79,897 events tracked
Natural · Natural
The confirmed death toll from Nepal’s catastrophic floods has surged to 903, with more than 4,200 still missing as rescue crews and humanitarian workers battle blocked highways to reach the hardest-hit areas, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday.
Natural · Natural
As rescue efforts continue in Nepal, humanitarians are focused on how the recent deadly flash floods have impacted women and girls, as well as access to healthcare.
Military · Geopolitical
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US military is prepared to carry out further strikes against Iran "any time we want," as Tehran vowed to retaliate and accused Washington of targeting civilian infrastructure.
Military · Geopolitical
Foreign recruitment and external support networks are fueling Sudan’s war, strengthening the military capabilities of rival forces and worsening the toll on civilians, a United Nations report has revealed.
Economic · Economic
China and the United States should work together to jointly implement the important common understandings reached by the two heads of state, and maintain the momentum of stable development in bilateral economic and trade ties, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.
Natural · Natural
Peruvian Andes at risk of glacial flooding
Natural · Natural
Africa CDC warns that the DRC's Ebola outbreak not yet under control
Economic · Economic
A stronger US jobs report has raised expectations of a September Fed rate hike, while Donald Trump has stepped up pressure on the central bank to cut interest rates. Markets now await US inflation data, which could determine the Fed's next policy move.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Israel attacks Lebanon’s Mifdoun and Beqaa Valley An Israeli air strike has targeted the town of Mifdoun in the Nabatieh district of southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported. The network said a separate strike hit the vicinity of Ain al-Tineh in the western Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
Military · Geopolitical
Israel says it has struck southern Lebanon after Hezbollah drone launch The Israeli military said on Friday it struck southern Lebanon after Hezbollah launched a drone attack towards Israeli soldiers. Three people were killed and 23 were injured in Israeli strikes on south Lebanon, according to the country's health ministry. The wounded included medics, in addition to women and children, the ministry said.
Military · Geopolitical
Why did Trump meet members of an anti-Zionist Orthodox Jewish group? Submitted by Yasmine El-Sabawi on Fri, 09/04/2026 - 18:35 Critics of Israel lauded the meeting, highlighting inroads to be made given that many conservatives now question the US-Israel relationship Aaron Teitelbaum, the chief rabbi of the Satmar community in Kiryas Joel, New York, sits directly across from Donald Trump in White House as he leads a delegation of Haredi Jews on 3 September 2026 (Rabbi Moishe Indig/X) Off US President Donald Trump on Thursday hosted Haredi Jewish leaders, some of whom are best known outside their communities for holding anti-Zionist positions, at the White House ahead of the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah. Photographs later shared on social media by attendees and their allies showed something far beyond the usual religious holiday receptions held by most administrations. The delegation of rabbis and other representatives, who had flown in from New York and New Jersey, enjoyed an intimate audience with the president, sitting directly across from him at the Resolute Desk, with Trump's Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in the room with them. The group also met with Vice President JD Vance and New York Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, who is up for re-election in the state's largely liberal 17th district in November. "I had the great honor and privilege to introduce 6 Leading Rabbis of the Hasidic Community in the US to @JDVance," Yossi Gestetner, a New York-based political activist and staunch pro-Israel voice who attended the meeting, wrote on X. "I told the @VP that in this room there are the leaders of the most visibly Jewish people in the US, and despite the noise on social media and disagreements, he should know that his role is respected and appreciated by all those on the room. " Among those six rabbis was Satmar Rebbe Aaron Teitelbaum, a leading figure in Orthodox anti-Zionist circles. He leads the ultraconservative Satmar religious community in the Jewish village of Kiryas Joel, New York, and represents some 100,000 adherents. JD Vance seeks to reassure Jewish Republicans after questioning Israeli tactics Read More » Photographs show him sitting directly across from Trump, and reading from what is reportedly a letter he had prepared. "The Satmar Rebbe was probably, I would say, the most important religious leader," in that meeting, Israel-American author and activist Miko Peled, who is familiar with the group, told Middle East Eye on Friday. Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, who is frequently seen at New York protests against the actions of the Israeli government, described Satmar's approach to anti-Zionist politics as being "more nuanced, more careful" than his own group, Neturei Karta International. "We know that officially it would be politically incorrect for them to meet with people who state unambiguously that [they] call for the entire dismantlement of the Zionist state of Israel," he told MEE. Critics of Israel on social media lauded the meeting, highlighting the inroads to be made given many conservatives are now questioning the premise of the US-Israel relationship. Elections ahead The meeting takes place six weeks before the Israeli elections, and eight weeks before the US midterm elections. Trump, by all accounts, can have a remarkable amount of sway on both. "My understanding is that [the delegation] wanted two things: One is to make clear their objection to Zionism, and that they are not Zionists," Peled said. "The second thing is their community is now under attack by the Israeli government, because... they have close to 80,000 young men who are now considered draft dodgers. " Haredi Jews often protest against Israeli conscription and are met with police violence in Israel. MEE has previously reported that Haredi exemption from enlisting in the Israeli military began as narrow, exceptional relief at the outset of statehood. It gradually ballooned into a mass phenomenon as tens of thousands became exempted, and public debate raged in the background. Haredi Israelis have gone from constituting roughly 10 percent of the population in 2009 to around 14 percent today. Some factions remain fiercely anti-Zionist, rejecting the legitimacy of the state, while others work with secular coalitions to defend their autonomy. 'A big deal' A White House official told MEE that this was the "first gather of these rabbis at the White House since 1979". Some Hasidic leaders had, in fact, met with former presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton on the premises, so it was unclear if this referred to leaders from specific sects. "They thanked the President for all he had done in combatting anti-Semitism, advocating for school choice with the Middle-Class Tax Credit, and for fighting for peoples of faith," the official said via email. "The White House Faith Office brings in Americans of faith to meet with the President on a regular basis. In the Jewish community, they have brought both the families of and former Hostages held in Gaza, survivors of the Holocaust, and rabbis from many branches of the faith. " Mamdani earns endorsement from influential Orthodox-Jewish community leader in NYC Read More » Peled described the meeting as "a big deal" and "historic". It was reportedly important enough to the president that he agreed to push the meeting time to accommodate the delays encountered by the private jets bringing the delegation to Washington. And that may very well be because Lawler, a vocal Trump ally in a tight race, represents the very district that includes Kiryas Joel. Halie Soifer, a former policy aide to President Barack Obama and Senator Kamala Harris who now leads the Jewish Democratic Council of America, described Thursday's White House meeting as serving "a narrow political goal" for Republicans. The "selection of just a group of Hasidic men is on brand for Donald Trump", she told MEE. "He brought in a very small non-representative sample of Jewish leaders to the White House, and was sure to include a vulnerable Republican incumbent who is likely to lose his seat in November. " Soifer alluded to Satmar as a fringe group, saying Jews are "not a monolith". "In the Biden administration, the kind of pre-high holiday convenings held by the White House and with Jewish leaders always included some rabbis, including representatives of the Orthodox community," she recounted. "But it has also included the wide range of denominations and representatives from across the spectrum of the Jewish community. " US-Israel relations Washington News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
Military · Geopolitical
Trump says Iran war is 'small potatoes' for US Donald Trump said on Friday that the Iran war was "small potatoes" for the United States, in his administration's latest bid to play down the war ahead of crucial midterm elections. Trump's comments came a day after Vice President JD Vance said that "I wouldn't call it a war" despite an upsurge in clashes between Iran and the US over the Strait of Hormuz. "A lot of people don't call it a war. I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about Vance's remarks. "It's not a big thing. We did Venezuela, and we did this," added Trump, who was surrounded by cattle ranchers invited for the signing of two executive orders on beef processing.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Jewish groups back stronger measures on Israel in letter to Andy Burnham Leading members of Jewish civil society groups have written to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to adopt stronger measures on Israel and "oppose any further attempts to muzzle the Palestine marches". This comes as the Burnham government prepares to announce a raft of new measures on the occupied West Bank, including a ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements. Major British Jewish organisations, including the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies of British Jews, urged the government not to impose a ban on settlement goods earlier this week and met Burnham in Downing Street. UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said on Monday that he had met Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and warned sanctions on Israel would have a "negative impact" on British Jews. Read more: Jewish groups back stronger measures on Israel in letter to Andy Burnham Britain's Prime Minister Andy Burnham meets with Jewish community leaders inside 10 Downing Street in central London on 3 September 2026 (AFP)
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon rises to three We earlier reported that an Israeli drone strike killed two people in the town of Kfar Rumman in southern Lebanon's Nabatieh district. The Lebanese health ministry says that Israeli strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon late on Friday killed at least three people and injured 23. The ministry said strikes hit five locations in the southern Tyre and Nabatieh regions and the Beqaa region in the east.
Military · Geopolitical
Iran vows ‘pre-emptive operations’ against perceived threats Iran will conduct “pre-emptive operations” wherever it perceives a threat, army spokesman Brigadier-General Mohammad Akrami Nia said in comments carried by Iranian broadcaster IRIB. “Our military doctrine has shifted toward preemptive defence and deterrent operations,” Nia said.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
US okays $5.75 billion munitions, engines sale to Saudi Arabia The US State Department said it had approved the potential sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions-Extend Range to Saudi Arabia for an estimated $5 billion. The principal contractor is Boeing, the state department said. The State Department also approved a possible sale of AGT-1500 engines to Saudi Arabia for an estimated $750 million. The principal contractor for sale of the engines is Honeywell, the department said, according to Reuters. “The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s airborne defence capability to counter current and future regional threats, strengthen its homeland defence, and improve interoperability with systems operated by US forces and other Gulf region partners,” the State Department said in a statement. The sale will also “support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally,” the department said.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Kpler says Hormuz traffic dropped sharply on 31 August, Bab el-Mandeb stable Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell sharply on August 31, with five confirmed crossings, down 50 percent from 10 a day earlier, according to maritime data firm Kpler. Four vessels entered the Middle East Gulf and one exited, using a mix of Iranian, Omani and negotiated routes. Two of the crossings involved shadow vessels, while one involved a sanctioned vessel. Kpler said the figure remained preliminary, noting that additional “dark” crossings could be retrospectively identified and added as new confirmation data becomes available. Activity through the Bab el-Mandeb was comparatively stable, with 35 confirmed crossings, up 2.9 percent day on day. Nineteen vessels entered the Red Sea and 16 exited. No dark transits were recorded, while the International Maritime Organization verified no additional attacks. Hormuz crossings fall by half Strait of Hormuz traffic declined sharply on 31 August, with five confirmed crossings, down 50% from 10 a day earlier. pic. Four vessels entered the Middle East Gulf and one exited, using a mix of Iranian, Omani and negotiated routes. Two crossings… twitter. com/8D4rxHW2hk — Kpler (@Kpler) September 4, 2026
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Maritime traffic through Hormuz significantly reduced, UKMTO says Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains significantly reduced, with vessel operators favouring the northern route amid ongoing security concerns, projectile attacks and heightened enforcement activity, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). UKMTO said AIS-detected transits were approximately 90 percent below pre-conflict baseline levels since the peak recorded on 24-26 June. The southern Omani route remains the highest-risk corridor, accounting for 21 of 24 projectile strike incidents reported by UKMTO since 6 July. Tanker traffic accounts for 46 percent of movements through the Strait, although overall traffic volumes remain suppressed. Vessel operators favour the northern route amid ongoing security concerns. (AFP) UKMTO said 27 projectile strike incidents had been reported since 6 July, causing bridge, engine-room and structural damage to vessels operating in and around the Strait. The Joint Maritime Information Centre’s threat assessment remains unchanged, with the Strait of Hormuz assessed as severe risk and the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb as substantial risk.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Miliband says Gaza situation ‘horrific’, UK must act ‘more decisively’ Submitted by MEE staff on Sat, 09/05/2026 - 02:10 The foreign secretary said people on the ground in Gaza informed him about 'medicines being blocked, children dying while waiting for vital life-saving treatment' Miliband told British MPs on Tuesday that his government plans to impose "comprehensive" package of sanctions on Israel in the coming weeks. (AFP) Off British foreign secretary Ed Miliband has said the situation unfolding in Gaza was “horrific” and the UK government needed to act “more decisively than we have”. “So, I just came out of this meeting talking about Gaza to people who've been there and are there on the ground and frankly it was horrific what is unfolding,” Miliband said in an Instagram video released by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. “You know the stories that people were telling me of medicines being blocked, children dying while waiting for vital life-saving treatment. When you hear that account of what is happening you know that we as a UK government, as the Prime Minister has said, have got to act and act more decisively than we have,” he added. On Tuesday, Miliband told British MPs that his government plan to impose "comprehensive" package of sanctions in the coming weeks. Miliband said Israel's new plan in area E1 "risks making a Palestinian state unviable". The proposed Israeli E1 project is designed to connect Jerusalem to Ma'ale Adumim and other settlements east of the city, carving into land on which Palestinians seek to establish their state. "This government will not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution," Miliband said. Speaking to lawmakers as foreign secretary for the first time since his appointment in July, Miliband said that “we need to look, and we are looking indeed, at our wider economic relationship with the occupied territories and the different tools we have to tackle it”. “I want to be very clear: we do not want British companies financing, constructing, or advertising new settlements,” he added. Miliband