admits he’s losing a war. A dictatorship admits it even less. Every public statement coming out of Tehran right now needs to be read as messaging for an internal audience first, fact second,” Willian I. said.

Even so, the language around “services” and “costs” leaves a narrow but meaningful opening for future conflict. Iran can argue it is not charging a toll but seeking compensation for safety, navigation, environmental, or administrative services. Washington can counter that any mandatory payment tied to passage is simply a toll under a different name. Oman can maintain that the matter must be resolved through international law and coastal-state consultation. Shipping companies, insurers, and Gulf nations will ultimately have to judge whether the emerging framework reduces risk or introduces a new kind of uncertainty.

The weeks ahead will reveal whether the US-Iran ceasefire framework can hold together despite the gap between public narratives and the operational details that still need to be worked out.

If the final arrangement preserves safe, open, and charge-free navigation, Washington will declare its pressure campaign a success. If it gives Iran and Oman a path to define services and costs in ways that change the practical rules of passage, Tehran will claim it turned a military crisis into a new regional governance structure.

The Strait of Hormuz is open — at least in the language of diplomatic documents. Whether it stays open in legal, commercial, and strategic terms is the question that remains unanswered.

The Israel Defense Forces has announced the accidental death of Master Sgt. (res.) Basel Sweid, 32, a reservist driver serving with the 75th Battalion. Sweid, who hailed from the Druze village of Peki’in, lost his life when his vehicle rolled over in southern Lebanon.

A second IDF soldier was moderately injured in the same incident. That soldier was transported to a hospital for care, and his family was informed of the situation.

Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, spoke about Sweid’s dedication, noting that he had served hundreds of days in reserve duty and viewed his military service as both a calling and an honor to protect his country.

Sheikh Tarif also described Sweid’s character beyond the battlefield. “Basel was a man of giving who volunteered for many months at the emergency operations center established by the Druze community following the massacre of Druze in Syria in July 2025,” he said.

In civilian life, Sweid had worked as an operations coordinator in the administrative management division at Rambam Health Care Campus.

In a completely separate incident, the IDF confirmed that a civilian contractor working for the Defense Ministry was killed on Wednesday inside the Gaza Strip. The contractor, identified as Raad Abu al-Qi’an of Hura, was employed by a private company performing demolition work on behalf of the Defense Ministry.

Abu al-Qi’an was operating heavy machinery when a structure unexpectedly collapsed, killing him at the scene. The IDF categorized the death as an operational accident and confirmed that his family had been notified. Both the military and the Defense Ministry offered their condolences to his loved ones.

Nearly a full day after two devastating earthquakes rocked Venezuela, survivors in the coastal city of La Guaira were still clawing through the wreckage of collapsed buildings with nothing but their hands, desperately hoping to find neighbors still alive.

“We are trying to help with what we can, but there is a lack of equipment,” said Carlos Borges, expressing frustration over the shortage of backhoes and other heavy machinery needed to move massive concrete slabs — the remains of what were once high-rise apartment buildings.

Borges and his team managed to pull three survivors from one building. Meanwhile, anxious family members gathered nearby, including a single mother waiting and hoping for news about her missing teenage son, as of Thursday morning.

Models from the U.S. Geological Survey suggested the final death toll from Wednesday’s twin quakes — which struck in and around the capital city of Caracas — could climb beyond 10,000. The government of acting President Delcy Rodriguez has so far confirmed nearly 200 fatalities and 1,520 people injured.

La Guaira, a popular beach destination and the hardest-hit city in the country, along with Moron — located near the earthquakes’ epicenter — were left largely on their own amid limited government assistance.

“Is it not possible to call in the military? Everyone come, come and pitch in. Put them in an armored vehicle and come help the people. Find tractors wherever you can,” pleaded Argenis Martinez, a La Guaira resident searching through rubble for a missing relative in the Los Corales neighborhood.

Despite a shutoff of domestic gas service, some debris caught fire overnight. Frightened residents — many with no safe place to go — gathered in the streets or stared into the ruins of destroyed buildings, searching for any sign of life.

The government reported that approximately 250 buildings had been damaged or destroyed, mostly in La Guaira. Officials said aid was on the way from Spain, the United States, Mexico, and Qatar, and called on private businesses to loan heavy equipment such as backhoes to support rescue operations.

In other parts of La Guaira, neighbors recovered two bodies from a home — one of them a young girl — while also managing to rescue a mother and her two children, injured but alive, from the wreckage of an apartment building.

Reuters journalists on the scene observed members of a colectivo — motorcycle groups aligned with the ruling party that have long faced accusations of targeting anti-government demonstrators — helping with rescue efforts at at least one location.

“My building is uninhabitable and now I have nothing. It’s just me and my son, and I have no family in the country,” said Suhayl Sarquiz, 50, who had also lost her job just a few months earlier.

Reports of looting also emerged from parts of La Guaira, where people were searching for food and water. A Reuters team witnessed looting at a minimum of two stores in the area.

The city’s Jose Maria Vargas Hospital was overwhelmed with the injured, with some patients receiving care outside the building as police worked to control access. Hospital officials declined to provide information to reporters.

“It’s a tragedy,” said Beatriz Rodriguez, 60, whose nephew had both legs amputated at the hospital after being crushed in the quakes. A six-year-old nephew was also killed.

Venezuela’s armed forces announced they are deploying field hospitals to La Guaira capable of performing emergency surgeries. A Reuters team in the city Thursday spotted a military convoy near the local stadium engaged in aid operations.

Hospitals in other affected areas were also stretched beyond their limits. At a hospital in Moron, Dr. Augusto Ramirez was working through a 24-hour emergency shift and found himself running dangerously low on even the most basic supplies.

“We need blood pressure monitors, gauze, thermometers, gloves, plaster, painkillers — everything,” Ramirez told Reuters.

Along with two other doctors and additional staff, Ramirez had treated 112 patients since the earthquakes collapsed homes and knocked out electricity and water service in the town. Nine people have died from skull fractures and other injuries — including three children.

ANKARA, Turkey — A number of independent Turkish news organizations have been shut out of coverage for the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, with journalism groups condemning the move as a direct attack on press freedom.

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend the July 7-8 gathering of leaders from the alliance’s 32 member nations in the Turkish capital. Key topics on the agenda include defense spending and demonstrating alliance unity.

Among the outlets whose journalists were denied credentials are Halk TV, Sozcu TV, Cumhuriyet newspaper, T24 news website, and ANKA news agency — all considered either independent or opposition-leaning. The Turkish Journalists’ Association and other media solidarity organizations confirmed the exclusions.

According to the association, the rejected journalists received no explanation for the denial and were not given any avenue to challenge the decision.

“Preventing certain media outlets from covering events of public importance undermines freedom of information and reporting,” the association stated. “International organizations must act in line with the democratic values they claim to uphold.”

NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart addressed the situation in a post on X, explaining that for summits held outside NATO’s Brussels headquarters, the alliance depends on the host country to vet and approve journalists from that nation.

“We are in contact with Turkish authorities on accreditation for the NATO Summit in Ankara. It is very important for NATO that media can attend major events in person,” Hart said.

Turkish government officials have not made any public comment regarding the accreditation denials.

Turkey has been rolling out extensive security measures ahead of the summit. Earlier this week, security forces arrested more than 200 individuals suspected of ties to extremist organizations, according to the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office.

However, opposition parties and media reports indicated that those swept up in the arrests included a politician, an academic, a journalist, a prominent LGBTQ activist, and lawyers — prompting calls for their release.

Human Rights Watch also weighed in Thursday, criticizing the arrests and urging NATO to make sure basic democratic rights are upheld throughout the summit.

“The misuse of terrorism laws to conduct mass arrests and silence people in the run-up to a NATO summit flies in the face of the founding values of the alliance,” said Benjamin Ward, the group’s deputy director for Europe and Central Asia. “The authorities should immediately release those detained, and NATO should insist that peaceful expression and assembly must be permitted around the summit.”

The Turkish government’s Communications Directorate pushed back Thursday, asserting that those who were detained “were assessed to have been involved in activities connected to various terrorist organizations.”

Venezuela was rocked by two deadly earthquakes in quick succession on Wednesday, resulting in hundreds of casualties. The unusual back-to-back disaster highlights a long and tragic history of powerful earthquakes across Latin America. Here is a look at some of the deadliest seismic events to strike South and Central America over the past century.

September 2017 — Mexico: Within roughly one week, Mexico was hit by both an 8.1 and a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. The twin disasters devastated southern and central parts of the country, including Mexico City, and together claimed nearly 500 lives.

April 16, 2016 — Ecuador: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake tore through coastal provinces, leveling entire towns and killing more than 650 people.

February 27, 2010 — Chile: Central Chile was shaken by a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake that rattled the nation’s capital for roughly a minute and a half and set off a tsunami. The disaster left 523 people dead.

August 15, 2007 — Peru: A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck close to Peru’s central coast, taking the lives of more than 500 people.

January and February 2001 — El Salvador: A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off El Salvador’s coast on January 13, 2001, followed by a 6.6 magnitude quake approximately one month later. The earthquakes and the landslides they triggered together killed 1,200 or more people.

January 25, 1999 — Western Colombia: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake caused widespread destruction in the city of Armenia, killing around 1,170 people.

April 22, 1991 — Costa Rica: A magnitude 7.4 earthquake claimed more than 80 lives across Costa Rica and Panama. Roughly 30,000 people were cut off from access to food, water, and medical care for several days.

September 19, 1985 — Central Mexico: A magnitude 8.1 earthquake killed approximately 12,000 people, though the full death toll has never been precisely determined.

February 4, 1976 — Western Guatemala: A magnitude 7.5 earthquake killed more than 22,700 people.

December 23, 1972 — Nicaragua: A magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 6,000 people, with certain estimates placing the death toll as high as 9,000.

May 31, 1970 — Northern Peru: A magnitude 7.9 earthquake killed more than 66,000 people in one of the region’s worst-ever disasters.

May 22, 1960 — Chile: A magnitude 9.5 earthquake — known as both the Valdivia earthquake and the Great Chilean earthquake — holds the record as the largest earthquake ever recorded anywhere on Earth. The disaster killed more than 1,655 people, many of them in a resulting tsunami, and left 2 million people without homes.

August 5, 1949 — Ecuador: A magnitude 6.8 earthquake killed approximately 5,050 people.

January 24, 1939 — Chile: A magnitude 8.3 earthquake struck the Chillan area, killing around 28,000 people, with some estimates putting the number closer to 30,000.

January 31, 1906 — Ecuador: A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck near Esmeraldas and is known as the Ecuador-Colombia earthquake. It unleashed a powerful tsunami that killed roughly 1,500 people and sent waves as far north as San Francisco.

Turkey’s top diplomat has reached out to Venezuela following a series of deadly earthquakes, pledging ongoing support for the affected country.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke by phone Thursday with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil, according to a source from Turkey’s foreign ministry. The two officials discussed the earthquake situation in Venezuela and the country’s need for humanitarian assistance.

During the call, Fidan made clear that Turkey intends to continue providing help and support to Venezuela as it deals with the aftermath of the disasters, the source added.

WASHINGTON — Iran attacked a cargo ship traveling through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to two American officials who shared the information with Reuters under the condition that their names not be used.

The vessel had already reported being struck by a projectile before the Iranian attack. According to the British navy’s maritime agency, UKMTO, the ship was hit on its starboard side at a location approximately 7.5 nautical miles to the southeast of Oman’s port of Dahit.

The United Nations’ international shipping agency announced Thursday that it is putting on hold a major effort to evacuate hundreds of ships and thousands of crew members through the Strait of Hormuz, following an attack on a vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

Arsenio Dominguez, the Secretary-General of the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), confirmed the incident in an official statement. “I have been informed of an attack today in the Gulf of Oman on a vessel which passed through the Strait of Hormuz. This vessel did not transit under IMO’s evacuation framework,” he said.

Dominguez added that a temporary halt was necessary to ensure the safety of all ships involved. “I have decided to temporarily pause its implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place for the ships on our evacuation list and all those in the region,” he stated.

The evacuation program had only just gotten underway on Tuesday. It was designed as a voluntary option, giving ships and their crews two possible routes to exit the Gulf — one passing through Iranian waters and another through Omani waters, with oversight provided by the United States, according to the IMO.

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Thursday that he believes Canada should restore its diplomatic presence in both Iran and Venezuela, reversing decisions made by earlier administrations that shuttered the embassies in those countries.

Carney made the case that without functioning embassies, the Canadian government struggles to assist its citizens living or traveling in those nations and is less able to respond effectively to humanitarian emergencies — even when Ottawa strongly disagrees with those governments’ actions.

“Engagement is not endorsement,” Carney said. “Having an embassy, having consular services in a country, does not mean we endorse the policies of that country.”

Carney pointed specifically to Venezuela, where a recent earthquake has created urgent conditions and where Canada’s lack of an on-the-ground diplomatic presence is limiting its ability to deliver timely assistance.

While he made clear that no final decision has been reached, Carney said the current situation is untenable and must change.

“Moving towards that, in my judgement, a decision to be made, is what we need to do,” Carney said when speaking about restoring the embassies.

The embassy in Tehran was closed in 2012 under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who severed diplomatic ties with Iran entirely and expelled Iranian diplomats from Canada, describing the Islamic Republic as the most serious threat to global peace.

Canada’s embassy in Venezuela was suspended in 2019 after the regime of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro refused to renew visas for Canadian diplomatic staff.

“There are a series of countries with whom we don’t see eye to eye, to put it mildly, where we don’t have representation in the country,” Carney said. “And that puts us at a disadvantage, first and foremost, to helping Canadians that are in these countries.”

Carney acknowledged there are legitimate reasons those embassies were closed, but argued that their continued closure means Canada is failing to meet a fundamental obligation of its government.

“There is a humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and there is a need to act very quickly so in my opinion we must change the way we are doing things,” Carney said.

Carney also revealed that U.S. President Donald Trump reached out to him by phone on Wednesday. The two leaders discussed the upcoming NATO summit next month, along with developments involving Iran and the broader Middle East situation. Carney noted that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials were also part of that call.

MANAMA, Bahrain — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared Thursday that the relationship between the United States and its Gulf Arab allies remains strong, even as some of those partners worry they could be sidelined in ongoing talks aimed at ending the war with Iran.

Rubio completed a three-day diplomatic swing through the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain this week, working to assure all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council that the Trump administration stands firmly behind them as negotiations continue. The conflict traces back to a war launched by President Donald Trump and Israel on February 28, which severely cut into the region’s oil exports and resulted in several Gulf nations being struck by Iranian missiles and drones in retaliation.

Speaking from Bahrain, the final leg of his trip, Rubio acknowledged the concerns raised by Gulf partners. “They’ve shared with us some very concrete concerns, ideas,” he said. “And when I say concern, the biggest concern is that they really just want to be informed every step along the way as we enter these negotiations at both the technical and political levels.”

Rubio added that the U.S. is committed to keeping its partners engaged. “We want them to be involved and we want the views of all these countries to be reflected,” he said. “We don’t want to and will not be making any decisions or commitments that in any way undermines the prosperity, stability or security of our Gulf partners.”

Following the meeting, the U.S. and the six Gulf Cooperation Council members — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — issued a joint statement highlighting their shared objectives. The statement called for maintaining momentum and unity in negotiations toward a lasting end to hostilities and reaffirmed a shared goal of preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.

The two sides also voiced opposition to any Iranian effort to impose fees or exert control over the Strait of Hormuz, welcomed an Omani-led initiative to establish a safe evacuation corridor for sailors stranded in the waterway, and made clear that any economic relief Iran receives “is conditional and reversible, contingent on Iran’s compliance” with both the temporary agreement and any final deal.

Despite the upbeat tone of the joint statement, the Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary general, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, signaled that underlying doubts persist. He emphasized that any future agreements must account for the specific needs of Gulf member states to protect their interests and guarantee “their security and stability.” His statement also hinted that Gulf nations felt left out of earlier rounds of talks.

“Such arrangements must be based on the principles of international law, respect for state sovereignty, good neighborliness, and non-interference in internal affairs, thereby contributing to the consolidation of regional security and stability,” Albudaiwi said.

Before Rubio addressed the group, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, who hosted the meeting, said the memorandum of understanding reached so far is a positive step, but that significant questions still need to be answered.

“While this progress is encouraging, it is critically important that Iran fully adheres to its obligations,” including those outlined in the memorandum, Al Zayani said. He outlined what full compliance would look like: blocking Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, ensuring freedom of navigation, stopping all missile and drone attacks, cutting off support for proxy forces, and ending interference in neighboring countries’ affairs.

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — Rescue teams scrambled through collapsed buildings Thursday as Venezuelans desperately searched for survivors following two powerful earthquakes that officials say have claimed at least 164 lives, with fears that the death toll will climb much higher.

The two quakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude — struck Wednesday evening and rank among the most powerful to hit Venezuela in over a century. Nearly 1,000 people were injured, and thousands remain unaccounted for across the country. The coastal region of La Guaira, located north of the capital city of Caracas, suffered some of the most severe destruction and loss of life, according to officials.

The tremors were powerful enough to prompt building evacuations as far away as Brazil’s Amazon region, roughly 1,700 kilometers (about 1,050 miles) from Caracas. Venezuela’s main airport sustained damage and was forced to close.

Across northern Venezuela, frightened residents flooded into the streets, picking through debris in search of missing loved ones. Television footage captured rescue workers cutting through mountains of rubble with power tools in an effort to reach those trapped inside.

In La Guaira, retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño made his way through the wreckage, stepping past a body, when he spotted a woman pinned beneath the debris, waving her hand for help.

CAIRO — A journalist working in Yemen was killed late Wednesday when an explosive device hidden in his vehicle detonated in the port city of Mukalla, located in Hadramout province, according to Yemen’s government, which announced Thursday that investigators had been ordered to find those responsible.

The victim, Mohamed Eida, worked as a correspondent for Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath, two television networks backed by Saudi Arabia. According to the broadcaster, local authorities had alerted Eida roughly one month before his death that his life was in danger.

A relative of Eida, who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation, said his body had not yet been released to his family. Authorities informed the family that the remains would be held while the investigation is ongoing.

