live U.S. to impose measures "never seen before" on Iran, Treasury secretary says
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said...
Israeli and Syrian officials reportedly met face to face in Baku, signalling a rare step in potential regional coordination despite decades of hostilities.
A diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP that an Israeli and a Syrian official held a discreet meeting on the sidelines of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Azerbaijan. The source, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the meeting focused on Israel’s recent military presence in Syria.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa did not take part in the talks, which come at a time of shifting regional dynamics and renewed international diplomacy.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster also confirmed the meeting took place and noted that both Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani are scheduled to attend a European Union conference in Brussels on Monday. However, no bilateral meeting has been planned at that event.
While neither government has made a public statement, the Baku encounter may mark a cautious step toward exploring limited coordination or easing tensions in Syria, where both sides maintain an active presence.
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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