also condemned what he called "appalling settler terrorism" in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, however, warned that Israel would retaliate should the UK imposed sanctions over illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. During an interview with Israeli news outlet Ynet on Tuesday, Sa'ar was asked about the tense relationship between Israel and the UK over recent Israeli plans to further expand settlements. Sa'ar accused the Labour government of "acting systematically against Israel", adding that it has "already harmed defence exports to us and imposed sanctions on ministers". "If Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain," Sa'ar said. He told Ynet that Israel is now bracing for UK sanctions and preparing a response. In response to UK’s plans to introduce stronger measures against illegal Israeli settlements, Israel is also considering expelling British officials from the US-led International Gaza Support Center (IGSC), which was established to monitor the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. According to the Financial Times, the Israeli government is also considering expelling Italy and Germany from the IGSC. The British government’s plans for sanctions have sparked calls from Jewish and Palestinian groups for a stronger action against Israel. UK Jewish groups urge ‘stronger’ action Leading members of Jewish civil society groups have written to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham urging him to adopt stronger measures on Israel and "oppose any further attempts to muzzle the Palestine marches". Major British Jewish organisations, including the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies of British Jews urged the government not to impose a ban on settlement goods earlier this week and met Burnham in Downing Street. UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said on Monday that he had met Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and warned sanctions on Israel would have a "negative impact" on British Jews. But on Thursday, leading members of Holocaust Survivors and Descendants against Gaza Genocide (HSD), Jewish Voice for Liberation (formerly Jewish Voice for Labour) and Jews for Justice for Palestinians, sent a letter to the prime minister arguing the opposite. Seen by MEE, the letter says: "There are several Jewish 'communities' and a wide diversity of views on Israel among Jewish people in the UK and we trust that you will meet with us and other members of the Jewish Bloc in the near future. " The letter also says: "We eagerly await your premiership in the light of your recent call for stronger action against Israel, along with your apology for the Labour Government's slowness to call for a ceasefire. " Act ‘urgently and comprehensively’ The Labour Muslim Network (LMN) and International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) have published a legal briefing urging the British government to act "urgently and comprehensively" to apply pressure on Israel over its actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The LMN, a group within the Labour Party, told Middle East Eye: "The Israeli government’s E1 settlement project could destroy the future of a viable Palestinian state. "Settlement expansion, settler violence and terrorism, and the forcible displacement of Palestinian communities in the West Bank are accelerating on a daily basis. " Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Naftali Bennett urges campaign against Qatar, calls it 'enemy' again Former Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, has once again branded Qatar an "enemy," repeating his call for Israel to take action against it. "I’m not talking about tomorrow bombing Qatar, but you gather intelligence. It’s an enemy and we start working on it," Bennett said in an interview. He called for a campaign, "not necessarily a war campaign, a public opinion, economic, diplomatic campaign" against the Gulf state, which brokered the ceasefire in Gaza. "And we join forces with our friends in the region, Saudis, Emirates, Egypt, etc. , to pressure Qatar," he said. "At the end of the day, it’s a tiny place, 330,000 people, and they’re causing crazy havoc, wreaking havoc on Israel," Bennett said. Last month, Bennett has vowed to declare Qatar as an “enemy” if elected into government later this year, saying “it is unforgivable” that this is not already the case. In an interview with Channel 12, Bennett described Qatar as “more dangerous” to Israel at the moment than Iran. “With Iran, everyone knows that [it says], ‘We’ll destroy Israel. ’” But Qatar, he said, “funded the Nukhba terrorists of October 7 [2023]… Qatar operates Al Jazeera, which is the most poisonous cancer hurting us. ” “Qatar reaches places of influence in American universities… And most importantly, [it has access] to the most sacred place for the security of Israel — that is the office of the prime minister of Israel,” he said. "Qatar works against us and poisons us from within,” Bennett said, fuming that Israel does not define Qatar as an enemy state.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Iranian army spokesman says US, Israel 'failed' to achieve war objectives Iranian army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia has said that the US and Israel suffered a “major defeat” in their latest aggression against Iran, and “failed” to achieve their stated objectives. General Akraminia said the “enemy” entered the war after “making a series of miscalculations about Iran and its capabilities”, according to Iran’s Press TV. “The criminal enemy had set many goals in its attack, including destroying Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities, overthrowing the government and, of course, partitioning Iran. However, it failed to achieve any of these objectives,” he said. He also listed “failure to correctly understand the Iranian people” and its “failure to anticipate Tehran’s ability to control the Strait of Hormuz” among other “failures” of the US and Israel.