Rashad al-Alimi, the chairman of Yemen’s Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council — the governing body of the country’s internationally recognized government — confirmed the death and the bombing. A statement from the council said al-Alimi directed local officials to conduct an investigation.

Al-Alimi did not point to any suspected perpetrators. However, Al-Hadath reported, citing unnamed sources, that two individuals had been taken into custody and that a third suspect was still being sought.

The Yemeni Journalists Syndicate labeled the attack a “terrorist” act, calling it a blatant assault on press freedom and evidence that Yemen continues to be a dangerous place for journalists. The organization warned that allowing those responsible to avoid punishment would invite further attacks, endanger more journalists, and violate both national and international laws protecting freedom of expression.

United Nations Special Envoy Hans Grundberg also spoke out against the killing on Thursday, urging the protection of media workers and expressing support for “continued efforts to establish the facts, ensure accountability, and strengthen public confidence.”

According to the journalists syndicate, Eida had previously fled Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, after being pursued by Houthi rebels, who exercise de facto control over that city. At the time, he was reporting for Alhurra, a U.S.-funded broadcaster. Al-Arabiya reported that armed men had attempted to detain him, prompting his departure from Sanaa for Aden. The broadcaster added that the men also broke into his home and took his belongings, though it did not identify who they were. Eida later relocated to Mukalla, where he worked for the network.

Yemen has been torn apart by more than ten years of civil war. The conflict began when Iran-backed Houthi forces took control of Sanaa and large portions of northern Yemen, driving the internationally recognized government out of the country. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which included the United Arab Emirates, later stepped in in an attempt to restore the government to power.

More than 30 journalists were reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes targeting Houthi positions in Sanaa last September, amid a broader series of confrontations between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed group. The Houthis had stated they were striking Israel in response to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

SARTA, West Bank — A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers inside his home in the occupied West Bank, according to a family member who spoke on Thursday. The Israeli military acknowledged the shooting, stating that the man had hurled objects at the soldiers before they fired.

The victim, Mustafa Al-Khatib, 32, was discovered dead in his bedroom in the West Bank village of Sarta, located approximately 32 kilometers — about 20 miles — north of Jerusalem. His cousin, Amin Al-Khatib, said soldiers had forced their way through the front door of the home.

“I entered the house. They had broken the door,” Amin said. “He was lying in his bedroom. … We found him on the ground.”

According to the Israeli military, troops were conducting operations in the area when a man began throwing objects at them. The military said soldiers fired warning shots before directing fire at the man.

Video recorded inside the residence showed overturned and ransacked cupboards, along with bloodstains visible on the floor.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, based in Ramallah, released a statement indicating that Al-Khatib’s death raised the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank to 72 since the start of the year.

World leaders responded Thursday with expressions of solidarity and pledges of assistance following two devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela the previous evening, claiming at least 164 lives, injuring over 1,000 people, and leaving many others trapped under rubble.

The two quakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude — rank among the most powerful to hit Venezuela in over a century. The tremors were strong enough to be felt across the surrounding region.

Venezuelan officials worked urgently to maximize daylight hours in their push to locate and rescue those believed to still be buried beneath collapsed structures.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a message on social platform X, stating, “The United States extends our deepest condolences to the people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes.” He announced that the U.S. is “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela,” and extended sympathy to “all those who have lost loved ones, those injured, and the courageous rescue workers working tirelessly in the aftermath.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also used platform X to express France’s solidarity with the Venezuelan people, announcing that a team of 85 French rescue specialists focused on search and clearance operations is “being deployed immediately” to the country. “France stands ready, alongside its European partners, to provide assistance to the affected populations in response to the needs identified by the Venezuelan authorities,” Macron wrote.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shared his country’s “determination” to back Venezuela’s recovery. Writing on X, Lula said he directed Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assess conditions in Venezuela “and to evaluate what assistance measures Brazil might adopt.” He added, “I reaffirm our determination to support the government of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez in the recovery of affected areas in this sister nation, whose people have demonstrated great resilience in the face of adversity.”

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun addressed the disaster at a Thursday news conference, saying, “China has taken note of the reports concerning Venezuela. We extend our sincere condolences to the Venezuelan government and the affected people.” He added that “China is willing to provide assistance to Venezuela to the best of its ability, according to Venezuela’s needs.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez shared his support on Instagram, writing, “All the support from me and Spain to the Venezuelan people after the devastating earthquakes of last night. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”

Colombia’s leader also voiced support on X, writing, “I stand in full solidarity with the brotherly people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquake. Colombia stands with you during this difficult time with affection, respect, and hope. My prayers are with the victims and their families. God will provide.”

BUDAPEST — Two human rights organizations in Hungary are raising concerns about a proposed constitutional amendment put forward by Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s government that would remove President Tamas Sulyok from office and place a term limit on members of parliament.

Magyar’s centre-right Tisza party, which defeated Viktor Orban’s nationalist government in April after 16 years in power, has described Sulyok as a “puppet” of Orban. The party also argues that a 12-year term limit on lawmakers would help encourage broader representation in government.

Hungary’s president holds only limited powers, including the ability to veto legislation or send it for review.

Sulyok spent 10 years as a Constitutional Court judge — eight of those as its head — before parliament appointed him president in 2024. He has maintained that he carries no political agenda and has simply provided the checks and balances that his role requires.

Because Tisza holds a supermajority in parliament, the party has the ability to change the constitution and undo reforms made under Orban that critics say damaged the country’s democratic institutions.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Magyar dismissed the criticism of the proposal, describing the legislative package as “fast, tight, self-limiting and precise,” and said everything in it had been publicly known beforehand.

Magyar also announced at a briefing that he has invited President Sulyok and experts from the Venice Commission — the Council of Europe’s advisory panel — to Budapest next week to talk through the planned changes.

The proposed legislation states that its goal is to create “the preconditions for the restoration of constitutional democracy.” The amendment would end Sulyok’s term immediately, pointing to what it calls society’s “serious loss of confidence” in him.

Amnesty International Hungary said it considered Sulyok to have become “unworthy of his office.” However, the group’s communication director, Aron Demeter, told the television channel ATV on Wednesday evening that impeachment would be a “better and fairer” path than removing the president through a constitutional amendment, and would better align with international standards.

Political analyst Gabor Torok also took issue with the plan to remove the head of state “with a one-sentence constitutional amendment.” Writing on Facebook, Torok said: “Those who vote for this think … they can do anything with their qualified majority.”

The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union weighed in as well, saying that establishing a term limit for parliament members is not a pressing matter and should instead be addressed as part of a thorough and comprehensive constitutional review process.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation has reached an agreement with the World Bank’s guarantee arm, MIGA, to establish a political risk insurance framework tied to a joint U.S.-Ukrainian reconstruction investment fund.

The agreement was signed Thursday on the sidelines of a Ukraine recovery conference taking place in Gdansk, Poland. According to the DFC, the framework is designed to encourage and support private sector investment in Ukraine alongside the fund’s existing investments.

The U.S.-Ukrainian fund was established under a minerals agreement signed between the two countries a year ago and focuses on five key sectors, with critical minerals among them. Ukraine remains engaged in active combat against Russia’s full-scale military invasion, which began in February 2022. Ukraine has indicated that approval of a second project under the fund is expected within the coming weeks.

DFC Chief of Staff Conor Coleman said the agreement would allow the agency to bring additional private investment vehicles alongside joint projects being pursued under the U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. He added that the arrangement would give investors the “confidence to pursue high-impact opportunities in Ukraine,” though he offered no additional specifics.

Political risk insurance is a specialized form of coverage that shields businesses, investors, and lenders from financial losses resulting from unstable government actions, political unrest, or geopolitical conflict.

Ed Mountfield, vice president and chief financial officer of the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, said investment guarantees are essential for drawing in private capital and that the partnership would help improve Ukraine’s broader business climate.

The agreement was signed by Coleman and Mountfield, with Ukraine Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Jonathan Greenstein present as witnesses.

ADEN — A journalist working as a correspondent for Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya television was killed late Wednesday after a bomb planted on his car detonated, the network announced Thursday.

The victim, Mohammed Aydah, was a Yemeni national who worked for both Al Arabiya and its sister channel Al Hadath. He was killed in the city of Mukalla, located in Yemen’s eastern Hadramout governorate.

Al Arabiya reported that local security authorities in Mukalla had alerted Aydah roughly a month before his death that he faced a credible threat to his life, though no further details were provided. As of Thursday, no group had claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The assassination occurred amid a backdrop of political instability in the country. Tensions had recently escalated following clashes between Saudi-backed forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognized government and UAE-backed separatists, with fighting flaring between November and January. During that period, control of Mukalla shifted between the separatist group — known as the Southern Transitional Council — and the Saudi-backed forces, who currently hold the city.

The Southern Transitional Council issued a statement condemning the killing, describing the attack as evidence of deeper security problems in Hadramout. The group attributed those problems to the dismantling of units under its command that had previously helped drive al Qaeda out of the region in 2016.

Rashad al-Alimi, the head of Yemen’s presidential leadership council, ordered the creation of a high-level joint committee to investigate the killing. He pledged that authorities would pursue those responsible with full force.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi forces seized the capital, Sanaa, triggering intervention by a Saudi-led military coalition.

The Committee to Protect Journalists considers Yemen one of the most hazardous countries in the world for members of the press.

A massive portion of coastline near the famous lighthouse in Biarritz — a resort town along France’s southwestern Atlantic coast — gave way Wednesday evening, claiming the life of one diver and leaving a second unaccounted for, according to local authorities.

The cliff gave way at approximately 8:20 p.m. local time, with three divers positioned at the base when it happened, Biarritz City Hall confirmed in an official statement. One of the three managed to escape without injury and was treated by emergency responders on scene.

Search and rescue teams, including specially trained divers, were immediately deployed to look for the remaining two individuals. The body of one female diver was recovered during the operation. Efforts to locate the second missing diver picked back up on Thursday.

In response to the danger of additional collapses, officials have closed off a 300-meter (985-foot) zone around the cliff to the public, prohibiting access to the area on foot, in the water, or by boat.

Biarritz is a well-known European tourist hotspot, celebrated for its dramatic cliff scenery, sandy beaches, and reputation as one of the top surfing destinations on the continent.

WARSAW, Poland — Ukraine received its first major financial boost Thursday as the European Union disbursed an initial 3 billion-euro ($3.4 billion) installment from a larger 90 billion-euro ($101 billion) loan commitment. The announcement came at the opening of a conference focused on Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, held in Poland.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko made the announcement as prominent European figures — including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — gathered in Gdansk. The event serves as both a fundraising platform and a show of solidarity, sending a clear signal to Russia that Western nations remain committed to supporting Ukraine over the long term.

“We are forced to innovate to survive and this has become our superpower,” Svyrydenko said, expressing gratitude on behalf of Ukraine for the support pledged to the country.

Von der Leyen reaffirmed the EU’s financial backing for Ukraine, just days after the country formally began EU membership negotiations on June 15. She noted that since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, EU nations have collectively provided 200 billion euros ($225 billion) in economic, financial, and military assistance. The newly approved 90 billion-euro loan is set to be delivered over the next two years.

Von der Leyen also announced that an additional 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) — a second installment from the loan, earmarked specifically for drone production — would begin flowing to Ukraine “in the coming days.”

In a separate development, European leaders announced the launch of a new European equity fund aimed at channeling investment into key sectors of the Ukrainian economy. Merz described the fund’s purpose: “With an initial public package of up to 220 million euros, we are creating the confidence and the risk-sharing mechanism that private investors need to engage now.” The fund, which grew out of last year’s recovery conference in Rome, has backing from the EU along with Germany, Poland, Italy, and France.

Merz acknowledged that government funding alone cannot fully rebuild Ukraine, but stressed that “by investing now and committing long-term capital, Europe is sending a clear message: we believe in Ukraine’s future within the European family.”

Svyrydenko said the Ukrainian delegation plans to sign 160 agreements worth more than 10 billion euros ($11.2 billion) before the Gdansk conference concludes.

Svyrydenko stepped in to lead the Ukrainian delegation after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy withdrew from the conference just days beforehand. His absence stems from a diplomatic rift with Polish President Karol Nawrocki over historical World War II events that have strained ties between the two countries.

Earlier this month, Nawrocki revoked Poland’s highest state honor from Zelenskyy after the Ukrainian president named a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of killing Poles during the war. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, known as the UPA, fought for Ukrainian independence against both Nazi German and Soviet forces, but Poland accuses the group of massacring tens of thousands of Poles — primarily in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia — an act Poland classifies as genocide.

Zelenskyy has since returned the Polish honor, and other Ukrainian officials have done the same.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suggested that Zelenskyy’s absence from the conference may actually help ease tensions between the two nations. Svyrydenko did not address the dispute during her remarks. Tusk, in his own speech, offered this reflection: “We can only build the future on the basis of truth, mutual respect and understanding the past.”

A proposed Israeli law that would transfer civil oversight of historic archaeological sites in the West Bank to Israeli government control is facing fierce opposition from Palestinians and Israeli human rights organizations, who argue it is effectively an annexation move that would accelerate settlement expansion.

The legislation, known as the “Heritage Authority in Judea and Samaria” bill, cleared one of three required votes in Israel’s parliament back in May. However, it remains uncertain whether the remaining votes will happen before parliament breaks ahead of an election expected by October 27.

If passed, the bill would place Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader-era archaeological sites under the Israeli Ministry of Heritage and allow for the “expropriation and purchase of real estate” in the West Bank — a territory Israel refers to by its Hebrew biblical name.

The move would effectively strip the Western-backed Palestinian Authority of its oversight role at several ancient sites. Under the Oslo peace accords reached in the 1990s, the Palestinian Authority has exercised limited self-governance over portions of the West Bank, which Israel seized during the 1967 war.

The Palestinian Authority’s tourism minister, Hani Al-Hayek, was blunt in his criticism, saying “control over these antiquities is intended to expand control and expand settlements in these areas, deep inside Palestinian territories.”

Israel, for its part, maintains that the bill’s goal is simply to protect and preserve ancient historical sites.

Israeli settlements watchdog Peace Now characterized the legislation as something that “constitutes an annexationist measure in every respect” and warned it would trigger widespread confiscation of Palestinian land. The organization noted that while using archaeology as a tool to expand settlements is not new, the current government’s approach is unprecedented in its scale.

One community directly in the crosshairs is the Palestinian village of Sebastia, located in the northern West Bank. Many residents there can trace their family ties to the land back hundreds of years, and the local economy depends heavily on visitors to a nearby archaeological site.

That site contains ruins from the 9th-century B.C. Israelite kingdom, along with remnants from the Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, and Ottoman periods. Archaeologists note it is currently on a tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

In late 2025, Israel announced plans to seize approximately 1,800 dunams — roughly 445 acres — at the site, citing development goals. Village officials say the seizure would affect around 5,000 olive trees growing in the village’s groves.

Sebastia’s Deputy Mayor Nizar Kayed described the impact on the community: “They are incorporating areas containing water resources, roads and antiquities, leaving us as residents without any resources. It is part of settlement expansion.”

Local business owner Nahed Sakha, whose restaurant sits on land targeted for confiscation, said tourism had already been declining since late 2023 due to regional conflict. “It seems that the Israeli plan (is) to isolate the archaeological site from the people,” Sakha said.

Israeli parliament member Zvi Sukkot, who has been a driving force behind the bill, argues that bringing these sites under Israeli control is about protecting ancient remnants with deep biblical significance. “There’s nothing here that changes the legal status of Judea and Samaria,” he told Reuters.

Sukkot added: “There are many people who are bothered by our desire to prove the ties between the people of Israel and this land. All the stories of the Bible, all our history, the people (of Israel) were born in Judea and Samaria.”

Sukkot belongs to the pro-settler Religious Zionism party and, like many members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and supports annexing the West Bank.

United Nations bodies and the majority of the world’s countries consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law, specifically citing the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits transferring a civilian population into occupied territory. Israel rejects that interpretation, describing the West Bank as disputed rather than occupied territory and pointing to security considerations as well as historical and biblical connections to the land.

The bill has also raised alarms within Israel itself. Legal officials in Israel’s defense establishment have expressed concern, and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities sent an open letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu and parliament member Sukkot urging them to scrap the measure entirely.

“This will undoubtedly lead to an immediate deterioration in Israel’s international relations in the field of archaeology, and it will also have an impact on other areas of science and research,” the academy warned.

LONDON — The British government announced plans Thursday to make harmful practices aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity a criminal offense.

Officials released a draft Conversion Practices Bill covering England and Wales that would ban these so-called conversion therapies outright. Anyone convicted of carrying out such practices could face an unlimited financial penalty, a prison sentence of up to five years, or both.

The proposed legislation would go even further by making it a crime to encourage or assist conversion therapies that take place outside England and Wales.

Britain first committed to banning conversion practices in 2021, reaffirming that pledge in January 2023. The newly released draft bill represents the government’s most concrete step yet toward fulfilling that promise.

Beyond criminal penalties, the bill would establish civil protections for individuals considered at risk of abuse — modeled after existing legal safeguards already in place for victims of forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

The draft legislation does include exemptions for what officials described as legitimate healthcare. Under those provisions, therapists and counselors would still be permitted to hold open discussions with clients about issues of sexuality and personal identity.

Before the bill can be introduced to parliament for a full debate, it will first go through a pre-legislative review process.

KYIV — Russian forces launched a series of attacks across Ukraine on Thursday, striking three rail locomotives and two fuel stations, according to Ukrainian officials. One person was killed in the assault, the latest in a mounting wave of strikes on the country’s infrastructure.

The CEO of Ukraine’s state-owned railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, confirmed the strikes in a Facebook post, saying two of the locomotive attacks occurred in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and one in the northeastern Sumy region.

Pertsovskyi described how two train crews were able to escape without injury, but the third strike had a tragic outcome. “Two crews were evacuated in time and none of them was hurt, but the third strike in Zaporizhzhia ended in tragedy: the driver managed to get to safety, but the assistant driver, who was in the rear cab, could not be saved,” he said.

Local officials confirmed that fuel stations in both Zaporizhzhia and Sumy were also hit during the attacks.

