Fears of regional escalation and economic disruption loom large

Trump, earlier, claimed to have reached a 'great settlement' to end the war

Cites high-level negotiations and broad regional approval for halting strikes

US President Donald Trump yesterday said he was calling off strikes on Iran hours after vowing to hit the country “very hard tonight” and flagged the signing of a possible deal with Tehran.

Cuba’s government said Wednesday that the US oil blockade that has crippled the island is preventing the United Nations from distributing 170 containers of humanitarian aid.

A Thai woman who police said was arrested over the death of a US diplomat in Myanmar was remanded in custody yesterday, a police source said.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday appeared to embrace data showing inflation has risen more than 4 percent, telling reporters that he “loved” inflation and reiterating his belief that prices will fall as soon as the Iran war ends.

At least two people from the Kuki community were killed in attacks by armed men in India’s restive state of Manipur yesterday, two senior police officers said, a day after authorities recovered the bodies of six men from the rival Naga community, who were believed to have been taken hostage.

Fuel stations on the Russian-held Crimean peninsula were out of petrol yesterday, Reuters witnesses said, as a Ukrainian campaign against supply lines to the peninsula escalates.

Efforts to reach an interim deal to end hostilities between Iran and the US have intensified, three Iranian sources and a European official told Reuters, despite strikes launched by both sides. The talks focus on releasing frozen Iranian funds.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday accused Benjamin Netanyahu of “following the path of Hitler” after the Israeli leader alleged he was an “antisemitic dictator” who had committed a “genocide” against the Kurds.

The weather phenomenon El Nino has arrived, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said yesterday, and scientists expect it will intensify into the end of the year, potentially to historic strength.

Iranian official warns of 'painful response' if attacked

Kuwait's military had earlier said air defences were engaging ‘hostile aerial targets’

It was the second reported US attack on a merchant vessel with predominately Indian crew this week

The United States launched fresh attacks against Iran on Thursday, prompting Tehran to retaliate, as US leaders accused their counterparts of dragging out negotiations for a deal to end the three-month war

The agency said the number of people who had been forced to flee due to war, violence and persecution remained "unacceptably high", urging action to dramatically reduce long-term displacement over the next decade

US President brushed off concerns about inflation surging to a fresh three-year high in May, on the back of soaring energy prices

Twenty-two countries including the United States and European nations jointly warned Iran to stop attacking people "on our soil"

The military's Central Command announced the strikes were complete about four hours after they began shortly after midnight in Tehran