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Blinken in Paris For Talks On Ukraine, Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (File Photo: Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (File Photo: Reuters)
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Blinken in Paris For Talks On Ukraine, Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (File Photo: Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (File Photo: Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Tuesday on supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

France is among major military suppliers to Ukraine, which has faced critical shortages of arms and troops as it holds off an onslaught of Russian attacks.

The United States has been the key military backer for Ukraine but a $60 billion aid package has been held up in Congress.

Paris has also advocated for a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The United States, Israel's main ally, recently let pass a UN Security Council resolution that calls for a ceasefire during the month of Ramadan.

Blinken will meet with Macron to discuss the mounting international crises, the French presidency told AFP. He will also have talks with Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne.

France held an international conference in February in a bid to rally financial and military support for Ukraine. The results will be reviewed by Blinken and French leaders, officials said.

Both sides want an "intensification" of support for Ukraine, a member of Sejourne's entourage said.

The French minister was in Cairo on Saturday to discuss the Gaza war and in China on Monday to urge Beijing to press Russia over the Ukraine war.

The French foreign ministry said Sejourne and Blinken will discuss preparations for a NATO summit in Washington in July, as well as the "crises" in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.

They will hold a joint press conference after their meeting.

In a symbolic visit, Blinken was to accompany France's Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu to a factory near Paris of Franco-German defense group KNDS, which makes artillery guns being used in Ukraine.

Blinken is also to go to the Paris headquarters of the UN cultural organization, UNESCO, that the United States rejoined last year. Blinken will hold a meeting with UNESCO leader Audrey Azoulay.

The visit marks the first trip to France for Blinken, a fluent French speaker, in nearly two years.

Macron paid a state visit to Washington in December 2022.

After Paris, Blinken will head to Brussels for NATO foreign ministers' talks ahead of the alliance's 75th anniversary summit in Washington in July.

Blinken will also hold a three-way meeting in Brussels with EU leaders and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has been seeking to branch out from his country's historic alliance with Russia.

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World

Two Turkish-flagged Commercial Vessels Collide Off Istanbul

A Turkish flag with a ship in the background (Archive - Reuters)
A Turkish flag with a ship in the background (Archive - Reuters)
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Two Turkish-flagged Commercial Vessels Collide Off Istanbul

A Turkish flag with a ship in the background (Archive - Reuters)
A Turkish flag with a ship in the background (Archive - Reuters)

Two Turkish-flagged commercial vessels collided off Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara on Wednesday and contact has been lost with one of the ships, the Istanbul governor's office said.

The Turkish-flagged Alsu, en route to the Aegean ‌port of Aliaga, ‌and the Turkish-flagged ‌Tugberk ⁠Imamoglu, en route ⁠to the Black Sea port of Karadenizeregli, collided off the Silivri district of Istanbul at around 3 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Wednesday, the governor's office said in ⁠a statement.

Coast guard ships ‌and helicopters ‌were dispatched to the scene for ‌search and rescue, and there ‌was no visible damage on the Alsu, the statement said. But authorities were unable to establish contact with ‌the Tugberk Imamoglu and its 10 crew members.

According to ⁠data ⁠from the Istanbul Chamber of Maritime Commerce, the Tugberk Imamoglu, owned by Zeybe Denizcilik, operates as a bulk carrier, while the Alsu, owned by Ozpulathane Deniz Tasimaciligi, operates as a chemical tanker.

The search and rescue operation was still under way, the governor's office statement said.

World

Peru Cuts Ties with Iran, Accusing Tehran of Escalating Middle East War

Peruvian Foreign Minister Carlos Espa gestures during his presentation ceremony at the Foreign Ministry building in Lima on July 31, 2026. (AFP)
Peruvian Foreign Minister Carlos Espa gestures during his presentation ceremony at the Foreign Ministry building in Lima on July 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Peru Cuts Ties with Iran, Accusing Tehran of Escalating Middle East War

Peruvian Foreign Minister Carlos Espa gestures during his presentation ceremony at the Foreign Ministry building in Lima on July 31, 2026. (AFP)
Peruvian Foreign Minister Carlos Espa gestures during his presentation ceremony at the Foreign Ministry building in Lima on July 31, 2026. (AFP)

Peru's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it has severed diplomatic relations with Iran, accusing Tehran of inciting "an escalation of conflicts" in the Middle East and hindering maritime transit in the Strait of Hormuz.

Citing a historic pacifist stance, the Peruvian government "has made the decision to sever diplomatic relations with Iran," the ministry said in a statement.

The war in the Middle East has restarted in recent days, with new US attacks on Iran on Sunday, and retaliatory tit-for-tat strikes since then.

