1 hour ago US strike in Syria kills leader tied to Isis ambush that left 3 Americans dead

A third round of retaliatory strikes by the US in Syria resulted in the death of an al-Qaeda-affiliated leader, who officials say had a direct tie to the Islamic State member responsible for last month’s ambush that killed two US soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country. US Central Command announced that the strike in northwest Syria on Friday killed Bilal Hasan al-Jasim, who they claim was “an experienced terrorist leader who plotted attacks and was directly connected” to...

Events

11 h. ago Iran’s leader says ‘thousands’ killed in protests, Trump a ‘criminal’

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said “several thousand people” died in this month’s anti-government demonstrations, his first acknowledgment of the deadly scale of the unrest. Some of those were killed “brutally and inhumanely”, Khamenei said without offering details in a public meeting broadcast on state TV. He accused the US and Israel of aiding the killings and said the Islamic Republic had evidence to support the claim. Iran did not intend to push the country towards...

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24 h. ago Over 100 dead in torrential rains and floods across southern Africa

Army helicopters rescued people stranded on rooftops and hundreds of tourists and workers were evacuated from one of the world’s biggest game reserves, as torrential rains and flooding in three countries in southern Africa killed more than 100 people, authorities said on Friday. The death toll across South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe is an accumulation after weeks of heavy rains. Weather services issued warnings that more rain was on the way, possibly bringing more destructive...

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28 h. ago Trump thanks Iran for ‘cancelling’ hanging of hundreds of political prisoners

US President Donald Trump took the unusual step on Friday of thanking the Iranian government for not following through on executions of what he said was meant to be hundreds of political prisoners. “Iran cancelled the hanging of over 800 people,” Trump told reporters while leaving the White House to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. He added, “and I greatly respect the fact that they cancelled”. The Republican president also suggested on his social media site...

Politics

31 h. ago Iran cleric demands death for protesters, threatens Trump amid unrest

A hardline cleric leading Friday prayers in Iran’s capital demanded the death penalty for protesters detained in a nationwide crackdown and directly threatened US President Donald Trump, showing the rage gripping authorities in the Islamic Republic over demonstrations that have challenged their authority. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami’s sermon, carried by Iranian state radio, sparked chants from those gathered for prayers, including: “Armed hypocrites should be put to death!” Executions, as well as...

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43 h. ago Japan, US vow ‘unshaken’ defence alliance despite Trump’s pivot from Asia

The defence chiefs of Japan and the United States on Thursday agreed that the bilateral alliance is “unshaken” and pledged to reinforce its deterrence capabilities amid concerns in Asia that Washington’s focus is shifting from the region. Following his meeting with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon near Washington, Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said he was reassured that the administration of President Donald Trump remains committed to peace and stability in the...

Politics

51 h. ago Iran halts hundreds of executions as Gulf allies pull Trump back from strike, US says

The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from US President Donald Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on demonstrations. Iran was shaken over the past week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic Republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the past few days in the face of repression and a week-long internet...

Politics

51 h. ago US says Iran halted 800 protester executions after Trump warnings

The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from President Donald Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on demonstrations. Iran was shaken over the last week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and a week-long internet...

Events

61 h. ago US Redeploying South China Sea Carrier To Middle East Amid Tensions With Iran

US Redeploying South China Sea Carrier To Middle East Amid Tensions With Iran  NDTV

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62 h. ago US aircraft carrier steams from South China Sea to Mideast after Trump threat against Iran

A US aircraft carrier has reportedly left the South China Sea after a live-fire drill and is heading to the Middle East amid anti-government protests in Iran. US cable news network NewsNation reported on Thursday that the Pentagon ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group, which includes Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, to leave their position in the South China Sea and sail towards the Middle East. According to the US Naval Institute’s carrier tracker, there...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump claims killing in Iran ‘has stopped’, even as Tehran signals executions ahead

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a vague statement that he had been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has indicated fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters. The US president’s claims, which were made with few details, come after he told protesting Iranians in recent days that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Iranian government. But Trump has not...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump claims ‘killing in Iran is stopping’, plans for executions halted

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a vague statement that he had been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has indicated fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters. The US president’s claims, which were made with few details, come after he told protesting Iranians in recent days that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Iranian government. But Trump has not...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump claims ‘killing in Iran is stopping’, but keeps US options open

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday made a vague statement that he had been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran has indicated fast trials and executions ahead in its crackdown on protesters. The US president’s claims, which were made with few details, come after he told protesting Iranians in recent days that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Iranian government. But Trump has not...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump envoy says Gaza entering second phase of ceasefire plan, including disarming Hamas

The US said on Wednesday that it is moving into the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan that involves disarming Hamas, rebuilding the war-ravaged territory and establishing the group of Palestinian experts that will administer daily affairs in Gaza under American supervision. US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in a social media post that the ceasefire deal that the Republican president helped broker was entering its second phase following two years of war between Israel and...

Politics

3 d. ago Gaza entering next ceasefire phase as US pushes to disarm Hamas

The United States said on Wednesday that it was moving into the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan that involves disarming Hamas, rebuilding the war-ravaged territory and establishing the group of Palestinian experts that will administer daily affairs in Gaza under American supervision. US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said in a post on X that the deal that the Republican president helped broker was entering its second phase following two years of war between Israel and Hamas,...

Events

3 d. ago Who are Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and what is their role in the crackdown on protesters?

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, is the ideological arm of Tehran’s military, answering to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and stands accused by Western countries of orchestrating and perpetrating the crackdown on protesters. Who are they? The Guards, known as “Pasdaran” in Persian, were founded in 1979 by then supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini “to propagate the ideas of the Islamic revolution”, said Clement Therme, a researcher at the International Institute of...

Events

3 d. ago Iran signals fast trials and executions for detained protesters after Trump warning

The head of Iran’s judiciary signalled on Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for those detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from US President Donald Trump. The comments from Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei come as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. Already, a bloody security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,571, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. That figure...

Events

3 d. ago China's increasingly important role in Middle East energy transition

China's increasingly important role in Middle East energy transition  news.cgtn.com

Politics

4 d. ago Trump tells Iranians ‘help is on its way’ as protest death toll hits 2,000

The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran spiked on Tuesday to at least 2,003 people killed, activists said, and Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown. The number of dead, as reported by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), dwarfs that in any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. These demonstrations,...

Events

4 d. ago Trump urges on protesters in Iran as crackdown death toll hits 2,000

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Iranians to keep protesting and remember the names of those abusing them, saying help is on the way, as Iran’s clerical establishment pressed its crackdown against the biggest demonstrations in years. Iran in turn accused Trump of encouraging political destabilisation and inciting violence. “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, without saying what that help might...

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