Category: World

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek on Tuesday, opening bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit as Tehran confronts renewed military tensions with the United States.The Kremlin confirmed that Putin was holding a meeting with Pezeshkian during the gathering in Kyrgyzstan, where leaders of the 10-member SCO assembled for the organisation’s 25th anniversary summit. The talks brought the Russian and Iranian presidents together for their sixth meeting, according to Iran’s ambassador

US lawmakers renewed demands for President Donald Trump to end the war with Iran as the conflict passed its six-month mark, while the White House shifted emphasis towards economic pressure and Trump signalled no urgency to restart negotiations.Republican Representative Thomas Massie and senior Democrats used Friday’s milestone to challenge a war that began on February 28 with coordinated US and Israeli strikes. Massie said the conflict had exceeded the time limits he argues are imposed by the War Powers Act

Greece and Israel are preparing to sign a €3.1 billion agreement on Monday for a nationwide multilayered air and missile defence network, moving Athens’ Achilles’ Shield programme from approval into implementation.The agreements are scheduled to be signed in Tel Aviv on August 31 between Greece’s General Directorate for Defence Investments and Armaments and SIBAT, the international defence cooperation directorate of Israel’s Ministry of Defence, alongside participating companies. As of Sunday, official accounts described the signing as forthcoming rather than

Nepal could need $4 billion to $5 billion to rebuild after catastrophic Himalayan floods, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has said, putting the preliminary bill at nearly a tenth of the country’s economy.Wagle said the estimate remained provisional while authorities conduct a detailed assessment of losses from the August 26 disaster, which devastated settlements and infrastructure along river systems descending from the Nepal-Tibet border. He said the eventual requirement should be lower than the roughly $9 billion needed after Nepal’s 2015

Formula One world champion Lando Norris has signed a new long-term agreement with McLaren that will keep him at the team until at least the end of 2030, with an option extending beyond that date.McLaren announced the deal on Saturday at its Technology Centre in Woking, where Norris told staff and guests that he wanted to continue the partnership that began when he joined the team’s junior programme in 2017. The extension replaces a contract that had been expected

Zimbabwe has declared a State of Disaster after a head-on collision between a church minibus and a haulage truck near Chivhu killed 27 people and left seven others critically injured.President Emmerson Mnangagwa invoked the Civil Protection Act after Friday night’s crash on the Harare-Masvingo highway, allowing the government to mobilise resources for survivors and bereaved families. Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe said medical expenses and burial costs would be covered as authorities coordinated assistance.The collision occurred at

At least 27 people were killed and 42 injured after a Russian drone struck a warehouse in Myla, west of Kyiv, triggering a powerful detonation and large fire, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.Kyiv regional governor Tymur Tkachenko said four children were among the injured and warned that the death toll could rise as rescuers continued searching damaged buildings and clearing debris in the Bucha district. More than 380 people were evacuated from the affected area.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the warehouse

The United States and Cameroon have outlined about $7 billion in American investment and trade opportunities spanning energy, infrastructure, critical minerals, technology, forestry and logistics after their first bilateral Economic and Commercial Dialogue in Yaoundé.Officials said the portfolio, valued at nearly 4 trillion CFA francs, contains new and expanding projects at different stages of development rather than a single package of committed capital. The August 27 talks also produced an agreement to create joint working groups to carry forward shared

At least 17,000 children need urgent humanitarian assistance after devastating flash floods tore through northern Nepal, destroying schools, homes, health facilities and critical infrastructure while rescue teams continue searching for missing people.The disaster struck Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts on August 26, sending torrents of water, mud and debris through mountain communities and leaving thousands of families without shelter, clean water or reliable access to medical care. UNICEF has launched a $17.2 million emergency appeal to fund immediate relief

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to spend as much as $2 million on robotic dogs, extending a technology push accompanying the Trump administration’s drive to sharply increase immigration arrests and deportations.Federal procurement records show ICE is seeking Boston Dynamics’ four-legged Spot robots and accessories for law-enforcement and public-safety operations. The planned purchase has an estimated value of between $1 million and $2 million. The robots would provide remotely operated inspection, situational awareness and hazard-assessment capabilities in locations considered

