live Iran, U.S. make competing claims over control of Strait of Hormuz
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over t...
Since January, more than 1.7 million Afghan citizens have returned from Iran and Pakistan, the United Nations said on Friday, warning of mounting humanitarian pressures.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that many of the returnees have limited connections to local communities and are struggling to access shelter and jobs, while host areas themselves lack sufficient services and resources.
To support the response, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund has released 10 million U.S. dollars, with additional contributions expected from the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund. Aid groups are also bracing for further arrivals after Pakistan’s government set a 1 September deadline for Afghan Proof of Registration cardholders to leave.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than half of Afghanistan’s population requires urgent aid, with women and girls facing particularly severe risks.
OCHA stressed that funding gaps remain critical, noting that this year’s Afghanistan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan is only 25% financed, with $624 million secured out of the $2.4 billion required.
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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