The U.S. military said it struck three Iranian crude oil tankers on Saturday after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships. One tanker was hit off Kharg Island, another near Jask east of the Strait of Hormuz, and an unladen tanker was struck in the Gulf of Oman. The strikes end a lull of about a month and add fresh pressure on shipping through the strait that carries a large share of the world's oil. Iran's foreign ministry condemned the action as illegal, and state media threatened wider attacks on U.S. vessels. At least five people were killed earlier in the week during a U.S. bombardment of southern Iran, and oil prices climbed as traders weighed the risk to exports.
Rescuers in Nepal pulled two workers alive from a hydropower tunnel on Friday, nine days after flash floods devastated the region. The men were rescued from the main tunnel of the Trishuli 3A hydropower project in Rasuwa district and flown to a hospital in Kathmandu in stable condition. The August 26 flood, believed to have been caused by a glacier collapse, killed more than 1,200 people in Nepal. At least 557 workers are missing from the project, with about 115 believed trapped in the tunnel, according to the Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal. Rescuers heard voices before the breakthrough, and army teams continued digging for more survivors.
Iran fired missiles at American allies in the Gulf this week after a US air strike hit a wedding party in southern Iran, the heaviest exchange between Washington and Tehran in months. US forces struck Iranian Revolutionary Guard targets, including air defense sites and radar, starting Tuesday. One strike hit a home in Kuhestak where families were celebrating a wedding; the Iranian Red Crescent said four people, including a child, were killed and more than 50 wounded. Iran said it targeted at least seven bases used by US forces across the Middle East and fired missiles at American bases in Jordan that were intercepted. The fighting comes six months into the Iran war, with the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane again at the center of the conflict.
The death toll from flash floods on the Nepal-Tibet border has passed 1,000, with about 3,900 people still missing, including more than 600 hydropower workers feared trapped in mud-filled tunnels along the Trishuli River. Chinese and Nepalese military teams, supported by experts from India, South Korea and Australia, are blasting into hillsides to reach them. The floods began when a landslide emptied a high-altitude glacial lake into the Bhote Koshi valley. Prime Minister Balendra Shah said 279 people have been rescued. Families wait at tunnel entrances as officials warn that survival chances are fading, and aid agencies say remote mountain villages may not have been reached yet.
German authorities are investigating suspected sabotage after two attacks disrupted power infrastructure in the east and west of the country on Tuesday. Early in the day, improvised explosives damaged power cables at a substation in Turnow-Preilack in the eastern state of Brandenburg, prompting a terrorism investigation. In the evening, a deliberate short circuit knocked out lines at a substation in Bergheim near Cologne, forcing operator RWE to take five coal-fired units with a combined capacity of 4,200 megawatts offline. Police say they are checking for links between the two incidents. The attacks come days after Berlin blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport last month, a charge Moscow denies. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the incidents fit the known pattern of Russian hybrid operations in Europe.
Deadly flash floods and mudslides have killed more than 1,000 people in Nepal, and thousands remain missing after heavy rain triggered a catastrophic flood near the Nepal-China border. Rescue teams are digging through mud-filled tunnels and clearing debris, while officials say dozens of Americans are among those unaccounted for. More than 4,400 people are missing, and the toll keeps rising as workers reach remote valleys. The flooding hit a key trade crossing at the border, where more than 100 Indians are reported missing. Experts say glacier-related landslides are becoming more common as the climate warms, and the disaster has put new pressure on regional rescue and recovery efforts.
King Harald V of Norway has died at the age of 89 after weeks in hospital, ending a 35-year reign as Europe's oldest reigning monarch. The palace said he passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on August 28. Harald modernized the Norwegian monarchy, married a commoner, and served as a unifying figure through national crises including the 2011 terror attacks. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, succeeds him as King Haakon VIII at a time when the royal family faces scandals involving Crown Princess Mette-Marit and her son. Harald's reign will be remembered for bringing the monarchy closer to the Norwegian people.
Catastrophic flash floods along the Nepal-Tibet border have killed at least 540 people, with hundreds more still missing. A wall of water swept through mountain valleys after days of heavy rain, destroying entire villages and trapping workers inside hydropower tunnels. Rescue teams are digging through mud and debris while helicopters search remote valleys. Scientists say a glacier collapse helped feed the flood, making it one of the worst natural disasters in Nepal's recent history. The disaster has also raised hard questions about fast-growing hydropower projects built in some of the world's most hazard-prone terrain. International aid groups are rushing food and supplies to displaced families, and officials warn the death toll could keep climbing.
A glacier collapse along the Nepal-Tibet border triggered a flash flood that has killed more than 350 people and left over 1,000 missing. The disaster began Wednesday morning when a mass of glacier ice and rock fell into the Lhende Khola river, a tributary of the Bhotekoshi, creating a natural dam that burst and sent a wall of water, mud and debris downstream. Water levels on the Trishuli river rose by as much as 9 meters in half an hour, according to experts at ICIMOD. Homes, roads, bridges and power plants were swept away in Rasuwa district and beyond. Authorities are now monitoring barrier lakes on both sides of the border, warning downstream residents to stay away from riverbanks while rescue teams search for the missing, including pilgrims on the Kailash Mansarovar route.
Massive flash flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border has left nearly 400 people confirmed dead, with more than 1,300 still missing, authorities said Thursday. The floodwaters struck on Wednesday after heavy rain triggered landslides in the Himalayan border region. Nepal's tourism board said 66 American citizens are among the missing, with two already rescued. Rescue teams are searching for survivors, and drone footage shows entire villages swept away. Experts say the speed of the flash floods likely overwhelmed the region's warning systems. The disaster has also complicated damage assessments because Chinese authorities control information on the Tibetan side of the border. Both governments have pledged search and rescue support as international aid groups begin to arrive.