Iran and beyond
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Israel said it carried out strikes on Beirut targeting Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah on Thursday, while Lebanese state media reported an Israeli drone strike killed a Hamas official. Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on Monday, when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes over the weekend. – Israel strikes Beirut, Hamas official reportedly killed
(Al Arabiya) Iran said Thursday it had targeted headquarters of Kurdish forces in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Iranian state media, following strikes on Kurdish regions in both Iran and Iraq. – Iran says targeted Kurdish groups’ headquarters in Iraqi Kurdistan: Agency
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Qatar said Thursday it was evacuating residents living near the US embassy in the capital Doha, after Iranian strikes hit the Gulf country in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks. – Qatar says evacuating residents near US embassy
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) A US government charter flight was bringing Americans to the United States from the Middle East, and additional flights were being arranged for locations across the region, the US State Department said on Wednesday. – US charter flight repatriating Americans from Middle East, State Department says
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Iran’s Armed Forces respect the sovereignty of Turkey and deny firing any missile towards its territory, it said in a statement carried by state media on Thursday. – Iran’s armed forces deny firing missile towards Turkey
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday that “military assets” had been deployed to the Middle East as a contingency plan. Countries have rushed to evacuate their citizens from the Middle East this week after US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ali Khamenei and sparked a regional war. Albanese told the Australian parliament the government had sent six crisis response teams to the region. – Australia PM says ‘military assets’ deployed to Middle East
China
(John Liu – CNN) China set its lowest economic growth target in decades on Thursday, announcing it would aim for 4.5-5% expansion in 2026 as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with weak domestic demand and an uncertain global outlook. The moderate projection follows three consecutive years of aiming for “around 5%” growth from 2023 to 2025, which the country achieved despite a slow recovery from stringent Covid-19 controls and US President Donald Trump’s tariff offensive last year. Still, China’s broader growth trajectory has flattened, weighed down by a prolonged property crisis, declined investment, tepid consumption and deflation. – Facing ‘grave and complex landscape,’ China sets lowest economic growth target in decades | CNN Business
Sea levels
(Laura Paddison – CNN) Sea levels along the world’s coastlines are much higher than previously assumed, more than 3 feet in some regions, according to new research, raising alarms that the world is underestimating the extent of the threat and how quickly coastlines could disappear. Sea level rise is one of the most visible and alarming impacts of the human-driven climate crisis, threatening hundreds of millions of people who live along global coastlines. Scientists estimate we’re already locked into around 6 inches of global sea level rise by 2050. But their calculations may not be starting from an accurate place, according to the study, published Wednesday in Nature. – Scientists find sea levels are already much higher than we thought. That could spell trouble for the future | CNN
US
(Annette Choi – CNN) Republican senators rejected a war powers resolution on Wednesday that would have required the Trump administration to seek congressional approval before continuing military action against Iran. One Republican, Kentucky’s Sen. Rand Paul, joined Democrats in voting for the resolution. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joined Republicans to vote against it. To the alarm of some Capitol Hill lawmakers, President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Tehran over the weekend and called for the overthrow of the current regime. Senate Majority Leader John Thune had argued that Trump did have the authority to order strikes on Iran — despite the fact that the military operation was not put to a vote in Congress. – How each senator voted on the Iran War Powers resolution | CNN Politics
(Aaron Blake – CNN) From the start of his war with Iran, President Donald Trump took care to acknowledge the ugly headlines that could result. It would be a much more significant operation than his previous military strikes, he said in a video posted shortly after the military action began, and that meant likely US deaths. The specter of troop deaths — there have already been six — is indeed a somber variable that appears likely to test Americans’ limited tolerance for a war that they don’t seem particularly keen on. But it’s especially a problem for Trump. He has many talents as a politician, but speaking about dead and wounded service members is decidedly not among them. In fact, it’s a real blind spot. – Analysis: Trump’s and Hegseth’s comments about US troop deaths in Iran war | CNN Politics
(Danya Gainor – CNN) The Republican-led House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena US Attorney General Pam Bondi for testimony about her role in the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files as part of the committee’s probe into the late convicted sex offender. GOP Rep. Nancy Mace moved to subpoena the attorney general and it passed 24-19, with bipartisan support. Mace was joined by Democrats and fellow Republicans Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud, Lauren Boebert and Scott Perry. – House Oversight panel votes to subpoena AG Pam Bondi in Epstein probe | CNN Politics
