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Iran, Russia to Conduct Joint Drills in the Sea of Oman 

This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
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Iran, Russia to Conduct Joint Drills in the Sea of Oman 

This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)

Iran and Russia will conduct naval maneuvers in the Sea of Oman on Thursday, following the latest round of talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva, Iranian media reported.

On Monday, the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, also launched exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a challenge to US naval forces deployed in the region.

"The joint naval exercise of Iran and Russia will take place tomorrow (Thursday) in the Sea of Oman and in the northern Indian Ocean," the ISNA agency reported, citing drill spokesman, Rear Admiral Hassan Maghsoudloo.

"The aim is to strengthen maritime security and to deepen relations between the navies of the two countries," he said, without specifying the duration of the drill.

The war games come as Iran struck an upbeat tone following the second round of Oman-mediated negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday.

Previous talks between the two foes collapsed following the unprecedented Israeli strike on Iran in June 2025, which sparked a 12-day war that the United States briefly joined.

US President Donald Trump has deployed a significant naval force in the region, which he has described as an "armada."

Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, particularly during periods of tension with the United States, but it has never been closed.

A key passageway for global shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas, the Strait of Hormuz has been the scene of several incidents in the past and has returned to the spotlight as pressure has ratcheted amid the US-Iran talks.

Iran announced on Tuesday that it would partially close it for a few hours for "security" reasons during its own drills in the strait.

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World

Ten Wounded as Russia Strikes Kyiv with Missiles

A sapper examines the impact site of a Russian missile in a residential area of Kyiv, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP)
A sapper examines the impact site of a Russian missile in a residential area of Kyiv, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP)
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Ten Wounded as Russia Strikes Kyiv with Missiles

A sapper examines the impact site of a Russian missile in a residential area of Kyiv, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP)
A sapper examines the impact site of a Russian missile in a residential area of Kyiv, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP)

Russia pummeled Ukraine’s capital with ballistic missiles early on Saturday, injuring at least 10 people, officials said, as Kyiv awaits fresh supplies of air defense munitions amid a shortage that has left it exposed to Russian attacks.

A Reuters witness heard a series of powerful explosions in the city in the ‌small hours of ‌the morning before the ‌air ⁠alert was announced.

Russia launched ⁠six ballistic missiles, another six cruise missiles and 121 drones, Ukraine's air force said, adding that it downed at least two cruise missiles and 111 drones.

Ukraine, which is critically low on munitions for its Patriot ⁠air defense systems, has been ‌largely unable to ‌down ballistic missiles, which travel at several times ‌the speed of sound, over the past ‌month.

Russia has stepped up attacks on the capital in recent weeks. So far this month, strikes on Kyiv and the surrounding region have killed ‌more than 60 people.

Saturday's attack damaged a non-residential building in one district, ⁠while ⁠smoke was coming from another, and an office building was in flames as a result of the strike, the city's military administration said on the Telegram messaging app.

A transformer substation was on fire as well, said Mayor Vitali Klitschko, while windows were blown out in some residential buildings.

The Air Force said 11 locations were hit in total across Ukraine.

World

Taiwan and Eastern China Brace for Typhoon Bavi as Winds and Rain Hit Japan's Southern Islands

Warning tape blocks access to a coastal area as waves crash ashore while Typhoon Bavi moves close to the northern coast of Taiwan in Keelung, Taiwan, July 11, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang
Warning tape blocks access to a coastal area as waves crash ashore while Typhoon Bavi moves close to the northern coast of Taiwan in Keelung, Taiwan, July 11, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang
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Taiwan and Eastern China Brace for Typhoon Bavi as Winds and Rain Hit Japan's Southern Islands

Warning tape blocks access to a coastal area as waves crash ashore while Typhoon Bavi moves close to the northern coast of Taiwan in Keelung, Taiwan, July 11, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang
Warning tape blocks access to a coastal area as waves crash ashore while Typhoon Bavi moves close to the northern coast of Taiwan in Keelung, Taiwan, July 11, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang

Typhoon Bavi has brought strong winds and rain to Japan’s southern islands, as Taiwan and eastern China brace for the powerful storm with evacuations and high alerts.

