attack

NEW YORK — E. Jean Carroll can be paid the $5.8 million that was set aside after a jury found three years ago that President Trump sexually abused her in 1996 before he became president and defamed her after she publicly revealed the attack, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order that says the money can be paid to Carroll, along with interest that has grown since the verdict.

Carroll’s lawyers had requested the disbursement after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the 2023 civil verdict.

Trump had resumed defamatory attacks against Carroll as his lawyers considered asking the high court to reconsider its decision.

Both sides’ attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The jury reached its verdict in a trial that Trump did not attend after Carroll testified that she was sexually abused by him in the dressing room of a Manhattan luxury department store after a flirtatious and friendly chance encounter between them turned violent.

Carroll, 82, first talked about the attack publicly in 2019 in a memoir while Trump was president. He repeatedly insisted that he never knew Carroll. He also accused her of trying to sell books at his expense and having political motives.

Trump is also appealing $83 million in defamation compensation granted to Carroll by a separate Manhattan jury after a January 2024 trial at which Trump briefly testified.

At that trial, Kaplan required the jury to accept the findings of the previous jury and only determine how much money, if any, Trump owed Carroll for comments he made about her as president.

Sisak and Neumeister write for the Associated Press.

Two 13-year-old girls have been seriously injured and a 16-year-old suspect arrested after an incident at a school in Upper Bavaria, Germany.

Police said a major operation was under way in the area of Welfen-Gymnasium secondary school in the small town of Schongau.

The suspect was carrying a knife as well as a firearm, police said, and they believe they acted alone.

Neither of the girls are in life-threatening condition, but the number of other people involved and the severity of their injuries are currently being clarified, police added.

A police spokeswoman had earlier told AFP news agency it was unclear what weapon had been used in the attack, and declined to confirm reports of a knife attack.

The identity of the suspect is not known and it is unclear if they had links to the school.

The police spokeswoman added the force believe the incident to be a “rampage”.

A contact point for relatives and parents of students has been set up at a fire station in the town.

According to its website, the school was founded in 1887 and had initially been almost exclusively a girls’ school. It has been mixed gender for the last 40 years.

July 8 (UPI) — Britain has summoned Iran’s charge d’affairs after a judge last week sentenced two Romanian men to prison for stabbing an Iranian journalist in London in 2024, an attack the court found was carried out on behalf of the iranian state.

“We take threats posed by Iran and those who do its bidding extremely seriously,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement.

“Iran’s actions attempt to undermine UK sovereignty and security, and are completely unacceptable — it must cease in these activities immediately.”

Ali Nasimfar, charge d’affairs of the Iranian Embassy in London, was summoned by Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer on Tuesday, after a British judge sentenced Nandito Badea, 21, and George Stana, 25, to prison over the March 29, 2024, attack.

According to prosecutors, the two men attacked Pouria Zeraati, a reporter with the Britain-based Persian-language broadcaster Iran International, as he was leaving his Wimbledon home.

One of the men asked Zeraati for money before the other grabbed him. Zeraati suffered multiple stab wounds to his leg before both men fled on foot and entered a blue Mazda car that was waiting nearby and driven by a third accomplice.

Prosecutors accused Badea of having been involved in the attack, while Stana drove the getaway car, which had been bought through Facebook. The third suspect has been identified as David Andrei.

The three suspects were arrested by Romanian police in December 2024. Badea and Stana were extradited to Britain that same month, while Andrei remains in Romania, where he is subject to domestic criminal proceedings.

During the trial, the judge agreed with the prosecution that the crime was a state-sponsored attack, as evidence “overwhelmingly” supported the finding that it was carried out on behalf of Iran.

Stana was sentenced to 12 years in prison, as the judge ruled that the Foreign Power Condition under the National Security Act was met in his case. The judge said the extensive planning and involvement in the plot indicated that he knew — or at the very least ought to have known — of the connection to Iran.

Badea was sentenced to eight years behind bars.

“Protecting national security, upholding media freedom and freedom of expression, remain our top priorities,” Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said.

“This government will take all measures necessary to protect the British people, and those living and working in the UK.”

British officials and allies have accused Iran of a longstanding pattern of targeting critics, journalists and dissidents abroad with assassination plots.

In the United States, authorities have several times thwarted Iran-backed attempts to assassinate and kidnap Masih Alinejad.