"Peru views with deep concern the severe restrictions imposed by the Iranian regime, as well as the disruption of international trade through the Strait of Hormuz," the ministry said in a statement.

Peru also accused Iran of obstructing the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying Tehran had denied inspectors access to nuclear facilities on different occasions and hindered verification needed to prevent the production of nuclear weapons.

Despite severing diplomatic ties, Peru said consular relations would remain in place to protect the interests and nationals of both countries, in accordance with the relevant Vienna conventions.

Peru's conservative President Keiko Fujimori campaigned on iron-fist security policies and took steps to join US President Donald Trump's Shield of Americas initiative days after taking office July 28, signaling a willingness to work with Washington.

A few days ago, Peru's neighbor Chile announced the closure of its embassy in Tehran, but did not decide to sever ties for economic and security reasons.

Peru's statement came as the US launched a barrage of airstrikes against Iran on Tuesday, prompting Iranian retaliation, in the most serious escalation in weeks in a conflict that has driven up global energy prices.

World

Hopes of Finding Survivors Dim a Week After Catastrophic Nepal Flood

People work during a search and rescue operation near the Hydropower Project sites, following deadly flash floods and mudslides hit parts of Nepal, in this handout obtained by Reuters on September 1, 2026. (Nepal Army/Handout via Reuters)
People work during a search and rescue operation near the Hydropower Project sites, following deadly flash floods and mudslides hit parts of Nepal, in this handout obtained by Reuters on September 1, 2026. (Nepal Army/Handout via Reuters)
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Hopes of Finding Survivors Dim a Week After Catastrophic Nepal Flood

People work during a search and rescue operation near the Hydropower Project sites, following deadly flash floods and mudslides hit parts of Nepal, in this handout obtained by Reuters on September 1, 2026. (Nepal Army/Handout via Reuters)
People work during a search and rescue operation near the Hydropower Project sites, following deadly flash floods and mudslides hit parts of Nepal, in this handout obtained by Reuters on September 1, 2026. (Nepal Army/Handout via Reuters)

Hopes of finding more survivors among the thousands still missing in Nepal were fading, authorities said on Wednesday, a week after a glacier collapse in the Himalayas unleashed flash floods that devastated the mountainous nation.

At least 1,050 people have been killed and nearly 4,000 remain unaccounted for, with officials fearing many are buried under debris left by the floods that tore through towns and valleys near the Chinese border.

Across the border in Tibet, China's official toll has held steady since Sunday at 16 dead and 546 missing.

"The hope of finding survivors is decreasing," Phanindra Paudel, a senior official at the government’s National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC), said. "We pray ‌and are hopeful. ‌Hope is hope!"

Rescuers are trying to find survivors believed to be ‌trapped inside ⁠the tunnels of ⁠several hydroelectric plants, whose powerhouses have spaces and rooms for people to stay, army spokesperson Raja Ram Basnet said.

Authorities said 279 people had been rescued from the ruins of hydropower projects, but at least 639 more were still missing, some of whom are believed to be trapped in tunnels.

FOCUS SHIFTING TO REHABILITATION

"Looking at the nature of the disaster and the area which has been hit by the flood, as days go by there are less chances of human survivors," Binoj Basnet, a ⁠retired senior army general who oversaw the search and rescue operation ‌during the 2015 earthquake in which about 9,000 people were ‌killed, said.

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the focus would shift from search, rescue and relief operations towards ‌rehabilitation and reconstruction.

"The government is now focusing on rehabilitation while working to protect the lives of ‌people in the affected areas and providing necessary medical treatment and psychological counselling," Shah said in a late-night post on social media on Tuesday.

The disaster left at least 2.2 million tons of debris, according to a preliminary estimate by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), including parts of buildings, rocks, and sediment, the equivalent of ‌six Empire State buildings.

"The amount of debris shows the scale of the destruction and the challenge communities face as they clear homes, roads ⁠and public spaces and begin ⁠to rebuild," it said.

PUBLIC HEALTH RISK

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said aid agencies were "very concerned" about the growing public health risk from overcrowded shelters, contaminated water and damaged health facilities, particularly for women and children during the monsoon season.

About 3,900 people remain unaccounted for and nearly 3,500 people are living in 27 displacement sites across the hardest-hit districts of Nuwakot and Rasuwa, Dujarric told a regular UN press briefing on Tuesday.

Shah said his government had stepped up surveillance and response measures to prevent possible outbreaks of disease in flood-affected areas.

The Himalayan region faces severe risks from future glacial floods, a senior UN official said on Tuesday, a sentiment that Shah echoed in his post.

"Questions about why the ice and rock collapsed and how such a large volume of water was generated must be answered by the global community," Shah said.

China has linked the flood to climate change as well.