International

19.09.2026

Death toll from attack at police HQ in Pakistan rises to 31

ISLAMABAD, 19th September, 2026 (WAM) -- The death toll from an explosion and gun attack at a police headquarters in northern Pakistan has risen to at least 31, according to local officials."At least 31 people, including 16 police personnel, have been killed and more than 100 injured so far in the militant attack," the official said, adding that fighting was ongoing.Attackers stormed the Old Police Lines complex at Kohat, a town of around 220,000 people in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, on Friday afternoon.Attackers rammed a car carrying explosives into the police facility as officers and their families were praying in a mosque, officials said.Local militant group Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, a faction linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

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13.09.2026

103 rescued, 140 missing after Indonesian ship loses contact

JAKARTA, 13th September, 2026 (WAM) -- Indonesian rescuers have found 103 people from a passenger ship that lost contact with authorities in the Java Sea during bad weather, officials said.The Virgo Transport 8, carrying more than 240 people, departed Surabaya in East Java on Saturday for Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan before communications were lost, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said.“At the time of this statement, the ship cannot be contacted and its whereabouts are unknown,” the agency said.It later said 103 people had been rescued, while 140 remained missing and one had died.The Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office said the vessel’s last known position was about 148 km from one of the city’s piers.

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12.09.2026

China discovers 200 mineral deposits in 2025

BEIJING, 12th September, 2026 (WAM) -- A total of 200 non-oil and gas mineral deposits were discovered in China in 2025, according to a report released by the Ministry of Natural Resources on Friday.The report, titled China Mineral Resources 2026, was launched at the ongoing 28th China Mining Conference and Exhibition 2026 being held in North China's Tianjin municipality.It showed that China's investment in geological exploration registered positive growth for the fifth consecutive year in 2025 and that important progress continued to be made in mineral exploration.Of the 200 newly discovered mineral deposits, 16 are gold deposits and 11 are iron deposits, making them the most frequently found types.The report noted that, in terms of conventional oil and gas exploration, major breakthroughs had been made in new layers and new zones in places such as the Tarim and Junggar Basins.In 2025, China's coal output was 4.85 billion tonnes, up 1.4 percent year-on-year, while crude oil output was 216 million tonnes, up 1.5 percent, maintaining positive growth for seven consecutive years.The report also showed natural gas output stood at 262.06 billion cubic meters last year, up 6.3 percent.During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the country identified 398 new large and medium-sized strategic mineral deposits, including oil and gas fields, with historic breakthroughs in bulk minerals such as copper, gold and potash.

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12.09.2026

Moscow claims capture of Veseloye, strikes arms ships; Kyiv repels Russian air attack

MOSCOW/KYIV, 12th September, 2026 (WAM) -- Military operations between Russia and Ukraine saw a sharp escalation in aerial and ground attacks, with Moscow announcing the capture of the town of Veseloye in the Donetsk People's Republic and reporting intensive strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial and port facilities.Both sides also reported shooting down or neutralising large numbers of drones and claimed heavy personnel losses inflicted on the other side, estimated at around 1,500 troops over the past 24 hours.The Russian Ministry of Defence said it had carried out large-scale strikes on industrial facilities supporting the Ukrainian military, including the Zaporizhstal plant in Zaporizhzhia, the Interpipe complex in Dnipropetrovsk and a metallurgical facility in Kryvyi Rih, as well as logistics warehouses in Hostomel.Russian forces also targeted infrastructure at the ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk and said they had destroyed two cargo vessels carrying weapons and military equipment.Moscow also said its air defence systems had destroyed 670 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones and seven guided aerial bombs.Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Air Force said the country had come under a combined attack involving ballistic and cruise missiles, reporting that 110 aerial targets, including Kalibr cruise missiles and hostile drones, had been shot down or suppressed.According to Ukrainian authorities, the attacks killed and injured a number of people and damaged residential buildings in Odesa, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhzhia.The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also reported 237 combat engagements, with the heaviest fighting concentrated in the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka sectors.On the Russian side, Acting Governor of Belgorod Region Alexander Shuvaev said one civilian had been killed and 14 others injured in intensive Ukrainian attacks on the region.Separately, a source in Russian security agencies told RIA Novosti that Ukrainian forces had moved military personnel, large quantities of ammunition and electronic warfare systems to the area surrounding the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, raising security concerns in the exclusion zone.

