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Trump issues Iran with ultimatum as US ramps up military presence

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran must make a "meaningful deal" in negotiations with Washington in the next 10 days or else "bad things happen", as he deployed warships, fighter jets and other military hardware to the region.

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Trump 'Board of Peace' opens with money and troops for Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump promised $10 billion and Muslim-majority nations offered funding and troops for Gaza as he inaugurated his "Board of Peace," a new institution whose ultimate mission has drawn questions.

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Macron asks Meloni not to 'comment' on France's affairs after activist remark

President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on Giorgia Meloni to stop "commenting on what is happening in other people's countries," after the Italian prime minister expressed shock at the fatal beating of a far-right activist in France.

"Let everyone stay in their own lane," Macron said in New Delhi, on the sidelines of an official visit to India. On Wednesday, Meloni said that the killing of Quentin Deranque was "a wound for all of Europe."

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Russia calls for restraint in Iran

Russia called for restraint on Thursday amid growing tensions over a possible U.S. attack on Iran, and as Moscow and Tehran staged naval drills that the Kremlin said were scheduled and should not be a cause for alarm.

The United States has massively built up its forces in the Middle East and President Donald Trump has warned Iran to make a deal with Washington, hinting at military action.

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In new flip, Trump attacks UK on base deal as US mulls Iran attack

President Donald Trump, shifting his tone yet again, warned Britain on Wednesday not to "give away" a key Indian Ocean base, saying it would be vital if the United States attacks Iran.

Trump, who is considering strikes on the Islamic republic, lashed out hours after the State Department offered the latest U.S. support to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's deal to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

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NKorea unveils huge new nuclear-capable rocket launcher

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the formal unveiling of a huge multiple rocket launcher that can fire nuclear warheads at the South, state media said Thursday.

At a ceremony Wednesday, Kim gave a speech touting the new 600mm multiple launch rocket system as unique in the world and said it is "appropriate for a special attack, that is, for accomplishing a strategic mission," the KCNA news agency said, using a common euphemism for nuclear use.

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US Southern Command chief meets with Venezuelan president, top officials

U.S. Southern Command chief Francis Donovan met Wednesday with Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez and her top ministers, according to the Venezuelan government.

The U.S. General met with Rodriguez as well as Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a government account posted on X, adding that the two countries "agreed to work on forming a bilateral cooperation agenda in order to combat drug trafficking, terrorism, and migration."

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Russia downs dozens of drones amid oil refinery attack

Russian officials said on Thursday their forces had destroyed 113 Ukrainian drones overnight, some of them having targeted an oil refinery in the northwest that resulted in a fire in a storage tank.

The sides finished two days of U.S.-brokered talks in Geneva on Wednesday, trying to find a settlement to four years of war in Ukraine.

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Iran says no country can deprive it of enrichment rights

Iran's atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami said Thursday that no country can deprive the Islamic republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after U.S. President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following talks in Geneva.

"The basis of the nuclear industry is enrichment. Whatever you want to do in the nuclear process, you need nuclear fuel," said Eslami, according to a video published by Etemad daily.

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UN says Israeli actions raising 'ethnic cleansing' fears in West Bank, Gaza

Israel's increased attacks and forcible transfers of Palestinian civilians "raise concerns over ethnic cleansing" in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the United Nations said Thursday.

"Intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighborhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza", the U.N. human rights office said in a report.

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