Lebanon condemns 'systematic' Israeli destruction in south
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Wednesday condemned Israel's "systematic destruction" in the country's south as a violation of international law, as Israel's defence minister said its military was "destroying all the houses" there.
Salam said Israeli "attacks, incursions, demolitions and the systematic destruction of homes", infrastructure, government buildings and places of worship "represent a serious violation of the principles and rules of international law and international humanitarian law".
Claiming that villages and towns "are entirely 'military facilities' does not stand up to any logic and cannot be used as an excuse for destroying them, displacing their inhabitants and preventing them from returning," he said in a statement.
Israel carries out first Gaza strike in more than week, one dead: officials
Israel on Wednesday carried out its first air strike in more than a week in Gaza, both sides said, breaking a lull as the United States pressed a peace plan.
"We carried out a strike to remove a threat," an Israeli military spokesperson told AFP, while the Gaza civil defence agency said that one person was killed and several were injured and taken to a Gaza City hospital.
Families of Lebanese seized by Israel ask for news of loved ones
Relatives of Lebanese seized by Israel during its last two wars with Hezbollah held a rally in front of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Beirut to demand information.
Israel is estimated to have seized dozens of people in Lebanon since 2024, including Hezbollah fighters but also numerous civilians. Its military occasionally reports capturing Hezbollah fighters.
In its last round of negotiations with Israel, Lebanon demanded the release of a first batch of people seized from Lebanese territory, a Lebanese official told AFP.
Trump says US has 'total control' over Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump said the United States has "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz.
"The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, “A WALL OF STEEL,” and there is nothing Iran can do about it," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
EU, 26 countries condemn Iran's executions of protesters
The EU and 26 countries condemned Iran's executions of protesters in a joint statement, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Wednesday.
The countries called on Iran to listen to its people, take meaningful steps toward ensuring respect for human rights, immediately end use of the death penalty and release those arbitrarily detained.
Kuwait says it foiled attack plot, arrests one national affiliated with Islamic State group
Kuwait's interior ministry said on Wednesday it foiled a terrorist scheme to attack a vital facility in the country, the state news agency reported.
The ministry said one national was arrested as he was affiliated with Islamic State group before carrying out any attack.
Gulf oil spill fast becoming worst in years, agencies warn
A vast oil spill in the Gulf is quickly becoming one of the world’s worst in years after being allowed to spread almost unchecked for weeks, according to international agencies, satellite imagery and environmental groups.
The slick off the coast of Oman from a grounded tanker carrying Russian crude had reportedly reached the mainland by Wednesday, the UN's shipping agency told Reuters.
The slick now covers an area of more than 2,000 square km, said John Amos, an oil spill specialist who reviewed satellite imagery obtained by Reuters.
The Caroline Bezengi, carrying an estimated 800,000 barrels of Russian oil and under international sanctions, ran aground on June 30 at an Omani island that is part of a marine nature reserve.
The ship first reported difficulties off Yemen on June 8. Maritime sources said a blast appeared to have occurred aboard the Caroline Bezengi.
No party has claimed an attack, but the vessel was navigating two separate wars on its journey from Russia to India.
F-16 aircraft crashes in training flight in Turkey, defence ministry says
A military F-16 aircraft crashed on Wednesday during a training flight in the northwestern Turkish province of Yalova, Turkey's defence ministry said, adding that the pilot had ejected and survived the crash.
Videos on local media showed a plume of black smoke coming from a field.
Israeli troops clash with settlers besieging Palestinian homes in West Bank
Israeli troops clashed with Jewish settlers on Wednesday while trying to disperse them from a West Bank outpost they set up directly in front of Palestinian homes, and later withdrew from the area after failing to clear the settlers, witnesses said.
The incident on the outskirts of the Palestinian village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank marked a rare confrontation between settlers and the military and comes amid a sharp increase in settler land seizures and attacks on Palestinians.
The military in a statement late on Tuesday described the Qusra outpost as "illegal, reprehensible, and unacceptable activity that harms the residents of the areas and disrupts their daily lives".
However, when troops deployed to the area to attempt to disperse the settlers on Wednesday morning, clashes broke out between the settlers and the troops, who deployed tear gas against the settlers, witnesses said and video reviewed by Reuters showed.
The army removed the cover of one of the outpost's tents and then withdrew from the area, after which the settlers tried to break the gate to one of the Palestinian homes, witnesses said.
📽️Donald Trump says he faced ‘greater risk’ on swapped plane
US President Donald Trump reportedly took a secret military flight out of Turkey last month in an undercover operation prompted by fears that Iran was planning an assassination attempt against the US president.
The operation reportedly involved Trump being transferred between aircraft inside a catering truck.
Watch the video for more.
Pakistan interior minister in Iran to discuss regional security
Pakistan's interior minister is visiting Iran to discuss regional security, stability and other developments as Islamabad tries to mediate a resolution to the Middle East war.
Mohsin Naqvi, previously involved in mediation efforts between Iran and the US, is known to be close to the powerful head of the Pakistani army, Asim Munir.
