live U.S. to apply measures 'never seen before' on Iran, Trump official says
The U.S. will impose "never seen before" measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, Washington's Treasury Secreta...
China and Russia will stage a joint naval exercise near Vladivostok in August, followed by a Pacific maritime patrol, Beijing’s defence ministry has announced.
The 'Joint Sea 2025' drill will take place in the sea and airspace around Russia’s far eastern port city on the Sea of Japan, ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said on Wednesday. Some forces involved will also join the sixth joint maritime patrol in designated ocean areas.
Zhang described the exercise as part of an annual military cooperation plan and said it was “not targeted at any third party” nor linked to current international tensions.
The announcement coincides with 'Resolute Force Pacific 2025,' a major U.S.-led combat exercise running until 8 August across Hawaii, Guam, Japan and international airspace. The event involves more than 400 aircraft and 12,000 personnel from the U.S., Japan, Australia and other allies.
The 'Joint Sea' series began in 2012 and has been held annually except in 2018, 2020 and 2023. Previous exercises have included formation manoeuvres, anti-submarine operations, live-fire drills and search-and-rescue missions.
China and Russia have stepped up naval cooperation in recent years, including joint patrols in the Pacific that started in 2021 and now occur before or after such exercises.
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
The suspension of two major grain terminals in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk could increase pressure on Kazakhstan’s agricultural market if Russian exporters divert supplies to Central Asia at discounted prices.
Georgia’s Prime Minister says the EU’s inclusion of a major Black Sea cable project on a key infrastructure list is fresh evidence of the country’s importance to regional energy and digital connectivity.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has dismissed Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and appointed former parliament speaker Alen Simonyan as his replacement.
Central Asia’s economy has surpassed $543 billion, driven by Kazakhstan’s economic weight, strong exports and foreign investment, while growing trade across Asia points to an increasingly connected region.
The United Nations refugee agency is planning a settlement and carpet-weaving workshop for Afghan returnees in Kabul as the country grapples with large-scale returns and growing pressure on housing, jobs and basic services.
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