President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey this week. Trump's first meeting will be with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the summit host. A senior US official said Trump feels a sense of urgency to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end and plans to discuss how to achieve that with Zelenskyy. The summit comes as the war in Iran also reshapes Middle East dynamics.
Iran has started a six-day state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, nearly four months after he was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on February 28. Hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, beating their chests and calling for revenge. Dignitaries from China, Russia, Pakistan and dozens of other nations attended the ceremonies. The funeral represents a major moment for Iran as it navigates post-war succession and ongoing regional tensions.
Iran began a week of mass funeral ceremonies on Friday for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by U.S. and Israeli bombs in February. Clerics, officials and foreign dignitaries paid respects as Khamenei's body lay in state at Tehran's Grand Mosalla. The ruling clerics are organizing days of rites to show public devotion to the Islamic Republic and prove its revolutionary fervor remains strong, even as the country faces an uncertain future after the loss of its supreme leader of 36 years.
Russia unleashed its largest aerial attack on Kyiv since the start of the war, deploying a record number of missiles and drones that killed at least 21 people and hit residential buildings across the capital. The attack comes as Poland scrambled jets and Finland restricted airspace amid escalating tensions.
Rescue workers in Venezuela pulled a three-year-old child alive from rubble six days after a series of devastating earthquakes struck the country's northern coast, as the official death toll surpassed 1,900. The quakes flattened dozens of buildings including the Ritasol Palace apartment complex in La Guaira, where families continue to search for loved ones by hand after official search efforts were halted. The United Nations has procured 10,000 body bags as tens of thousands remain missing and the final toll is expected to be far higher.
A series of powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, killing at least 920 people and injuring thousands more in the country's worst natural disaster in decades. The 7.3 and 6.8 magnitude quakes devastated the coastal state of La Guaira and parts of Caracas, leaving up to 6.76 million people affected. UNICEF estimates 680,000 children are in need of humanitarian assistance as hospitals struggle to treat the injured amid Venezuela's fragile healthcare system. International rescue teams have arrived, and IOM is deploying emergency shelter and supplies.
Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for US airstrikes on Iranian positions, escalating the Gulf conflict. Tehran also threatened to suspend all nuclear negotiations. The attacks mark a dangerous widening of the war, which has already disrupted oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and sent global energy prices soaring.
Iran launched missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for American airstrikes on Iranian positions, sharply escalating the conflict in the Persian Gulf. Tehran also threatened to walk away from nuclear negotiations, raising fears of a broader regional war. The attacks come after weeks of mounting tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Back-to-back magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck Venezuela's northern coast on June 24, killing at least 920 people and leaving hundreds trapped under rubble. International rescue teams from 20 countries have arrived, but survivors' hopes are fading. The quakes, known as a 'doublet,' occurred 39 seconds apart on the Oca-Alcón/El Pilar fault, similar to California's San Andreas. President Delcy Rodriguez faces political pressure as anger grows over the slow response.
The death toll from twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 25 has climbed past 920, with more than 4,500 injured and 49,000 reported missing. International rescue teams have joined the search as families in the hardest-hit cities of Caracas and Maracaibo dig through rubble by hand. The US Geological Survey reported magnitudes of 7.3 and 6.8, making this one of the deadliest seismic events in South America this century.