The US carried out a ninth consecutive night of military strikes against Iran early on Monday, targeting command centres, missile facilities, air defence systems, maritime assets and communications infrastructure. The latest developments indicate the conflict is expanding beyond direct military exchanges, with growing implications for regional security, global energy supplies and international shipping. Here is what to know. Why are the US strikes continuing? President Donald Trump said US forces had struck Iran “very hard,” describing the operations as retaliation for the deaths of US service members in the Middle East. The latest casualty on the US side came in northern Iraq, where a service member was killed during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance recovered from a downed Iranian drone. According to American media, at least 17 US soldiers have been killed since Feb 28, when the US and Israel attacked Iran. Strait of Hormuz at the heart of the co...
Nearly 40,000 hectares (98,842 acres) of forest and vegetation have burned across France since the beginning of the year, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Monday. “Just under 40,000 hectares of forest or vegetation have burned in France since the beginning of the year,” Nunez told France Inter radio. He said the area burned was significantly larger than the total recorded throughout last year and had also surpassed the figure registered at the same point in 2022, which he described as an exceptional wildfire season. Authorities have arrested 111 people in connection with fires across the country, according to the minister. “A large proportion of them have admitted to the acts,” Nunez said, adding that nine out of 10 fires were caused by human activity, either intentionally or accidentally. Read: France to activate extreme heat emergency plan for 1st time Hundreds of firefighters were deployed Monday to tackle blazes, particularly in the southern...