Trump to visit China next month as U.S. tariffs take center stage
U.S. President Donald Trump will travel to China from 31 March to 2 April, the White House has confirmed, for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping ...
Four people were killed in a gas explosion on Saturday in the southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz near the Iraqi border, while a separate blast in the port city of Bandar Abbas left one person dead and at least 14 others injured, Iranian media reported.
State-run Tehran Times said the Ahvaz explosion was caused by a gas leak, with no further details immediately available. Press TV reported that rescue crews were clearing debris in search of people trapped under the rubble.
Hours earlier, an unrelated explosion ripped through a residential building in Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main container port on the Strait of Hormuz. Local officials said the cause had not yet been identified, while state television quoted a fire official as saying a gas leak was the likely trigger.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency rejected social media claims that a Revolutionary Guard navy commander had been targeted in Bandar Abbas, calling the reports false. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also denied that any of its naval facilities had been hit.
Earlier on Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused leaders in the U.S., Israel and Europe of exploiting Iran’s economic pressures, stirring unrest and giving people the means to “tear the nation apart”.
Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel was not involved in either explosion.
Bandar Abbas, located on the Strait of Hormuz, hosts Iran’s main container port and suffered a major explosion last April that killed dozens and injured more than 1,000 people.
Investigators later attributed that incident to failures in civil defence and security practices.
Iran continues to face nationwide protests fuelled by economic hardship.
An Iranian official told Reuters that at least 5,000 people have been killed in the unrest, including 500 members of the security forces.
Quentin Griffiths, co-founder of online fashion retailer ASOS, has died in Pattaya, Thailand, after falling from the 17th floor of a condominium on 9 February, Thai police confirmed.
The Board of Peace will be "looking over the United Nations," said U.S. President Donald Trump at the inaugural Washington meeting, where representatives from over 20 countries gathered to unveil plans for Gaza’s reconstruction and coordinate international support.
At least four people have died and 17 others were injured after a liquid gas truck overturned and exploded in Santiago, Chile’s capital, authorities confirmed on Thursday. Police said the driver was among those killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in the Kremlin on Wednesday, telling him that new restrictions imposed on the communist-run island were unacceptable.
The Board of Peace is entering uncharted territory, with questions over its ability to manage Gaza reconstruction, its potential to rival the United Nations, and its impact on strategic allies in the Middle East and South Caucasus.
Uzbekistan's president Shavkat Mirziyoyev has held a series of high-level meetings in the U.S. aimed at strengthening bilateral economic and strategic ties between the two countries.
Türkiye has signalled readiness to contribute to a proposed Gaza stabilisation force during the inaugural Board of Peace meeting on Thursday (19 February), but according to former Turkish diplomat Mehmet Öğütçü, the decisive factor will be whether Israel and the United States agree on Ankara’s role.
Türkiye is prepared to contribute troops to a proposed international stabilisation force for Gaza, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday.
Iran has warned it will respond “decisively” if subjected to military aggression, saying U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric signals “a real risk of military aggression”.
The U.S. government has signed an agreement with Uzbekistan to secure better access to the Central Asian country's critical minerals, as U.S. President Donald Trump moves to counter China's dominance of crucial resources and their supply chains.
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