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Trump Says to Deliver ‘Speech to the Nation’ on Thursday

US President Donald Trump. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump. (EPA)
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Trump Says to Deliver ‘Speech to the Nation’ on Thursday

US President Donald Trump. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump said he would make a primetime address to the nation on Thursday, in an announcement that comes amid a major flare-up of hostilities with Iran.

"President Trump will be making a Speech to the Nation on Thursday evening, at 9 P.M. Eastern (0100 GMT Friday). Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said Monday on his Truth Social network.

Trump did not reveal the subject of the speech, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for details.

But the announcement comes hours after he declared that he would reimpose a US naval blockade on Iran, and that Washington will institute a 20 percent fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump's last major televised address to the nation was on April 1, when he gave his first full public justification of the Iran war more than a month after the US-Israeli military campaign began.

In that speech from the White House, he laid out his case for a conflict that had sent oil prices soaring and his approval ratings tumbling.

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World

China Urges US, Iran to Restore Safe Passage Through Hormuz

FILE PHOTO: Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer//File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer//File Photo/File Photo
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China Urges US, Iran to Restore Safe Passage Through Hormuz

FILE PHOTO: Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer//File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer//File Photo/File Photo

China called on the United States and Iran on Tuesday to restore safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, as fighting between the two sides reignited over how the strategic waterway should be managed.

"Restoring normal and safe passage through the strait as soon as possible is a shared aspiration of the international community," foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a news briefing, adding that Beijing would "make unremitting efforts to help de-escalate" the situation.

World

Wildfires Advance in Forest South of Paris

This handout satellite photograph taken on July 8, 2026 and released by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows the smoke from a wildfire in a mountainaera near Die, southern France. (Photo by Handout / 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This handout satellite photograph taken on July 8, 2026 and released by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows the smoke from a wildfire in a mountainaera near Die, southern France. (Photo by Handout / 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
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Wildfires Advance in Forest South of Paris

This handout satellite photograph taken on July 8, 2026 and released by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows the smoke from a wildfire in a mountainaera near Die, southern France. (Photo by Handout / 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This handout satellite photograph taken on July 8, 2026 and released by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows the smoke from a wildfire in a mountainaera near Die, southern France. (Photo by Handout / 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)

Wildfires raging in a forest south of Paris have devoured more land overnight, firefighters said on Tuesday, ahead of France's national day celebrations.

The fire erupted Sunday in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest some 60 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of the capital, former royal hunting grounds that today are dotted with quiet villages and are popular with hikers and climbers.

A second, smaller fire erupted a day later and the blazes have now scorched more than 1,900 hectares (4,700 acres) -- an area roughly three times the size of Gibraltar, firefighters said on Tuesday.

With some 850 firefighters battling the flames with the help of specialized aircraft, authorities are hoping to gain the upper hand on the flames during the day, said Paul-Edouard Laurain, spokesman for the regional firefighters.

France is on Tuesday celebrating July 14 national day, which is usually accompanied by evening fireworks.

With the region sweltering through its third heatwave in as many months, many towns throughout France have cancelled their annual firework displays, but many are usually set off illegally.

This year's celebrations coincide with a World Cup semifinal match in which France is taking on Spain in the evening local time and which, win or lose, will likely see fans spilling outside to either celebrate or mourn once the final whistle blows.

The fires have forced some 1,000 people in and around Fontainebleau to flee their homes.

Authorities are probing whether the fires were started deliberately and two people have been arrested on suspicion of arson.

The scale of the fire led to the deployment of four Canadair aircraft -- an unprecedented move in the greater Paris region -- as well as two Dash planes and three water-bombing helicopters.

A total of 187 water drops were carried out by Monday evening, said the commander of the rescue operations, Jean-Marc Sicard.

World

Iran Executes Two Men Convicted of Links to ISIS

A woman rides on her scooter on a street in northern Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP)
A woman rides on her scooter on a street in northern Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP)
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Iran Executes Two Men Convicted of Links to ISIS

A woman rides on her scooter on a street in northern Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP)
A woman rides on her scooter on a street in northern Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 13, 2026. (AP)

Two members of the ISIS group were executed after they were convicted of armed rebellion against the country, Iranian state television reported Tuesday. 

The report identified the men as Mohieddin Abdollahi and Hossein Palani. It said they belonged to an ISIS cell that formed after the group’s territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria and had planned attacks inside Iran. 

According to the report, Iranian security forces identified the cell’s hideout in the Bamo mountain area near the Iraqi border before it could carry out its plans.  

Several militants were killed and others arrested during the operation, in which three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were also killed.  

Authorities said they also seized weapons, ammunition and other equipment. 

The two men were convicted of armed rebellion against Iran, and were hanged after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences. The judiciary did not disclose where the executions were carried out.