In 2024, the United States and Britain issued coordinated sanctions targeting those they accused of being behind threats to assassinate Iranian dissidents abroad.

Zimbabwean footballer Divine Lunga has survived a gun attack in Johannesburg, South African police have said.

The football star, 31, was driving in the inner city suburb of Hillbrow on Sunday when his car was shot at by an unknown gunman, according to local reports.

Lunga, who plays for both Zimbabwe’s national football team and top South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, escaped unharmed.

Crime is a major problem in South Africa and the country has one of the highest murder rates in the world.

Police spokesperson Captain Tintswalo Sibeko said they were investigating a case of attempted murder but that no arrests had been made.

She did not provide further details, but South African publication The Citizen said that Lunga was on his way to church with his younger brother when they came under attack.

The duo were driving through Hillbrow when the suspect opened fire on their car, apparently mistaking him for an undercover police officer.

A Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s capital has killed at least 10 people and injured 46 on the eve of a NATO summit. Al Jazeera’s Audrey MacAlpine reports from a residential building that was hit.

Tuareg-led armed ⁠group says it attacked northern town where Malian troops and Russian fighters are based.

Armed fighters have launched ⁠attacks in five ⁠locations across Mali, more than two months after gunmen attacked the capital and other parts of the country.

The attacks took place on Saturday in areas including ‌a northern town where government forces and Russian fighters are ⁠based, and ⁠a town south of ⁠the capital, ⁠Bamako, Mali’s military and security sources said.

The army said the attacks targeted Aguelhok, Anefis, Gao, Sevare and Kenieroba.

The AFP news agency said a prison in Kenieroba was attacked, citing residents and security sources.

It reported that the fighting in different locations started at about 5am local time (05:00 GMT).

A Tuareg-led armed ⁠group confirmed that it had attacked a northern Malian town early on Saturday.

Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, a spokesperson for the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), told the Reuters news agency that fighters from the group ⁠attacked the town of Anefis ⁠in the northeastern Kidal region.

Government and Russian troops deployed in Anefis in the wake of attacks on April 25 and 26, in which the FLA and the regional al-Qaeda ⁠affiliate seized control of Kidal town.

Ramadane also told AFP that “several positions have fallen, but fighting is still underway inside the city” of Anefis.

An Anefis resident contacted by AFP said “armed groups are in the town, but the army is still putting up resistance. The camp [there] has not yet fallen”.

Anefis and Aguelhok, both in the north, are the last remaining locations where Mali’s army maintains a presence in the Kidal region, following the April attacks.

Meanwhile, in ⁠the central city of Gao, a local official told Reuters that gunfire and rockets had been launched at a military ‌camp since before dawn. It was not immediately clear which fighters were responsible.

In Sevare, another central town, “explosions rang out … around 5am, though their origin is not yet known. Shortly thereafter, several aircraft were spotted flying over the area”, a security source told AFP.

In Kenieroba, the major prison complex was also under attack, a prisoner in the facility told AFP.

Saturday’s assault was the latest threat to the military-led government in the landlocked Sahel country where rebels staged high-profile attacks in ‌April, hitting the airport in the capital, Bamako, killing the defence minister and seizing a string of army bases in the north.

July 2 (UPI) — A Ukrainian national has been charged in Germany in connection with the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines bringing natural gas 760 miles via the Baltic Sea from northwestern Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany.

Authorities allege the suspect, named only as Serhii K, led and coordinated an operation with seven others to sabotage the $17 billion gas projects on Sept. 26, 2022, according to reports in German media Wednesday. He is also charged with attacking and destroying civilian energy infrastructure and causing an explosion.

Prosecutors said he is the same individual who was detained by Italian authorities in August and extradited to Germany in November.

He denies all wrongdoing.

German prosecutors further allege he was a serving Ukrainian officer and that he and the others, who were also members of the Ukraine military, were “acting on behalf of state bodies in Ukraine” to deprive Moscow of energy revenues from the pipelines to fund its war against Ukraine.

The finger has variously been pointed at Ukraine, along with Britain and the United States, and even Russian itself, but the Federal Public Prosecutor General’s claim the attack was ordered by Kyiv was highly significant because Germany is one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, providing military aid and political support.

Kyiv , which has always denied involvement, did not immediately respond to the accusation.

Three of the four pipelines were ruptured east of the Danish island of Bornholm in the attack. Nord Stream 1 was shut down at the time due to technical problems.

