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...
Thailand and Cambodia both reported fresh clashes on Wednesday, as the two sides prepared to hold military talks aimed at easing tensions along their shared border.
Cambodia’s defence ministry said Thai forces fired two artillery shells into the border town of Poipet, followed by a further shell in Banteay Meanchey province, injuring two civilians, according to the Khmer Times.
The reports came as the two militaries were due to hold their first talks since renewed fighting began on 7 December.
Cambodian officials also said Thai troops fired near the Preah Vihear Temple and an area known as Ghost Mountain, while Cambodian forces responded with BM-21 rocket fire.
Thailand’s public broadcaster Thai PBS reported that Thai troops destroyed two buildings in Poipet on Tuesday, alleging they were used to house scam operations and store munitions.
Thai forces also noted clashes continued on Wednesday at three locations along the Sa Kaeo border, according to the Nation news website.
Separately, the Royal Thai Army said on Wednesday that Cambodian accusations of environmental crimes committed by Thailand were a "serious distortion of facts". The statement was published on the army’s official Facebook account.
A meeting of the Cambodia–Thailand General Border Committee was scheduled for Wednesday.
Thai authorities said 23 Thai soldiers and one civilian have been killed in the fighting, adding that another 33 civilians died as “collateral effects of the situation.”
Cambodia’s interior ministry claimed 21 Cambodian civilians had been killed and 83 injured.
Nearly one million people have been displaced on both sides of the border since the clashes began, according to officials.
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.
One person has been killed and six others injured after an explosion at a petroleum storage facility at the Port of Rotterdam, prompting an investigation into the cause.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday for talks focused on Gaza, Palestinian statehood and regional security.
Taiwan staged military defence drills on Wednesday as China concluded joint naval exercises with Indonesia in waters east of the island.
Washington’s counter-narcotics push is expanding as Colombia’s new conservative government backs deeper security cooperation.
Meta said it had removed more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts suspected of belonging to Australians under 16, as the country’s internet regulator weighs enforcement action over its teen social media ban.
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