World

On February 15, 1991, the first US President George Bush delivered a speech at a Patriot missile factory in Massachusetts. In this address, Bush called on the Iraqi people and military to overthrow dictator Saddam Hussein, but the US later remained indifferent to the subsequent uprising. This event is now recalled in the context of the current war with Iran, as Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu urge the Iranian people to topple the Islamic Republic.

The Cambodian government claims to be finally dismantling the cyber-scam compounds that have turned the country into a global fraud hub. Authorities stated last week that scam activity has been halved since the start of this year, a move purportedly in response to international pressure. However, analysts and rights groups express skepticism, warning there is little evidence that top figures in the criminal industry will face consequences, casting doubt on the regime's commitment to meaningful action.

The UK regime on Wednesday released internal documents detailing discussions that led to the appointment of Labour Party veteran Peter Mandelson as US ambassador in 2024, revealing warnings about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. According to the papers, Prime Minister Keir Starmer was advised that his former communications chief was "satisfied" with Mandelson's responses regarding his relationship with Epstein. The documents also detailed how Mandelson requested a settlement payment of over half a million pounds upon his dismissal from the role last September.

Iran's newly elected supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, reportedly sustained injuries on the first day of a large-scale military confrontation with the United States and Israel. According to The New York Times, citing high-ranking Iranian officials, health issues of Ali Khamenei's successor are the reason for his prolonged absence from the public eye.

A spokesperson for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated on Wednesday that any vessel linked to the United States and Israel or their allies "will be considered a legitimate target" and that "not a litre of oil" will be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz. The spokesperson claimed, "You will not be able to artificially lower the price of oil. Expect oil at $200 per barrel. The price of oil depends on regional security, and you are the main source of insecurity in the region."

Sudan's civil war is on the brink of entering its fourth year, with no end in sight. The conflict has drawn in regional actors who support the warring parties, thereby prolonging the fighting and risking a much wider fallout across the region. Sudanese civilians are bearing the brunt of this protracted struggle.

Every year, thousands of Rohingya attempt to flee Myanmar and Bangladesh by sea, with hundreds meeting their deaths. In late November of last year, Nur Begum, an ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar living in the sprawling refugee camps of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, received a call that her eldest daughter, Nur Kayas, was dead. The call came from her former husband's father, who had recently landed illegally in Malaysia aboard a smuggler's boat near the island of Langkawi. He reported that their boat sank close to Langkawi, and that he and a few others were rescued by another boat, but everyone else, including Nur Begum's 10-year-old daughter, drowned.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from its member countries' strategic reserves, in an attempt to counter soaring global energy prices amid the United States-Israeli war on Iran. This move aims to alleviate market disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions, though its effectiveness remains uncertain given the ongoing pressure from the US and Israeli regimes.

The resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah has come as little surprise to close observers, given the widely acknowledged fragility of the November 27, 2024 ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. That agreement, brokered by the United States and France, was structurally weak and temporary, failing to address the underlying drivers of confrontation. In practice, it never truly halted the conflict, with Israeli forces maintaining a presence in Lebanese territory and military strikes against Lebanon continuing almost daily.

At least 65 Nigerian soldiers have been killed in jihadist raids across the country's north-east over the past two weeks, as the West African state struggles to contain one of the world's deadliest terror groups, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). The attacks highlight the persistent security crisis in a region ravaged by a nearly two-decade-long insurgency.

Following the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, US assets in Iraq's Kurdistan region came under retaliatory strikes from Tehran-backed groups, dragging the country into a conflict that has since expanded across the Middle East and beyond. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said during a news conference in Baghdad on Monday: "Iraq has become one of the countries directly affected by the ongoing conflict." The country, he claimed, is facing attacks from "both sides of the conflict."

Uzbekistan, Tashkent – AN Podrobno.uz. Two citizens wanted for committing serious crimes have been returned to Uzbekistan as part of international operational measures through Interpol. One was extradited from Bahrain, while the other was deported from the United States.