Nord Stream 2, a subsidiary of the Russian state-run energy giant Gazprom, was completed in September 2021 after being plagued problems including legal wrangles and U.S. sanctions targeting companies party to the project.

However, it never opened because Germany cancelled its certification process shortly before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 as it moved to wean itself from its reliance on Russian gas.

The project, which would have doubled Nord Stream’s gas capacity to 110 billion cubic meters annually — said by the company to be sufficient to supply to 26 million homes in Europe and critical to efforts to guarantee the European Union’s “security of supply of natural gas.”

The attacks targeted a secondary school in the northeastern town of Lassa, in Borno State.

At least 37 students remain missing after gunmen raided their school in northeast Nigeria, according to local officials.

The attack occurred on Monday when assailants from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group stormed a secondary school in the town of Lassa, in Borno State, which has faced years of violence by armed groups.

The AFP news agency reported on Tuesday that at least 37 students remain missing following the attack, which occurred while they were sitting exams.

At least three people were killed in the attack, including a soldier and a teacher, according to the military, who initially said that authorities had rescued 10 of them and that only one remained missing.

The “list of students in captivity”, showing the students’ genders and their parents’ mobile phone numbers, was shared with journalists by the area’s local government councillor, Ijagla Ijabila.

An intel source also showed AFP the same list.

Borno Commissioner for Education Lawan Abba Wakilbe told reporters in Lassa that 25 female students, 11 male students and one staff member were still being held, reported the Reuters news agency.

Abba Wakilbe added that eight people, including the school’s vice principal, have been freed.

Kidnapping for ransom, especially of students, has become a common tactic for both armed groups and non-ideological “bandit” gangs operating across the country’s conflict-hit north and centre.

While the 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls from the town of Chibok by members of Boko Haram remains Nigeria’s most infamous, school abductions continue to be prevalent across the country.

In May, gunmen kidnapped more than 40 pupils – who remain in captivity – from Borno State’s Mussa village.

That same month, armed men rounded up dozens of schoolchildren from three schools in Oyo State – a rare attack in southwest Nigeria, considered to be the safest region in the country.

Nigeria has been fighting an armed uprising since 2009, concentrated in the northeast.

While violence has waned since the peak of the conflict a decade ago, analysts have warned of an uptick in attacks since last year.

An Israeli attack on the al-Mawasi camp in Khan Younis has killed several people, including a mother and her child. More than one hundred tents belonging to displaced Palestinians were also destroyed.

Students at Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, were preparing to sit for their National Examinations Council (NECO) Biology paper on the morning of Monday, June 29, when terrorists stormed the school, killing at least one teacher, abducting staff and students, and forcing another disruption to education in a community still reeling from a school abduction barely a month ago.

The attackers struck shortly before 9 a.m., according to school officials and residents, arriving on more than 40 motorcycles, many dressed in military camouflage and armed with AK-47 rifles. Witnesses said the assault lasted about 20 minutes before security personnel pursued the attackers into nearby bushland.

The exact number of abducted students remains unclear as authorities and school officials continue compiling names.

Imperiju Mamza, the school’s examinations officer, told HumAngle that the senior students had assembled for their Biology paper, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., when the attackers arrived. “They invaded the school some minutes to 9 a.m.,” he said.

“Only one student who is sitting for the exams was abducted. She came very early and was, unfortunately, abducted alongside the other students who were from other classes. The others are safe and are currently writing their paper,” he said.

The ongoing NECO examinations began on June 23. According to Mamza, 243 candidates registered for the examination. “Apart from the one abducted, 242 are currently writing their exams,” he said. “I am trying to compile names of those abducted and cannot yet confirm how many were taken.”

Following the attack, candidates were relocated under armed protection to Government Girls Secondary School, Lassa, where the Biology examination continued.

Teachers killed, others abducted

Residents who witnessed the aftermath said the attackers appeared to target the school directly rather than the wider community.

Timothy Apagu, whose shop is located near the school, said the community had received reports as early as 7 a.m. that armed men had been sighted around Muthalavu village on the outskirts of Lassa. Community vigilantes were deployed towards the Dille axis after residents raised the alarm, believing the gunmen were approaching from that direction.

“Unfortunately, another team of terrorists followed a different route and attacked the community,” he said.

Apagu said the attackers went straight into the school. “They did not enter the community. I suspect it was a targeted attack.”

