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US Extends Carrier Deployment After Syria Attack

USS George H.W. Bush supercarrier of the United States Navy ( US Army)
USS George H.W. Bush supercarrier of the United States Navy ( US Army)
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US Extends Carrier Deployment After Syria Attack

USS George H.W. Bush supercarrier of the United States Navy ( US Army)
USS George H.W. Bush supercarrier of the United States Navy ( US Army)

The United States has decided to extend the deployment of the George H.W. Bush carrier strike group to provide options to policymakers after last week's deadly attacks in Syria by Iran-backed forces, US military officials said on Friday.

The decision likely means the Bush strike group and its more than 5,000 US forces, which are now in the European Command operational area, will not be returning to home port in the United States on schedule.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Colonel Joe Buccino confirmed the carrier group's extension, Reuters reported.

"The extension of the George HW Bush Carrier Strike Group, inclusive of the USS Leyte Gulf, the USS Delbert D. Black, and the USNS Arctic, allows options to potentially bolster the capabilities of CENTCOM to respond to a range of contingencies in the Middle East," Buccino said in a statement.

Buccino also noted a scheduled, expedited deployment of a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft to the region.

One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Bush strike group was expected to remain in the European Command area of responsibility.

News of the deployment came a day after the Pentagon doubled its tally of the number of American troops wounded in last week's attacks in Syria to 12, following the diagnosis of six US military personnel with traumatic brain injuries.

The attacks also killed an American contractor and injured another.

President Joe Biden warned Iran last week that the United States would act forcefully to protect Americans. The Pentagon has estimated eight militants were killed during retaliatory US airstrikes against two Iran-linked facilities in Syria during the tit-for-tat exchanges triggered by the first March 23 attack against a US base near the Syrian city of Hasakah.

The White House said on Monday that the incidents would not trigger a US pullback from the nearly eight-year-old US deployment to Syria, where American troops and local Kurdish-led partners are battling the remnants of ISIS.

Still, the United States has formally prioritized in its national security policies Russia, Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific above the Middle East after two decades of US intervention in the region during its global war against terrorism.

That has led to an overall decline in US military personnel and assets in the Middle East.

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World

Typhoon Dujuan Leaves 4 Dead in Japan, 45,000 Houses Without Power

Residents cycle through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Residents cycle through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Typhoon Dujuan Leaves 4 Dead in Japan, 45,000 Houses Without Power

Residents cycle through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Residents cycle through a flooded street after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, September 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Typhoon Dujuan left at least four people dead and 22 injured in Japan, while thousands of houses near Tokyo were without power after the storm swept through the region, authorities said Tuesday.

The typhoon moved away from Japan's coast and out into the Pacific by morning, allowing authorities to lift or downgrade most heavy rain and landslide warnings.

Dujuan had already led to the early closure in the capital of the one of the world's biggest video game trade fairs.

Japan often sees strong typhoons in the late summer and early autumn, with other storms this season disrupting some events at the Asian Games being held in the country.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said three people died in Chiba prefecture and one in Kanagawa region, both near Tokyo.

Search operations were continuing for six people missing after landslides triggered by torrential rain, the agency said, according to AFP.

More than 45,000 households in Chiba near Tokyo were still without electricity on Tuesday afternoon, while over 460 houses were damaged.

Although Dujuan weakened as it moved northeast, it dumped record rainfall in parts of the Tokyo area.

Oshima, an island about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of central Tokyo, recorded 832 millimeters of rain over 48 hours, more than double its average rainfall for the whole of September, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Rainfall in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward reached a record 282.5 millimeters over 24 hours.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the risk posed by heavy rains because a warmer atmosphere holds more water.

World

G7 Foreign Ministers Call on Iran to Stop Arming Houthis

FILE PHOTO: Flags are pictured during the first working session of G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Flags are pictured during the first working session of G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
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G7 Foreign Ministers Call on Iran to Stop Arming Houthis

FILE PHOTO: Flags are pictured during the first working session of G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Pool/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Flags are pictured during the first working session of G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/Pool/File Photo/File Photo

G7 foreign ministers on Monday called on Iran to end its arming and support of Houthis in Yemen, which they said constituted a dangerous pattern of escalation that risked undermining international trade ⁠and creating global instability.

“We condemn in the strongest terms the unacceptable continued strikes carried out by the Houthis in Yemen and against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the ministers of Britain, Canada, France, ⁠Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said in a statement after a meeting on the sidelines of ⁠the UN General Assembly.

“We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all ⁠military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and ⁠to return to the political process in good faith,” they added.
The G7 statement comes ahead of the annual General Assembly in New York, where senior Iranian officials are due to speak.

On Monday, the United Nations condemned the continued cross-border attacks by the Houthis against the Kingdom, including an attempted attack on Riyadh and attacks on civilians and energy infrastructure, calling on all parties to exercise restraint and prevent any further escalation.

During a press briefing, spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric expressed deep concern over the ongoing military escalation in and around Yemen, including Houthi offensives in Taiz, Lahj, and Marib, and their grave consequences for civilians in Yemen and across the region.

Dujarric stressed the need to uphold obligations under international humanitarian law, including the prohibition of direct attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

World

Argentina Accuses 7 Iranians and a Lebanese Man in 1994 Jewish Center Bombing Case

The aftermath of the bombing that targeted a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AFP file photo)
The aftermath of the bombing that targeted a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AFP file photo)
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Argentina Accuses 7 Iranians and a Lebanese Man in 1994 Jewish Center Bombing Case

The aftermath of the bombing that targeted a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AFP file photo)
The aftermath of the bombing that targeted a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires (AFP file photo)

An Argentine judge on Monday formally charged seven Iranians and a Lebanese citizen for their alleged involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

The decision marks another step toward a possible trial in absentia over the attack on July 18 that year, which killed 85 people and injured 300 more.

No one has ever been arrested over the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), which is considered one of the worst tragedies in the South American country's history.

"The decision to carry out the attack was made in August 1993 by the highest echelons of the Iranian regime and entrusted to Hezbollah," Judge Daniel Rafecas wrote in a statement.

Seven of the defendants held high-ranking positions in the Iranian state when the attack occurred.

The Lebanese national was a Hezbollah member.

Two other defendants were removed from the case due to lack of evidence.

A trial is now a real possibility, but the charged individuals may appeal the indictment.

"There's still a whole process to go through," Rafecas told AFP, noting other necessary procedural steps before a trial could happen.

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of Israel, celebrated the decision on social media.

"Morality as State Policy," he wrote on X.

Argentina and Israel have long pointed the finger at Iran as the perpetrator of the attack, which Tehran has always denied.

In a move backed by Milei's right-wing administration, Argentine courts authorized the possibility of a trial in absentia last year.

The attack on AMIA occurred just two years after a bomb at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires claimed 29 lives.

Monday's ruling suggested that the two incidents could be related. It sought the Argentine Supreme Court's opinion on potentially linking the two cases given Hezbollah's alleged involvement in both.

Argentina is home to Latin America's largest Jewish community.