Earlier this month, Pertsovskyi told Reuters that Russia had struck more than 100 locomotives since the start of the year — a rate he described as “simply insane.” He accused Moscow of deliberately trying to shut down Ukrzaliznytsia’s operations entirely.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been targeting each other’s fuel supplies and transportation networks in an effort to cut off resources reaching front-line troops. The conflict, now in its fifth year, has seen repeated strikes on logistics infrastructure on both sides.

Earlier in June, Ukrainian attacks on Russian fuel supply lines caused widespread shortages in numerous Russian regions and in Russian-occupied Crimea.

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is pulling a substantial portion of its air defense systems away from other parts of the country to guard Moscow and several other critical locations, as Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes continue to reach deep into Russian territory.

In his nightly video address on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said Russia has been funneling air defense resources to its capital, to Valdai — a town roughly 500 kilometers (about 300 miles) northwest of Moscow where Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains a residence — and to the Kerch Bridge, a key supply link between the Crimean Peninsula and the Russian mainland.

“In the Moscow region alone, they have amassed hundreds of launchers” for air defense missiles, Zelenskyy said. “Nearly 90 launchers have been redeployed to Valdai from other regions of Russia.”

Ukraine has been ramping up its aerial offensive over recent months, striking Russian military installations and energy infrastructure. Those attacks have contributed to fuel shortages and disrupted supply lines supporting Russia’s military, hampering Moscow’s invasion after more than four years of conflict.

Ukrainian drones have recently struck both Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city and Putin’s hometown. Ukraine is also working to sever Russia’s access to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula Moscow seized and illegally annexed in 2014.

Zelenskyy suggested the redeployment of Russian air defenses would leave other areas of Russia open to attack from Ukraine’s increasingly advanced drones, which are now capable of traveling more than 1,500 kilometers (roughly 900 miles).

“There are many difficulties (for Russia), all because Putin refuses to end his war and to hear our proposals for a meeting, genuine negotiations, and a dignified peace,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire called for by U.S. President Donald Trump, but Putin has declined, and a year of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts has produced no meaningful progress toward peace.

Trump, who has at times been critical of Zelenskyy, said at the White House on Wednesday that the Ukrainian leader is “courageous” and “doing pretty well” in the war.

Ukraine’s outlook has improved over the course of the grinding conflict, as domestic production of sophisticated drones has helped tie down the larger Russian military force.

Zelenskyy said he secured commitments of continued international support during a recent G7 leaders’ summit, which included Trump, and that the promised assistance would help sustain Ukraine’s intensified campaign.

“Our operation, including the one concerning Crimea, has been carefully planned, and the way it is unfolding clearly demonstrates that if Ukraine receives exactly what we discussed with our partners at the G7 — and that depends on our partners’ decisions — we will quickly create conditions in which Russia will be forced to choose peace,” he said.

“We very much hope for a positive response from our partners,” Zelenskyy added. “They know exactly what we are talking about.”

In a separate development, Belarus — whose factories have played an important role in supporting Russia’s war effort — appears to have turned off signal relay equipment on its territory that Ukraine said was being used to help direct Russian drone attacks. Zelenskyy had demanded last week that Belarus remove the relay stations, threatening to take action against them if not removed, a move that could have led to direct conflict between the two countries.

Ukrainian intelligence has confirmed the repeaters are now inactive, Zelenskyy said in an audio message sent to journalists. However, he noted that “there are many questions regarding Belarus,” whose territory Russia used as a launching point for its initial invasion of Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is carefully navigating his position in the conflict. “Lukashenko continues to stall and deflect the Kremlin’s intensified attempts to drag Belarus into the war in Ukraine while maintaining relatively neutral rhetoric towards Ukraine,” the institute said.

Ukrainian military officials on Wednesday ordered a mandatory evacuation of communities in the Chernihiv region, which borders Belarus, beginning July 1. Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the armed forces commander, said last week that Ukraine is bolstering its northern border defenses and establishing new army drone units there.

Overnight, Russia launched one ballistic missile and 90 long-range strike drones at Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian air force. A Russian drone hit a gas station Thursday morning in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, wounding four people including two workers, according to the regional administration head. Russian forces have targeted gas stations in that region 13 times in June alone. A separate overnight Russian strike in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia injured one woman and damaged another gas station, the regional head said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its air defenses intercepted 269 Ukrainian drones between late Wednesday and early Thursday. Several Russian airports also temporarily halted flights overnight amid the drone attacks.

BEIJING (AP) — China pushed back Thursday against international criticism of its recent naval patrols in waters east of Taiwan, one day after three major European nations voiced serious concerns about what they called “novel Chinese activity.”

Britain, France, and Germany stopped short of specifically identifying the activity but warned it was putting regional stability at risk. In response, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson argued that China’s law-enforcement and patrol operations were actually intended to preserve stability and order at sea.

The patrols came after Japan and the Philippines announced plans to discuss their shared maritime boundaries in waters that Beijing considers its own. China responded by sending coast guard vessels to the area.

“These are necessary actions in response to Japan’s and the Philippines’ manipulation of maritime delimitation issues and infringement upon China’s maritime rights and interests,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a daily press briefing.

A joint statement issued by the de facto embassies of the three European nations in Taiwan said China’s moves were a threat to regional stability, freedom of navigation, and the safety of international shipping routes. Taiwan’s Central News Agency also reported that the United States expressed concern about the activity.

Earlier this month, Taiwan reported that Chinese coast guard vessels were stopping commercial ships near the island and asking them to disclose their planned routes — a move Taiwan characterized as harassment.

The waters in question serve as a critical shipping corridor for oil, natural gas, and goods moving from the Middle East and Europe to ports in China, Japan, and South Korea. While Taiwan operates as a self-governing island, China claims it as part of its territory and asserts rights over the surrounding waters.

Guo defended the operations, calling them “legitimate exercises of jurisdiction in accordance with the law.”

Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have been strained since Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last year that Japan’s military could become involved if China took military action against Taiwan.

The situation surrounding Taiwan remains one of the most volatile potential flashpoints between China and the United States, which is Taiwan’s primary arms supplier.

Adding to the tension, China sent its newest and most powerful aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait earlier this week — just hours after Taiwan launched a five-day military exercise designed to rehearse its response to a potential Chinese attack.

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA — Conservative candidates in Brazil are pledging to bring El Salvador’s aggressive crime-fighting playbook to South America’s largest nation, making public safety a defining issue in the country’s upcoming October general election.

The push reflects the growing regional influence of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whose administration has suspended civil liberties while dramatically reducing crime rates, inspiring a wave of imitators across Latin America. In recent weeks, right-wing candidates in Colombia and Peru both won presidential contests by running heavily on anti-crime platforms.

In Brazil, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, Congressman Nikolas Ferreira, and former Governor Romeu Zema have each made trips to El Salvador — with some touring its 40,000-capacity “mega prison” known as CECOT — in an effort to build voter enthusiasm for stricter crime measures.

Bolsonaro, who leads among conservative candidates in Brazil’s presidential polling, rolled out a public safety proposal last week that includes “five new maximum-security prisons along the lines of El Salvador’s model.”

At a public event, the senator declared, “More prisons, fewer criminals on the loose,” echoing the tough rhetoric of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Along with his brother Eduardo, a former congressman, he met with Bukele’s security minister during a visit to El Salvador last year. Ferreira, who received the most votes of any lower house lawmaker in Brazil’s 2022 elections, made a similar visit.

Support for Bukele’s methods is quickly becoming a shared position among Brazil’s conservative leaders. Presidential contender Romeu Zema praised El Salvador’s “pragmatic” approach during a March 31 interview with Reuters.

“In El Salvador … criminals stay locked up. Here in Brazil, criminals walk free,” Zema said.

São Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas has also pointed to El Salvador as a model worth studying. Speaking at a public event late last year, he said: “Not to draw too close a comparison, but look at what Bukele did in El Salvador, what it was and what it is now.” He added, “We need to start truly confronting crime with the harshness it deserves.”

Bukele’s strategy has combined a prolonged state of emergency, sweeping mass arrests, military-assisted policing, and the construction of the massive CECOT facility. His government credits the approach with a historic drop in homicides and the dismantling of gangs that had long terrorized the country.

However, the crackdown has come at a cost to constitutional rights, press freedom, and judicial independence. Human rights organizations have accused Salvadoran authorities of carrying out widespread arbitrary arrests and torture. Bukele’s government has denied those allegations, arguing that extreme measures were necessary to break the gangs’ hold on the country.

The model is spreading across the region. Costa Rica welcomed Bukele in January for the opening of its own CECOT-style prison, built with Salvadoran assistance. Costa Rica’s President Laura Fernandez took office last month vowing a “heavy-handed war against organized crime.”

In Colombia, President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella ran on a platform calling for 10 new mega-prisons, drawing comparisons to the Salvadoran leader — comparisons he rejected. In Peru, where security dominated this year’s presidential race, presumptive President-elect Keiko Fujimori campaigned on a “frontal war” against crime, stricter anti-terrorism laws, and an expanded military role in public safety.

Robert Muggah, co-founder of the Igarape Institute, a Brazilian public policy think tank, wrote in a leading defense policy journal this month that “throughout the region, voters facing chronic insecurity and rising mistrust are rewarding leaders who promise decisive control.” He cautioned, however, that “heavy-handed strategies carry well-known risks when they are poorly designed and politically rewarded.”

Those risks may be particularly serious in Brazil, where decades of mass incarceration have failed to rein in organized crime. The country’s two largest criminal organizations — the First Capital Command and Red Command — both originated as prison gangs before expanding into national and international drug-trafficking networks.

Brazil already has one of the world’s largest prison populations, which nearly quadrupled between 2000 and 2024 to roughly 909,000 inmates, according to the University of London’s World Prison Brief — a system already operating far beyond its intended capacity.

“Brazil is far more complex than El Salvador, and it would be very difficult to implement something like that here,” said Rafael Alcadipani, a public security expert and professor at Brazil’s Getulio Vargas Foundation.

TAIPEI — Taiwanese officials ran a tabletop simulation Thursday, practicing how the island would respond if China attempted to impose a maritime blockade by requiring all ships entering or leaving Taiwanese ports to first obtain Beijing’s approval.

China has long refused to rule out military force as a means of bringing Taiwan under its authority and routinely sends military assets around the island. However, Taiwan’s government has grown increasingly concerned about non-military forms of pressure that Beijing could use, such as deploying its Coast Guard to assert legal control over shipping lanes around the island.

Earlier this month, China’s Coast Guard conducted what Beijing described as a “law enforcement” patrol off Taiwan’s eastern coastline, claiming it had inspected vessels in the area. Taiwan strongly condemned the move, and the United States, France, Britain, and Germany all voiced concern over the action.

National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lii Wen addressed a regular gathering of Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s Whole-of-Society Defence Resilience Committee, confirming the drill had taken place earlier that day.

Lii described the exercise scenario: China’s Coast Guard announces that all vessels entering and departing Taiwanese ports must file declarations through the China International Trade Single Window, a government-run portal for trade processing. From there, Beijing would gradually escalate its actions — moving from inspections to boardings, searches, and ultimately the seizure of ships — steadily increasing what Lii called “interference with Taiwan’s maritime resupply.”

In Taiwan’s simulated response, the island’s own Coast Guard would carry out what Lii described as “strong front-line law enforcement and response actions,” while the military would launch immediate combat readiness exercises. Taiwan’s defense and foreign ministries would also mount a public communications effort, arguing that China’s actions — including unauthorized boardings and inspections — violate international law and undermine freedom of navigation.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office had not responded to a request for comment. Beijing does not recognize any claim of sovereignty by Taiwan.

Earlier Thursday in Beijing, Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang defended China’s recent patrols. “Our law-enforcement patrols in the relevant waters are legitimate and necessary and are a just action to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” Zhang said.

Speaking at the opening of the resilience committee meeting, President Lai pushed back, saying China’s “acts of expansion carried out under the guise of law enforcement” are destabilizing the security, peace, and stability of the broader region.

“Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen its self-defence capabilities, maintain the peaceful and stable status quo, and safeguard its democratic and free way of life are absolutely not provocations,” Lai added.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Thursday that his country’s navy has seized another oil tanker believed to be part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet — a network of aging vessels Moscow uses to transport oil and gas while evading Western sanctions.

The interception occurred Tuesday as the tanker, named the Deliver, was traveling near the coastline of Sicily. Macron shared the news on Instagram, along with video footage showing French Marines rappelling down from helicopters onto the vessel’s deck.

“This new action against the shadow fleet, conducted days after a similar operation by Britain, shows Europeans’ determination,” Macron wrote in his post.

The French president made clear his country intends to keep up the pressure, stating: “We will not let the shadow fleet evade sanctions and finance the Russian war effort.”

Thursday’s announcement marks at least the fifth tanker France has intercepted that it identifies as part of Russia’s shadow fleet — vessels described as older ships that Russia has come to rely on for moving energy exports in defiance of Western penalties tied to the war in Ukraine.

Russia has condemned such interceptions, characterizing them as illegal actions.

Thousands of people are feared dead in Venezuela after two powerful earthquakes struck in and around the capital city of Caracas on Wednesday, burying victims under collapsed buildings and triggering a series of strong aftershocks.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the disaster began with a magnitude 7.2 earthquake centered about 160 kilometers — roughly 100 miles — west of Caracas. Less than a minute later, an even stronger magnitude 7.5 tremor followed. At least 32 deaths have been confirmed and 700 people were reported injured.

Using predictive modeling, the USGS estimated the final death toll would most likely climb into the thousands, with a notable probability that it could surpass 10,000.

Rescue workers picked through the wreckage of a collapsed building in Caracas as darkness fell Wednesday night. Desperate family members gathered nearby, searching for word about loved ones believed to be trapped in the debris. Several survivors were pulled from the rubble, some carried away on stretchers.

“When we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie,” said Maria Alejandra, a resident from a neighboring building who declined to give her last name. “We had to climb over the rubble and everything. The building superintendent with the baby and all the neighbors coming down. But from that building, I only saw that one family got out.”

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez acknowledged that the confirmed casualty numbers do not yet include victims from La Guaira state — the hardest-hit area near Caracas and home to the city’s main airport, which was shut down following the disaster.

“Dozens of buildings have collapsed, and we are currently carrying out very intense rescue efforts to save as many lives as God allows us to save,” Rodriguez said during an appearance on state television just before 1 a.m. local time Thursday.

A website created to track missing persons, shared on X by members of Venezuela’s opposition — many of whom are currently outside the country — showed more than 6,600 people listed as unaccounted for shortly after 2 a.m. local time.

The earthquakes struck during the afternoon on a public holiday, meaning many Venezuelans were at home when the ground began shaking.

“There was a very loud crash. Things fell in the house, jugs inside the refrigerator. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” said Coro Martinez, 56, a resident of eastern Caracas.

Aftershocks continued to shake the capital well into the early morning hours of Thursday. Rodriguez said rescue teams from other countries were expected to arrive in the coming hours, and she thanked several world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump posted on social media that the United States stood ready to help. “The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths,” Trump wrote. He had previously ordered the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a violent raid in January.

The United Nations’ Venezuela human rights mission called on the government to lift local restrictions on social media access, calling it a “matter of life and death.” Access had already been restored in some areas.

Former Venezuelan lawmaker Wilmer Azuaje filmed the moment the quake struck Maiquetia Airport, capturing masonry and dust crashing down around him. “Everyone, the situation we’re experiencing here is serious. A high-magnitude earthquake. Look at how everything ended up,” he said in the video.

A tsunami warning was briefly issued following the earthquakes but was quickly canceled once the threat had passed.

Residents throughout Caracas fled into the streets as buildings shook. The city was previously struck by a deadly magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 1967.

“As soon as it started, we began hearing people screaming,” said Astrid Ramirez, a 41-year-old publicist in western Caracas. “Everyone was running down the stairs.”

Maria Romero, an 80-year-old pensioner living in southern Caracas, said police helped her evacuate her home. “This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she said.

Another resident, a 41-year-old office worker who asked not to be identified, said she received an alert on her phone moments before the shaking intensified. “As I picked it up and started listening to what it was saying, I first felt light shaking. Then, in less than two seconds, everything started moving,” she said.

Leaders from El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, and Spain all expressed support and condolences. The U.S. State Department confirmed it was in contact with Venezuelan authorities and working to mobilize assistance.

Venezuela sits in a seismically active region where the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate meet. Historical records show that an estimated 30,000 people perished when a major earthquake devastated the cities of Merida and Caracas back in 1812, according to the USGS.

At Caracas’ Hospital de Clinicas, staff were asked to work double shifts to handle the influx of injured patients. School classes were canceled for the remainder of the week as officials began assessing the full extent of the damage.

The Venezuelan Red Cross reported that its own headquarters had been critically damaged, but said rescue teams had been deployed to the most affected areas. France reported that its embassy in Venezuela had also sustained serious damage.

Venezuela’s oil infrastructure did not appear to be immediately impacted. Civil protection officials in Maracaibo, near the major oil hub at Lake Maracaibo, reported no injuries. A worker at the El Palito refinery near Morón — close to the earthquake’s epicenter — said the facility had not been damaged.

UK oil firm Shell, which is considering developing gas fields in Venezuela, said all of its employees were safe and uninjured. One source warned that a prolonged power outage could affect crude oil production levels. Venezuela’s oil ministry, state-run oil company PDVSA, and its primary foreign partner Chevron had not responded to requests for comment at the time of this report.

NAIROBI — Dozens of Kenyans gathered in the streets Thursday under a heavy security presence to honor those who lost their lives two years ago when sweeping anti-government protests swept through Nairobi amid outrage over proposed tax increases and a rising cost of living.

Organizers had called for remembrance marches in both the coastal city of Mombasa and the capital Nairobi, marking the second anniversary of the June 25, 2024 unrest — a day when demonstrations intensified sharply, protesters broke through the gates of parliament, and a subsequent security crackdown resulted in dozens of deaths.

The night before the marches, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen issued a stern warning, stating that anyone attempting to engage in “chaos, looting, destroy property, disrupt businesses, or commit any other criminal acts” would face “the full force of the law.” He also said investigators were already looking into reports of people organizing gangs and acquiring weapons ahead of the anniversary.

In Mombasa, dozens of marchers participated while accompanied by security personnel. Meanwhile, Nairobi’s streets were largely empty, with police deploying roadblocks, water cannons, and razor wire barriers outside parliament. Businesses and restaurants in the central district — the heart of previous demonstrations — remained closed throughout the day.

