World

Australia has granted asylum to five players from Iran’s women’s national team after fears they would face persecution if forced to return home, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Sunday. “They are welcome to stay in Australia, and they are safe here, and should feel at home here,” Burke told reporters. He later posted on social media: “Last night I was able to tell five women from the Iranian Women’s Soccer team that they are welcome to stay in Australia, to be safe and have a home here.” The move follows a turbulent…

GLASGOW, Scotland — Glasgow Central, Scotland’s biggest train station, remained closed Monday after a major fire tore through a neighboring 19th-century building off Union Street, causing a partial dome collapse and leaving only the facade of the corner property at Gordon Street and Union Street standing. No injuries have been reported, but officials said the closure is likely to continue until Wednesday, disrupting thousands of journeys in and out of the city center. The blaze broke out Sunday night in a building adjacent…

ISTANBUL — Istanbul’s jailed mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, went on trial Monday in a sweeping corruption case that opposition leaders and rights groups call a politically motivated effort to block his path to the presidency. The hearing in Silivri, on the outskirts of Istanbul, was suspended after roughly 15 minutes amid chaos and procedural disputes. Arrested on March 19 last year — the day he was named the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) — Imamoglu has been held ever since. He is…

G7 weighs release of strategic oil reserves as IEA signals no immediate action G7 finance ministers are expected to discuss a possible coordinated release of strategic oil reserves as the war in the Middle East rattles energy markets, a French government source said today. The International Energy Agency, which coordinates emergency actions among major importers, said there is “plenty of oil in the market” and no collective action is planned for now, even as it keeps “all options” open. The debate comes as U.S. benchmark…

European shares fell further Monday as oil prices surged toward $120 a barrel, deepening inflation fears and rattling risk appetite amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, which shows no sign of easing. The latest bout of volatility underscored the market’s sensitivity to energy shocks and supply disruptions tied to the conflict in the Middle East. London’s benchmark slipped 1% in afternoon trade, while the Paris CAC 40 lost 1.7% and Frankfurt’s DAX dropped 1.4%. Dublin’s market fell 1.3%, with Kingspan, Cairn Homes and Ryanair…

EU ready to bolster Middle East maritime missions as Hormuz traffic stalls, oil nears $120 European Union leaders said the bloc is prepared to strengthen its naval operations in the Middle East to protect critical shipping lanes, as the war triggered by U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran disrupts maritime traffic and sends energy prices surging. European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “expressed their openness to further tailor and enhance these operations in order to better…

Glasgow Central, Scotland’s biggest and busiest train station, has been closed after a major fire tore through a building by the station on Sunday afternoon, triggering widespread rail disruption that will last into the new week. Britain’s National Rail said the station will remain closed today and is likely to stay shut tomorrow following the blaze at a vape shop within a four-story building in Glasgow city center. No trains will run to or from the high-level platforms, and services using the low-level line will pass…

Opinion: From Mossadegh to Khamenei, America keeps relearning the true cost of regime change in Iran In Iranian politics, history is not past; it is precedent. The 1953 coup that toppled Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh under a covert U.S.-British operation did more than restore a monarch. It set the template for how Iranians interpret foreign power—and how easily short-term victories can harden into generational backlash. Seven decades on, Washington is again defining success by removal. The lesson from 1953 suggests the…

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, to succeed his late father as supreme leader, cementing hard-line control more than a week after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an air strike, Iranian media reported. The clerical body elevated the mid-ranking cleric, long seen as a power broker with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, following internal deliberations shaped by loyalty tests and wartime rhetoric. In a video message, council member Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir said the…

Israel struck a seafront hotel in central Beirut on Sunday, the first attack on the city’s core since the start of the new war with Hezbollah, as Lebanon’s health minister said nearly 400 people have been killed across the country in the past week. Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said 394 people were killed over seven days of Israeli strikes, including 83 children and 42 women. Earlier, the ministry said an Israeli air attack hit “a hotel room” in Beirut’s city center, killing four people and wounding 10 others.…