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07.09.2026

Indonesia's Anak Krakatau eruption grounds 1,500 flights, leaves 170,000 passengers stranded

JAKARTA, 7th September, 2026 (WAM) -- Over 1,500 flights have been grounded across eight Indonesian airports, stranding roughly 170,000 passengers after Mount Anak Krakatau unleashed heavy volcanic ash clouds that also disrupted local education and fishing activities.The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation ordered the temporary closure of Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport through Sunday night due to airborne ash, impacting 964 flights at the country's main hub alone.Erupting continuously since Friday in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, the volcano has produced massive ash plumes extending up to 15,000 metres high.In response, authorities in Jakarta and Lampung mandated remote learning for schools while advising residents to limit outdoor exposure and wear protective masks. Additionally, Mount Semeru in East Java recorded a fresh eruption with a one-kilometre ash column, leaving five Indonesian volcanoes on Level 3 alert status.

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07.09.2026

Nepal flash flood death toll reaches 1,400 with thousands missing

KATHMANDU,7th September, 2026 (WAM) -- The confirmed death toll from catastrophic flash floods across Nepal and neighboring Tibet has reached nearly 1,400.Official reports indicate that the vast majority of casualties occurred in Nepal, where 1,341 fatalities have been recorded.Meanwhile, the death toll in Tibet rose to 43, up from 31. Search and rescue operations continue as more than 5,000 people remain missing.

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06.09.2026

US-Russian talks at Kremlin on proposals to resolve Ukraine conflict

MOSCOW, KYIV, 6th September, 2026 (WAM) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with American negotiators on Ukraine, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, lasted for three hours and ten minutes, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said."The meeting lasted more than three hours, or more precisely, 3 hours and 10 minutes. It was substantive, constructive, extremely frank and trusting," he noted according to TASS."Discussion of extremely serious issues continued both at the [working] table and in an informal setting at the dining table," Ushakov added.Ushakov reminded that US envoys Witkoff and Kushner arrived in Moscow on September·5 following instructions from US President Donald Trump who instructed to continue the dialogue on resolving the crisis in Ukraine and to discuss other pressing issues."It has been their eighth visit to our country. The US representatives were received by President Vladimir Putin, and at the very beginning of the meeting, he publicly stated his praise over this intermediary channel of negotiations and the role of the US negotiators," Ushakov stated.He said Putin told the envoys that Russia would achieve its objectives and that the “root causes” of the conflict needed to be resolved.Putin, Ushakov said, reaffirmed Russia’s readiness to continue working with the US to seek a political and diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict.The Russian president also stressed the need to address the “root causes” of the war and spoke about the battlefield advances of Russian forces and his confidence that Moscow would achieve its objectives, according to the Kremlin aide.These diplomatic moves coincided with the agreement on a mutual three-day ceasefire between Moscow and Kyiv, aimed at ensuring the safe passage of envoys to the Ukrainian capital today, Sunday, to present their proposals to the Ukrainian leadership. This comes as the battlefronts witness a mutual escalation involving drone strikes that have resulted in casualties and material damage.

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06.09.2026

Indonesia's Anak Krakatau eruption halts flights, schools, fishing

JAKARTA, 6th September, 2026 (WAM) -- An eruption of Indonesia's Mount Anak Krakatau caused six airports to suspend flight ​operations on Sunday, affecting hundreds of flights at Jakarta's main airport, after some school activities and fishing were halted, Reuters reported.Ash ​reached as high as 6,000 metres on the Java side of the volcano and 15,000 metres on the Sumatra side ⁠and some parts of Banten province in Java, meteorological agency BMKG said in a post on its website.The disaster mitigation agency, BNPB, urges the public to remain calm while increasing vigilance. In the event of ashfall, people are advised to wear masks and eye protection, reduce outdoor activities, cover water sources and exercise caution when driving, as volcanic ash can reduce visibility.