“Today we remember our comrades who died in the demonstrations,” said John Maina, 26, speaking to Reuters in Nairobi. “They were not fighting for any profit, that is why we remember them, it’s not a protest, it’s a remembrance.”

In Nairobi, opposition leaders joined families of slain protesters and victims of alleged police violence in a march toward parliament, where they placed flowers and candles outside the building.

Brian Musyoka, a 37-year-old motorbike taxi driver, told Reuters the business shutdown was compounding the financial strain already felt by everyday Kenyans. “There is not much work, I may not make anything to cover the loan that paid for this electric bike,” he said.

Protest organizers stated their goals include securing justice for victims, obtaining credible investigations into past police conduct, and winning guarantees that excessive force will not be used against demonstrators in the future.

Last week, the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi issued an advisory urging American citizens in Kenya to stay away from protest areas and crowds, and to anticipate traffic disruptions and roadblocks on Thursday.

President William Ruto announced last week that 2 billion Kenyan shillings — roughly $15.5 million — had been set aside for victims of protest-related rights abuses through a national reparations program. However, rights groups and civil society organizations argue that financial compensation alone does not constitute true accountability for the alleged actions of security forces, and have called on Ruto to issue a public apology.

ZURICH — Swiss President Guy Parmelin is heading to the United States next week to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Switzerland’s government announced Thursday. The visit is part of an ongoing effort by Bern to turn a preliminary tariff agreement with the Trump administration into a formal deal.

Parmelin, who also serves as Switzerland’s economy minister, will make the U.S. stop as part of a wider North American journey scheduled from June 29 through July 9. The trip will also include visits to Canada and Mexico.

Switzerland had found itself facing the steepest American tariffs in all of Europe after President Donald Trump imposed a 39% duty on Swiss imports last summer. That changed in November when the two sides reached an initial agreement, bringing the tariff rate down to 15% — matching the rate applied to European Union goods. Formal negotiations to codify that arrangement have since been underway.

During the North American trip, Parmelin is also expected to attend Switzerland’s soccer World Cup match in Vancouver on July 2. The final portion of his journey will take him to Mexico, where he is scheduled to meet with President Claudia Sheinbaum and several ministers, according to Switzerland’s economy ministry.

Among Switzerland’s longer-term trade priorities is updating the free trade agreement between the European Free Trade Association and Mexico — a pact that has been in place for roughly 25 years, the ministry noted. Switzerland stands as the largest economy within EFTA, which also includes Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

BAGHDAD — A senior official at Iraq’s oil ministry warned Thursday that the country will be forced to consider every option available if its production quota within OPEC is not substantially raised, according to Reuters.

Additional sources told Reuters that Iraqi officials have discussed the possibility of withdrawing from OPEC entirely, though the current strategy is to stay in the organization and push for a larger share of production.

The possibility of Iraq walking away from OPEC would deal another serious blow to the organization, which already lost the United Arab Emirates as a member this year. Iraq holds the distinction of being one of the group’s five original founding members, and OPEC itself was established in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

OPEC had not responded to a request for comment at the time of the report.

The Iraqi official described the situation as urgent, telling Reuters that Iraq is in the grip of a severe financial crisis stemming from the Iran war, and that a meaningful increase in its OPEC production quota is not just important — it must be treated with the highest level of seriousness.

OPEC+ is made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries along with allied oil-producing nations, including Russia.

Cambodia’s highest court has confirmed the 14-year prison sentences handed down to two journalists who were convicted of leaking military secrets during the nation’s border conflict with Thailand, according to their legal team.

The two reporters — Phorn Sopheap, age 39, and Pheap Pheara, age 41 — were both employed by a local news organization called TSP 68 TV Online.

A provincial court in Siem Reap sentenced the pair last December after finding them guilty of “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defence” under Article 445 of Cambodia’s Criminal Code.

Both journalists were arrested separately on July 31, 2025, after returning from a reporting assignment in Oddar Meanchey province, a region that borders Thailand and saw some of the fighting during the conflict. Authorities alleged that their coverage revealed the locations and tactical strategies of Cambodian military forces.

Before reaching the Supreme Court, their case was reviewed by the Battambang Appeal Court in March, which also upheld the original sentences. Thursday’s Supreme Court decision is now considered final — the only remaining avenue for the journalists is a pardon from the king.

The case is part of a broader pattern of concern about press freedom in Cambodia. The country has faced significant international criticism over its treatment of journalists, activists, and environmental advocates. Among those detained was an award-winning reporter who had been investigating corruption and illegal scam operations within the country.

The U.S.-based watchdog organization Freedom House recently downgraded Cambodia’s press freedom rating, citing the fact that “virtually all independent media outlets in the country have closed.”

Freshly printed Sudanese currency has started showing up in territory held by a powerful paramilitary force that has been at war with Sudan’s national military, potentially widening the nation’s growing divide.

The Rapid Support Forces, known as the RSF, once worked alongside Sudan’s armed forces before the relationship broke down and full-scale fighting erupted in April 2023. The group now holds large portions of the country, including the sprawling western Darfur region.

In an effort to consolidate its hold on these areas, the RSF established a rival governing body last year called the “Tasis” government, which has been gradually taking on governmental responsibilities — including paying the salaries of civil servants.

The question of who controls Sudan’s currency became a flashpoint in 2024, when the military-backed government declared older Sudanese pound notes worthless and rolled out new 500 and 1,000-pound denominations. The RSF rejected these new bills as illegitimate, and residents in RSF-held areas reported that usable cash became increasingly difficult to find. Four residents shared their experiences with Reuters.

That cash shortage appeared to ease in late May, when both civil servants and RSF fighters received payments in Sudanese pounds — something that had been virtually unheard of in RSF-controlled territory. Residents described the notes as brand new and untouched. A photograph shared with Reuters showed the bills were dated May 2022.

The origin of the notes remains unclear. They appear nearly identical to banknotes that were in use before the war began. However, a banker based in Nyala — the Darfur city that serves as the headquarters of the Tasis authority — confirmed to Reuters that the notes were freshly printed.

The bills carry the signature of Hussein Yahia Jangol, who served as Sudan’s central bank governor before the conflict began. Notably, Jangol was named to lead a newly created Tasis-run central bank on May 21, just days before the new notes began circulating.

Tasis Prime Minister Mohamed Hasan al-Taishi said his administration continues to recognize pounds that were issued before June 2024. He declined to address questions about where the new notes came from, but stated that “any arrangements related to cash management or liquidity provision” were based on “well-thought-out technical plans aimed at maintaining economic stability and meeting the needs of citizens and markets.”

Al-Taishi also directed criticism at the military-aligned government, accusing it of hurting ordinary people “by changing the currency, drying up the markets, and exploiting the currency as a tool of war.” The army-backed central bank did not respond when Reuters sought comment.

Sudan’s military has alleged that the RSF receives both financial and military backing from the United Arab Emirates — a claim the UAE denies. Regardless, experts say the RSF may face an uphill battle gaining international recognition for its central bank. Suliman Baldo, who leads the Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker think tank, noted that most countries would be hesitant to legitimize a parallel banking system.

“But they are moving ahead … because they have a real problem they need to resolve,” Baldo said.

With physical cash hard to come by, many Sudanese have turned to Bankak, a digital payment app operated by the Bank of Khartoum that functions on both sides of the conflict’s front lines — though users often pay steep fees that make it costlier than using cash. In RSF-held areas, a competing transfer service called Future Bank has emerged this year and was reportedly used to distribute at least some of the May salary payments, according to residents.

Since the war began, Sudan’s currency has lost an enormous portion of its value. The pound has recently fallen to more than 5,000 to the dollar, compared to fewer than 600 to the dollar before the fighting started.

TOKYO — Canadian Defence Minister David McGuinty confirmed Thursday that he sat down with Japan’s defence minister to discuss a cutting-edge military aircraft program that the two countries’ governments are jointly pursuing alongside Britain and Italy.

The program in question is the Global Combat Air Programme, known as GCAP, which was launched in 2022 with the goal of producing a next-generation stealth fighter jet by 2035. The effort is being led by three major defense contractors: Britain’s BAE Systems, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and Italy’s Leonardo.

McGuinty met with Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi in Tokyo on Wednesday. Speaking to Reuters afterward, McGuinty described GCAP as a “promising initiative” and said Canada wants to learn more before making any decisions. “We are interested in learning more about it. I’ll take it back to my team and see what it looks like,” he said.

Canada’s curiosity about the program is drawing attention at a time when GCAP is gaining interest from potential new partners. If Canada were to formally join, it would become the first nation outside the program’s three founding members to participate. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said this month that he would welcome additional countries willing to share in the development costs.

Officials in Rome and executives at Leonardo have floated Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Germany as countries that could potentially join as partners or observers. However, any expansion of GCAP would need to be approved by all three founding nations.

GCAP is considered one of two major Western sixth-generation fighter jet initiatives. The other is the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program, known as NGAD.

A competing European project called the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, which had been developed by France, Germany, and Spain, has fallen apart due to a dispute between aerospace companies Airbus and Dassault Aviation.

LONDON — British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves publicly declared her support Thursday for Andy Burnham to succeed Keir Starmer as prime minister, while sidestepping questions about whether she might be demoted if he takes the helm of the Labour Party.

“I’m supporting Andy to be prime minister,” Reeves told the BBC. Her comments came after Burnham stepped forward as the sole declared candidate to replace Starmer, who announced his resignation on Monday following pressure over poor poll numbers and disappointing local election results.

Starmer has pledged to manage a smooth transition of power. The formal leadership contest is scheduled to kick off on July 9.

Reeves, who has been a close ally of Starmer, emphasized her loyalty to the departing leader, noting that the two had worked together for six years.

With no other candidates having entered the race, Burnham is widely anticipated to take over without facing a challenge, which could put him in office as early as mid-July. Should that happen, he would become Britain’s seventh prime minister in just ten years.

When pressed about reports suggesting she could be reassigned to a lower-ranking position, Reeves made clear that such decisions would rest with Burnham alone.

“I’m not going to pre-empt the decisions that the new prime minister will make. I’m backing Andy. I think he’d be a great prime minister, but those are his decisions, not mine,” she said.

Reeves also indicated she was prepared to offer focused, short-term assistance on energy bills later this year.

On fiscal policy, Reeves said the incoming leader should honor her existing financial guidelines, which include balancing everyday government spending with tax income and bringing down national debt relative to economic output. Burnham has previously indicated he intends to maintain the current borrowing rules.

“I know that whoever is prime minister and chancellor in the future will inherit a stronger economy than the one I inherited two years ago,” Reeves said.

An Israeli military official announced Thursday that a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon after a vehicle overturned in the area.

The official characterized the incident as an accident rather than a combat-related event.

Prior to that clarification, the Israeli military had stated only that a soldier died during what it called “operational activity.”

NAIROBI, Kenya — Police in Kenya deployed roadblocks Thursday to restrict entry into the capital city of Nairobi, taking action ahead of planned demonstrations that mark two years since at least 60 people lost their lives during anti-government protests — an event that also saw demonstrators breach the parliament building.

Relatives of those who died during the 2024 unrest announced they would take to the streets to protest what they describe as an unacceptably slow pursuit of justice for victims. Critics have also accused the government of operating without transparency in its ongoing effort to compensate individuals whose human rights were violated during the demonstrations.

Last week, President William Ruto said citizens would be permitted to protest, but emphasized that the government would also defend the rights of children to attend school and workers to carry out their jobs. He issued a warning against any efforts by demonstrators to bring the country to a halt.

Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen announced Wednesday that law enforcement would accompany protesters along their route, but cautioned that criminals using the protest as cover would not be permitted to infiltrate and target businesses.

By Thursday morning, officers had established checkpoints on all major roads leading into Nairobi, turning away drivers attempting to enter the city. The parliament complex remained sealed off with barriers, and many businesses kept their doors shut.

Opposition figures voiced their support for the demonstrations, joining calls for the government to be more open about how its compensation program is being administered.

For Edith Wanjiku, the past two years have been marked by grief and hardship following the death of her son, Ibrahim Kamau, who was 19 years old when he was shot twice in the neck. “We’ve really suffered emotionally for the last two years,” she shared with The Associated Press.

Wanjiku said that despite submitting all required documentation to the Kenya Human Rights Commission, her family has yet to receive anything from the compensation program. “Only two out of 10 families whose children were shot that day near Parliament have been compensated and we are wondering what criteria the government is using,” she said.

The protests that erupted in June 2024 were driven largely by young Kenyans who flooded the parliament building, pressing lawmakers to reject a finance bill that proposed raising taxes at a time when the cost of living was already placing a heavy burden on citizens. Police responded by firing on the crowd outside the building, killing dozens.

President Ruto addressed the compensation issue last week, stating that the payments represent “a state acknowledgment that harm occurred” rather than an “admission” of wrongdoing. He also clarified that the compensation was not meant to serve as the “price of life, of pain or of loss,” and should not be interpreted as a “reward for violence or criminality” in a nation where violent protests occur with some regularity.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Liberian-flagged oil tanker successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, taking a newly established route along Oman’s coastline even as Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued stern warnings against unauthorized ship traffic in the waterway.

The vessel, known as the Stoic Warrior, completed its transit at a time of growing friction between Iran and the United States over the specifics of a recent interim agreement aimed at permanently resolving the Iran conflict. The two nations are increasingly at odds over issues ranging from how commercial ships pass through the narrow entrance to the Persian Gulf to what happens to Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Last week, the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding that gave both sides 60 days to work out the remaining details. While private negotiations continue, leaders from both countries have also been making public statements about the deal — a dynamic that risks destabilizing the fragile regional ceasefire.

Adding to the uncertainty is renewed fighting in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah. On Wednesday, Israel carried out an airstrike in southern Lebanon that killed two people, according to the country’s state-run news agency. It marked Israel’s first airstrike on Lebanon since the most recent ceasefire went into effect on Saturday.

The Stoic Warrior departed early Thursday morning, sailing close to the shores of the United Arab Emirates before continuing along the Omani coastline. It then rounded Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, following a route developed by Oman in partnership with the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency responsible for overseeing global shipping.

That route runs south of the Traffic Separation Scheme — the central strait corridor that ships have used for decades to transport roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas. That traditional passage has been effectively shut down after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard reported mining the area during the war that began on February 28, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. At least one mine has reportedly been spotted in the water.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval forces responded angrily to the Oman-IMO route on Thursday, with a statement carried by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

CARACAS, Venezuela — A pair of devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening, leaving at least 32 dead and more than 700 injured, according to the country’s acting president. Officials expect those numbers to grow as rescue teams continue searching through rubble across the nation.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez addressed the country late Wednesday, declaring a state of emergency and confirming that multiple states suffered damage. She noted that the early casualty figures did not even include the state of La Guaira, which she described as a “disaster zone” and the hardest-hit area in the disaster.

“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Caracas, and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” Rodríguez said.

The two earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude — are considered among the most powerful to hit Venezuela in over a century. The shaking was felt as far away as Brazil’s Amazon region, roughly 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) from Venezuela’s capital of Caracas.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the first quake initially registered at a 7.1 magnitude before being revised upward to 7.2. Its epicenter was located west of Morón along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, about 168 kilometers (104 miles) west of Caracas, at a depth of 22 kilometers (13.6 miles). Just one minute later, a second and larger 7.5-magnitude quake struck with its epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Morón at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

Both quakes hit shortly after 6 p.m. local time.

Rodríguez said the country’s main airport, Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas, sustained damage and was forced to close. Subway service and natural gas operations in Caracas were also suspended. She called on Venezuelans to report any damage through a government app and urged healthcare workers to report to hospitals to help treat the injured.

“We urge our population to remain calm,” Rodríguez said. “We urge unity.”

School classes were canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education announced that some school buildings would serve as shelters and donation centers.

In the coastal state of Falcon, Gov. Víctor Clark reported that 32 people had been hospitalized and 15 individuals were trapped in the hours immediately following the quakes.

Eyewitnesses in Caracas described frightening scenes as buildings swayed and walls crumbled, exposing furniture to the street. Dust clouds rose over at least two neighborhoods in the capital. Many residents fled into the streets, some sitting on the ground holding their pets as debris settled around them. Collapsed structures, downed power poles, and rubble blocked roads throughout the city, and parts of Caracas lost electricity and cellphone service.

“It started off gently and then gradually grew, and in the end, we all had to leave our houses, go outside and gather together,” said Caracas resident Hector Ricci.

Roberto Gamas, another resident of the capital, described the experience: the building he was in “really shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong.”

Venezuela Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed the quake was felt across several states and asked drivers to yield to ambulances and emergency vehicles. He reported collapsed homes and buildings in the Altamira neighborhood and urged people to stay outside due to the risk of aftershocks causing further structural damage.

“We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to protocols to activate aid and rescue efforts to help those who need it most,” Cabello said on state television. “Be very careful with children and the elderly. Call each other and check that no one has been harmed.”

The loss of cellphone signal in parts of the country added to the anxiety of many families, especially among the more than 7.7 million Venezuelans who have left the country during its prolonged crisis and were unable to reach loved ones.

Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, currently in exile after departing Venezuela in December, used social media to send her support. “May strength, serenity, and solidarity prevail among us in the face of this difficult time,” she wrote.

Aid offers poured in from numerous governments, including the United States, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay.

Jeremy P. Lewin, the U.S. undersecretary of state for foreign assistance, announced that the State Department had activated a disaster assistance team and task force to coordinate support — including search-and-rescue personnel, medical supplies, humanitarian resources, and other assistance — in coordination with the interim Venezuelan government.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who has historically been at odds with Venezuela’s government, posted on X Wednesday night that he had offered help. “We send you all our solidarity and our prayers. Stay strong, Venezuela,” he wrote.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced he had ordered the immediate dispatch of humanitarian aid. “Ecuador will respond with the speed and commitment this moment demands because, despite our enormous differences, humanity must always guide the actions of a leader,” Noboa wrote.

Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz — who declared his own state of emergency less than a week ago following weeks of anti-government protests — said Bolivia stood ready to provide whatever assistance was needed. Brazil’s government expressed solidarity and confirmed no Brazilians had been reported injured.

Buildings in the Brazilian Amazon cities of Manaus, Belem, and Macapá were evacuated, according to reports from TV Globo. The earthquakes were also felt in Colombia’s Caribbean and northeastern regions, though no injuries or damage were reported there.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center briefly issued tsunami alerts following the earthquakes before lifting them shortly afterward.

Strong earthquakes are rare in Venezuela. Although the country sits near several fault lines and straddles the South American and Caribbean tectonic plates, major seismic events are far less frequent there than in other parts of Latin America. Countries along the Pacific coast, such as Mexico and Chile, experience far more frequent earthquakes due to their location along the Ring of Fire — a seismically active belt that the USGS says accounts for 90% of all earthquakes worldwide.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, on Wednesday night for the final stop of a three-day diplomatic tour through the Gulf region, where he has been working to build support for the Trump administration’s preliminary nuclear agreement with Iran.

The mission is a delicate one. Gulf Arab leaders are concerned that too many concessions to Tehran could shift the region’s security balance and disrupt oil flows — fears Rubio has openly acknowledged as he makes his case for the deal.

In Bahrain, Rubio is scheduled to meet with government officials on Thursday. He will also sit down with the Gulf Cooperation Council — a bloc of six Sunni-led monarchies that includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.

This trip marks the first high-level U.S. diplomatic mission to the oil-rich Gulf since the U.S.-Iran framework agreement was reached last week to bring an end to the conflict.

At earlier stops in the UAE and Kuwait, Rubio worked to convince officials that the proposed deal does not unfairly favor Iran, which launched strikes against several Gulf nations during the U.S.-Israeli war.

“We’re not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies, our longstanding allies in the region,” Rubio told reporters during his stop in Kuwait.

The deal has already sparked confusion over its terms. President Donald Trump stated Tuesday that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections stretching to “infinity,” but Tehran pushed back, saying it had made no such commitment — casting doubt on the durability of the fragile agreement.

The two countries, which concluded an initial round of negotiations in Switzerland on Monday, have also offered contradictory accounts regarding financial incentives for Iran, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel’s ongoing conflict in Lebanon.

All six GCC member nations are long-standing U.S. strategic partners that provided varying levels of logistical support to Washington during the war, and all faced Iranian airstrikes as a consequence. Together, they form the foundation of America’s military and security presence in the Middle East, meaning any shift in their relationship with the U.S. could have wide-ranging consequences for American strategy in the region.

The draft agreement contains no restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program, calls for a proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund, and includes provisions that critics say could expand Tehran’s regional influence and its grip on critical oil shipping routes.

Rubio has stated he will not ask Gulf allies to contribute to any reconstruction fund during this trip, even as the memorandum of understanding with Iran suggests that regional countries could be expected to help cover those costs.

Several U.S. Gulf partners are privately expressing disappointment with the interim deal, which could open a path toward U.S. normalization with Iran — a predominantly Shiite nation that most Sunni-led GCC states view as their primary adversary.

Bahrain presents a particularly sensitive case: its Shiite majority population is governed by a Sunni monarchy that fears a financially empowered Iran could stoke internal unrest.

LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is poised to make history on Thursday by becoming the first British monarch to publicly disclose his personal tax bill, a move driven by mounting calls for the royal family to be more open about its finances following months of damaging headlines tied to his disgraced younger brother, the former Prince Andrew.

According to British media reports over the weekend, the information will be made public during Buckingham Palace’s yearly briefing on the sovereign grant — the system by which taxpayers finance the monarchy. Last year’s briefing produced a 159-page document detailing how the palace spent the 86.3 million pounds ($113.7 million) it received from the Treasury, which included funding for a major renovation of the palace itself.

Although Charles previously disclosed his tax payments when he held the title of Prince of Wales, this marks the first time he will do so as king, a role he assumed following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022. Prince William, who now holds the Prince of Wales title, is expected to release similar information during a separate briefing.

These disclosures come amid growing pressure from both lawmakers and the general public for more transparency about how the monarchy operates, particularly in the wake of revelations surrounding the former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his titles in 2025.

Now going by the name Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the king’s younger brother is under investigation for misconduct in public office connected to his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor was also compelled to vacate a large royal estate where he had been living rent-free.

The BBC reported last Saturday, citing palace sources, that the king personally chose to disclose his tax information as part of an effort to “encourage wider understanding and accountability.”

Even before the controversy surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor came to a head, Charles had already committed to reducing the size and cost of the monarchy as part of his effort to secure the future of an institution that is more than 1,000 years old, amid growing debate about the relevance of a hereditary monarchy in a modern democratic society.

The king’s personal wealth is estimated at 680 million pounds ($896 million), placing him at number 230 on the Sunday Times’ annual ranking of Britain’s wealthiest individuals.

While the monarch is not legally required to pay income tax, Charles does so voluntarily on his private earnings. This practice was started by his mother in 1993, following public anger over the cost of repairing Windsor Castle after a serious fire the year before. The arrangement was later formalized through a memorandum of understanding between the government and the crown, which gives Charles the same privacy protections as any ordinary taxpayer.

The king is expected to disclose only the taxes he pays on his private income, which is generated primarily through two privately owned estates — Balmoral in Scotland and Sandringham on England’s east coast — along with savings and investments.

Balmoral spans more than 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) and includes the king’s summer residence, Balmoral Castle. Much of the property is accessible to visitors, who can enjoy guided tours, afternoon tea, and golf. Sandringham is a 20,000-acre (8,000-hectare) country retreat also located on England’s east coast, where the house and gardens welcome the public and much of the land is farmed by the estate or its tenants.

The king does not pay taxes on the sovereign grant or any other income used to carry out his official royal duties.

Prince William’s main source of private income is the Duchy of Cornwall, a collection of land and investments held in trust by whoever holds the Prince of Wales title. The duchy covers roughly 130,000 acres (52,000 hectares) and reported a profit of 22.9 million pounds ($30.2 million) last year. It is managed by a board of directors, and significant financial decisions require approval from the Treasury.

Before the heat arrived, Amelie Kenney felt like she had landed a great deal: a small but affordable top-floor apartment in Paris, complete with a tiny balcony offering a stunning view of the city’s famous gray rooftops — and, if she leaned out far enough, a glimpse of the Sacré-Cœur basilica crowning Montmartre.

But a record-breaking heat wave has turned her attic apartment into a potential health hazard, and the 23-year-old recent graduate is no longer counting her blessings.

“It’s been the worst week that we’ve had in this apartment,” she said as Paris and much of Europe sweltered. “It’s just baking in the whole afternoon and it’s impossible to just get a respite.”

Many of Paris’ buildings — so charming when viewed from the street — are proving to be hostile and even dangerous environments during the relentless record heat, which is making both long summer days and short, sweat-soaked nights a struggle for survival.

The problem is especially severe for those living directly beneath Paris’ rooftops, who frequently cannot afford larger apartments on lower floors that are less exposed to direct sunlight.

Extreme heat in these spaces can be lethal. France’s public health agency reported last year that a study examining a record 2003 heat wave — which was blamed for 15,000 heat-related deaths — found that living in a Parisian attic room directly under the roof raised the risk of death by more than four times. Additionally, researchers studying heat-related deaths across European cities for a 2023 study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal determined that Paris carried the highest risk of heat-related deaths among 30 European capitals examined.

Roughly three-quarters of Paris’ rooftops are covered in zinc sheets, giving the city its beloved gray skyline that has long captivated artists and filmmakers. The skill of the city’s zinc roofers has even been recognized by the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO as a valued piece of cultural heritage. Zinc is durable, flexible, and recyclable — but as a metal, it readily absorbs and transfers heat.

“People find the rooftops of Paris charming. There’s the image of the attic room. But in reality, when you look at who lives in these apartments, it’s often students paying a great deal of money for a small room,” said Maider Olivier, with The Foundation for Housing for the Disadvantaged campaign group.

“Not only are they extremely exposed to heat, but it’s also impossible to create cross-ventilation to get rid of the heat at night,” Olivier added.

In the sixth-floor walk-up that Kenney shares with her partner, Francesca Pilia, also 23, the two have managed to fit a desk, a double bed, and a small electric piano. The apartment’s single window juts out from the zinc roof and faces west, meaning it catches direct sunlight from noon until dusk. Together, they pay 735 euros — about $835 — each month in rent.

“It was the cheapest place to be,” Kenney said. “I like that it looks out onto the square. I can see marriages almost every Saturday morning.”

“But now I think if I could spend extra money to be somewhere else, I would,” she added.

While offices, shopping centers, movie theaters, and other modern public spaces typically have air conditioning, private apartments in Paris — particularly in the densely packed central neighborhoods filled with classic Haussmann-style buildings, named after the 19th-century urban planner who reshaped the city with wide boulevards and its distinctive architectural character — almost never do.

Olivier noted that zoning rules designed to preserve Paris’ appearance, including its signature rooftops, are standing in the way of heat adaptation efforts.

“There are people who are unable to insulate their roofs or install shutters to block the sun and prevent their homes from overheating because of regulations to protect the rooftops,” she said. “But these regulations which protect the rooftops of Paris do not protect the people who live beneath those rooftops.”

Kenney, originally from Australia, and Pilia, who is Italian, are both accustomed to warm weather. But Paris’ temperatures — with June record highs pushing past 40°C (104°F) during the day and dropping only to about 25°C (77°F) at night — have worn them down.

The two have purchased a small electric fan, taken cold showers, used wet rags to cool themselves, stayed hydrated, and wrestled with the constant dilemma of whether to leave their window open or shut.

“I’ll wake up and I’ll decide, it’s too hot, I have to open the window,” Kenney said. “An hour later, I wake up, I say, ‘It is too loud, I have to close the window.’”

“It’s a very, very Kafkaesque cycle,” she said.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s highest court was expected to deliver a decision Thursday on whether to overturn the treason convictions of two journalists who were jailed for posting photographs connected to border clashes with Thailand last year.

The ruling arrives at a time when serious questions are being raised about whether the court operates independently of the country’s ruling party.

Phorn Sopheap, a journalist with Battambang Post TV Online, and Pheap Pheara, of TSP 68 TV Online, were taken into custody last July after returning from reporting assignments along the border. Authorities alleged the two men had posted images they captured inside a restricted military zone to Facebook.

Both journalists have denied any wrongdoing, maintaining they had authorization to be in the area where the photographs were taken. They are asking the Supreme Court to throw out their convictions and the 14-year prison sentences that came with them.

Among the photos that drew significant attention was an image showing land mines, which was picked up and widely circulated by Thai media. That photograph strengthened Thailand’s argument that Cambodia had placed new mines along the shared border — mines that had injured Thai soldiers on patrol.

Cambodia’s government officially rejected those claims, stating the country complies with international agreements that prohibit the use of land mines. Cambodian officials suggested the mines found may have been remnants from decades of internal conflict that came to an end in the late 1990s.

The border fighting, which flared up in July and again in December, forced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border from their homes and resulted in the deaths of roughly 100 soldiers and civilians. A ceasefire reached in December has held, though the situation between the two countries remains tense.

The two journalists were originally found guilty of treason in December by Siem Reap Provincial Court, which determined they were guilty of “supplying a foreign state with information prejudicial to national defense.” Each received a 14-year sentence.

After a lower appeals court upheld those convictions in March, more than a dozen journalism organizations — both national and international — signed a joint letter urging the Cambodian government to drop the case against the two men.

Thursday’s hearing at the Supreme Court comes less than a week after that same court upheld an incitement conviction against Rong Chhun, a well-known opposition politician. That ruling once again put a spotlight on what critics describe as a pattern of using the legal system to suppress dissent.

Rong Chhun, who is 56 years old, was found guilty last year of inciting social unrest following meetings he held with villagers who had been displaced by government construction projects. Many observers viewed the prosecution as part of a broader effort by the government of Prime Minister Hun Manet to silence political opponents and critics.

Human Rights Watch said the ruling against Rong Chhun exposed the “lack of independence from the ruling party” within Cambodia’s court system. The government pushed back on that characterization, insisting the Supreme Court operates without political interference.

Cambodia spent nearly four decades under the autocratic leadership of former Prime Minister Hun Sen, a period marked by widespread criticism over human rights abuses, including the suppression of free speech and the right to organize. His son, Hun Manet, who received part of his education in the United States, took over in August 2023, but there have been few indications that political conditions have meaningfully improved.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, based in New York, accused Cambodia’s government earlier this year of “using vague national security laws to criminalize legitimate reporting” in the cases involving Pheap Pheara and Phorn Sopheap.

In the 2025 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based organization, Cambodia ranked 161st out of 180 countries and territories — placing it in the category of nations where the press freedom situation is considered “very serious.”

Hong Kong police have taken two bookshop owners into custody on suspicion of displaying and selling publications considered to have “seditious” content, according to an official government statement issued Thursday.

Neither the two individuals nor the bookshop were named in the statement. Both were taken into custody on Wednesday.

The arrests were carried out by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force during an enforcement operation in the Sham Shui Po district. The two detainees — a 33-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man — are the bookshop’s owners.

According to police investigators, the pair is suspected of selling materials that incite hatred toward the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, its courts, and law enforcement agencies.

Authorities also allege that the two individuals received multiple money transfers funded by foreign political organizations.

During the operation, officers confiscated a collection of items labeled “seditious,” along with books and documents connected to the case, from both the shop and the suspects’ residence.

The timing of the arrests is notable — they occurred just one week before July 1, the anniversary marking Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to Chinese rule. Under Hong Kong’s Basic Law, the city was promised a high degree of autonomy for 50 years, which includes freedom of the press.

In 2020, Beijing enacted a national security law in Hong Kong following a year of often violent anti-government demonstrations. The move drew widespread international condemnation, with critics arguing that the freedoms guaranteed to Hong Kong at the time of the handover are steadily eroding.

MELBOURNE, Australia — The final Australian woman remaining in a Syrian camp that housed families of Islamic State group fighters has been granted permission to return home, but she will face a rigorous set of conditions once she does, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced Thursday.

The 29-year-old woman, who once lived in Sydney, and her nine-year-old daughter had been set to travel back to Australia in February alongside a group of other Australian women and children from the Roj camp. However, a temporary exclusion order blocked her from departing at that time.

Australia introduced these exclusion orders in 2019 as a tool to keep defeated IS fighters from coming back from the Middle East for periods of up to two years. This woman is the only known person to have been targeted by such an order.

Burke explained Thursday that after the woman’s legal team applied for a permit allowing her return, his government no longer had a legal basis to keep her out of the country.

Upon her return, police and national security agencies will impose a strict set of requirements. She must keep authorities informed of where she lives, works, studies, and intends to travel. She will also be required to give 24 hours advance notice before using any form of communication technology.

“Even if you want to use a public phone, it’s 24 hours notice. Any social media, 24 hours notice on everything has to be given so that there will be a very high level of scrutiny and surveillance and we have gone absolutely to the legal limit that we’re able to,” Burke told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Members of the opposition have pushed back against the government, arguing it should have changed the law to stop the woman from coming back at all.

Officials confirmed the exclusion order had been issued on national security grounds, though they declined to elaborate on the specific reasons behind that decision.

The woman’s attorney, Moustafa Kheir, had not responded to a request for comment as of Thursday.

Australian Federal Police have been looking into the conduct of Australians who traveled to the territory where IS declared its caliphate across parts of Iraq and Syria since 2015 — the same year this woman, then 18 years old, left Sydney for Syria.

Whether she will face arrest when she lands in Australia remains uncertain. Of four women who arrived in Australia on May 7 with nine children, three were taken into custody upon arrival and charged with terrorism and slavery-related offenses. Those three have been denied bail and remain behind bars.

The United States government announced late Wednesday that it has reached out to Venezuelan authorities and is working to deliver assistance following a series of powerful earthquakes that struck the South American country.

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau took to social media platform X to confirm the outreach, calling the earthquakes “devastating” and stating that the U.S. is “in touch with the authorities and mobilizing assistance.”

The earthquakes hit west of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, on Wednesday afternoon, causing buildings to collapse, trapping people beneath rubble, and prompting scientists to issue warnings about potentially significant casualties and widespread damage throughout the country.

U.S. State Department official Jeremy Lewin also posted on X, confirming that a disaster assistance team and task force had been activated to deliver and coordinate critical aid to those affected.

“Working with our partners in the interim Venezuelan government, the U.S. will be sending search and rescue teams, medical and humanitarian supplies and other resources in the crucial first days after this tragic natural disaster,” Lewin wrote.

The U.S. embassy in Caracas confirmed that all American staff members had been located and were safe.

Relations between the United States and Venezuela have improved in recent months following the seizure of then-President Nicolas Maduro by American forces during a deadly raid on the capital in January. The Trump administration has since been working with an interim government led by former Maduro ally Delcy Rodriguez, including reaching an agreement for the U.S. to sell Venezuelan oil, and has issued sanctions waivers aimed at encouraging American investment in the country.

Three U.S. government departments have issued a joint warning, saying China has been reaching out to American state governments and private companies in an effort to push them away from doing business or engaging with Taiwan — and in some cases, misrepresenting what U.S. policy actually says.

The warning came in two similarly worded letters, signed by the U.S. Departments of State, Agriculture, and Commerce. One letter was directed to governors’ offices and the other to CEOs and business leaders. Both were dated June 16 but were made public late Wednesday by the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan.

According to the letters, China’s embassy and consulates have been routinely contacting local governments and private businesses across the United States to “discourage engagement with Taiwan.”

“In doing so, they often mischaracterise U.S. policy by, for example, falsely claiming that Washington has previously accepted Beijing’s specific position on Taiwan,” both letters state.

The letters advise that if any government office or company finds itself being pressured by Chinese officials, it should reach out to the State Department for guidance.

China’s foreign ministry had not responded to a request for comment at the time of reporting.

Under Washington’s “One China” policy, the U.S. officially takes no stance on the question of Taiwan’s sovereignty. Even so, the U.S. remains Taiwan’s most important international supporter and its primary arms supplier — a relationship that has long been a source of frustration for Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of its territory despite the island governing itself independently.

The letters emphasize that Taiwan holds an important place in global trade and that American states and businesses have maintained strong ties with the island for many decades.

