WORLD

 JAKARTA, 15 August, 2026 (Kamran Raja): At least 20 people have died after a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake and dozens of aftershocks struck eastern Indonesia on Saturday, according to rescue officials. Tsunami waves of less than one metre were recorded in several areas following the early morning earthquake. Authorities lifted the tsunami warning approximately three hours after the quake. Rescuers in and around the port town of Maumere found 20 bodies, while six people were injured and two others remained trapped under rubble, according to Fathur Rahman, head of the local rescue agency. Maumere is the main town of Sikka Regency on Flores Island in eastern Indonesia. Rescue teams were still unable to reach Nagekeo, the area closest to the earthquake’s epicentre, due to damaged...

GARDEN CITY, 15 August, 2026 (Nosheen): US President Donald Trump has said the United States could soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, escalating his rhetoric over the strategically vital waterway as the conflict with Iran continues to push up global oil and gasoline prices. Speaking in Garden City on Friday, Trump said that after defeating Iran, he would soon announce the Strait of Hormuz as a territory of the United States. The seriousness of the remark and whether it represents a formal change in US policy remained unclear.The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global energy supplies, with roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments normally passing through the waterway.Concerns over prolonged disruption have contributed to higher oil pr...

TOKYO, 15 August, 2026 (Ghufran): Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday, marking the 81st anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II, drawing strong criticism from China and South Korea.Koizumi, dressed in a dark suit and tie, visited the shrine in central Tokyo, according to local media. Japan’s Economic Security Minister Kimi Onoda also visited the shrine, public broadcaster NHK reported.Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who had visited the shrine several times before becoming prime minister last October, sent a ritual offering, according to Kyodo news agency.China strongly condemned the visits and offerings, with a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson saying Beijing had lodged a formal protest with Japan.South Korea’s Foreig...

WASHINGTON, 15 August, 2026 (Nosheen): The United States is preparing to tell dozens of countries that they must choose sides in the growing artificial intelligence (AI) race with China, warning that countries joining Beijing’s competing AI framework could be excluded from a US-led AI coalition.According to Reuters, the US State Department has prepared an internal draft letter outlining the policy. The move reflects Washington’s efforts to strengthen cooperation with partner countries while limiting China’s influence in the rapidly developing AI sector.The United States launched the Pax Silica initiative last year to secure supply chains for AI models, semiconductors and critical minerals amid intensifying technological competition between Washington and Beijing.Around two dozen countries ...

TEHRAN, 15 August, 2026 (Ghufran): Iranian Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator for talks with the United States, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, has said negotiations with Washington were suspended following an Israeli strike in southern Beirut that killed a senior Hezbollah commander.According to Iranian media, Qalibaf said Hezbollah’s intelligence chief was killed along with members of his family in the Israeli attack on the Dahiyeh area of southern Beirut. Qalibaf said Iran had decided to halt the negotiations following the attack, adding that Tehran had made it clear that it would respond to the strike on the same night. He warned that if Israel retaliated against Iran, Tehran would target the entire region. Qalibaf also spoke about a dispute over a reported understanding concerning the St...

NEW YORK, 14 August, 2026 (Kamran Raja): Two oil tankers operated by the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company ADNOC were attacked by drones while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, with the UAE blaming Iran for the incident and describing the attacks as acts of piracy.The attacks took place Thursday evening as the two tankers were passing through the strategically important waterway linking the Persian Gulf with international waters. ADNOC said no injuries were reported and that the situation had been brought under control.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said two vessels had suffered minor damage in drone attacks while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. It did not identify the ships, but the reported details appeared to correspond to the same incident.The UAE Forei...

CALI, Colombia, 14 August, 2026 (Nosheen): Rescue workers in Colombia called for silence around collapsed buildings on Thursday as they listened for signs of life beneath the rubble of a deadly earthquake, racing against time to find more survivors.The 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Colombia on Monday, killing at least 281 people and leaving hundreds missing. Authorities said 348 people had been rescued alive from the debris.David Santiago Tamayo, director of Colombia’s National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, said the chances of finding survivors were declining, but rescue teams would continue searching for everyone reported missing.Emergency agencies consider the first two to three days after an earthquake the most critical period for locating survivors. However, people trapped benea...

TOKYO, 14 August, 2026 (Ghufran): Record-breaking rainfall caused widespread flooding in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, leaving at least five people dead, more than 30 injured and thousands stranded, Japanese authorities said Friday. The Japan Meteorological Agency downgraded its highest-level heavy-rain warning across more than a dozen municipalities in Chiba as the torrential downpour subsided, while forecasting additional rainfall later in the day. Chiba experienced unprecedented rainfall on Thursday, with Chiba City recording about 11.5 centimeters of rain in one hour and Sakura City receiving 9.7 centimeters during the same period, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The intense rainfall caused extensive flooding, submerging homes, vehicles, roads and sections of railway i...

Texas, 13 August 2026 (Ghufran): Two U.S. Army soldiers were killed when an Apache military helicopter attached to Fort Hood crashed into a field in Bell County, Texas, on Wednesday, officials said.The crash occurred in Bell County, approximately 60 miles (100 km) north of the state capital, Austin, according to Cliff Coleman, a spokesperson for the Bell County Sheriff's Office.Coleman said the Bell County justice of the peace pronounced two people aboard the helicopter dead following the crash.“Today, an Apache helicopter crashed in Bell County during Fort Hood operations, killing two members of our military,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement posted on X. Fort Hood confirmed that an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter had crashed and that two soldiers were killed. Their identiti...

Dubai, 13 August 2026 (Kamran Raja): Iranian state media has mocked US President Donald Trump following reports that he was secretly moved from Air Force One to a smaller government aircraft during a visit to Türkiye, amid a credible threat that the presidential plane could be targeted by a shoulder-fired missile. A person briefed on the matter said the US Secret Service made the decision after receiving information about a potential missile threat. The incident reportedly occurred on the final day of Trump’s visit to Ankara for the NATO summit, as tensions remain high amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict.Iranian state television described the episode as an embarrassment for Trump and portrayed the aircraft switch as evidence of concerns over Iran’s military capabilities.According to reports,...