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04.09.2026

Extreme thunderstorms hit Toronto, causing flooding, mass power outages

TORONTO, 4th September, 2026 (WAM) -- A set of extreme thunderstorms ripped across southern Ontario, plunging Toronto’s rush hour into chaos with cars trapped in flooded streets, tens of thousands without power and panicked commuters running for cover from hail and high winds.Multiple extreme weather emergency alerts were issued and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) raised its flood warning to its highest level.On Wednesday evening, Toronto Hydro initially said 65,000 customers were without power. Most of the affected customers were in Etobicoke, North York, midtown or East York, and the company said crews were working as “quickly and safely as possible” to restore power. “Given the scale of the storm and the number of outages, restoration efforts may take time and vary by location,” Toronto Hydro said.Toronto police said they responded to multiple reports of fallen trees and downed power lines across the city.Toronto Pearson International Airport experienced hundreds of flight delays and cancellations following a severe late-summer storm that brought high winds, torrential rain, and hail to the region. It called passengers to check their flight status directly with their airline before leaving for the airport.

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04.09.2026

5.1-magnitude earthquake strikes northwest China

BEIJING, 4th September, 2026 (WAM) -- A 5.1-magnitude earthquake struck Haixi Prefecture in northwest China's Qinghai Province on Friday, according to the China Earthquake Networks Centre.The epicentre was located at 37.84 degrees north latitude and 95.59 degrees east longitude. The earthquake struck at a depth of 10 kilometres, the centre said.

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03.09.2026

Kuwait strongly condemns repeated Iranian attacks

KUWAIT, 3rd September, 2026 (WAM) -- Kuwait strongly condemned and denounced repeated heinous Iranian attacks on the country, the last of which was early Thursday.In a statement carried by the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the continued attacks constitute a grave breach of Kuwait's sovereignty and a direct threat to its security, stability and the safety of its citizens and residents and a flagrant violation of international law, the UN Charter and UN Security Council Resolution 2817.These attacks reflect an aggressive attitude and a serious escalation that jeopardises regional security and stability and systematically undermines diplomatic de-escalation efforts, it noted.The ministry reiterated Kuwait's full right to take all necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty, protect its security and defend its territory and vital facilities against any aggression or threat, based on Article 51 of the UN Charter and international law. (end)

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03.09.2026

Arab Parliament condemns Iranian aggressive attacks targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan

CAIRO,2nd September, 2026 (WAM) -- Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Yamahi, President of the Arab Parliament, strongly condemned the Iranian aggressive attacks and drone strikes targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, warning of an escalation that threatens the security and stability of the region.In a statement issued today, Al Yamahi affirmed the Arab Parliament’s solidarity with the three countries in their measures to protect their security and sovereignty. He called on the international community to take action to prevent such attacks from being repeated, uphold international law, respect the sovereignty of states, and prioritize dialogue and diplomacy.

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03.09.2026

UN urges swift action to avoid climate catastrophe

NEW YORK, 3rd September, 2026 (WAM) -- Record heat waves, deadly flooding and extreme weather reflect an ever-warming planet poised to soon breach safe temperature limits, according to a UN report, but doubling down on climate action now could avoid a climate catastrophe.The scorching heat in the northern hemisphere in recent months, raging wildfires and deadly floods are a warning of what lies ahead, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.He recalled that the historic 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change saw world leaders pledge to keep temperature rise to the 1.5°C limit above pre-industrial levels, which scientists say is critical to avoiding the worst climate devastation.Indeed, the world is failing to keep that promise, according to the new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).“The fight for 1.5 degrees is the fight for humanity,” he said. “We are set to breach the 1.5°C limit within the next few years.”There are no good outcomes if temperatures remain above 1.5°C consistently, warned UNEP chief Inger Andersen.“Across the globe, extreme heatwaves are already proving that climate impacts will strike faster, hit harder, and last longer, costing more lives and causing deeper disruption,” she said.“Now is the time we must double down on climate action. We can and must get on the right path. By cutting greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening resilience and adaptation and ensuring exceedance of 1.5°C is as small and short as possible.”The UN chief agreed. “Every fraction of a degree will cost lives, destroy livelihoods, deepen inequality and push ecosystems closer to irreversible damage,” the Secretary-General said. “Humanity is speeding past the limit to avoid climate catastrophe.”However, swift climate action can bring the world back from the brink, Guterres said.“We can still bring warming back below 1.5°C by the end of the century,” he said. “We must make the overshoot as small and short as possible, limiting how high temperatures rise and how long they remain above 1.5.“The science is clear,” Guterres said. “The solutions are at hand, and the world has never been better equipped to deploy them. Now is the time to raise ambition and accelerate action.”

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