“Taiwan is a vital U.S. partner and democratic success story,” the letter addressed to governors reads. “We hope you will take advantage of all the opportunities that our shared values and robust relationship with Taiwan offer.”

Australia’s top intelligence official is sounding the alarm about a worsening national security landscape, saying the country faces overlapping dangers from authoritarian governments, cybercriminals, and antisemitic extremists that are collectively eroding the nation’s safety.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Director-General Mike Burgess delivered the warning during his annual threat assessment speech Wednesday night, saying that while Australia’s terrorism threat level officially remains at “probable,” that label fails to capture the full picture of what the country is facing.

“‘Probable’ does not tell the full story. The next level on the scale is ‘expected,’ which applies when we have intelligence about a specific attack. We do not,” Burgess said. “But we do know the environment is degrading and acts of politically motivated violence are becoming more likely than ‘probable’ suggests.”

The assessment comes after a turbulent year that included online radicalization cases, state-sponsored cyberattacks, arson targeting Jewish-owned businesses, and a mass shooting in Sydney. Burgess noted that ASIO has disrupted 31 major terror plots since 2014 and has closed more than a dozen major terror-related cases since a mass shooting at Bondi Beach in December, during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration, that left 15 people dead. Police have said the two alleged gunmen appeared to have been inspired by the Islamic State militant group.

Burgess defended how ASIO allocated its resources in the lead-up to the Bondi Beach attack, explaining that the agency was simultaneously managing numerous threats and that it was extremely difficult to “simplistically pivot” from one danger to another.

“We cannot stop every terrorist, just as we cannot catch every spy. But we continue to work around the clock to keep Australians safe,” he said.

The spy chief also highlighted the growing role of technology in fueling extremism, saying encrypted messaging platforms are radicalizing individuals — including minors — within just weeks. Social media, he added, is amplifying grievances, eroding public trust in institutions, and deepening societal divisions.

On the espionage front, Burgess said foreign intelligence operatives are actively trying to steal classified information related to Australia’s AUKUS nuclear submarine partnership with the United States and Britain. He cited one case where an official with a security clearance was approached by someone posing as a representative of a consulting firm.

Burgess also pointed the finger at Iran for a series of arson attacks on Jewish businesses in Australia since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. He said one attack on a Sydney restaurant was likely coordinated by an Australian citizen living in Iran who was working as an agent within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Iranian embassy did not respond to a request for comment.

“Thankfully, no-one died as a result of the arson attacks…but I do worry that one day an Australian will be killed at the hands of a foreign government here in Australia,” Burgess said.

Australia formally accused Iran of directing two antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne in August 2025 and expelled Tehran’s ambassador — the country’s first such diplomatic expulsion since World War Two.

Despite the sobering assessment, Burgess expressed confidence that Australia is well-positioned to confront these threats going forward.

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez announced a state of emergency on Wednesday after two strong earthquakes struck back-to-back, triggering nearly two dozen aftershocks that toppled buildings in the capital city of Caracas and other parts of the country.

Rodriguez made the announcement on state television, standing alongside her brother Jorge — who serves as head of the national assembly — and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello. She expressed her sympathies to the families of those who lost their lives in the disaster, though she did not reveal how many people were killed or injured.

Rodriguez also confirmed that Simon Bolivar Airport in Maiquetia, located near Caracas, has been closed due to damage caused by the earthquakes.

One of the world’s biggest iron ore mining companies is now facing a class action lawsuit over allegations of widespread sexual harassment targeting women at its remote work sites in Australia.

The suit against Fortescue — ranked fourth globally among iron ore producers — was filed Thursday by law firm JGA Saddler. The same firm previously launched comparable class action cases against mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP in late 2024, and those legal battles are still ongoing.

The issue has deep roots in Australia’s mining sector. Back in 2022, the Western Australian state government called for sweeping reforms across the industry after documenting what it described as horrifying treatment of women, concluding that sexual harassment and assault were widespread among fly-in, fly-out, or FIFO, mining workers.

JGA Saddler litigator Paris Hamrey spoke out strongly about the conditions women say they are enduring. “Time and time again, women are telling us that they don’t feel safe at the Fortescue mine sites,” she said in a statement.

Hamrey went on to describe specific allegations from workers: “Women are telling us that they can’t do their daily washing because their underwear is being stolen from the public laundries, they can’t go to the gym because men are touching them inappropriately or following them back to their room.”

She also said that when women do speak up, the consequences are often severe — including demotion, dismissal, being silenced, or being blacklisted from the industry entirely.

The legal filing includes 45 personal accounts from women who have worked at Fortescue. Among the testimonials, one woman wrote: “I came home one night to find a random man in my room.”

Australia leads the world in iron ore production, with many of its remote mining operations relying on FIFO workers who travel long distances to work extended shifts. Women currently make up about 22% of the mining workforce, an increase from roughly 18% at the beginning of the decade.

According to Fortescue’s most recent safety report, the company recorded 22 sexual harassment cases with Western Australia’s mines safety regulator during the 2025 financial year — a 27% drop from the previous year. Notably, Fortescue was the only one of the three companies named in class action suits to report a decline in such incidents.

By comparison, Rio Tinto’s internal care hub — which tracks reports of disrespectful or harmful workplace behavior — logged 702 incidents last year, a 24% jump from the year before, according to its annual report. BHP reported 429 sexual harassment incidents in 2025, a 3% rise, and noted in its annual report that 100 individuals found to be responsible either lost their jobs or resigned.

SYDNEY — Australia’s labor market showed signs of renewed strength in May, with employment figures bouncing back and the unemployment rate retreating from its highest level in more than four years, according to data released Thursday.

Numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed a net gain of 40,300 jobs in May, reversing the prior month’s decline. April’s job losses were revised to 40,600 — a steeper drop than originally reported. Despite the revision, May’s rebound came in ahead of what analysts had anticipated, with market forecasts calling for a gain of around 30,000 positions.

The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4% in May, down from 4.5% in April, in line with expectations. The participation rate — which measures the share of the population either working or actively looking for work — ticked up slightly to 66.7%. On the downside, total hours worked dropped by a notable 1.1% during the month.

The stronger-than-expected employment data could give policymakers grounds to consider additional interest rate increases if economic conditions call for it.

Two powerful earthquakes hit Venezuela in rapid succession on Wednesday, striking just about a minute apart and leaving a trail of collapsed buildings and significant damage across the country, including in the capital city of Caracas.

The twin tremors registered magnitudes of 7.1 and 7.5, making them among the strongest earthquakes to shake Venezuela in more than a century. The rare occurrence of back-to-back quakes of this magnitude caught residents and officials off guard.

Photos captured by AP photo editors document the destruction left behind by the historic seismic event.

A powerful earthquake hit off Japan’s northern coastline on Thursday, though the country’s meteorological agency quickly confirmed there was no risk of a tsunami following the tremor.

The Japan Meteorological Agency reported the quake carried a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 and originated off the eastern shore of the Iwate region, at a depth of roughly 50 kilometers — about 30 miles below the surface. The U.S. Geological Survey independently confirmed the same 6.9 magnitude reading.

Thursday’s earthquake struck an area that has seen repeated seismic activity in recent months, including a quake last December that set off a week-long major earthquake caution advisory.

The tremor hit during the morning commute in Japan’s northeastern region and was felt as far away as Tokyo, though only mildly there. Top government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said there were no immediate reports of injuries or property damage.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi addressed reporters in Tokyo, saying her government’s emergency response team is “putting people’s lives first” as officials gather information and stand ready to launch relief efforts if necessary. She called on residents in impacted areas to remain cautious in the event of aftershocks.

Tomoko Nagane, who serves as principal of a primary school in the town of Hashikami in Aomori prefecture, told NHK she was behind the wheel when earthquake alerts sounded. She described feeling a moderate side-to-side shaking. Students who had already arrived at school were safe, she said, though some were shaken and crying. School was called off for the day, and Nagane confirmed all children made it home safely.

NHK journalists reporting from hard-hit communities, including Sendai and Morioka, described feeling the shaking for roughly two minutes but said they observed no visible damage. Video from those areas showed commuters continuing about their day as normal.

East Japan Railway Co., which runs train service throughout the northeastern part of the country, announced that several bullet trains and regional rail lines were temporarily suspended to allow for safety inspections.

Spokesperson Kihara also confirmed that nuclear facilities in the region — including the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which suffered severe damage in the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as well as a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing facility in Aomori — reported no irregularities as a result of Thursday’s quake.

Japan sits along the Pacific Ring of Fire and ranks among the most seismically active nations on Earth.

Japan’s government is preparing to formally ask its central bank to keep interest rates low in support of private-sector demand, according to a draft of the country’s long-term economic blueprint obtained by Reuters.

The document urges the Bank of Japan, known as the BOJ, to align its monetary policy decisions with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to stimulate economic growth. It cites legal provisions that require the central bank to coordinate closely with the government.

“The government won’t hesitate taking nimble and sufficient steps” to prevent Japan from slipping back into deflation, the draft stated, as part of broader pledges to strengthen the country’s long-term economic potential.

The draft further states: “As the government seeks to achieve strong growth under its economic and fiscal policy, appropriate monetary policy that supports private demand through stable price rises is extremely important.”

The blueprint, which shapes Japan’s long-term economic direction, is expected to be finalized in July. It will be the first such document produced under Takaichi, who has historically expressed skepticism toward the BOJ’s attempts to move away from deflation-era stimulus measures.

While Japanese law protects the independence of the central bank, it also requires the BOJ to maintain close coordination with the government on policy matters. Using that requirement as a basis, the draft calls on the BOJ to “work closely with the government to sustainably and stably achieve its 2% inflation target” while watching for signs of a “positive cycle” of rising wages and prices.

The BOJ is scheduled to hold its next policy meeting on July 30-31. Markets widely expect rates to remain unchanged at that gathering, though investors will closely examine updated quarterly forecasts for clues about when the next rate increase might come.

Since assuming office last October, Takaichi has prioritized government spending as a tool for economic recovery — a position that has pushed bond yields higher amid growing concerns about Japan’s fiscal health.

Her new growth strategy targets more than 370 trillion yen, or approximately $2.3 trillion, in investment through the fiscal year 2040, spread across 17 strategic sectors including artificial intelligence and semiconductors.

That level of spending would be easier to sustain under low interest rates. However, rising inflationary pressures have led the BOJ to begin pulling back from its ultra-loose policy stance and raising borrowing costs.

Earlier this month, the BOJ lifted its policy rate to 1%, the highest level in 31 years, and has indicated it is prepared to tighten further as elevated fuel costs tied to the Iran war have kept inflation near its target for nearly four years.

Political pressure, however, may complicate any additional rate hikes. A government representative who attended the BOJ’s June meeting indicated the central bank should take “proactive and appropriate action” if economic conditions deteriorate — a signal, according to a summary of opinions from the meeting, that the administration is not pleased with the direction of rate increases.

Taiwan’s government voiced appreciation Wednesday after the United States, Britain, France, and Germany sounded the alarm over Chinese Coast Guard activities taking place off the island’s eastern shores, with Taipei emphasizing that open sea lanes are critical to commerce around the world.

Earlier this month, China dispatched Coast Guard vessels into the waters east of Taiwan, describing the deployment as a “special maritime traffic law-enforcement operation.” The move drew sharp criticism from Taiwan’s government. China, which considers democratically governed Taiwan to be part of its own territory, has also been sending maritime survey ships into the same area.

Beijing said its coast guard operation was triggered by an announcement from Japan and the Philippines that they planned to begin formal discussions about their shared maritime boundaries — talks that China viewed as encroaching on waters it claims near Taiwan.

Joseph Wu, who serves as secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, took to social media platform X late Wednesday to express his appreciation. He said he was “truly thankful” for the statements issued by the four Western nations.

“A rules-based int’l order, the StatusQuo, & regional peace & stability are what we all care about. The PRC should stop its maritime expansionism,” Wu wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China.

China’s foreign ministry had not yet responded to the statements made by the Western governments. Beijing does not recognize any Taiwanese claims to sovereignty and considers both the island and the surrounding waters to be Chinese territory.

Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, the government body that oversees the island’s coast guard operations, released a separate statement declaring that safe and open navigation through the Taiwan Strait and surrounding waters is essential to global trade.

“China’s maritime harassment of Taiwan, and the political pressure that follows, not only violate international law but also harm the shared interests of the international community. They must be promptly contained and collectively rejected,” the council stated.

The council added that Taiwan would continue standing alongside its allies and would “responsibly and jointly defend the international order in surrounding waters through lawful, appropriate, and firm measures.”

Kuan Bi-ling, the minister who heads the Ocean Affairs Council, posted on her Facebook page that China has been “certified” as a disruptor of regional stability. “The more China harasses Taiwan, the more the international community supports Taiwan!” she wrote.

Last week, Kuan hosted the de facto British ambassador to Taiwan, Ruth Bradley-Jones, aboard Taiwan’s Yunlin coast guard vessel while it was docked at port.

Taiwan maintains that China holds no legitimate claim of sovereignty or jurisdiction over the island or the waters around it.

CARACAS, Venezuela — Two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela in rapid succession Wednesday evening, causing buildings to collapse in the nation’s capital city of Caracas.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the first earthquake registered a magnitude of 7.1. Its epicenter was located west of the coastal community of Morón, situated along Venezuela’s Caribbean coastline approximately 168 kilometers (104 miles) west of Caracas. That quake reached a depth of 13 kilometers (about 8 miles).

Just one minute after the first tremor, the USGS recorded a second and even stronger earthquake measuring magnitude 7.5. That quake’s epicenter was 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Morón, at a depth of 10 kilometers.

Both earthquakes are considered among the most powerful to hit Venezuela in more than a century.

In the aftermath, the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a tsunami alert for the Virgin Islands. Authorities in the Dominican Republic also put out a similar warning for that island. A tsunami alert that had been issued for Puerto Rico was later lifted.

In Caracas, residents fled swaying buildings and gathered outside in the streets. Many were visibly shaken as they witnessed entire walls collapsed, leaving the interiors of buildings — including furniture — exposed to the street. Clouds of dust rose from at least two neighborhoods in the capital, areas where restaurants and businesses are normally bustling with activity.

Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello confirmed the earthquakes were felt across multiple states. He described “alarming situations” in Caracas’s Altamira neighborhood, where homes and buildings had collapsed. He indicated people had been injured and called on drivers to clear the way for ambulances and rescue crews.

Speaking on state television, Cabello urged calm and cooperation. “We understand that some people may be desperate, but we are acting according to protocols to activate aid and rescue efforts to help those who need it most,” he said. “Be very careful with children and the elderly; call each other and check that no one has been harmed.”

Cabello also warned residents to stay outdoors, as aftershocks could cause further damage to already weakened structures.

One Caracas resident, Roberto Damas, described the terrifying experience firsthand. “The building really shook from side to side. Unreal. The force was incredibly strong,” he said. “We were walking and it was tossing us around. Everything in the apartment fell. Well, thank God we were able to get out.”

A significant earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 rattled the eastern coast of Honshu, Japan on Thursday, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

A powerful earthquake struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday afternoon, sending residents of the capital Caracas scrambling to get out of their buildings. People in neighboring Colombia also reported feeling the tremors.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a magnitude of 7.1. It was centered approximately one hour west of the city of Valencia, at a depth of about 13 kilometers — roughly 8 miles underground.

The timing of the earthquake was notable: many Venezuelans were home from work, observing a national public holiday that marks an 1821 military victory that secured the country’s independence from Spain.

In Caracas, frightened residents rushed out of their homes and offices as buildings swayed from the force of the quake. Video footage from Reuters witnesses showed fire trucks deployed throughout the city’s streets, and several buildings showed visible damage to their outer walls and facades.

Many people across Caracas lost electricity and internet service almost immediately after the shaking stopped.

Maria Romero, an 80-year-old retiree living on the south side of Caracas, was helped out of her building by police officers. She described the experience as devastating. “This earthquake was horrible, even worse than the one in 1967,” she said.

Another witness described returning to their apartment to find cracks running up the walls and shattered glass in the entryway, with power going out shortly afterward.

A resident of Valencia, located to the west of Caracas, described widespread structural damage in their building. “Several walls in my building broke open or cracks formed,” the witness told Reuters. “As soon as it stopped (shaking) my husband and I evacuated.”

Following the earthquake, the U.S. Tsunami Warning System issued a tsunami threat for Puerto Rico and both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Officials also warned that the islands of Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire — located off Venezuela’s coast — could face dangerous wave activity.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the question of who was responsible for a devastating strike on a girls’ school in Iran may never be answered.

The attack occurred on February 28 — the first day of the Iran war — when U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iran. The strike hit a school in Minab, in southern Iran, killing more than 175 children and teachers, according to Iranian officials.

Reuters reported in March that an early internal U.S. military investigation pointed to U.S. forces as likely responsible for the fatal strike. The Pentagon has since expanded the investigation but has stopped short of confirming any preliminary conclusions.

Speaking to reporters, Trump cast doubt on whether the truth would ever come out. “I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem,” he said. “I don’t know that they are ever going to solve that problem in terms of whose fault was it because there were missiles flying all over the place, and it’s horrible what happened but there were missiles flying all over the place.”

Trump also pushed back on suggestions that the U.S. was to blame. “Somebody said it was our missile, maybe it wasn’t our missile but I have seen nothing to lead me to believe it was,” he said, adding, “I don’t think it was us.”

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in March that the strike may have resulted from the use of outdated targeting data by U.S. forces.

Under international humanitarian law, deliberately targeting a school would likely constitute a war crime. U.S. officials have publicly stated that Washington would never intentionally strike a school.

The attack sparked widespread global outrage. The United Nations human rights office described the incident as “absolutely horrific.”

Trump initially blamed Iran for the strike without providing evidence. He has since walked back that claim, saying he lacks sufficient information, that an investigation remains ongoing, that he will accept whatever the inquiry concludes, and that “nobody” deliberately targeted the school.

SAO PAULO — A prominent Brazilian senator and close political ally of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has stepped down from his role as the government’s leader in the Senate, adding new turbulence to the administration just months before a national election.

Senator Jaques Wagner announced his resignation on Wednesday through a post on the social media platform X. His exit marks another high-profile departure tied to a growing corruption investigation that has begun to reach into Brazil’s political establishment.