Iranian state news agency IRNA reported late Tuesday that Naqvi met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni.
"He is discussing bilateral relations, security, regional security and stability, and constructive engagement amongst the parties in the region and regional developments," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad.
Oil rises after attacks on ships in Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb
Oil prices rose on Wednesday after attacks on two ships reinforced worries about disruptions to Middle East supplies, while industry data showing swelling inventories of US crude might keep bulls in check.
Brent futures were up 90 cents, or 1%, at $89.81 a barrel by 0757 GMT, set for their sixth day of gains. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 88 cents, or 1.1%, to $84.08, up for a fifth day. Both contracts earlier rose more than $1.
The US and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, two crucial export valves for Middle Eastern oil and gas in addition to the Suez canal.
Shipping data showed the number of vessels transiting Hormuz fell to a one-week low of eight on Tuesday. Before the war, 125 to 140 vessels passed through the crucial waterway each day.
Four drones hit Iranian Kurdish opposition camps near Iraq's Erbil, sources say
Four drones hit three Iranian Kurdish opposition camps near Erbil in Iraq on Wednesday, with no casualties reported, security sources told Reuters.
Earlier Wednesday, Kurdish news site Rudaw reported that Iran fired missiles and drones at locations in the Alana Valley, about 90 kilometers north of Erbil, targeting positions of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups Komala and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI).
They included drone strikes on locations across Soran, Khalifan, and Harir districts in Iraqi Kurdistan at around 6am local time. Two drones crashed in Khalifan, while another struck a civilian home in Soran and one crashed in Harir, where it caused a fire in the brushwood and grasslands of Mount Bani Harir.
For more background on Iranian Kurdish opposition groups, click here.
- Three Pakistani nationals killed in attack on ship in Red Sea
- US helicopter fires missiles at cargo ship attempting to break Iran blockade
- Oil rises after attacks on ships in Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb
- Israel carries out first Gaza strike in more than week, one dead: officials
- EU, 26 countries condemn Iran's executions of protesters
Three Pakistani nationals killed in attack on ship in Red Sea
Three Pakistani citizens were killed in an attack by Houthi rebels on a vessel in the Red Sea, according to the Pakistani foreign minister.
The statement came a day after Yemen's coastguard confirmed Houthi strikes on a vessel in the Red Sea killed at least six people.
"Three Pakistani nationals have lost their lives and one has sustained injuries in the incident," Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on X. "Pakistan strongly condemns the Houthi attack on a non-combatant commercial vessel," he added.
Pakistani authorities are "in contact with the relevant Saudi authorities, as well as the internationally recognized Government of Yemen, to ascertain further details of the incident and the circumstances surrounding it," said Dar.
Palestinian students and staff sue Columbia University, alleging discrimination
A group of current and former Palestinian students and staff have sued Columbia University, alleging discriminatory treatment by the school against its Palestinian community since late 2023, according to a court filing in New York.
The lawsuit said the university failed to protect its Palestinian members from harassment and targeted them through what it cast as "unfair and biased disciplinary hearings".
Columbia has previously denied being discriminatory and has condemned hate. Local media reported that it declined to comment on pending litigation. It did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Protests took place at Columbia and around the US after the start of Israel's assault on Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas attack.
In May 2025, Columbia suspended more than 65 students for their role in shutting down the university's main library in a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
US military operations in Yemen in 2025 killed 153 civilians
US military strikes in Yemen in 2025 killed 153 civilians and wounded 243, a US official said on Tuesday, citing Pentagon assessments.
This compares with a Pentagon assessment that two civilians were killed and two were injured by US military operations in 2024.
US helicopter fires missiles at cargo ship attempting to break Iran blockade
A US helicopter fired missiles on Tuesday into the engine room of a Panama-flagged cargo ship that attempted to break the American blockade of Iran's ports, the United States military said.
The US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired on and disabled the M/V Vela Nova "after the ship's civilian crew ignored repeated warnings from American forces," US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on X, adding that the vessel "is no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the US blockade."
It was the third time the United States, in a months-long war against Iran, has forcibly halted a vessel since reinstating the ports blockade on July 14.
CENTCOM said it has redirected 55 ships that tried to run the blockade and boarded two others as of Tuesday.
US forces previously blockaded Iranian ports from April 13 to June 18, during which they disabled nine ships and redirected more than 140, according to CENTCOM.
Trump says he secretly switched planes in Turkey over assassination threat
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he secretly switched planes in Turkey last month at the direction of the US Secret Service, but that the plane he ultimately flew on was still more vulnerable than Air Force One.
Following a NATO summit in Ankara, Trump was transferred from Air Force One to a military plane via a catering truck in an extraordinary deception prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, US media reported.
The White House did not disclose the change and it remained a secret until the Washington Post first reported it on Monday.
Some media commentators questioned whether the operation left Trump's aides and journalists travelling with him at risk aboard the plane presumed to be carrying the president.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
