China's top political advisory body starts annual session
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, China's top political advisory body, opened its annual session on Wednesday in Beijing.
President Xi Jinping and other Party and state leaders, including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng, attended the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People.
The agenda for the session was reviewed and approved at the meeting.
During the session, more than 2,000 political advisors will conduct in-depth consultations and deliberations and contribute their views and suggestions, centering on the decisions and plans of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and focusing on the formulation and implementation of the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan.
Iran reports 1,045 deaths in Israeli-U.S. attacks
Iran said on Wednesday that 1,045 people have been killed in the country since Saturday as a result of U.S.-Israeli strikes.
In a statement published on its official website, Iran's Foundation of Martyrs and Veteran Affairs described the strikes as "aggressive and brutal."
The toll follows joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities starting Saturday morning, which resulted in the deaths of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, his family members, top military commanders, and civilians. Iran has since responded with multiple waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and U.S. assets across the region.
Iran to select next Supreme Leader soon, candidates determined: senior cleric
A senior cleric and member of Iran's Assembly of Experts said on Wednesday that the country will select its next supreme leader soon, with candidates determined.
Seyed Ahmad Khatami made the remarks in an interview with state-run IRIB TV four days after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in a U.S.-Israeli attack on the Iranian capital Tehran.
He stressed that no problem has occurred in the country's leadership, noting that the interim leadership council, comprising Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei and Alireza Arafi, a jurist from the country's Constitutional Council, is running the country.
U.S. submarine sinks Iranian warship in int'l waters near Sri Lanka
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters.
"An American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters," Hegseth said at the Pentagon briefing on Wednesday. "Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo."
He further said it was the first sinking of an enemy vessel by a torpedo since World War II.
At least 80 people on board the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena were killed after the vessel was attacked and sunk by the U.S. submarine in the Indian Ocean off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arun Hemachandra said Wednesday.
The Iranian warship had taken part in a naval exercise held in the Bay of Bengal from Feb. 18 to 25, according to the drill's website.
Death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon rises to 72 following Hezbollah's Monday rocket launches
At least 20 people were killed and 283 others injured in Israeli attacks across Lebanon over the past 24 hours, raising the casualty toll since Monday to 72 deaths and 437 injuries, Lebanon's Public Health Emergency Operations Center at the Ministry of Public Health said Wednesday.
The escalation has also triggered a wave of displacement, with the number of displaced people rising to 83,847, or 18,033 families, according to figures released by Lebanese authorities.
As cross-border hostilities intensified, Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA).
Macron expresses support for Spain amid U.S. trade threat
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday expressed support for Spain after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to "cut off all trade with Spain," local media reported.
According to French daily Le Parisien, Macron held phone talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday to convey France's "European solidarity" in response to the recent U.S. threats of economic coercion targeting Spain.
Trump on Tuesday threatened to "cut off all trade with Spain" after the latter refused to allow the U.S. military to use its base for attacks on Iran. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected U.S. threats, saying Spain would not yield to "reprisals from anyone."
Over 200 killed in mine collapse in DR Congo: official
More than 200 people were killed on Tuesday in a mine collapse in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the DRC government said Wednesday.
The incident occurred at the Rubaya mining sites, known for the coltan resources, in North Kivu province following "exceptionally heavy rains," according to a statement issued by the DRC Ministry of Mines.
According to the provisional toll, more than 200 people lost their lives, including around 70 minors.
The Rubaya mining zone has been under the control of the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group since 2024, making rescue operations particularly difficult, the statement said.■
