WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Project Freedom, the U.S. military operation aimed at guiding ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, will be paused to see whether a peace deal can be reached between Washington and Tehran.
"While the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. (US-Iran-Strait of Hormuz)
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WASHINGTON -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday the U.S. military campaign against Iran, which was jointly launched with Israel on Feb. 28, is "over."
"The operation is over, Epic Fury, as the president notified Congress. We're done with that stage of it," Rubio said at a White House briefing. (US-Iran)
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GENEVA -- Hantavirus victims on the ship Hundius in the Atlantic Ocean may have been infected prior to joining the cruise, and human-to-human transmission on board cannot be ruled out, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
The agency received reports of hantavirus outbreak on the Hundius on May 2. Seven individuals of the 147 passengers and crew have been reported ill and three have died. The situation remains fluid, WHO's chief of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention Maria Van Kerkhove told reporters in Geneva. (WHO-Hantavirus)
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RIO DE JANEIRO -- A 13-year-old student opened fire Tuesday inside a school in the city of Rio Branco, the capital of Brazil's northern state of Acre, killing two staff members and injuring several students, local police said.
The suspect brought a gun from home and fired shots in the hallway leading to the principal's office, Felipe Russo, commander of the Special Operations Battalion of the Military Police of Acre, told local media.
The teenage attacker has been arrested. (Brazil-School shooting)
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TEHRAN -- At least three people were killed and 26 others injured in a massive fire that erupted Tuesday at a shopping center some 30 km west of Iran's capital Tehran, the official news agency IRNA reported.
The shopping center, named Arghavan Commercial Complex, is located in Andisheh city, the report said, adding the building was home to over 250 commercial units. (Iran-Fire)
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SEOUL -- A South Korean judge who handled the appeal trial of first lady Kim Keon-hee's stock manipulation case was found dead at the Seoul High Court early Wednesday, local media reported. (S.Korea-Judge-Death) ■
