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Cluster Bomb Toting F-15Es Are Patrolling to Protect Hormuz

A handout photo made available by the US Air Force shows an F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron refueling from a KC-10 Extender, at an undisclosed location during a surface combat air patrol mission in the Arabian Gulf, 27 June 2019 (issued 01 August 2019). EPA
A handout photo made available by the US Air Force shows an F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron refueling from a KC-10 Extender, at an undisclosed location during a surface combat air patrol mission in the Arabian Gulf, 27 June 2019 (issued 01 August 2019). EPA
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Cluster Bomb Toting F-15Es Are Patrolling to Protect Hormuz

A handout photo made available by the US Air Force shows an F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron refueling from a KC-10 Extender, at an undisclosed location during a surface combat air patrol mission in the Arabian Gulf, 27 June 2019 (issued 01 August 2019). EPA
A handout photo made available by the US Air Force shows an F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron refueling from a KC-10 Extender, at an undisclosed location during a surface combat air patrol mission in the Arabian Gulf, 27 June 2019 (issued 01 August 2019). EPA

US F-15E Strike Eagles have been flying patrols over the Strait of Hormuz armed with cluster munitions, as well as a variety of other weapons, The War Zone Drive website reported.

“These weapons could be useful for beating back swarms of small boats, such as those belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC,” said the site.

Images emerged of the cluster munition-armed F-15Es on July 31 as part of an official news item from the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing about the Surface Combat Air Patrols, or SuCAP, it said.

The 380th is the Air Force's main unit at Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. The Strike Eagles, assigned to the 336th Expeditionary Fighter Wing, had arrived there in June, it said.

Pictures show at least some of the aircraft carrying Wind Corrected Munition Dispensers (WCMD), a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system guided canister that can carry a number of different cluster munitions, added the report.

The sorties come amid growing tensions between the United States and Iran, as well as the IRGC's harassment and seizure of a number of tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.

In Moscow, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday it had the impression that Washington was looking for a pretext for conflict in the Arabian Gulf.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing that a US move to create a naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz looked like a crude attempt to pressure Iran.

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World

US, Ukraine to Discuss Ceasefire in Berlin Ahead of European Summit

Anti-drone nets hang taut along a road near the city of Izyum of Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine, 12 December 2025. (EPA)
Anti-drone nets hang taut along a road near the city of Izyum of Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine, 12 December 2025. (EPA)
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US, Ukraine to Discuss Ceasefire in Berlin Ahead of European Summit

Anti-drone nets hang taut along a road near the city of Izyum of Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine, 12 December 2025. (EPA)
Anti-drone nets hang taut along a road near the city of Izyum of Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine, 12 December 2025. (EPA)

Germany will host US and Ukrainian delegations over the weekend for talks on a ceasefire in Ukraine, ahead of a summit with European leaders and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Berlin on Monday, a German official said on Saturday.

A US official said overnight that President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were travelling to Germany for talks involving Ukrainians and Europeans.

The choice to send Witkoff, who has led negotiations with Ukraine and Russia regarding a US peace proposal, appeared to be a signal that Washington saw a chance of progress. The White House had said on Thursday Trump would send an official to talks only if he felt there was enough progress to be made.

"Talks on a possible ceasefire in Ukraine are taking place in Berlin this weekend between foreign policy advisors from, among others, the US and Ukraine," said a German government source when asked about the meetings.

On Monday, Merz is hosting Zelenskiy and European leaders for a summit in Berlin, the latest in a series of public shows of support for the Ukrainian leader from allies across Europe as Kyiv faces pressure from Washington to sign up to a peace plan that initially backed Moscow's main demands.

Britain, France and Germany have been working in the last few weeks to refine the US proposals, which, in a draft disclosed last month, called for Kyiv to cede more territory, abandon its ambition to join NATO and accept limits on its armed forces.

World

Germany to Send Soldiers to Fortify Poland Border

A border guard officer stands guard at the Polish-Belarusian border, in Polowce, Poland. (AP file photo)
A border guard officer stands guard at the Polish-Belarusian border, in Polowce, Poland. (AP file photo)
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Germany to Send Soldiers to Fortify Poland Border

A border guard officer stands guard at the Polish-Belarusian border, in Polowce, Poland. (AP file photo)
A border guard officer stands guard at the Polish-Belarusian border, in Polowce, Poland. (AP file photo)

Germany has said it will send a group of soldiers to Poland to help with a project to fortify the country's eastern border as worries mount about the threat from Russia.

Poland, a strong supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Moscow, announced plans in May last year to bolster a long stretch of its border that includes Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

The main task of the German soldiers in Poland will be "engineering activities," a spokesman for the defense ministry in Berlin said late Friday.

This could include "constructing fortifications, digging trenches, laying barbed wire, or erecting tank barriers," he said.

"The support provided by German soldiers as part of (the operation) is limited to these engineering activities."

The spokesman did not specify the exact number of troops involved, saying only it would be a "mid-range two-digit number".

They are expected to participate in the project from the second quarter of 2026 until the end of 2027.

The spokesman stressed that parliamentary approval was not needed for the deployment as "there is no immediate danger to the soldiers from military conflicts".

Except for certain exceptional cases, the German parliament has to approve the deployment of the country's armed forces overseas.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Warsaw has staunchly backed Kyiv and been a transit route for arms being supplied by Ukraine's Western allies.

Warsaw has also modernized its army and hiked defense spending.

Germany is Ukraine's second-biggest supplier of military aid after the United States and has sent Kyiv a huge quantity of equipment ranging from air defence systems to armored vehicles.

World

Erdogan Warns Black Sea Should Not Be 'Area of Confrontation' after Strikes

Turkish President Recep Erdogan addresses the media after the conclusion on the G20 Summit held at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2025. EPA/HALDEN KROG
Turkish President Recep Erdogan addresses the media after the conclusion on the G20 Summit held at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2025. EPA/HALDEN KROG
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Erdogan Warns Black Sea Should Not Be 'Area of Confrontation' after Strikes

Turkish President Recep Erdogan addresses the media after the conclusion on the G20 Summit held at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2025. EPA/HALDEN KROG
Turkish President Recep Erdogan addresses the media after the conclusion on the G20 Summit held at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2025. EPA/HALDEN KROG

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned that the Black Sea should not turn into an "area of confrontation" between Russia and Ukraine, after several strikes in recent weeks. 

"The Black Sea should not be seen as an area of confrontation. This would not benefit Russia or Ukraine. Everyone needs safe navigation in the Black Sea," he was quoted as telling reporters aboard his plane, according to the official Anadolu news agency. 

A Russian air strike damaged a Turkish-owned vessel in a port in Ukraine's Black Sea region of Odesa, Kyiv and the operator said on Friday. 

The attack came hours after Erdogan had raised the issue personally with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan, said AFP. 

Erdogan had called for a "limited ceasefire" concerning attacks on ports and energy facilities in the Russia-Ukraine war, during the face-to-face talks with Putin, according to his office. 

On the plane, Erdogan said he mainly discussed the war and peace efforts with Putin, Anadolu reported. 

"Like all other actors, Mr Putin knows very well where Türkiye stands on this issue," he said. 

"After this meeting we held with Putin, we hope to have the opportunity to also discuss the peace plan with US President (Donald) Trump," he added. 

"Peace is not far away, we can see it." 

Türkiye, which has sought to maintain relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the war, controls the Bosphorus Strait, a key passage for transporting Ukrainian grain and Russian oil towards the Mediterranean. 

Over the past weeks, several attacks also targeted Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea, some of which were drone attacks claimed by Kyiv. 

The attacks sparked harsh criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from both Russia and Ukraine.