US President Donald Trump said he plans to soon declare the Strait of Hormuz “a territory of the United States” as he once again asserted U.S. control of the critical waterway amid the war in Iran, USA Today reports. Trump made the extraordinary remark as he touted the success of an American naval blockade…
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will impose tariffs on imports of drones and their components, including from some key U.S. allies, with the Trump administration saying the country was “too reliant” on foreign sources of drones, Reuters reports. A proclamation signed by Trump imposes a 100% ad valorem tariff on drones of…
Reuters/CCTV. U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that the United States had “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz and will “keep it.” Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. naval blockade of the waterway had been described as a “wall of steel” and said Iran lacked the capability to challenge it….
Reuters/CCTV. Thousands of volunteers and rescuers are racing against time to find survivors trapped under the rubble in Cali, western Colombian, as the critical 72-hour rescue window nears its close following Monday’s devastating earthquake. Rescue workers raised their arms to call for silence upon hearing signs of life beneath the rubble, bringing all activity…
Despite publicly pledging his support for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has largely avoided sending Chechens to the front en masse, The Economist reported on Aug. 11, citing a source close to the republic’s leadership. Kadyrov does not want to sacrifice Chechnya’s population for the “Russian world,” the…
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday threatened retaliation for Western seizures of its commercial vessels, describing them as “piracy.” Speaking on a visit to a Russian warship that was taking part in a naval exercise in the Pacific, Putin described the Western moves to detain vessels linked to Russia as a breach of international…
The United States and 40 other nations have called for at least 24 hours’ notice before long-range ballistic missile launches, following a rare Chinese missile test in the Pacific last month that they said raised concerns over accidents and military miscalculation. In a joint statement released by the US State Department on Tuesday, the…
Reuters. A Syrian court sentenced ousted leader Bashar al-Assad to death on Tuesday (August 11) after a trial in absentia, convicting him of crimes including killings, torture, and arbitrary arrest during the country’s nearly 14-year war. It was the first conviction against Assad, who was ousted in a rebel offensive in December 2024 that…
Reuters. Turkey’s parliament passed a law on Monday (August 10) establishing a legal framework for the disbandment of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a major step toward ending a decades-old conflict that has killed tens of thousands. The legislation provides legal protections for many former militants who have not committed specific crimes and…
Reuters/CCTV. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that “we are only semi-negotiating” with Iran, noting that he is prepared to allow economic pressure on Iran to mount — as opposed to ordering a new military offensive, Axios reported. “We are low keying it,” Trump told Axios during a brief phone call, arguing that…
The U.S. Secretary of State has issued a statement regarding the Washington summit on August 8. In his statement, handed by the U.S. Department of State, Marco Rubio said: One year ago today, President Trump secured peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan when he hosted President Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Pashinyan of Armenia together at the White House and witnessed their signing of a…
Reuters. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said during an interview aired on Iranian state TV on Friday (August 7) that Iran thwarted what he described as efforts by its opponents to weaken or destabilise the country through military pressure. Pezeshkian said his government had been engaged in negotiations before the conflict with the US began…
EU’s Chief Diplomat Kaja Kallas said each new attack on Ukraine is another reason for Europe to tighten the screws on Russia. “As a response to the recent series of Russian airstrikes, the EU today adopted new sanctions listings targeting five individuals involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex. With its army stalled on the…
Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (August 6) told reporters that he believed the war with Iran would be over soon and said the armed forces were experiencing issues with supplies of some weapons. “I think it’s going to end pretty soon. I don’t think they can go much longer,” Trump said in…
Ambassador Narek Mkrtchyan hosted Cate Dillon, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, and Shannon Sprenger, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Exchanges, at the Embassy. Armenian Embassy to the USA said, during the meeting, the parties discussed opportunities to expand Armenian-American cooperation in the field of…
Ukraine is continuing its work with the United States and other partners to create conditions for real diplomacy and an end to the war, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his evening address. He added that Kyiv is ready for all formats of meetings and expects Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to remain actively involved in…
A Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv and its surrounding region killed 15 people overnight on Wednesday, August 5, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) said. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, said nine people were killed in the Brovary district, four were killed in the Buchanskyi district, and…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he has disagreements with Donald Trump over the mechanisms for resolving the situation in Gaza. According to Netanyahu, Hamas must be fully disarmed before the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip can begin. Earlier, the U.S.-initiated Board of Peace confirmed that Hamas had formally committed to disarmament,…
Reuters. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday (August 3) there were no talks under way with the United States and no plans for any meetings, while talks with Oman over management of the Strait of Hormuz continued. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday (August 2) that a negotiation with…
Reuters. President Donald Trump said on Sunday (August 2) the U.S. held off on a fresh attack on Iran for a deal to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported on Sunday that negotiations between Tehran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz were in…
Reuters. Israeli forces struck a warehouse containing medical supplies overnight on Saturday (August 1), according to a doctor at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Gaza. “In the middle of last night, it targeted a warehouse containing medical supplies for the hospital, and the occupation completely destroyed it,” Khalil Al-Daqran told Reuters. Reuters footage…
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an interview with Fox News, said that diplomatic efforts will be made in the coming weeks aimed at determining whether peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia can be restarted, Urkainska Pravda reports. Rubio said diplomatic activity aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine is expected to intensify…
Reuters/CCTV. Yemen’s Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC), which is set up by the Houthis in Sanaa, issued a statement on Saturday, denying plans to levy transit tolls on most vessels sailing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital transit chokepoint connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. In the statement, the HOCC…
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday described the mass influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta as “an attack” and “a violation of Spain’s territorial integrity,” while pledging to restore normality “as soon as possible.” Speaking in Ceuta, Sanchez said the government stands with residents following the migrant influx, calling the…
Finland and Austria on Friday joined Italy’s recent call for possible Schengen border closures as Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta experienced a surge in migrant arrivals from Morocco in recent days. “Spain has completely failed to protect the Schengen Area’s external border from infiltration. This cannot continue. “All European countries must support…
US President Donald Trump says the Board of Peace has reached an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, BBC reports. A senior Hamas official has told the BBC the group has agreed to the Board of Peace’s plan to completely disarm in Gaza and that an official…
Reuters. A Russian strike hit residential buildings in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Thursday (July 30), leaving at least 20 people injured and prompting a major rescue operation. Rescuers carried a boy from the upper floors of a heavily damaged apartment block before medics took him away on a stretcher. Residents…
Brussels is preparing its largest corporate blacklist since the invasion of Ukraine. The scale is dramatic, but Europe’s real problem is no longer identifying Russian enablers. It is enforcing the rules without granting exemptions when they become economically inconvenient. The European Union is preparing to sanction more than 1,600 companies accused of supporting Russia’s…
Iran has rejected a proposal from Oman to evenly share control of the lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran demands it control most of the critical oil and LNG chokepoint, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, as strikes in the region reignited and dashed hopes for a quick return to diplomacy….
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has called on Iran to stop providing military support to Russia during a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Kallas shared details of the call on her X account, reiterating her appeal for Tehran to end its assistance to Moscow. She stressed that Russia”s…
