Day News Recap: US Iran conflict widens as oil spikes, wildfires rage and protests spread

US President Donald Trump said the United States would attack the Pickaxe mountain near Natanz in central Iran very soon, while also warning that Iran would pay after American service members were killed, marking a sharp new escalation in the confrontation.  🔗  🔗

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The conflict is already rippling through energy markets, with Brent crude up 23% over the period and average petrol prices in the United States rising to $4.00 a gallon as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz thins. ASEAN foreign ministers in Manila voiced serious concern about spillover from the war and the risk to regional energy supplies, while Yemen's Houthi rebels warned Saudi linked ships to stay out of the Red Sea.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Iran also claimed its Aerospace Force struck Amazon data infrastructure in Bahrain, adding to the wider regional confrontation, and separately vowed to bomb its own land amid fears over a reported incursion involving Kuwait.  🔗  🔗

In the Middle East, Lebanon's army began deploying in Zawtar al Gharbieh in the Nabatieh region under a US brokered pilot zone plan, as President Joseph Aoun travelled to Washington for talks with Trump and pressure mounted on Hezbollah. Dozens of displaced residents have started returning to villages in the south, even as the dispute over occupation and control remains unresolved.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Elsewhere in the region, Palestinians in Gaza reacted to Khalil al Hayya's election as Hamas leader, with daily hardship overshadowing the political change.  🔗

The war in Ukraine remained intense, with the UN saying civilian casualties rose sharply in the first half of 2026 as air strikes and drone attacks intensified. Russian held Crimea is facing power, water and fuel shortages after sustained Ukrainian strikes, while a drone strike sparked a major fire at a shopping centre in Sumy and Russian attacks killed two children and damaged three aid warehouses. Ukraine's army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi is also widely expected to lose his job after five days of protests in Kyiv.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Europe, a Russian frigate carried out a live fire exercise off the coast near Plymouth, prompting the UK to call the move irresponsible. In Spain, firefighters were battling a wildfire that has burned about 29,000 hectares in Guadalajara province, while in Ireland crews returned to Slievenamon after a blaze reignited. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni ordered a full investigation after the death of Abderrahim Fakir during an arrest in Bologna triggered violent protests.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Across the Americas, Ontario First Nations communities were devastated by fast moving wildfires that destroyed two communities and forced evacuations in 13 others. In the United States, Trump also ordered new 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods, deepening the trade dispute with Ottawa, while Arizona voters headed to primary polls in key battleground races.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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In Asia, India saw renewed protests in Delhi after police crackdowns on the youth led Cockroach Janta Party, with opposition MPs planning a march to Rashtrapati Bhavan. India also pushed faster hydropower development on the Chenab river and signalled it could renegotiate the Indus Waters Treaty, while President Droupadi Murmu began a state visit to Moldova for talks on UN reform and counterterrorism. Flooding continued across Assam, and in the South China Sea the Philippines and China traded blame after a clash near Second Thomas Shoal.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Other developments included an Israeli government file showing scrutiny of more than 150 charities and humanitarian organisations over alleged BDS links, Hungary's Fidesz party saying prosecutors raided its data servers, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega saying there will be no more elections soon, and Senegal reversing course to back Macky Sall for the UN chief race. The Trump administration is also weighing whether to cut ties with the UN refugee agency, and US Africa Command said it carried out an airstrike against al Shabaab in Somalia.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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