(Reuters) DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Aug 21 – U.S. Treasury chief Scott Bessent said the United States will impose “the toughest sanctions in history” on Iran, a move he suggested would lessen the need for new major military operations. Bessent’s comments on Thursday followed President Donald Trump’s threat a day earlier of “Economic Warfare” and warning of economic […]
BBC: A Swiss tourist has been sentenced to one year in prison for insulting a sacred religious event on Indonesia’s holiday island of Bali. In a now-removed video, Luzian Andrin Zgraggen, 26, had filmed himself walking to an empty beach during the Hindu holiday of Nyepi, describing the scene as “crazy”. He was arrested in […]
BBC: Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been taken to a hospital in the capital, Islamabad, following complaints about his poor health. Khan was taken from Adiala jail and sent to Shifa International Hospital under heavy security, according to his party. There is yet to be official confirmation he has been transferred. The move […]
BBC: South Korea’s annual military exercises with the US come to an abrupt end on Friday. Ulchi Freedom Shield, which involves 18,000 South Korean troops and 11 other American ally nations, is being halted with only half of the scheduled programme complete – days after US President Donald Trump announced he had ordered the Pentagon […]
BBC: Donald Trump has said he will launch tougher economic measures against Iran, as well as any country that helps or does business with it. The US president wrote in all capital letters on Truth Social that he was launching “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country”, without providing further details or […]
BBC: Lebanon has handed Syria a former general who served under the ousted regime of Bashar al-Assad, in the first extradition of its kind since his government fell. Maj Gen Adel Issa, 67, is accused of a raft of crimes allegedly committed during the Syrian civil war, which ended in December 2024 when rebel forces […]
BBC: Liberia has charged former Vice-President Jewel Howard-Taylor with drug trafficking, money laundering and a range of other offences as part of an investigation into an alleged transnational narcotics network. She was detained on Wednesday before being able to board a flight at Roberts International Airport in the capital, Monrovia, the country’s justice ministry confirmed. […]
BBC: Israel has opened up tenders for the construction of some 1,200 settlement homes in a strategically important part of the occupied West Bank, as the government seeks to end any chance of a Palestinian state. Plans to build on the so-called E1 area – east of Jerusalem – have long been internationally condemned, with […]
BBC: Four workers in Japan have died after being struck by a train at Shin-Kanuma Station, north of Tokyo, authorities say. The collision happened around 10:46 local time (01:46 GMT) Thursday while the workers were spraying herbicide, said Tobu Railway, the operator of the line. Police are investigating if safety guidelines were followed when the […]
BBC: A wave of overnight Russian missile strikes has killed at least five people in the capital Kyiv and the surrounding region, Ukrainian authorities say. Apartment blocks and warehouses were targeted in the “massive attack” on Thursday, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (DSNS). At least least 23 people were injured in the […]
