Day News Recap: Iran strikes widen Gulf tensions as Nepal flood toll climbs and Europe frets over energy

Iran said it struck United States bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, widening a fast moving confrontation after renewed Gulf attacks. The claim came as Tehran also sought an International Criminal Court probe into a US strike it says hit a wedding party in Kuhestak, while President Donald Trump said the US was stockpiling munitions after the Iran operation and signalled shifts in arms supply.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Sponsored

Pressure in the Gulf also deepened after Saudi Arabia said an attack on a Saudi owned tanker in the Strait of Hormuz killed two Filipino sailors. Separately, analysts said China’s support for Iran is being tested as US pressure intensifies, with Beijing still trying to balance its ties to Tehran against wider regional risks.  🔗  🔗

Nepal is facing one of its worst disaster responses in years after flash flooding pushed the reported death toll to about 1,200, with thousands still missing. Rescue teams are working around the clock in flood ravaged districts near Tibet, where more than 900 workers linked to hydropower projects remain trapped, and experts warn some survivors may last up to 17 days. Australia has deployed drone specialists to help the search effort.  🔗  🔗

In Europe, the war in Ukraine continued to spill into security and sabotage concerns. A senior Russian air force commander was shot and seriously wounded in Saratov region near a strategic airbase, while Ukraine said a shootout in central Kyiv between its security services and military intelligence left at least three people wounded. A reported Ukrainian drone strike also hit a bus in Russian controlled Horlivka, killing one civilian, and Ukraine was said to be widening strikes toward Russia’s military space infrastructure.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Sponsored

European governments are also hardening their response to suspected Russian activity. Poland’s prime minister said a fire at a defence manufacturing plant was deliberate arson and a sabotage probe is under way, the EU is preparing more sanctions after a failed drone attack near Leipzig and Halle airport, and Denmark’s counterintelligence chief said Russia is actively preparing sabotage against the country’s defence industry. Norway also seized a Russian owned cruise ship near Svalbard over a Naftogaz compensation claim.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Diplomatic tensions inside Europe remain high. EU foreign ministers were left deadlocked after talks in Wicklow, failing to agree on trade sanctions or further support for Ukraine, while Russia said it would close Goethe Institut centres in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg after Germany moved against a Russian cultural centre. In parallel, Putin rejected reports of a new mobilisation ahead of Duma elections, and later said there was a chance of a peace deal with Ukraine, even as Kyiv said it expected a new dynamic in peacemaking.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the Middle East, Israeli ministers sharpened their rhetoric on Gaza. Itamar Ben Gvir unveiled a plan to remove Palestinians from the territory and send them abroad, and Defence Minister Israel Katz said there was no real solution without removing Palestinians from Gaza. In the West Bank, two Palestinian teenagers were killed in al Mughayyir during an incident involving settlers and army troops, while Save the Children said seven children a day have been killed or injured in Lebanon since March despite ceasefire arrangements.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere, Venezuela drew fresh US and corporate energy attention as Chris Wright oversaw new oil and energy agreements in Caracas, and Chevron said it will invest more than $7bn in its joint ventures and expand in the Orinoco Belt. In the Americas, a report renewed scrutiny of the Trump administration’s boat strike campaign in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, with families in Saint Lucia still searching for missing fishermen.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Sponsored

Other developments included a Russian air force general attack in Saratov, a deadly assault repelled by Somalia in Baidoa, Nicaragua’s move to bar opposition parties and extend official terms through constitutional reform, and a Maltese businessman’s acquittal in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder case. In Australia, a fire broke out at the Tungatinah Power Station in Tasmania, while in the UK the Metropolitan Police praised Canary Wharf security after they helped stop a rape and detain a violent offender, and a former veterans minister accused the Ministry of Defence of withholding nuclear test veterans’ medical records.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

#Iran #Nepalfloods #Ukraine #Europesanctions #energymarkets #breakingrecap #recaprecap