US Carrier George H.W. Bush Visits Thailand after Middle East Deployment

The USS George H.W. Bush arrives near Phuket Deep Sea Port before docking for a rest stop following a long deployment in the Middle East, in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan
The USS George H.W. Bush arrives near Phuket Deep Sea Port before docking for a rest stop following a long deployment in the Middle East, in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan
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US Carrier George H.W. Bush Visits Thailand after Middle East Deployment

The USS George H.W. Bush arrives near Phuket Deep Sea Port before docking for a rest stop following a long deployment in the Middle East, in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan
The USS George H.W. Bush arrives near Phuket Deep Sea Port before docking for a rest stop following a long deployment in the Middle East, in Phuket, Thailand, October 4, 2026. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan

The US aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush arrived off Thailand's resort island of Phuket on Sunday with about 4,800 personnel aboard for a rest-and-recreation break after months of supporting US operations in the Middle East.

The Nimitz-class carrier had been operating in the Arabian Sea during the ⁠conflict with Iran, ⁠according to multiple media reports.

The carrier will anchor offshore, while crew members are expected to come ashore through Phuket Deep Sea ⁠Port and spend time on the popular southern resort island from October 4 to 9, local media reported.

The visit follows a five-day port call by the US carrier Abraham Lincoln at Laem Chabang in eastern Thailand last month, with about 5,000 sailors ⁠and ⁠Marines aboard.

A local mayor had estimated each US service member from the Lincoln could spend up to 3,000 baht ($89) per day during the visit, Reuters reported.

Thailand is the United States' only treaty partner in mainland Southeast Asia.



US Coast Guard Finds Debris from Medical Plane Carrying 6 People

A detail view of the US Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, US March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
A detail view of the US Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, US March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
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US Coast Guard Finds Debris from Medical Plane Carrying 6 People

A detail view of the US Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, US March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
A detail view of the US Coast Guard Cutter Valiant in Miami Beach, Florida, US March 6, 2025. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

The US Coast Guard said on Saturday it found debris from a medical transport plane that went missing while flying from Bermuda to Boston, with the six people on board still unaccounted for.

The Federal Aviation Administration told the Coast Guard in the early hours of Saturday that it had lost contact with a Gulfstream G100 with the tail number C-GRJP, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

"Coast Guard search crews located a debris field that has been confirmed to be associated with the missing aircraft," it said.

"Crews are continuing to search for the six people who were aboard the aircraft."

The plane carried four Canadian nationals and two Bermudian nationals, the Coast Guard said.

The aircraft operated by Canada-based Latitude Air Ambulance went missing around 1:30 am (1530 GMT), company spokesman Clarence Togeretz told AFP.

"It was carrying two pilots, two medical staff, one patient and a family member," Togeretz said.

The company has a fleet of 10 planes that provide repatriation and medical evacuation services, flying people back home from anywhere in the world, its website says.

The Coast Guard said search efforts would continue throughout the night and scheduled a news conference on Sunday morning to provide an update.


Trump Mulling to Resume Major Combat Operations in Iran

An Indian oil tanker after crossing the Strait of Hormuz at a discharge terminal in India (Reuters)
An Indian oil tanker after crossing the Strait of Hormuz at a discharge terminal in India (Reuters)
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Trump Mulling to Resume Major Combat Operations in Iran

An Indian oil tanker after crossing the Strait of Hormuz at a discharge terminal in India (Reuters)
An Indian oil tanker after crossing the Strait of Hormuz at a discharge terminal in India (Reuters)

With negotiations stalled, US President Donald Trump is considering resuming major combat operations in Iran.

Trump's top cabinet members met secretly at the presidential retreat at Camp David ⁠to discuss next ⁠steps in the Iran war, Axios reported on Friday.

Vice President JD Vance chaired the meeting, the news ⁠outlet reported, ⁠citing people familiar with the matter.

"Things were decided or at least deeply discussed," one of the officials said, referring to the crisis in the Middle East.

The White House declined to comment.

On Friday afternoon, while his advisers were at Camp David, Trump was asked by reporters what his next move on Iran will be.

"If I told you, you would have a major story," he said. "But you will see. It is working out very well. Iran is not doing well."

Tehran has blockaded commercial shipping through the Hormuz strait since the war began in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, while the US military has upheld a counterblockade of Iran's ports.


Iranian UN Delegation Duo ‘Kicked Out’ of US, Says State Dept

The United Nations headquarters building in New York City, US, June 8, 2021. (AFP)
The United Nations headquarters building in New York City, US, June 8, 2021. (AFP)
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Iranian UN Delegation Duo ‘Kicked Out’ of US, Says State Dept

The United Nations headquarters building in New York City, US, June 8, 2021. (AFP)
The United Nations headquarters building in New York City, US, June 8, 2021. (AFP)

The United States has "kicked out" two members of the Iranian delegation who attended the recent UN General Assembly after they ignored an order to leave the country, the State Department said Saturday.

"Two more members of the Iranian delegation were found still in (New York) long after the United Nations General Assembly had passed. They have now been kicked out of the US," a US official told AFP, adding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio "means business."

US media reported the State Department had told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation to leave the country Monday and resorted to expelling the two members after learning from the Iranian mission to the UN they remained in the country on Friday.

One member of the delegation left Friday night, while the second departed Saturday morning, according to Axios.

US and Iranian officials had met the week prior in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

US President Donald Trump had rejected a proposal from Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but told US media he expected talks to resume in the coming days.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reported that Tehran had no more direct talks scheduled with Washington.