A six-member gang stole more than 100kg of frozen chicken from a moving refrigerated truck on a highway outside Cairo before a police operation ended with three suspects killed and three others arrested.The robbery took place on August 25 on the Cairo-Ismailia Desert Road, within the jurisdiction of Al-Shorouk in eastern Cairo. Video of the operation, filmed from another vehicle, spread rapidly online after showing the thieves carrying out a manoeuvre that drew comparisons with action-film highway robberies.Footage showed a

The United States has revoked the visa of former Iraq finance minister Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi after she was placed on the FBI’s terrorism watchlist, marking an extraordinary reversal in Washington’s treatment of an official it honoured four years ago for fighting corruption.The State Department confirmed on Friday that Mohammed’s visa had been cancelled following her placement on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terrorist Screening Database. US authorities did not disclose the information that led to her inclusion on

President Donald Trump has ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed Lake America for United States federal purposes, creating an unusual cartographic problem for technology companies mapping a single body of water shared with Canada.The executive order signed on August 27 directs the Interior Department and the US Board on Geographic Names to change the federal designation within 30 days and update the Geographic Names Information System, or GNIS. Federal agencies will then be expected to use Lake America on maps,

China has formally removed Generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli from the state Central Military Commission, deepening an extraordinary leadership purge that has dismantled much of President Xi Jinping’s senior military command.The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress approved the removal on Friday, seven months after authorities placed both officers under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. Zhang had served as the commission’s senior vice-chairman and effectively ranked second only to Xi in China’s military hierarchy,

Norway’s King Harald V died on Friday aged 89, ending a 35-year reign during which he became one of the country’s most recognisable symbols of national unity. The Royal House said he died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet at 6.35 am on August 28.Harald had been admitted to hospital on August 17 while receiving treatment connected with haemolytic anaemia, a disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be replaced. His condition was complicated

Norway’s King Harald V died on Friday aged 89, ending a 35-year reign during which he became one of the country’s most recognisable symbols of national unity. The Royal House said he died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet at 6.35 am on August 28.Harald had been admitted to hospital on August 17 while receiving treatment connected with haemolytic anaemia, a disorder in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be replaced. His condition was complicated

The United States has disrupted a China-linked cyber operation blamed for intrusions into some of the country’s most sensitive government networks, including the Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve and the US Senate.Federal authorities on Wednesday seized internet domains supporting two hacking platforms, QScan and QTRouter, which investigators say were used to penetrate government agencies, critical infrastructure and corporate networks. The action effectively disabled key parts of the platforms by cutting them off from domains hard-coded into the malicious software

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Elon Musk the Order of Freedom as Kyiv intensifies efforts to secure broader access to SpaceX's Starlink network for military operations against Russia.The honour, announced by presidential decree on Wednesday, recognises Musk for his contribution to protecting human life and freedom and for strengthening relations between Ukraine and the United States. Musk, the head of SpaceX and Tesla, has emerged as an unusually influential private-sector figure in Ukraine's defence since Russia launched its full-scale

SpaceX has unveiled plans to invest $100 billion in a vast Louisiana spaceport designed to become its largest launch complex and support thousands of Starship missions each year.The project, named Starbase Louisiana, will occupy about 125,000 acres in Vermilion Parish near Pecan Island on the Gulf Coast. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, while SpaceX is targeting its first Starship launch from the site in 2029. State planning documents indicate initial operations could extend into 2030 as infrastructure is

Iran’s rial plunged through the psychologically important barrier of two million to the US dollar on Monday, setting a record low as tighter sanctions, accelerating inflation and dwindling access to foreign currency intensified pressure on the economy. The currency traded at about 2.02 million rials per dollar on the open market, extending a sharp sell-off that has gathered pace during August.The fall marks another milestone in a prolonged erosion of purchasing power for households already struggling with steep increases