With maximum sustained winds of 144 kph (89 mph) near its center, Typhoon Bavi is forecast to pass north of Taiwan on Saturday, according to Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration. It is expected to move toward Zhejiang in eastern China and, according to China’s National Meteorological Center, make landfall in the early hours of Sunday.

Across Japan’s southern islands in the prefecture of Okinawa, local authorities have warned of high waves, strong winds and storm surges, with more than 200 flights canceled across the region, according to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. Strong winds and rain have hit islands including Ishigaki, The Associated Press said.

As of Saturday at 8 a.m., Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Center registered at least 36 injuries from Typhoon Bavi, many sustained while riding motorcycles in rain and winds on slippery roads.

A total of 14,210 people had been evacuated around the island as of Saturday morning, including from the eastern county of Hualien and the central city of Taichung. Schools and offices in most parts of Taiwan were suspended Saturday.

In southeastern China, cities near the coast are preparing for the impacts of Typhoon Bavi. In the city of Ningde in Fujian province, more than 3,700 people were relocated from high-risk onshore areas as of Friday evening, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Authorities in Fujian province have placed over 17,000 emergency rescue workers on standby.

China’s National Meteorological Center issued an orange typhoon alert, the second-highest on a four-tier level, with many schools and ferry services suspended. Hundreds of flights have been canceled, and some high-speed railway services halted.

The center also issued Saturday the first red alert for rainstorms of the year, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

World

North Korea Condemns NATO Summit, Says Denuclearization Should Start with US Allies

This picture taken on July 10, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 11, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) attending a joint meeting of party, government and army of North Korea at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on July 10, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 11, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) attending a joint meeting of party, government and army of North Korea at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
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North Korea Condemns NATO Summit, Says Denuclearization Should Start with US Allies

This picture taken on July 10, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 11, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) attending a joint meeting of party, government and army of North Korea at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on July 10, 2026 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 11, 2026 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) attending a joint meeting of party, government and army of North Korea at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)

North Korea condemned the United States and its allies on Saturday for what it called strengthening military blocs and accelerating arms buildups after a NATO summit this week.

Pyongyang accused NATO leaders of portraying North Korea's exercise of its legitimate sovereign rights as a threat, the foreign ministry said in a statement carried on state media KCNA.

The alliance demonstrated a stronger commitment to bloc-to-bloc confrontation through ‌increased arms spending ‌and closer military cooperation with allies in ‌the ⁠Asia-Pacific region, the ministry ⁠said.

At the NATO summit in Türkiye on Tuesday, officials announced more than $50 billion in military procurement and industrial agreements as European allies face continued pressure from US President Donald Trump to shoulder a greater share of the alliance's defense burden.

President Lee Jae Myung of Pyongyang's rival South Korea said on ⁠the sidelines of the summit that ‌he hoped Seoul would expand cooperation ‌with NATO allies in research and development, including in cutting-edge technologies, ‌and in production of weapons systems.

North Korea said the ‌summit showed that NATO was a body geared towards war and confrontation, pursuing what Pyongyang described as exclusive geopolitical interests at the expense of peace and security in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

Pyongyang, which ‌says a push by the West for it to abandon nuclear weapons has been irreversibly ⁠terminated, ⁠believes instead that denuclearization efforts should focus first on what it described as attempts by South Korea and Japan to pursue their own nuclear weapons under US protection, as well as the nuclear ambitions of NATO members participating in the alliance's nuclear-sharing arrangements, the ministry said.

It said North Korea would safeguard its sovereignty and security interests, as well as regional peace, through the responsible exercise of its sovereign rights.

KCNA said on Friday that North Korea had decided on measures to strengthen its nuclear forces "quantitatively and qualitatively" as leader Kim Jong Un calls for modernizing its military.