Iran says Strait of Hormuz restrictions remain despite Trump claim of lifted blockade
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that he had lifted a naval blockade on Iran, Iranian ships are still being barred from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Saturday.
Citing Iranian sailors, the report said the restrictions remain in place and vessels continue to receive warnings from U.S. Central Command not to enter the area.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday that the U.S. naval blockade "will now be lifted."
WHO chief calls for reconsideration of travel bans as DR Congo battles Ebola outbreak
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday called on countries that have imposed travel bans or closed borders in response to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda to reconsider such measures.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Bunia, the capital of the northeastern Ituri Province and the epicenter of the Ebola outbreak, Tedros said such restrictions could complicate response efforts and risk discouraging transparency and trust, which are essential to saving lives.
"I call on countries that have imposed travel bans or border closures to reconsider. These measures make the response harder, and they discourage transparency and trust that saves lives," Tedros said.
Israeli strikes in S. Lebanon kill at least 15: health ministry
Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks across southern Lebanon late Friday and into Saturday killed at least 15 people and wounded several others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
It said the casualties involved paramedics and a Syrian national.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army said on social media platform X that two soldiers were seriously wounded when an Israeli drone struck their vehicle on a main road in the village of Ebba in the Nabatieh district. The soldiers were taken to hospital for treatment.
IAEA chief voices concern over reported drone strike at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi on Saturday expressed serious concern over a reported drone strike on a turbine building at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), warning that attacks on nuclear facilities are "like playing with fire."
The IAEA said it had been informed by the ZNPP that a drone struck a turbine building at the facility earlier in the day, reportedly causing a hole in one of the building's walls. The agency disclosed the incident in a post on social media platform X.
"There should be no attacks of any kind from or against a nuclear facility," Grossi said, reiterating his call for restraint to avoid jeopardizing nuclear safety and security.
Constructive U.S.-China relationship of strategic stability vital to Asia-Pacific, world peace: U.S. defense secretary
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said here on Saturday that a new vision of building a constructive U.S.-China relationship of strategic stability, as agreed by the two heads of state during their recent summit in Beijing, is "meaningful for the history of peace in the region and the world."
Hegseth made the remarks while responding to a question from a member of the Chinese delegation at the Shangri-La Dialogue 2026 in Singapore.
The new positioning for U.S.-China ties is real, substantive, and meaningful for the history of peace in the region and the world, he said.■