He said more than 40 motorcycles participated in the raid. “Most were wearing military camouflage. Others were wearing black trousers. Some wore boots while others wore bathroom slippers. From afar, you would know they were terrorists.”

According to Apagu, one teacher died at the scene while another, who sustained gunshot injuries, later died at the Lassa General Hospital.

He said two teachers, a male Vice Principal identified as Mr Paul and a female teacher popularly known as Madam Angelina, were initially abducted alongside students. The Vice Principal was later rescued after security personnel pursued the attackers, while the female teacher remained in captivity at the time of reporting.

Another resident, Andrew Adamu, gave a similar account, saying security personnel rescued one teacher and five students during the pursuit and recovered six motorcycles abandoned by the fleeing gunmen.

He added that one female student escaped with gunshot injuries. HumAngle could not independently verify these rescue figures.

Security response

The military and local vigilantes immediately pursued the attackers into nearby bushland, residents said. Adamu said one soldier and one vigilante were killed during the pursuit.

“There is a military base here, but the soldiers are few. They are not more than 50,” he said. “The school and the military base are less than a kilometre apart.”

The Borno State Police Command confirmed the attack but said the number of abducted students remained unverified. Nahum Kenneth Daso, the Police Public Relations Officer, said the Area Commander for Askira-Uba had deployed to the scene alongside other officers.

Asked what security measures had been introduced after last month’s abduction of more than 40 schoolchildren in nearby Mussa, Daso said police deployments around schools in the area had been increased.

“The challenge we had in Lassa is that the school does not have a fence,” he said. “When the invasion happened, they took advantage of that.” 

Mamza said school authorities had repeatedly raised concerns about the absence of perimeter fencing following the Mussa attack. “The Government Day Secondary School has no fence, and we have complained to the government following the Mussa incident,” he said. He explained that the school is located about a kilometre from the town centre and shares a boundary with the Lassa Vocational Training Centre.

When contacted, Mada Saidu, the Chairperson of Askira-Uba LGA, declined to discuss the attack, saying he was channelling his time and efforts into coordinating the emergency response, which he felt was more important than speaking to journalists.

The latest attack comes barely a month after dozens of schoolchildren were abducted in neighbouring Mussa, also in Askira-Uba LGA, renewing fears over the security of schools across southern Borno despite assurances that protective measures had been strengthened.

The strike in Deir el-Balah is the latest Israeli attack amid ongoing ‘ceasefire’ violations.

At least three people have been killed in an Israeli air strike in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, health authorities say.

An eight-year-old and two men were killed in Monday’s attack, and several people were wounded, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said.

The strike occurred near Wadi Salqa Bridge on al-Baraka Street. The Palestinian news agency Wafa named those killed as Ali Fayez Isbaitan, Hassan Salman al-Hanajra and eight-year-old Malik Wael Abu Shaweesh.

Israeli military vehicles also advanced on Salah al-Din Street in the Nuseirat refugee camp, also in the central Gaza Strip, amid gunfire and shelling, Turkiye’s Anadolu news agency reported. Two people were reported injured by shelling in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.

Despite the “ceasefire” that came into effect in October, Israeli forces continue to carry out strikes on the enclave.

Israeli attacks killed at least four Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday, including a 13-year-old girl, and wounded several.

Ongoing violations

Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that 1,045 Palestinians have been killed since the “ceasefire” took effect and 3,380 have been injured. It has documented 3,465 Israeli violations of the agreement.

“We strongly condemn the occupation’s systematic policies of targeting and destroying the Palestinian people,” it said.

It called on the mediators and parties sponsoring the “ceasefire” to compel Israel to implement all of its terms and “immediately cease its ongoing violations”.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Sunday that a total of 73,054 Palestinians have been confirmed killed and 173,480 injured since Israel launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023.

Also during the “ceasefire”, the Israeli military is continuing to expand the area it is occupying inside the Strip and to issue forced displacement orders. It says Palestinians are not allowed to approach the Israeli-occupied area beyond the “Yellow Line”, which encompassed 53 percent of Gaza’s territory at the start of the ceasefire and had increased to 64 percent by March.

Anadolu reported that Israeli military vehicles have moved the “Yellow Line” markers about 150 metres (165 yards) to the west in central Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for Israeli forces to occupy 70 percent of the Strip.

Iran’s IRGC says it targeted US military in region after Trump administration launched attack on the country.

An Israeli attack on a vehicle in the central Gaza Strip has killed three Palestinians and injured several more.

Palestine’s Ministry of the Interior and National Security condemned the attack, which took place in Maghazi refugee camp in Deir el-Balah on Friday, saying that the victims were all police officers.

“Their vehicle was treacherously bombed by the Israeli occupation forces,” said a ministry statement published on Telegram.

It named the three deceased as Captain Mansour Sami Shahtout, Captain Mohammed Khaled Nofal, and First Sergeant Mahdi Nader Jabr.

Palestine’s Wafa news agency said an Israeli combat drone targeted a vehicle near the entrance of the Maghazi refugee camp, while Anadolu news agency reported that the Israeli drone fired at least two missiles at the vehicle, causing it to catch fire, which resulted in the deaths and injuries.

Witness video accounts showed a civilian vehicle burning after it was struck on Salah al-Din Street at the entrance of Maghazi camp.

The bodies were reportedly taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah.

“The Ministry of Interior condemns the heinous crime committed by the occupation in targeting civil police personnel, an act that demonstrates a persistent intent to spread chaos across the Gaza Strip,” the ministry added in its statement.

It reiterated its “call on the international community and the guarantor states of the ceasefire agreement to exert pressure on the occupying forces to cease their repeated targeting of the police force, its personnel and its resources.”

The US-brokered “ceasefire” agreement has been in effect in Gaza since October 10, 2025, though violations have continued to be reported across the enclave, with Israel continuing its attacks.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli violations of the “ceasefire” agreement have killed 1,031 Palestinians and injured 3,309 others as of Thursday. In total, since Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.

Gaza ‘ceasefire’ developments

As attacks on the ground continue, Hamas said that consultations are ongoing with other Palestinian factions and regional mediators to reach understandings that would ensure the full implementation of the Gaza “ceasefire” agreement.

“These discussions concern the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement, including what remains of the first phase and mechanisms for implementing the second phase,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Anadolu on Friday.

He added that a delegation from Hamas and other Palestinian factions is expected to visit Cairo in the coming days to deliver its response to newly proposed approaches.

Qassem said Palestinian factions had previously reached understandings that were welcomed by mediators, before Board of Peace envoy Nikolay Mladenov presented what he described as “different approaches” that are currently under final review by Hamas and the factions.

“We hope the efforts of the mediators and Mr. Mladenov will lead to compelling the occupation to implement what was agreed upon, particularly the humanitarian provisions of the first phase, and then move to the second phase with all its complexities,” Qassem said.

Regarding the situation on the ground, Qassem accused Israel of committing major and continuous violations of the ceasefire agreement, including restrictions on humanitarian aid and continued killings.

He told Anadolu more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire entered into force, adding that Israel had expanded the “yellow line” into new areas of Gaza, accompanied by displacement and home demolitions.

“These violations require, first, a clear stance from the mediators to pressure the occupation, and second, serious work to bring the national committee into Gaza so a genuine relief and reconstruction process can begin,” he said.

“We do not want the starvation policy imposed on our people to be repeated while the world remains a spectator. Nor should the killing and destruction continue while the world watches,” he added.

June 26 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and that it’s a violation of the cease-fire between the United States and Iran.

A cargo ship in the strait was attacked Thursday, but it’s unclear if this is the attack about which the president was speaking.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran shot at least four One Way Attack Drones at Ships transversing the Strait of Hormuz. One of the Drones solidly hit the upper deck of a large and very expensive Cargo Carrying Ship. Damage was done, but the Ship was able to proceed on its way. We knocked down three other Drones. Obviously, this is a foolish violation of our Ceasefire Agreement. President DONALD J. TRUMP,” the post on Truth Social said.

Trump did not address the negotiations with Iran.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi posted a statement on X Friday emphasizing Iran’s control of the strait.

“Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, with ambiguous arrangements, parallel routes, or decision-making outside of Iran’s considerations as the coastal state, cannot be guaranteed. Any credible framework must be based on coordination with Iran and the provisions of paragraph five of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. Otherwise, the outcome will be the suspension of the designated parallel route,” the post said.

The memorandum of understanding that Trump and Iran’s president signed on June 17 established the cease-fire and opened passage through the strait. In the fifth paragraph, it said Iran will use its “best efforts” to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge for 60 days, The Hill reported.

On Thursday, the United States issued a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council saying that “free, unconditional, and unrestricted navigation” through the strait is guaranteed under international law.

“The Ministers rejected any tolls, fees, or attempts to assert control over the strait,” the statement said. The council includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

A hospital has launched an investigation after the medical details of a child seriously injured in a crocodile pit were accessed by up to 40 members of staff.

The three-year-old boy, who is now in a stable condition at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, was attacked in the enclosure at Johnsons of Old Hurst near Huntingdon.

Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) said it was exploring if there were legitimate reasons for the records to be accessed and it had referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

“Where any member of staff is found to have accessed patient records without legitimate clinical or operational reasons we take robust disciplinary action,” it added.

Officers said they were called to the zoo at 13:34 BST on 18 June.

Police said the boy, who was from Cambridgeshire and visiting the zoo with his family, sustained serious injuries “while in the enclosure” and was pulled out by members of staff.

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk was subsequently arrested and bailed on suspicion of attempted murder.

Brent crude rises after cargo ship comes under attack in key waterway.

Oil prices have jumped after the United Nations maritime agency called off its planned evacuation of ships stranded around the Strait of Hormuz following an attack on a cargo vessel in the waterway.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose as much as 4 percent on Thursday after the International Maritime Organization paused its evacuation plan amid renewed violence in the strait.

Brent futures for August delivery stood at $74.89 per barrel as of 02:00 GMT, after earlier dropping below $72.48, their closing price the day before the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran.

After dropping sharply following the US and Iran’s signing of a memorandum of understanding on ending the war last week, the price of Brent currently stands at about 3 percent above its pre-war level.

Asian markets opened lower on Friday, with key indices in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan seeing steep losses.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 and Seoul’s Kospi both fell more than 3 percent in morning trading, while the Taiex dropped about 1 percent.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was down about 1 percent.

The latest attack in the strait, through which about one-fifth of global oil and liquified natural gas supplies transit in peacetime, dealt a blow to hopes for a return to normal shipping in the region after a recent resurgence in traffic.

On Wednesday, 70 vessels transited the waterway, a more than twofold increase from the previous day and the highest daily figure since March 1, according to ship tracking platforms MarineTraffic and Kpler.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said on Thursday that a cargo vessel reported being struck by an “unknown projectile” on its starboard side while attempting to cross the strait near the Omani coast.

Multiple media outlets, including The New York Times, CBS News and the Reuters news agency, cited unnamed US officials as saying the attack had been carried out by Iran.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which claims the right to regulate shipping in the strait, said after the attack that any vessel attempting to use routes outside its designated “framework” would not be guaranteed safe passage.

“The consequences arising from passage through unauthorized routes shall be the responsibility of the owner, operator, and vessel commander,” the authority said on X.

June Goh, a senior oil market analyst at Sparta in Singapore, said the attack was a reminder to markets of the fragility of peace in the strait amid the tenuous US-Iran ceasefire.

“There is a pressing need for tankers to enter and offload the high crude stocks from onshore tanks in order for normal production to resume again,” Goh told Al Jazeera.

“Thus, security of the passageway is paramount to recover the lost supply.”

Emmerdale’s Charity Dingle has confessed all about her baby lie, Dr Todd’s blackmail and sexual assault to partner Mackenzie Boyd in dramatic scenes on the ITV soap

Emmerdale’s Charity Dingle confessed all to Mackenzie Boyd in the latest episode of the ITV soap. The Woolpack landlady, who has been played by Emma Atkins, certainly has had a lot to deal with in recent weeks and finally told her partner everything after weeks of hiding away and suffering a breakdown.

Last year, Charity tried become a surrogate for her granddaughter Sarah only to find out that she was naturally pregnant by Ross Barton. Still, she kept this all a secret and Sarah believed that all had gone to plan with the surrogacy.

Unfortunately, Dr Caitlin Todd, who had relentlessly bullied Sarah’s partner Jacob when she was in charge of him at the hospital, found out the truth and used it to blackmail Charity into handing over money. This all culminated in harrowing scenes where she sexually assaulted a drunken Charity.

Earlier this week, newcomer Serena Sugden, played by former Wicked star Casey Al-Shaqsy, made Charity see that she needed to expose Todd, even if that meant revealing everything to her family and on Thursday night’s episode, Charity bravely faced the music.

Having candidly informed Mack that Sarah’s baby was the product of a one night stand she had with Ross, Mack stormed out and looked set to tell all to Charity’s granddaughter. But when he returned home, he told Charity that he couldn’t do it.

It was then that Charity told Mack about Dr Todd’s blackmail against her after she discovered the truth about the child in question, and then disclosed that she had been the victim of rape at the hands of the retired medic.

Clearly taken aback by the shock revelation, on top of everything else he had heard that day, Mack (Lawrence Robb) calmly told Charity that the only thing they could do now was to go to the police – even after it seemed that Todd had got away with it all when she previously claimed that everything was consensual.

Charity told Mack: “The only way through this is telling the truth and facing the consequences of what I have done. No matter what.”

“I tell Sarah. And then I go back to the police. If I tell the police about the blackmail, it’s going to open a can of worms and that’s gonna drag Sarah into it. I think that girl Serena was right. I have to see this through.”

However, Mack told Charity that telling Sarah that she is not the mother of her baby might not be the best idea just yet, meaning that the secret could stay secret a little while longer – but he was absolutely convinced that she had to “fight” for justice above all else.

He said: “It’s gonna be a lot for everyone to deal with it, so maybe we cross that bridge when we come to it. What matters right now is that you go to the police.”

“I can be angry with you and still be there for you when you need me the most. Charity, I need you to listen to me for a second here because – Dr Todd is not karma. She’s a rapist who took advantage of you when you were vulnerable. So I need you to get out of that way of thinking because it lets her off the hook.

“You’re gonna fight back, you’re gonna go to the police, you’re gonna get them down here and you’re going to tell them absolutely everything.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads .

June 22 (UPI) — Federal authorities have arrested two additional suspects allegedly involved in last week’s foiled attack targeting the Ultimate Fighting Championship bout at the White House, prosecutors said Monday.

Both suspects made their initial court appearances Monday, the Justice Department said in a release. Jordan Rincker, 28, of St. Joseph, Mo. appeared in a Kansas City court, and William Lee Spartacus Falkner appeared before a judge in Tacoma, Wash.

They each have been charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

Prosecutors said Falkner was arrested midday Friday, while Rincker was arrested Sunday.

A total of seven people have now been arrested and charged in a sprawling scheme that federal authorities have said involved 23 people conspiring to attack the White House’s Freedom 250 event on June 14, staged in celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary and the birthday of President Donald Trump.

According to federal prosecutors, the alleged conspiracy planned to attack the north side of the event with explosive-carrying drones, which would force an evacuation to the south side of the event, where snipers would be deployed to open fire on the fleeing crowd, court documents state.

Authorities learned of the alleged attack from the parents of Tycen Proper, who alerted police to their son’s purchase of weapons and online activities. Proper, 19, was among the initial batch of five suspects arrested and charged last week.

The court documents state the group’s alleged grievances appear to be purported government corruption and involvement of U.S. lawyers with Israel.

FBI agents reviewing Proper’s communications were able to identify several alleged co-conspirators, including Falkner.

Prosectuors alleged that Falkner indicated in those communications that he had experience manufacturing and piloting drones and discussed loading them with explosives.

Online communications reproduced in the criminal complaint against Falkner allegedly show discussions on logistics of the attack, including potential flight costs, 3D printing and shipping of the drones.

“I can fly 40+ drones at the same time at the same target,” Falkner is alleged to have said.

Federal prosecutors alleged that just two days before the alleged attack, Rincker met Abraham Alvarez, 31, who was arrested and charged last week along with Proper, in person and accepted $1,200 from him. Rincker then allegedly sent a $100 CashApp payment from the money he received to another previously arrested and charged suspect, Bryan Roa, 24, to pay for his drive from California to Washington, D.C.

Authorities identified Rincker as an alleged member of the conspiracy through information they received from Alvarez following his arrest, according to court documents. Authorities also learned that Rincker allegedly gave a 12-gauge shotgun to Alvarez during an in-person meeting they had in Omaha.

The FBI executed search warrants for Rincker’s residence and storage unit, uncovering a trove of weapons and related paraphernalia, such as a gas mask with cartridge, night vision goggles, ballistic plates, a 3D printer and more.

No attack occurred at the UFC event, at which Trump and other members of his Cabinet were in attendance.

Asked about the thwarted attack a day after the event, Trump told reporters that he had heard about it.

“The attack that I watched were the fighters,” he said, to laughs.

“They were as good a fights as I’ve ever seen. The best.”

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday denied a request to disqualify top Justice Department officials from supervising the prosecution of the man charged with trying to kill President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Cole Tomas Allen had argued that involvement in his prosecution by Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche and District of Columbia U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro created a potential conflict of interest because they were among many administration officials present at the April dinner. Allen’s attorney also had raised concerns about the close friendship between Trump and Pirro, a former Fox News commentator.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden wrote in his ruling that neither their attendance at the dinner nor Pirro’s personal relationship with the president merited their disqualification. McFadden noted that Allen is not charged with attempting to harm Blanche and Pirro, and there is no evidence to suggest he even knew they would attend the dinner.

“They are unlikely to be trial witnesses, nor do they meet the legal definition of victims,” wrote McFadden, who was nominated to the bench by Trump.

Allen has been accused of trying to breach a security checkpoint armed with guns and knives. He has pleaded not guilty to various charges, including assaulting a federal official with a deadly weapon and attempted assassination of the president. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.

Allen also is accused of firing a shotgun at a Secret Service agent during the attack, which disrupted and ultimately prompted an early end to one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital. The Secret Service officer who was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest fired his own weapon five times without hitting anyone. Allen, of Torrance, California, was injured but was not shot.

Richer writes for the Associated Press.

June 20 (UPI) — A Lebanese conservationist and protector of sea turtles died from injuries she suffered when her home was hit by an Israeli strike.

Mona Khalil, 76, died after suffering injuries from an Israeli attack on her home at al-Mounsouri Beach on Lebanon‘s southern coast on June 5. Her assistant was also injured in the attack, according to Green Southerners, a local nonprofit.

The Israeli military told CNN that Khalil “was not a target” of the Israel Defense Forces. “There is no known IDF strike in which she was injured,” the military said in a statement Saturday. “However, strikes were conducted in the area after the IDF issued evacuation warnings.”

Khalil was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and moved to her parents’ homeland Lebanon at age 7. In her 20s, she fled to the Netherlands to escape the Lebanese civil war and became a porcelain restorer. She attained British citizenship because she was born in a British colony.

She returned to Tyre, Lebanon, when she inherited property from her grandmother. There, she spent the rest of her life protecting the nests of loggerhead and green sea turtles.

Both species of turtles are threatened by coastal development, plastic pollution, fishing nets and light pollution. They are at risk of extinction in the eastern Mediterranean.

Khalil helped create the Orange House, an eco-tourism project at al-Mansouri beach. She painted her house orange to symbolize the safety the Netherlands had given her.

“She is a deeply committed environmental defender,” Hisham Younes, founder and president of Green Southerners, told the BBC. “She used to talk about the beach like it was a person. Her bond to the sunset, her bond to the water and the turtles … she was really into conservation, and into the soul, the spirit of conservation.”

In 2006, CNN profiled her, and she said she refused to leave her sea turtles even among fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

“Me and my animals were all traumatized, and I lost a bit of my hearing. But otherwise I’m still alive and kicking,” Khalil told CNN at the time. “I live every day to the fullest and don’t worry about tomorrow.”

June 20 (UPI) — Police arrested a man after stabbing five people in Edinburgh, Scotland, in suspected anti-Muslim attacks.

The man was allegedly roaming the streets of the city Friday night and stabbed five people and damaged a car and business. The attacks began near a mosque in the west of Edinburgh, where two men were injured. The Scottish Association of Mosques said two worshippers were attacked in a park after leaving the Broomhouse mosque.

Police said that five men in total, two of them 22 years old, and others ages 24, 27 and 39, suffered a range of injuries. Three of them were treated at a hospital, though none of the injuries was life-threatening.

A 36-year-old white man was arrested, and counter terrorism officers have joined local Police Scotland in an investigation.

Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said in a statement that there is “no place for racism or faith-based hate in Scotland.”

Police got reports of attacks near shops in the west and north of the city, and said three other men were attacked in the Telford Road and Leith Walk areas. Police eventually confronted the man with a taser and arrested him, though they said the taser was never used.

“There is a profound sense of shock, alarm and anger within Muslim communities across Scotland today,” Omar Afzal, director of public affairs for the Scottish Association of Mosques, told The Scotsman. “These latest attacks are deeply disturbing. However, they do not exist in a vacuum. For years, Muslim communities have warned about the consequences of anti-Muslim hatred becoming normalized in public discourse. When prejudice is left unchallenged, it creates an environment in which some individuals feel emboldened to act on that hatred.”