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The US and Iran have agreed to "stand down" following an exchange of strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, with both sides signalling that commercial vessels can now move through the waterway freely and that talks will continue.

Elsewhere, Serbia's long-serving president has announced his resignation amid mass protests, and Ukraine's foreign minister has declared the "Spirit of Anchorage" dead.

Read more below ⤵️

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Major Story

🇺🇸🇮🇷 US and Iran agree to stand down after exchange of strikes

Washington and Tehran agreed to halt hostilities following a series of strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, with a US official confirming that vessels will be able to transit the waterway freely and that diplomatic talks aimed at ending the war will resume.

The renewed clashes began after an Iranian projectile struck a cargo ship in the strait on Thursday, prompting the US to carry out retaliatory strikes on multiple Iranian targets over the weekend.

Iran responded by striking US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, though Washington said none of the attacks reached their targets and caused no casualties or damage.

The exchange came less than two weeks after both countries signed a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding on 17 June that included an immediate and permanent cessation of military operations, and which required Iran to use its best efforts to guarantee safe passage of commercial vessels for 60 days.

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1️⃣ 🇺🇦 Ukraine declares "Spirit of Anchorage" dead: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said any understanding reached between Trump and Putin at their August 2025 Anchorage summit no longer holds, calling on Moscow to engage directly with Ukraine's proposals for peace talks. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio separately denied that any formal agreement was reached in Alaska, contradicting Russian officials who had accused Washington of drifting from commitments made there.

2️⃣ 🇺🇬 Uganda's military chief shuts down two major media outlets: General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, son of President Yoweri Museveni and chief of the armed forces, ordered the closure of the Daily Monitor newspaper and NTV Uganda broadcaster, stating he does not believe in a free press. Armed personnel were deployed to the Nation Media Group's Kampala headquarters, preventing staff from entering or leaving.

3️⃣ 🇮🇶 Iraqi officials arrested in Green Zone corruption raid: Security forces sealed off Baghdad's Green Zone in overnight operations and arrested seven people including five members of parliament on corruption charges, based on testimony from a former deputy oil minister detained the previous month. Some of those arrested are reported to be affiliated with the political bloc of former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

4️⃣ 🇨🇩🇷🇼 Congo files ICJ case against Rwanda over eastern conflict: The Democratic Republic of Congo filed proceedings at the International Court of Justice accusing Rwanda of legal responsibility for more than three decades of violence in its eastern provinces, citing alleged breaches of international conventions on genocide, racial discrimination, and torture. Rwanda denied backing armed groups in the region, though the court had not yet confirmed whether it had jurisdiction to hear the case, and separate US and Qatar-mediated peace talks between the two countries had not produced a lasting settlement.

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