Efforts to reach an interim deal to end hostilities between Iran and the US have intensified, three Iranian sources and a European official told Reuters, despite strikes launched by both sides. The talks focus on releasing frozen Iranian funds.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday accused Benjamin Netanyahu of “following the path of Hitler” after the Israeli leader alleged he was an “antisemitic dictator” who had committed a “genocide” against the Kurds.

The weather phenomenon El Nino has arrived, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said yesterday, and scientists expect it will intensify into the end of the year, potentially to historic strength.

US President Donald Trump yesterday said he was calling off strikes on Iran hours after vowing to hit the country “very hard tonight” and flagged the signing of a possible deal with Tehran.

Cuba’s government said Wednesday that the US oil blockade that has crippled the island is preventing the United Nations from distributing 170 containers of humanitarian aid.

Iranian official warns of 'painful response' if attacked

Kuwait's military had earlier said air defences were engaging ‘hostile aerial targets’

It was the second reported US attack on a merchant vessel with predominately Indian crew this week

The United States launched fresh attacks against Iran on Thursday, prompting Tehran to retaliate, as US leaders accused their counterparts of dragging out negotiations for a deal to end the three-month war

The agency said the number of people who had been forced to flee due to war, violence and persecution remained "unacceptably high", urging action to dramatically reduce long-term displacement over the next decade

US President brushed off concerns about inflation surging to a fresh three-year high in May, on the back of soaring energy prices

Twenty-two countries including the United States and European nations jointly warned Iran to stop attacking people "on our soil"

The military's Central Command announced the strikes were complete about four hours after they began shortly after midnight in Tehran

The United Nations said yesterday a boy was shot dead during a women’s rights rally in Afghanistan’s Herat city a day earlier, when witnesses told AFP security forces dispersed protesters with live fire.

Discussions between Palestinian factions and mediators in Cairo aimed at reaching a permanent end to the war in Gaza have stalled over the pivotal question of disarming the territory and Hamas, Palestinian sources told AFP yesterday.

Sri Lanka’s public security minister told parliament yesterday the nation’s ex-intelligence chief directed the 2019 Easter Sunday attack, in the first official statement linking him directly to the bombings that killed 279 people.

US President Donald Trump yesterday said Iran had taken too long to negotiate a deal and would now “have to pay the price”, while Tehran said it would reassess diplomatic engagement with Washington after overnight tit-for-tat strikes.

Says because peace talks have failed to make progress, he is getting closer to targeting Iran's power plants and bridges

An Mi-17 helicopter of Pakistan Army Aviation crashed near Muzaffarabad today

Several other high-profile figures have also appeared before the committee