Brazilian authorities revealed last week that Wagner had come under formal investigation as part of a broader probe. The inquiry centers on allegations that Daniel Vorcaro, the owner of the now-defunct Banco Master, used his wealth and political connections to build influence among well-known politicians.

Wagner’s resignation is seen as a significant blow to Lula, raising fresh concerns about the administration’s political standing ahead of October’s election.

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s Senate gave overwhelming approval Wednesday to a set of constitutional amendments that would eliminate direct presidential elections, postpone the next scheduled vote, and extend the term of the nation’s 83-year-old president.

The measure passed with 75 senators voting in favor and only four opposed. Some lawmakers from the divided opposition crossed the aisle to support the bill alongside members of the ruling party. The president’s signature is now the only remaining step before the amendments become law.

Under the proposed changes, the presidential election currently set for 2028 would be pushed back to 2030, giving President Emmerson Mnangagwa an additional two years in office. The bill also fundamentally changes how Zimbabwe’s president is chosen — scrapping the direct popular vote in favor of selection by members of parliament. Additionally, the terms of both the president and parliament members would be extended from five years to seven.

The amendments have drawn sharp criticism from human rights lawyers, activists, and some opposition figures, who argue that lengthening presidential terms requires a public referendum rather than a simple parliamentary vote. Supporters of Mnangagwa counter that parliament has the authority to make these changes, pointing out that the constitutional two-term limit would still be preserved, even if each term becomes longer.

The political climate in Zimbabwe has grown increasingly tense since the amendments were introduced. Critics of the legislation have reportedly faced arrest and detention, while others have described harassment and intimidation. Courts in the southern African nation have not yet ruled on multiple legal challenges filed against the proposed changes.

Mnangagwa has held power since 2017, when the military facilitated the removal of his longtime mentor and former Zimbabwean ruler Robert Mugabe, who passed away in 2019. Though Mnangagwa had previously indicated he would leave office when his second term ended in 2028, his ruling ZANU-PF party has been a driving force behind the amendments. Parliament has even held late-night sessions to advance the legislation. The lower house passed the bill by a wide margin just last week.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Federal police in Brazil took a Spanish citizen into custody Wednesday at São Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport, marking the most recent in a growing string of high-profile racism-related arrests involving foreign visitors to the country.

Brazil has confronted a long history tied to slavery and has established some of the most stringent anti-racism legislation in Latin America. Those protections were written into the country’s 1988 constitution. Under Brazilian law, insulting someone based on their race can result in a prison sentence of two to five years, along with financial penalties.

According to police, the crew aboard a LATAM airlines flight that had arrived from the northeastern city of São Luís contacted authorities after the Spanish woman allegedly hurled racially offensive comments at the workers responsible for unloading the plane’s baggage. Officers took her into custody as she stepped off the aircraft. LATAM issued a statement saying there was no excuse for the aggression aimed at its staff and that the airline stands firmly against racism and discrimination in all forms.

This incident follows several similar cases in recent months. In January, Argentine national Agostina Páez was arrested in Rio after video spread widely on social media showing her making monkey gestures toward a waiter at a nightclub. Though initially prohibited from leaving Brazil, Páez was ultimately allowed to return to Argentina in April, where photographs captured her meeting with Sen. Patricia Bullrich, a close ally of Argentine President Javier Milei. Both were seen celebrating her homecoming. Legal proceedings in her case are still underway.

In May, another Argentine national, Eduardo Ignacio Murias, was arrested in Minas Gerais. Authorities allege he took unauthorized photos and video of a young child and then shared those images alongside racist messages written in Spanish. News outlet G1 reported on June 17 that a court formally indicted Murias, who continues to be held in pretrial detention.

Also in May, a Chilean citizen was arrested for making racial and homophobic slurs against flight crew members during a trip between Guarulhos and Frankfurt. That individual also reportedly attempted to open the aircraft door mid-flight and, when crew members intervened, directed racial and homophobic insults at them, according to a May 15 police statement.

Brazil’s ties to slavery run deep — the country imported more Africans into forced labor than any other nation and was the final country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery, doing so in 1888. At the same time, Brazil has a long tradition of anti-racism advocacy driven by movements pushing for racial equality.

Irapuã Santana, a lawyer who specializes in anti-racism cases and a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think-tank and university, noted the significance of that history. “Social movements played a very important role in ensuring that the Black population was recognized in the 1988 constitution,” which explicitly bans racism, he said.

In January 2023, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed legislation that classified racial insults as equivalent to the crime of racism itself, giving courts stronger tools to address such cases.

Santana added that racism cases in Brazil are drawing increasing public attention as more people learn about the country’s legal protections and recognize that the justice system can and does respond to such offenses.

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police took two people into custody Wednesday, alleging they sold seditious publications and accepted money from foreign political organizations, invoking powers granted under a recently enacted national security law.

An official government statement released early Thursday declined to name the individuals who were arrested. However, local media outlets — among them the Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao — cited unnamed sources claiming that one of the two was Leticia Wong, the owner of Hunter Bookstore.

Wong, a former district councilor known for her pro-democracy stance, has continued to speak out publicly at a time when many prominent activists have been imprisoned following a sweeping crackdown that came in the wake of large-scale anti-government demonstrations in 2019. Should her involvement be confirmed, many observers would likely view the arrest as another move to suppress dissenting voices in the city.

The Associated Press was unable to independently confirm the identities of those taken into custody. Police did not answer emailed questions, and Wong was unreachable by phone.

The two arrests happened exactly one week before Hong Kong marks the 29th anniversary of its transition from British colonial rule back to China. Critics argue that Beijing’s pledge to preserve the city’s Western-style civil liberties following the 1997 handover is becoming increasingly hollow.

According to Thursday’s official statement, the pair arrested operate a shop in the Sham Shui Po district — the same area where Wong’s bookstore is located. They face suspicion of sedition under the 2024 national security law, as well as charges related to handling assets believed to be proceeds of an indictable offense under a separate piece of legislation.

A pro-Beijing newspaper reported last year that an independent book fair held at Wong’s bookstore carried overtones of what it called “soft resistance.” That report drew attention to the store’s intention to sell a biography of jailed pro-democracy figure Jimmy Lai.

Authorities said their investigation found the pair allegedly displayed seditious items and offered for sale publications containing seditious content — including materials said to incite hatred toward the city’s government, its courts, and law enforcement. The statement also alleged the two received money transfers funded by foreign political organizations, though it did not name the specific publications or groups involved.

Wong had previously spoken about feeling pressure on her business. In an interview with the AP last year, she said her records documented 92 instances between July 2022 and June 2025 in which government authorities took action against her shop — including inspections, visible patrols outside the premises, and written warnings about alleged violations. She also described how an anonymous letter sent to an organization that had planned an event at her shop led that group to cancel the booking.

This past March, police arrested the owner and employees of a separate bookstore, reportedly also on suspicion of selling seditious materials, including the Lai biography. Those booksellers were subsequently released on bail.

The Hong Kong government maintains that both security laws are essential to maintaining stability in the city, and insists that freedom of expression remains fully protected.

HARARE — Zimbabwe’s senate gave overwhelming approval Wednesday to a bill that would lengthen presidential terms from five years to seven, paving the way for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to hold onto power until 2030.

The vote was not particularly close — 75 senators backed the measure while just four opposed it, surpassing the two-thirds majority required for passage.

Beyond extending the length of presidential terms, the legislation also includes a significant change to how Zimbabwe’s president is chosen. Rather than being elected directly by voters, the president would instead be selected by parliament under the new framework. The bill will officially become law once Mnangagwa puts his signature on it.

Signs that Mnangagwa, who is 83 years old, was looking to remain in office past the end of his second term in 2028 began surfacing roughly two years ago. Supporters at rallies held by the ruling ZANU-PF party began chanting that he needed additional time to finish what he had started.

The ruling party formally committed to amending the constitution to extend presidential terms last year, and the proposal received cabinet approval in February.

Mnangagwa’s path to the presidency came through a 2017 military coup that removed longtime leader Robert Mugabe, who had governed Zimbabwe since the country gained independence in 1980.

Opponents of the bill argue it is simply a mechanism for Mnangagwa to cling to power beyond what voters originally agreed to. Supporters, however, contend the changes will improve government accountability and bring greater political stability to the country.

BOGOTA, Colombia — The emergence of Abelardo de la Espriella, a businessman and attorney set to become Colombia’s next president, is sparking debate over whether a broader political shift taking shape across Latin America could fundamentally alter the fate of the Amazon rainforest.

Colombia’s outcome arrives as Peru appears to be on the verge of electing Keiko Fujimori following a tight vote. At the same time, Brazil is gearing up for a presidential contest that could push the country rightward if Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, manages to unseat President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Taken together, these elections raise the prospect that the nations controlling the largest portions of the Amazon could shift toward policies that put greater weight on economic expansion, resource extraction, and cracking down on organized crime in remote territories.

“There’s an interesting alignment, particularly across the Andes region and the broader Amazon basin,” said Elizabeth Dickinson, deputy director for Latin America at the International Crisis Group, pointing to a growing view among some governments that economic development and environmental conservation can happen side by side.

In Colombia, de la Espriella — who received an endorsement from U.S. President Donald Trump — defeated lawmaker Iván Cepeda, who had the backing of outgoing President Gustavo Petro, by a margin of one percentage point, or roughly 251,000 votes. Cepeda acknowledged his defeat on Wednesday.

The Amazon rainforest stretches across much of northern South America and plays a vital role in slowing climate change by soaking up large quantities of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas responsible for warming the planet. Scientists have long cautioned that ongoing deforestation could push portions of the Amazon past a point of no return, beyond which vast areas might lose the ability to recover as rainforest.

Approximately 40% of Colombia’s land area falls within the Amazon basin. Under outgoing President Petro, the country became one of the world’s most vocal champions of rainforest preservation and a shift away from fossil fuel dependence.

On the campaign trail, de la Espriella — known by the nickname “The Tiger” — promised to reinvigorate Colombia’s oil industry, expressed support for fracking, which involves extracting oil and gas from underground rock formations, and argued that the nation should draw more heavily on its natural resources to fuel economic growth. Environmental advocates warn that ramping up oil and gas output could undermine emissions reduction goals and place added strain on ecologically sensitive regions.

De la Espriella stands in stark contrast to Petro, who blocked new fossil fuel exploration agreements and worked to establish Colombia as a global leader on climate policy.

Peru, which holds the second-largest share of the Amazon rainforest behind Brazil, appears close to electing Fujimori. Much like de la Espriella, Fujimori has indicated support for growing the mining sector and other industries as engines of economic development, while environmental organizations have voiced concern about what that could mean for forests and Indigenous communities.

Brazil, which contains roughly 60% of the Amazon, faces a presidential race with potentially sweeping consequences for forest protection. The contest comes after the country saw deforestation rates climb sharply under Bolsonaro, only to fall again under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as environmental enforcement was stepped up.

Brazil’s track record demonstrates that government priorities can produce a tangible impact on the Amazon, according to Cristiane Mazzetti, zero deforestation lead at Greenpeace Brazil.

“The elected administration sets budgetary priorities, fills government positions and shapes regulations to either facilitate or hinder predatory exploitation and environmental crimes,” she said. “The result of this is measurable, as evidenced by the rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.”

Trump’s backing of de la Espriella comes as the U.S. president has rolled back domestic climate policies, pushed for expanded oil and gas production, and pulled the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the global accord designed to limit rising temperatures.

Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, said environmental priorities may increasingly find themselves competing with demands for investment, energy production, and economic growth.

“Many of the concerns from environmentalists on emissions and fracking are going to take a second place to some of the economic concerns about energy self-sufficiency, investment and foreign direct investment in oil, gas and mining,” Guzmán said.

Illegal gold mining has emerged as one of the most destructive forces in parts of the Amazon, polluting rivers with mercury, stripping away forests, and funneling billions of dollars to criminal organizations.

Dickinson noted that many governments have adopted harder stances toward illegal mining, which has become a central issue in environmental policy across the region.

“It’s very hard to disagree with the idea of going after illegal mining, one of the most detrimental industries for the Amazon basin,” she said, adding that governments have typically concentrated on confiscating equipment or clearing miners from specific sites rather than dismantling the criminal and financial networks that drive the operations.

“What we really haven’t reached is an ability to tackle the intellectual authors of these operations,” Dickinson said.

Julio Cusurichi, a well-known Indigenous leader from Peru’s Amazon region, said Indigenous communities would press on with their organizing efforts and push for a stronger voice in decisions that affect their lands.

“Our biodiversity, our territories, our knowledge and our wisdom can contribute greatly to addressing climate change,” he said. “In our territories, we have shown that we can provide governance not only for our peoples, but for the planet.”

Throughout the Amazon, Indigenous territories frequently overlap with areas targeted for mining, oil development, and infrastructure construction. Indigenous organizations have long argued that governments routinely fail to properly consult communities before greenlighting projects.

Dickinson said friction over Indigenous autonomy and extractive projects has become increasingly visible in countries including Peru and Ecuador.

Analysts say some of the clearest early signals of how de la Espriella’s administration will approach environmental issues will come from how it manages Indigenous consultation procedures, environmental permitting, and decisions on new oil, gas, and mining projects in ecologically fragile areas.

Guzmán said de la Espriella’s plans to intensify military pressure on criminal organizations and potentially restart aerial spraying of coca crops — the plant from which cocaine is derived — could also carry consequences for Amazon communities.

Aerial fumigation has been a long-running source of controversy in Colombia. Advocates see it as a necessary tool against drug trafficking, while critics argue it can harm surrounding vegetation, affect water supplies, and push coca growers to clear new stretches of forest as they move further into remote Amazon territory.

Some analysts urge caution against assuming environmental safeguards will automatically erode under the new government.

Colombia’s courts, legislature, Indigenous organizations, and environmental agencies all retain significant influence, while advances in satellite technology are making it harder to conceal deforestation and environmental damage, analysts noted.

In the Colombian Amazon city of Leticia, Indigenous Ticuna resident Arnaldo Rufino said many in the community worry that policies encouraging greater resource extraction could ultimately come at the forest’s expense.

He said political leaders should be focused on safeguarding biodiversity and the Amazon rather than pursuing projects that risk heightening environmental pressures.

“It means cutting down the trees that allow humanity to breathe,” Rufino said.

LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria’s Senate has approved legislation that would permit individual states to form their own police forces, setting the stage for a sweeping overhaul of how law enforcement operates in the conflict-stricken country.

The proposed change to the nation’s constitution would shift policing authority away from the federal government, which currently holds exclusive control over the country’s police. The federal force has been stretched thin by a growing security crisis, and the new state-level forces would work alongside it rather than replace it.

Security experts say a shortage of police presence in large rural areas has allowed militant and criminal organizations to operate with little resistance. According to the United Nations, these groups — including jihadist factions — have been responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people across the country.

If enacted, the law would give each of Nigeria’s 36 states the authority to build a police force that meets a minimum national standard. The federal police would continue to handle counterterrorism operations, border security, organized crime, and other matters of national concern.

The bill has drawn support from both sides of the political aisle and is backed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It has been discussed and debated on multiple occasions in the past and is widely seen as a potential remedy to the country’s worsening security situation.

Under President Tinubu’s administration, insecurity has continued to grow, with militant activity now spreading into the country’s southern regions. At least 80 schoolchildren remain in captivity after being kidnapped by armed groups operating in both the northern and southern parts of Nigeria.

Ikemesit Effiong, a partner at SBM Intelligence — a risk advisory firm based in Lagos — pointed to the recent wave of mass kidnappings as a driving force behind the push for reform. “In the light of recent mass kidnappings, the calls for a decentralized police have increased due to the sluggish nature of the government’s response to the events, which has been, in part, caused by the structural deficiencies of a centralized policing framework in Nigeria,” Effiong said.

While state governors are officially recognized as the top security authorities within their states, they currently have no direct operational control over police forces. That dynamic has fueled both support for and opposition to the proposed reform.

Opponents of the legislation warn that giving governors command over state police forces could open the door to abuse, with officials potentially using law enforcement to pursue personal or political goals and suppress dissent.

Before the bill can become law, it must receive approval from at least two-thirds of Nigeria’s state legislatures, as it involves an amendment to the country’s constitution.

PARIS (AP) — In an effort to dodge the brutal heat wave sweeping across much of Western Europe, Dior pushed its men’s Paris Fashion Week presentation to 9 a.m. Wednesday. Despite the early hour, the scorching temperatures still made their presence felt.

Attendees made their way to the Musée Nissim de Camondo as the city baked in extreme heat. Staff greeted guests at the entrance with cold towels, strawberries, and parasols in an attempt to offer some relief.

Inside the historic mansion, where Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson was presenting his newest Dior men’s collection, temperatures climbed rapidly. Some guests appeared to be struggling with the heat, and water was in short supply.

Despite the uncomfortable conditions, the front row was packed with well-known faces. Among those attending were LaKeith Stanfield, Little Simz, James Marsden, Drew Starkey, Mike Faist, 070 Shake, Alexander Ludwig, and Sam Nivola.

Anderson’s collection centered on the idea of formality coming undone — tuxedos worn loosely, denim torn and raw, sequins catching the light, and disco-ball boots striding through a venue steeped in old-world elegance.

Dior described the atmosphere behind the collection as “a soiree turning into a house party.” Anderson himself put it this way: “something quite formal becoming undone.”

The central concept was clear: the Dior man wasn’t just arriving at the party — he had been there all night and stayed until dawn.

Anderson opened with tailored looks, though he made them lighter and less rigid. Pinstripes and houndstooth patterns were printed onto silk chiffon rather than woven into heavier fabric, resulting in pieces that felt formal yet see-through.

The collection pushed Dior’s signature style into edgier territory. Sequined trousers were styled to resemble jeans, ripped denim was finished with delicate silver chains, tuxedos came in relaxed cuts, and pink denim shorts appeared beneath formal coats.

Accessories included crystal sunglasses, disco-ball boots, and patchworked Japanese denim shirts.

The standout pieces succeeded by keeping Dior’s identity recognizable while disrupting it. A scarf motif was drawn from a 1979 Dior haute couture piece, and silver embroidery was borrowed from an 18th-century gentleman’s coat.

Boots were intentionally styled to look worn and disheveled, decorated with tiny ladybird details.