Military · Geopolitical
NYT: 50 US Joint Staff members take polygraph test over Iran war leaks In an extraordinary move, US government investigators have subjected 50 members of the American military’s Joint Staff to polygraph tests over leaks to journalists, including about how the Iran war has created a shortage of crucial munitions, New York Times reported. The investigators asked military officers and civilian employees on the Joint Staff if they disclosed classified information to members of the press, and about whether they provided information about diminished US munitions stocks, the report said. NYT reported that polygraph tests were conducted in August after media reports detailed diminished stocks of crucial munitions, including of long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors. In a statement to the newspaper, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that the department “does not comment on internal personnel or investigative matters but takes all leaks of classified national security information extremely seriously and investigates accordingly. (AFP) ” Leaks to journalists included how the Iran war has created a shortage of crucial munitions.
Military · Geopolitical
Iran army says US bid to weaken its Hormuz control answered 'within 15 minutes' Iran responded decisively to the US attempt to weaken or eliminate the Iranian forces’ control over the Strait of Hormuz, army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia has said. In a statement carried by IRNA, General Akraminia revealed more details about Iranian response to US strikes on Sirik Island on 30 August. He said just 15 minutes after the strikes, the first Iranian missiles and drones were launched, targeting four US bases in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait, according to IRNA. Akraminia said the Army used Fat'h surface-to-surface missiles and Arash-2 combat drones in the operation, adding the weapons were equipped with artificial intelligence and new systems. “This made them very difficult for the enemy to intercept, and they successfully struck their targets with ease,” he said. "We are constantly working to modernise our equipment and had previously announced this," he said, according to IRNA. He said Iran is using asymmetric warfare tactics and combined tactics in its operations, adding it has received very positive feedback from this approach, enabling it to hit targets with ease. Drawing on the experience of the 12-day and 40-day wars, the Army and IRGC have entered this conflict “with greater readiness, motivation and confidence”, General Akraminia said. Akraminia said Iran's military doctrine has gradually shifted toward preemptive operations since the 12-day war, “based on available reasoning, which is also permissible under the UN Charter”. He said attacks on US bases in Jordan, Syria and Iraq's Kurdistan region were among Iran's preemptive operations. "This will continue. Whenever we sense a threat, we will carry out preemptive operations within the framework of international law to defend our rights," he said. The spokesman added that given the facilitation of missile and drone routes toward the occupied territories, any “aggression by the Zionist regime would certainly be targeted more easily, faster, and more decisively than before”, IRNA reported.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Russian forces attacked civilian infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, injuring two people and setting several lorries on fire.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
DNA testing has confirmed the death of Plast scout and bomb disposal expert Vladyslav Ilin, killed in a mine explosion near Pokrovsk after being listed as missing for over a year – the 90th Plast member lost in the war.
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has urged Ukraine’s partners to step up pressure on Russia after a drone strike damaged the Security Service of Ukraine headquarters in the centre of Kyiv.
Social-demographic · Education
Hong Kong’s City University has disciplined students over an orientation event with a disco theme in which a half-naked man was seen carrying a woman wearing only a bra and shorts, two days after the institution said it had “zero tolerance” for improper conduct. The institution said on Friday that all students involved in the orientation camp incident on August 27 had admitted their mistakes, formally apologised to the university and accepted disciplinary action. “The university’s student...
Geopolitical · Geopolitical
A court in the Philippines has issued a warrant of arrest against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio over death threats she made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr. The warrant involves three counts of grave threats, according to a court order that also set bail at 120,000 pesos (US$1,900) for each count. The charges were first filed last month, based on a National Bureau of Investigation criminal complaint in February 2025. Duterte’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, on Friday confirmed the Quezon...
Military · Geopolitical
South Korea is moving towards the possible deployment of naval assets to the Strait of Hormuz under mounting pressure from Washington, potentially making it one of the first US allies to contribute militarily to the strategically vital waterway, observers have said. The government has reportedly drawn up plans to deploy military assets, including a naval logistics support ship and P-8A maritime patrol aircraft, to the strait. If carried out, the deployment would mark South Korea’s first dispatch...
Natural · Natural
Cross-border disasters along China’s frontiers are putting Beijing’s neighbourhood diplomacy to the test as climate shocks grow and expose strategic vulnerabilities. The stakes were highlighted last week after a sudden glacial collapse in the Himalayas unleashed a torrent of mud and flooding that ravaged nearby villages and the Gyirong Port between China and Nepal, leaving more than 1,250 dead in Nepal and 21 dead in the Tibet autonomous region. Thousands also remain missing. Beyond the...
