Swiss federal prosecutors said Tuesday they have indicted former Syrian Vice President Rifaat Assad, the uncle of the war-battered country's current president, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering murder and torture more than four decades ago.

The attorney general's office said Assad, 86, is accused of directing the crimes in Syria in February 1982 while serving as commander of defense brigades that carried out an attack in the city of Hama during a conflict between the military and the Islamist opposition. Security forces killed thousands to crush a Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the city that year.

China, Iran and Russia have begun a joint naval drill in the Gulf of Oman, a crucial waterway near the mouth of the Persian Gulf, officials said Tuesday.

Footage aired by Chinese state television and a video released by the Russian navy showed the ongoing drill, known as "Marine Security Belt 2024."

Europe is facing growing climate risks and is unprepared for them, the European Environment Agency said in its first-ever risk assessment for the bloc Monday.

The agency said Europe is prone to more frequent and more punishing weather extremes — including increasing wildfires, drought, more unusual rainfall patterns and flooding — and it needs to immediately address them in order to protect its energy, food security, water and health.

Two backcountry skiers have died in a mountain avalanche on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, according to news reports.

The dead in Monday's avalanche on the 1,898 meter (6,227 feet) Mount Yotei were from New Zealand, according to the New Zealand Herald.

An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food set sail for Gaza on Tuesday in a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of starvation.

The food was gathered by World Food Kitchen, the charity founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, and is being carried on a barge attached to a ship belonging to the Spanish aid group Open Arms. It is expected to arrive at an undisclosed location on the Gaza coastline in two to three days. Andrés and the Open Arms boat captain, Oscar Camps, confirmed the food was destined for northern Gaza.

Hezbollah fired Tuesday 100 rockets at two military bases in the Golan Heights, in some of the heaviest fire emanating from Lebanon since the start of the war in Gaza.

The Israeli military confirmed that about 100 projectiles have been launched from Lebanon into Israel. In retaliation, Israeli warplanes carried out two airstrikes on the towns of Sareen and al-Nabi Sheet near the country’s northeastern city of Baalbek. Warplanes had earlier bombed the southern border towns of Houla and Markaba.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah met with a top Hamas official involved in negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza, the Lebanese group said in a statement Tuesday.

Nasrallah’s meeting with Khalil Hayeh in Beirut came at the start of Ramadan after Qatar- and Egyptian-mediated negotiations for a truce before the holy month broke down.

Bitcoin struck a fresh record high Monday and stock markets diverged as traders assessed the outlook for cuts to U.S. interest rates.

Saudi oil giant Aramco اشس reported it made $121 billion in profit last year, down from its 2022 record due to lower energy prices.

The results still marked the company's second highest ever result, Aramco said, as members of the OPEC+ alliance continue to cut their production to try to boost global energy prices. However, lower results also squeeze the kingdom as it embarks on a massive development project under its assertive crown prince to wean itself off oil revenues.

India signed a trade agreement with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland on Sunday that includes a commitment of $100 billion in investments and creating 1 million direct jobs in India in the next 15 years.

India committed to reducing import tariffs on industrial products from the four European countries that comprise the European Free Trade Association, or EFTA.