The collection wasn’t a break from Dior’s history — it was a way of putting that history in motion.

The choice of venue added deeper meaning to the show. The Musée Nissim de Camondo, currently closed for restoration, was built around Moïse de Camondo’s collection of 18th-century decorative arts — the same era that captivated Christian Dior himself.

Anderson presented a collection about loosened formality inside a building also caught between its past and its future. Dior’s own show notes framed that “in-between” state as intentional, pointing to beauty found in imperfection.

The mansion also carries a painful history. Camondo’s son perished in World War I, and later generations of the family were deported and killed during the Holocaust. Today the building serves as both a museum and a memorial to that loss.

Set against that somber backdrop, the collection’s playful energy gave the clothing a certain tension. Anderson took elements already embedded in Dior’s identity — the tuxedo, the Bar silhouette, couture embroidery, 18th-century ornamentation — and recast them in a younger, more chaotic register.

The result stood as one of Anderson’s most focused and fully realized outings at Dior to date.

KUWAIT CITY — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made a firm pledge Wednesday that Washington will take no action to compromise the safety of its Gulf region allies as it navigates its relationship with Iran.

Speaking to reporters in Kuwait City before heading to Bahrain, Rubio emphasized the purpose of his regional visit. “We’re going to be completely aligned with our partners in the Gulf,” he said. “That’s why I’ve taken these trips now, and it’s the reason why I’m here.”

“We’re not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies, our longstanding allies in the region,” Rubio added.

The nation’s top diplomat is currently visiting three Gulf countries in an effort to ease concerns among allies who believe a proposed Iran peace agreement is not tough enough on a regional power that attacked them during the war. Rubio had earlier met with the United Arab Emirates leader before sitting down with Kuwaiti officials, then departing for Bahrain.

The agreement between the U.S. and Iran, reached last week, marks the first deal signed by leaders of both nations since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979. The accord includes a proposed $300 billion fund and the lifting of certain sanctions.

Since the memorandum of understanding was signed last week, both countries have begun technical-level discussions to work out the specifics of how the deal will be put into practice. The agreement has faced criticism from Democrats as well as military hawks within the Republican Party.

Rubio left the door open for further progress, saying, “If Iran wants to make a good and real deal, the United States is open to that. If they’re not, then of course the President has options.”

He also noted that technical negotiators are expected to pick up talks again before the end of the month and will likely convene once more in Switzerland.

Despite objections from a top member of the U.S. Congress, President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing to finalize a deal selling dozens of jet engines to Turkey worth hundreds of millions of dollars, four sources familiar with the situation confirmed Wednesday.

The engines, manufactured by General Electric, are intended to power Turkey’s first homegrown combat aircraft, known as the Kaan. That aircraft program was launched in 2016 as part of the NATO member nation’s push toward greater independence in its defense capabilities. One source indicated the overall package would exceed $700 million in value.

The planned sale represents a meaningful show of goodwill toward Ankara ahead of a NATO summit scheduled to be held in Turkey on July 7 and 8. The gathering of NATO leaders is taking place amid internal alliance tensions over defense spending, burden-sharing, and U.S. concerns about allies’ involvement in keeping the Strait of Hormuz open during the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict.

Relations between the U.S. and Turkey have largely been positive under Trump, who has frequently spoken favorably of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Still, friction has persisted over Washington’s earlier decision to exclude Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program and impose sanctions following Ankara’s purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems — a move the United States has characterized as a security risk.

Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, raised concerns during the informal review process and has not given his approval for the deal, according to two of the sources, one of whom is a U.S. official.

Even so, the sale is expected to move forward in the coming days, after which the State Department is anticipated to formally notify Congress. The State Department declined to offer any comment on the matter.

The decision to proceed comes roughly a year after Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan publicly expressed frustration over what he described as delays in the approval process.

BOGOTA, Colombia — Progressive candidate Iván Cepeda formally conceded Colombia’s presidential race on Wednesday to conservative political newcomer Abelardo de la Espriella, who carried an endorsement from U.S. President Donald Trump heading into the vote.

According to election results, de la Espriella — a businessman and attorney who had never previously sought public office — beat out Cepeda, a sitting lawmaker, by roughly one percentage point, a margin of nearly 251,000 votes.

In a nationally televised address, Cepeda acknowledged the outcome, saying: “We assume with serenity, responsibility, and absolute resolve — and let there be no doubt about it — the role that circumstances demand of us. We will exercise a democratic, vigilant and constructive opposition.”

Political observers view the outcome as a repudiation of outgoing President Gustavo Petro’s administration, whose agenda Cepeda had pledged to carry forward. That agenda included a largely unsuccessful initiative to negotiate with various armed factions under a program called “total peace.”

Election authorities released nearly all vote totals within hours of polls closing on Sunday. Both Petro and Cepeda initially refused to accept those figures, with Cepeda indicating he would hold off on conceding until a recount was completed.

De la Espriella, who is 47 years old, is set to begin a four-year term on August 7. His campaign had not issued a response to Cepeda’s concession as of Wednesday.

The win places Colombia among a growing number of nations that have turned toward political outsiders to address difficult challenges related to public safety, social conditions, and economic pressures.

Describing himself as the candidate of “the never-before-seen,” de la Espriella appealed to voters worried about a return to widespread internal conflict. He promised a tough-on-crime approach modeled after strategies used by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, including the construction of large-scale prisons. Those methods have reduced homicide rates in El Salvador but have also drawn criticism over alleged human rights violations.

Known by the nickname “The Tiger,” de la Espriella holds dual citizenship in both Colombia and the United States, identifies as a Trump supporter, and is a registered member of the Republican Party.

BUCHAREST — Romania’s Social Democrats, the leftist party holding the most seats in parliament, announced Wednesday that they are nominating their own leader, Sorin Grindeanu, to serve as prime minister. The move is part of a broader effort by political parties to piece together a functioning government after a pro-European coalition collapsed last month.

The Social Democrats themselves set off the political turmoil in early May when they walked away from the coalition and joined forces with far-right opposition lawmakers to bring down Liberal Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.

The three remaining parties from that dissolved coalition have since made clear they have no intention of entering into a new government alongside the Social Democrats. The problem is that without them, no other grouping holds sufficient parliamentary seats to command a majority.

A candidate put forward by the president to lead a new government was unable to secure enough backing. Under Romanian political rules, if a second candidate is nominated and also falls short, the country would be required to hold new parliamentary elections.

The pro-European parties have expressed a desire to form a minority government as a way to head off a snap election, but they have yet to reach a consensus on whether the Social Democrats or the center-right parties should lead that arrangement.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A wave of anti-immigrant anger is driving thousands of African migrants out of South Africa, as tensions build ahead of a self-imposed June 30 deadline set by anti-immigration protest groups demanding action from the government.

The protest groups have been staging demonstrations and marches across the country for months, blaming immigrants — without evidence — for South Africa’s high unemployment rate, failing public services, and rising crime. They have threatened to launch a “national shutdown” if the government does not take steps against what they describe as a serious illegal immigration problem by the end of the month.

South Africa’s police minister confirmed that authorities are on high alert, with large-scale protests expected on the deadline day itself.

In the meantime, thousands of migrants have taken refuge in makeshift shelters and near embassies, fearing for their safety. Multiple African countries have begun bringing their citizens home while publicly condemning what they call a climate of xenophobia in South Africa.

The issue has dominated national politics since March, when protests erupted in several major cities. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation on television earlier this month in an effort to calm the situation. He accused some protest organizers of using immigration as a political tool, and stated that “illegal immigration is not the cause of our social and economic difficulties.” However, Ramaphosa also acknowledged that the country’s border control systems have fallen short.

South Africa has long been a destination for migrants from other parts of Africa due to its comparatively stronger economy. According to 2022 census data, roughly 2.4 million foreign nationals were living in South Africa at the time, making up less than 4% of the country’s 62 million residents. Critics argue those numbers don’t capture the full picture, since many undocumented individuals would not be counted.

Over the past two years, South Africa’s home affairs ministry says it has deported more than 100,000 people found to be living in the country without proper documentation, while turning away approximately 500,000 more at border crossings. Anti-immigration groups have pointed to those numbers as proof the problem is significant.

Violence has accompanied the rising tensions. Police are investigating the deaths of two Mozambican nationals killed this month in a small coastal town, where more than 50 homes in an immigrant neighborhood were also set on fire, according to local officials. In a separate incident last week, a man from Malawi was allegedly stoned to death during anti-immigration protests, triggering another police investigation.

South Africa has a long and troubled history with xenophobic violence. Migrants from neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi often settle in low-income communities where unemployment is high and tensions run deep. In 2008, more than 60 people — both South Africans and foreign nationals — were killed when anti-immigrant violence erupted in Johannesburg and spread across the country. Sporadic outbreaks have occurred ever since.

A spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN chief was “deeply concerned by reports of xenophobic attacks and acts of harassment and intimidation against migrants and foreign nationals in parts of South Africa.”

Nigeria, Ghana, and Mozambique are among the African nations that have spoken out strongly against the treatment of their citizens. Nigeria and Ghana together have repatriated nearly 2,000 people on government-funded flights and say more evacuations are planned. Zimbabwe and Mozambique have also brought back smaller numbers of nationals.

In the eastern city of Durban, approximately 10,000 Malawian migrants gathered at a temporary shelter last week hoping to return home. More than 8,000 of them have since departed on buses arranged by the Malawian government or private sponsors, though more continue to arrive. South African authorities said they assisted with the repatriation process, but also formally deported many of those individuals for lacking valid residency documents.

High-stakes diplomatic talks between the United States and Iran held in Switzerland did not yield a final agreement, but they did mark meaningful progress in turning a fragile memorandum of understanding into a more structured diplomatic process.

The delegations gathered at Bürgenstock, a venue overlooking Lake Lucerne, where American and Iranian officials agreed to press forward with technical negotiations under the framework of the Islamabad MoU. Qatar and Pakistan served as mediators throughout the process.

On the American side, US Vice President JD Vance joined other senior envoys at the table. Iran sent Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi along with other top officials. Qatar and Pakistan not only helped shape the structure of the talks but also jointly issued the official statement and took on the role of mediators in a wider effort to steer the crisis away from military confrontation.

According to the joint statement released by Qatar and Pakistan on June 22, the discussions resulted in the creation of a high-level committee for political oversight, along with working groups focused on nuclear matters, sanctions, monitoring, and dispute resolution. The two sides also agreed on a roadmap aimed at reaching a final deal within 60 days. Additionally, the US and Iran committed to establishing a direct communication channel to help prevent incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as a de-confliction mechanism involving Lebanon, both parties, and the mediators.

The Switzerland meeting went beyond a simple two-way negotiation between Washington and Tehran. It reflects a broader regional realignment in which the United States appears to be drawing on a wider network of partners — including Gulf nations and Pakistan — rather than relying solely on its traditional coordination with Israel to handle the political and security fallout from the crisis.

Washington faces a two-part challenge going forward: determining whether Iran is genuinely willing to accept meaningful nuclear monitoring and additional technical arrangements, while also keeping related regional issues — Lebanon, maritime security, sanctions relief, and frozen assets — from derailing the overall process. For Tehran, the Swiss talks present an opportunity to maintain leverage while securing economic and political concessions, though it also means entering a more formalized process of verification and implementation.

One of the most sensitive topics under discussion is the return of international nuclear inspectors. Vance stated that Iran had agreed to invite International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors back into the country, describing it as an initial step toward addressing American concerns about Iran’s nuclear activities. However, Iranian officials have been careful not to frame this as a one-sided concession, stressing that any final arrangement would hinge on implementation, sanctions relief, and decisions from Iran’s top political and security leadership.

The question of sanctions is equally complicated. Iranian officials have suggested that restrictions on oil and petrochemical exports have been waived, that a blockade has been lifted, and that some frozen assets have been released. American officials have been more guarded in their language, emphasizing mechanisms, waivers, and limits on how any released funds can be used. The gap between what each side is saying publicly and what can actually be enforced is expected to define the next phase of negotiations.

For Gulf nations, the more pressing concern is not about claiming a diplomatic win — it is about whether this agreement can genuinely reduce risk across the region. The crisis had placed pressure on shipping lanes, energy markets, Lebanon, and Gulf security more broadly. Abdulaziz Alshaabani, a Saudi political analyst, said the agreement is being received with restrained optimism in Saudi Arabia.

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency stated Wednesday that inspections of Iran’s nuclear sites will go forward under a recently signed memorandum of understanding, pushing back on claims that Tehran has not consented to granting inspectors access.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi made the remarks during a press conference held at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, where he emphasized that the agreement — signed by the presidents of both Iran and the United States — explicitly calls for IAEA oversight of nuclear activities.

“I can understand political statements, they are part of the reality, but the fundamental thing I would like to remind you and draw your attention to is that there has been a Memorandum of Understanding, signed by both presidents,” Grossi told reporters.

His comments come amid ongoing uncertainty about whether Iran has truly agreed to allow IAEA inspectors back inside its borders.

Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance described nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran held in Switzerland as a “very, very good day,” stating that Tehran had agreed to permit IAEA inspectors into the country and calling it a “major milestone.”

Iranian officials quickly pushed back on that description. Tasnim reported Monday that neither Iran’s negotiating team nor top government officials had approved the return of inspectors to the country.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei stated that any cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog would occur within the boundaries of Iran’s safeguards obligations and in line with decisions made by the country’s parliament and Supreme National Security Council.

Despite the back-and-forth public statements, Grossi stood firm, saying the memorandum itself lays out a clear foundation for inspections to take place.

“The accord,” he said, “says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out with regards to the nuclear material facilities will be supervised by the IAEA — in all letters.”

While Grossi acknowledged the exact timeline for inspections remains unclear, he was adamant that the process will not be stopped.

“Obviously, to do that, we will have to inspect. Whether this happens the day after tomorrow or in one week or in 10 days, it’s important, but not essential. This is going to happen,” he added.

Iran’s current stance is shaped by legislation passed last summer that scaled back cooperation with the IAEA and suspended inspections. However, IRNA reported that the law still allows inspectors to visit certain active nuclear facilities under limited conditions.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A panel of independent experts working under a United Nations mandate has accused Israel of intentionally shooting children in Gaza, while also repeating prior accusations that Israel has carried out genocide in the territory.

Israel strongly and repeatedly denies that it has committed genocide during its two-and-a-half-year military campaign in Gaza.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which operates under the U.N. Human Rights Council, released a report Tuesday stating that approximately 30% of Palestinians killed between October 2023 and October 2025 were children — a total exceeding 20,000. Investigators believe additional children may be missing or buried in unmarked graves.

Israel has consistently denied deliberately targeting civilians and has pushed back against genocide accusations from both the commission and various human rights organizations. Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as a “libelous sham,” saying the allegations had not been verified. The ministry also attacked the commission itself, describing it as “a fundamentally flawed mechanism whose very purpose is to single out and vilify Israel rather than seek the truth.”

The report concluded that the devastating impact of the conflict on children in Gaza constitutes both war crimes and genocide — an escalation of accusations the commission first raised in September.

“Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, the commission’s chair.

The report named specific Israeli military divisions operating in areas where children — some as young as infants — were killed, and identified the types of weapons used. Investigators paid particular attention to cases where children were killed by quadcopter drones or sniper fire, frequently from a single gunshot.

Medical professionals interviewed by the commission said autopsies from those incidents “indicate a high degree of precision in the use of force, suggesting that the shot was carefully aimed rather than incidental or the result of indiscriminate fire.”

The report also documented cases of children being killed even after a ceasefire was reached in October 2025, including instances involving children who were reportedly gathering firewood near the yellow line that marks the boundary of Israeli military-controlled territory.

“By maintaining that the children killed were ‘suspects,’ the Israeli security forces have deflected responsibility to Palestinian children, portraying them as ‘terrorists’ rather than casualties,” the report states.

Israel has broadly criticized the United Nations and firmly rejected the commission’s previous findings, including the genocide accusation, asserting that it takes measures to minimize civilian casualties and protect children. The current conflict began with the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in 251 individuals being taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, including those who died after the ceasefire, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The Health Ministry, which operates under the Hamas-led government, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed casualty records that United Nations agencies and independent experts generally regard as reliable. The ministry does not separate civilian deaths from militant deaths, but reports that women and children account for roughly half of all fatalities.

Great Britain, France, and Germany issued an unusual joint statement Wednesday expressing serious concern about Chinese activities in waters east of Taiwan, where China had recently deployed coast guard patrols.

The de-facto embassies representing the three European countries in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, described the actions as “novel Chinese activity” — without specifying exactly what those activities involved — and warned that they posed a threat to stability across the region.

China considers Taiwan its own territory, claiming the democratically governed island is a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out using military force to bring Taiwan under its control. Chinese authorities described the recent operations as a “maritime traffic enforcement and hydrographic survey operation.”

Chinese state media characterized the activities as “sending a pointed warning” to Japan and the Philippines, following an announcement that those two countries intended to discuss their shared maritime boundaries in waters that China also claims.

On Tuesday, China sent its newest and most powerful aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait — the stretch of water that separates mainland China from Taiwan — just hours after Taiwan kicked off a five-day military exercise designed to test the island’s readiness in the event of a Chinese attack.

The joint European statement was direct in its criticism: “These actions threaten regional stability and the freedom of navigation and safety of international shipping. We reiterate our opposition to any unilateral change to the status quo, particularly by threat or use of force or coercion.”

The three nations’ offices also called on all parties to respect navigational rights, freedoms, and the safety of those at sea. China’s Foreign Ministry had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

In recent years, China has steadily increased its pressure on Taiwan, sending military ships and aircraft near the island on an almost daily basis and periodically staging live-fire military drills.

Tensions between Beijing and Tokyo have also grown since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last year that Japan’s military could become involved if China takes aggressive action against Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the current military exercises are intended to improve combat readiness and test how quickly military units can be deployed — particularly in response to a sudden escalation of what is known as Chinese grey-zone warfare.

Grey-zone tactics include a broad range of aggressive but non-combat actions, such as navy ship patrols and drone flights, that stop short of open warfare.

Earlier this month, Taiwan reported that Chinese coast guard vessels had been stopping commercial ships near Taiwan and demanding that those vessels disclose their planned routes.