Iran targets ships, Dubai airport and oil facilities as economic concerns mount

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has attacked commercial ships and targeted Dubai International Airport. The latest attacks on Wednesday mark an escalation in its campaign to bottle up the oil-rich Persian Gulf as American and Israeli airstrikes pound the Islamic Republic. Iran’s response to the surprise Israeli and U.S. bombardment 12 days ago has upended trade routes, choked supplies of fuel and fertilizer coming out of the Gulf and threatened air traffic through one of the world’s most-traveled regions. Both sides have dug in, hoping to outlast the other. An Israeli intelligence assessment found that Iran’s new supreme leader was wounded at start of the war.

Suspect in fatal Swiss bus fire had no terror links, police say

GENEVA (AP) — A man who doused himself in a flammable substance and set his body on fire killing himself and five others aboard a bus in Switzerland had previously been reported missing by his family and didn’t appear to have any terror-related motive. Five people were also injured in the fire late Tuesday in the town of Kerzers. Police had previous knowledge of the Swiss man before Wednesday in a medical context rather than a criminal one. That’s according to the regional attorney general. The man is believed to be one of the deceased. But identification of the bodies is pending.

Files show British PM was warned of ‘reputational risk’ in appointing Mandelson

LONDON (AP) — Documents released by the British government show officials believed there was a “reputational risk” in appointing Peter Mandelson as the U.S. ambassador because of his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The concerns were raised in a document sent to Prime Minister Keir Starmer in December 2024 before he appointed Mandelson to the role, seen as vital to establish a good relationship with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The document also spelled out other, unrelated reputational issues over Mandelson’s work in a previous Labour government related to financial matters, including high-profile donors. The 147-page release was published Wednesday on the government website

A drone strike hits school and medical center in southern Sudan, killing 17

CAIRO (AP) — An explosive-laden drone blamed on Sudanese paramilitaries has struck a secondary school and a health care center in southern Sudan, killing at least 17 people, mostly schoolgirls, a hospital official and a medical group said. At least 10 people were wounded in Wednesday’s strike, according to Dr. Musa al-Majeri, director of the Douiem Hospital. The war-tracking Sudan Doctors Network reported the strike first, which happened in the village of Shukeiri in the White Nile province. It was the latest deadly attack in Sudan’s nearly three-year war. The conflict, which shows no sign of abating, pits the country’s military against the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group.