Day News Recap: Ukraine retakes ground as Hormuz tensions, wildfires and disasters hit multiple regions

Ukraine said it has completed a counteroffensive in the southern part of Dnipropetrovsk region, retaking 26 settlements and about 745 square kilometres, even as Russian strikes intensified elsewhere in the war zone. Kyiv also said Russian and Ukrainian forces traded fresh strikes on rail, port and oil infrastructure, widening the latest exchange in the conflict.  🔗  🔗

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In eastern Ukraine, a Russian air raid on Kramatorsk killed one person and wounded 17 after eight FAB 250 guided bombs hit the city, while Ukraine separately proposed a deal to halt attacks on civilian ships in the Black Sea in an effort to reopen a key trade route.  🔗  🔗

Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz deepened as the United States said it could sustain a naval blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened Iran with economic isolation if talks fail. The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacks on two ADNOC linked vessels, and an oil spill linked to the tanker Caroline Bezengi widened, with pollution reaching Iran's Qeshm Island and Oman's coast.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia formally launched a Red Sea maritime defence alliance with 13 members covering the Red Sea, Bab al Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden. Yemen was also described by the United Nations as closer to renewed all out war as front line fighting intensified, while Israel and the United States remained in the spotlight after reports that Israel had warned Washington repeatedly about an alleged Iranian plot against Donald Trump.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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In Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo confirmed that its Ebola outbreak has spread to a sixth province after a death in Bas Uele, and Sudan's Rapid Support Forces advanced into Kurmuk in Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border. Mali said 82 soldiers held by armed groups in the north had been released into government custody, and an American missionary, Kevin Rideout, was freed in Niger after more than nine months in captivity.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Europe faced a string of emergencies, with wildfires forcing evacuations in the West Midlands near Stourbridge, across Croatia and in France's Landes forest. In Croatia, one person died and 40 were injured, while another blaze near Omiš injured 14 and disrupted holiday travel, and a separate coastal fire forced about 1,000 people to leave their homes. France said more than 1,100 hectares had burned in Landes.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Natural disasters also hit Asia and the Americas. In Japan's Chiba region, record rainfall killed six people, wounded five and caused flooding and power cuts near Tokyo. In India, at least seven workers died after water and debris burst into a hydropower tunnel in Uttarakhand. In Colombia, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake damaged major hospitals in Cali and left them overwhelmed, while a dog was later rescued alive as the 72 hour search window closed.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Political and diplomatic developments continued in several countries. Syria's President Ahmed al Sharaa outlined a gradual path to democracy in a long interview, while Jared Kushner is due to visit Israel and Egypt to support a US backed Board of Peace plan for Gaza after Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the proposal. In the West Bank, the US ambassador to Israel condemned Israeli settlers besieging Palestinian homes in Qusra, and satellite analysis showed building destruction in Gaza has risen by nearly 10 per cent since the faltering ceasefire.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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In the wider political sphere, Nigel Farage regained the Clacton seat in a by election, Australia saw crossbench and Greens criticism of Labor's NDIS overhaul, and Anthony Albanese held an overnight call with Donald Trump before a morning press conference. Taiwan moved to dissolve the China Unification Promotion Party over alleged Beijing ties, Venezuela's government and opposition ended their first six day round of talks in Caracas, and Philippines drug war victims began testifying before a truth commission.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Trade and security frictions also sharpened. Brazil opened consultations on possible retaliation after the United States imposed 25 per cent tariffs on Brazilian exports, while Trump imposed tariffs of up to 100 per cent on imported drones and ordered the Navy to revert Ford class carriers to older steam catapult systems. The White House also said tariff evasion through transshipment is costing up to $26 billion a year, North Korea warned of a new deterrent ahead of US South Korea drills, and NATO said an Italian Eurofighter shot down a drone over Latvian airspace.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Australia, Papua New Guinea's long delayed Papua LNG project is facing renewed pressure for approval, and in the UK, defence figures warned Britain may lack the naval firepower to stop possible Russian ship seizures. Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drew criticism after calling the UK the Islamic Republic of Britain.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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