News

Washington, United States- U.S. and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting U.S. facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz. The strikes were the latest in a cycle of attacks and counter-attacks as Iran seeks to assert control over shipping through the strait. However, the barrage marked an escalation in pace and range. The strikes extended to Qatar, a mediator in ceasefire talks that had not come under attack since April, while the United Arab Emirates, which had not been targeted since early May, said its air defenses had engaged missiles and drones from Iran. The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations. In the past week, U.S. President Donald Trump has…

Metro Manila, Philippines — The death toll from the combined effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) and Typhoon Inday has climbed to 18, while 12 people remain missing, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Sunday, July 12. In its latest situation report, the NDRRMC noted that seven others were injured, adding that all reported casualties are still undergoing official validation. The majority of the fatalities were recorded in Mindanao, with 10 deaths logged in Malapatan, Sarangani, followed by six in Calanogas, Lanao del Sur, and two in Bukidnon. Of the 12 individuals reported missing, seven are from Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental, while five are from Calanogas, Lanao del Sur. The severe weather has affected over 562,000 individuals (approximately 123,000 families) across multiple regions. At least 16,200 displaced residents are currently staying in 116 active evacuation centers, while hundreds of others remain displaced outside…

Wenzhou, China – China evacuated more than 1.8 million people on Saturday as Typhoon Bavi churned toward the major eastern city of Wenzhou after pummelling Japan’s southern Sakishima island chain with heavy rain and violent winds and brushing past northern Taiwan. Even as Bavi continues to slow and weaken on its northwesterly path over cooler seas, the typhoon is still a potent risk due to the sheer volume of moisture it holds within its rain bands, about the size of France from end to end. Bavi had maximum sustained winds of 144 km per hour (90 mph), equivalent to Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, and was about 200 km (124 miles) southeast of Wenling in the eastern province of Zhejiang as of 0808 GMT, according to the National Meteorological Center. Bavi is forecast to make landfall around Wenzhou, home to some 10 million people, early on Sunday. State media…

Metro Manila, Philippines – The combined effects of Typhoon Inday and the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) have left 17 people reported dead, nine missing, and four injured in parts of the country, said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). In its 6 a.m. situational report on Saturday, July 11, the agency said the fatalities were 10 in Malapatan, Sarangani; five in Calanogas, Lanao del Sur; and two in Bukidnon. Most drowned, while others were killed from landslides. The agency also reported nine missing persons—three from Malapatan, Sarangani, and six from Calanogas, Lanao del Sur—as well as four people injured in landslides in Marinduque, Sarangani, and Lanao del Sur. The NDRRMC said 514,738 people, or 112,505 families, have been affected by the weather disturbances. Of these, around 11,200 from nearly 2,900 families are staying in 77 evacuation centers. It also listed 153 damaged houses, while over ₱16.4 million…

(Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Friday that the United States and Iran had agreed to continue talks despite a recent escalation of hostilities but he flatly declared that the ceasefire reached between the two sides last month was over. The United States also stepped up demands that Iran stop attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, where recent hostilities have pushed oil prices higher, a politically sensitive issue for Trump ahead of November congressional elections. Trump’s comments came on a day of relative calm at the end of a week of renewed conflict, when three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under fire, prompting the U.S. to hit Iranian sites, and Iran to respond with strikes on U.S. military sites in Gulf states. No fresh attacks were reported on Friday as regional mediators sought to salvage diplomatic efforts to permanently end a war that began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes…