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A Chinese tanker under US sanctions passed though the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, defying Washington's naval blockade that began on Monday. After circling the area late on Monday and initially turning back, the 600ft long vessel passed through the waterway on Tuesday.

US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth claimed today that Iran begged for Donald Trump's 11th-hour ceasefire. Last night, just a few hours before Trump's deadline for Iran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the US president said via Truth Social that he had agreed to 'suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,' after earlier sparking doomsday fears when he threatened to wipe out its 'entire civilisation'. In a later post, the US President hailed 'a big day for world peace' after agreeing to pause the attacks. At a Pentagon press briefing, Hegseth...

President Trump expressed optimism Wednesday that the Iran war cease-fire agreement will usher in a “Golden Age” in the Middle East. “A big day for World Peace!” Trump wrote on Truth Social following the two-week cease-fire announcement. “Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else!” The commander in chief said the US “will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz” and “loading up with supplies of all kinds, just ‘hangin’ around’ in order to make sure that everything goes well.” Trump indicated he felt “confident” the reopening of the key waterway,...

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s support for Pete Hegseth, who he announced as his nominee for defense secretary shortly after Election Day, is wobbling after a crush of controversy over a rape allegation and a 2018 email from Mr. Hegseth’s mother accusing him of a pattern of abuse toward women. How Mr. Hegseth fares through a series of tests on Wednesday will be critical for his chances. He is set to continue his meetings with key senators, including Joni Ernst of Iowa, a combat veteran who has spoken about being sexually assaulted herself, and his mother is expected to sit for...

America’s infatuation with Ukraine and Zelensky (the Cocaine Comedian) is starting to wane, but most politicians and the public continue to believe the lie that Ukraine is an innocent country being bludgeoned by a communist Russia ruled by a dictator. Oh yeah. Don’t forget. Russia is suffering massive military and economic losses and just can’t live without U.S. investment and Europe’s technology. It is all nonsense, but if you are living in the United States and try to have a reasoned discussion with the fan boys and girls cheering for Ukraine, you would find more success talking to a brick...

There has been a “substantive” change in the type of weaponry the US and its allies are providing to Ukraine to meet Kyiv’s requests for firepower, two senior US officials tells CNN. The US’s latest aid announcement included more offensive weapons, such as Bradley Fighting Vehicles and advanced long-range rocket systems, reflecting the nature of the battlefield in Eastern Ukraine and a belief that Ukraine sees a window to regain territory before Russia regroups, one of the officials said, describing the new weapons systems as giving the Ukrainians “much more capability.” One US official also noted that Ukraine has abided...

Mothers and wives of slain Russian soldiers were left furious after controversial President Vladimir Putin allegedly staged a meeting with a group of ultra-loyalist women claiming to have lost loved ones in the war. Putin is believed to have specifically chosen a group who would not complain or ask him difficult questions, while many Russian women were left heartbroken and wanting answers about their fallen relatives. During the televised meeting, Putin insisted their country "will achieve" their goals "in the end," accusing Ukraine of attempts to "devalue, [and] compromise" Russia's war tactics. However, shortly after the conference, Russian media was...

A newborn baby has been killed in a Russian missile strike on a maternity unit in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region, emergency services say. The baby's mother, who was the only woman in the facility at the time, and a doctor were rescued from the rubble. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of bringing "terror and murder" to his country. The Zaporizhzhia region, where a key nuclear plant is located, has been the focus of repeated Russian attacks. Ukrainian emergency services said the Russian missiles struck the maternity ward of a hospital in the Ukraine-held town of Vilnyansk, close to the...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 prompted almost immediate predictions from U.S. officials that Kyiv would fall within days, aligning with prior assessments of Moscow’s military prowess and seemingly cementing an inevitable occupation of its former Soviet territory. Six months later, Kyiv remains under the control of the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and news reports have instead focused this week on Moscow, where a car bomb killed an influential member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, shocking top officials in the Kremlin with what they themselves say was a brazen attack orchestrated by Ukraine, however unlikely so. It...