Tehran says it will confront any land attack, as Trump says regime’s export hub on Kharg island could be taken ‘very easily’ Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem Iran has warned the US that it is prepared to confront any ground assault, accusing Washington of secretly planning a land attack while publicly seeking talks, as the war that…
Refusing to comply could lead to year in jail and hefty fine, while providing false information carries up to three years in prison Reuters Hong Kong police can now demand that people suspected of breaching the city’s national security law provide mobile phone or computer passwords in a further crackdown on dissent. The amendments to…
Saeed Shahin Islamabad Experts say attacks on Afghanistan are ‘defensive, not offensive’ but carry a risk of spiralling cycle of violence An escalating Pakistani campaign of airstrikes against targets in Afghanistan is aimed at forcing the Taliban authorities to abandon their support for Pakistani militants, according to officials and experts. The strategy is to impose such a…
Jack Snape The Iranian women’s football team left their hotel and arrived at Gold Coast airport on Tuesday afternoon, appearing to have just hours left to take up Australia’s offer of asylum before they depart the country. Five players, led by captain Zahra Ghanbari, were formally granted protection in Australia by home affairs minister Tony…
Andrew Rothin Washington After oil prices surged on Monday the US president sought – and failed – to offer a clear vision for when the largest US intervention in the Middle East in years will end At one of the most consequential moments of his two terms in office, wartime president Donald Trump on Monday delivered a…
Lebanon has been “dragged back into a state of turmoil and violence”, the UN’s top envoy in the country warned on Saturday, after the latest round of regional strikes triggered a fast‑escalating crisis along the Blue Line. What had been fragile but real momentum, she said, has now collapsed in a matter of days. Just…
US president leaves open possibility of US troop deployment in Iran, while ruling out having Kurdish forces in Iraq mount an invasion US-Israel war on Iran – follow live Hugo Lowell aboard Air Force One Donald Trump on Saturday offered only a vague description of what he meant by his demand for an unconditional surrender by Iran’s…
Restart of operations will be a relief to those stranded but may not dispel doubts raised by past week about key transit hub Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent After nearly a week of uncertainty, airspace closures and very limited flights, news that hundreds of thousands of passengers around the world were hanging on for emerged: the Gulf-based…
Among the 3,000 delegates is former athlete who sits as an independent on the National People’s Congress Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondent Among the generally drab lineup of mostly middle-aged men in suits who make up the nearly 3,000 delegates to the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s parliament, a few stand out. There are delegates from…
As the violent escalation in the Middle East entered a third day on Monday sparked by the bombing of Iran by Israel and the United States, the head of the UN atomic energy agency urged a return to diplomacy, given the “increasing risk to nuclear safety” in the region. Speaking in Vienna, the Director General…