Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has warned against conspiracies by “enemies and ill-wishers” to sow discord between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

He made the remarks on Tuesday at a meeting with Saudi Minister of State Prince Mansour bin Mutaib bin Abdulaziz, who is also the special representative of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, in the Iranian capital Tehran, Xinhua news agency reported, citing a statement published on the website of the Iranian president’s office.

Pezeshkian said that “the enemies and those wishing ill towards Iran and Saudi Arabia seek to sow discord between the two countries to achieve their illegitimate demands. Iran and Saudi Arabia should foil such conspiracies through vigilance, unity, and solidarity.”

He described as “constructive” his comprehensive phone call on July 17 with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, stressing, “Relations between Tehran and Riyadh have been tied with religious bonds and commonalities in addition to the neighbourly considerations and brotherly and cordial exchanges.”

The Saudi minister, for his part, conveyed the congratulations of the Saudi king and crown prince to Pezeshkian, saying the age-old relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran were founded on the basis of the two countries’ common history and culture as well as neighbourliness and fraternity.

He stressed that the two peoples had been connected to each other by a common religion, Islam.

The Saudi official voiced the willingness of his country’s leaders to expand relations with Iran, adding that the agreement on the resumption of bilateral relations last year was a beginning for treading the path of safeguarding mutual interests, which would also benefit the region and the world.

Pezeshkian on Tuesday was sworn in as Iran’s ninth president in a ceremony in Tehran. AGENCIES

 Israel’s army has announced that it killed Hezbollah’s top military commander, Fouad Shokor, in an airstrike in Beirut, saying the assassination was a retaliation for a cross-border rocket that killed 12 youngsters on Saturday.

Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group and political party, did not immediately confirm his condition.

“Tonight, IDF (Israel Defense Forces) conducted a targeted strike in Beirut, eliminating Fouad Shokor, also known as ‘Sayyid Muhsan,’ the most senior military commander and head of the Strategic Unit of Hezbollah,” IDF’s Spokesperson Daniel Hagari told a press briefing in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

Hagari said that Shokor served also as Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s “right-hand man” and was Nasrallah’s adviser for planning and directing wartime operations.

In a press release, IDF blamed Shokor for being responsible for the deadly rocket on Saturday that hit a football pitch in Majdal Shams, a Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The commander “was responsible for the majority of Hezbollah’s most advanced weaponry, including precise-guided missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, long-range rockets, and UAVs. He was responsible for force build-up, planning, and execution of terror attacks against the State of Israel,” IDF said.

A strong blast was heard in the Lebanese capital on Tuesday night, and video footage on social media showed mass destruction of a residential building, with rubble scattered in the street.

Lebanese media reported that at least another person was killed in the Israeli attack and 35 were injured. AGENCIES

Hollywood star and environment activist Leonardo DiCaprio has applauded the efforts in searching for lost species in a natural park in Madagascar in eastern Africa.

DiCaprio took to his Instagram, where he shared a reel video about how in 2023, a team set out to Makira, Madagascar and is tagged as “a first of its kind expedition to find 30 lost species.”

Lauding the efforts on finding 21 species, the ‘Titanic’ star wrote: “The #SearchforLostSpecies in Madagascar’s Makira Natural Park successfully rediscovered 21 species that were lost to science, including flowering ant-like beetles, three small iridescent fish, five jumping spiders, and a giant millipede that had not been documented since 1897.”

He said that this was in “addition to the surprising discoveries of species entirely new to science.”

“Makira is the largest and most intact forest in Madagascar—and many of the species here can’t be found anywhere else. The expedition team included @rewild Lost Species Officer Christina Biggs, as well as scientists from Madagascar, international scientists and local guides.”

Heaping praise on surveying the long-lost gems in the forest, he added: “Together, they surveyed rivers for lost fish, used light traps to attract and survey insects and searched the forest and rocky river beds for the recently rediscovered Dusky Tetraka.”

“The Search for Lost Species’ expedition to Makira was supported by the @ridgesfoundation,” he added.

“Forests across Madagascar are being destroyed for agriculture, logging and charcoal – conservationists fear that under-explored areas such as Makira could experience wildlife declines before scientists are able to describe, study, and protect the species that live in them,” DiCaprio concluded. AGENCIES

Russia on Wednesday “strongly condemned” the assassination of the head of the Hamas Politburo, Ismail Haniyeh as a result of a missile strike on his residence in Tehran.

 Addressing mediapersons, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrey Nastasin asserted that it is obvious that the “organisers of this political assassination” were aware of the dangerous consequences this action would have for the entire region.

“There is no doubt that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh will have an extremely negative impact on the course of indirect contacts between Hamas and Israel, within the framework of which mutually acceptable conditions for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip were being agreed upon,” said Nastasin. 

The attack was carried out during the Hamas leader’s stay in Iran, where he was officially invited to participate in the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s newly-elected President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“Once again, we strongly urge all parties involved to exercise restraint and refrain from steps that could lead to a dramatic degradation of the security situation in the region and provoke a large-scale armed confrontation,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Director.

Moscow also condemned Israel’s strike in Beirut, calling it a “flagrant violation” of the Lebanese sovereignty and the norms of international law.

“We express our deep concern at the growing threat of a sharp deterioration of the situation in the Middle East,” stated Nastasin. AGENCIES

 Six people have been killed due to torrential rain and landslides in Vietnam’s northern region, the country’s National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control reported on Wednesday.

Downpour-triggered landslides and floods killed two people in Ha Giang province, two in Dien Bien province, one in Thai Nguyen and another in Bac Giang in the past week, Xinhua news agency reported.

Two others were injured in Bac Kan province while one was still missing in Son La province.

Meanwhile, 82 houses in the region collapsed or were flooded, over 71 ha of rice was damaged, and 51 locations with 5,308 cubic meters of soil and rocks were eroded, said the committee.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting predicted that heavy rains will continue in the northern region in the next few days. AGENCIES

 After deciding not to back President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lanka’s largest political party in parliament split into two with 92 lawmakers pledging support for his re-election.

A large number of MPs of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) promised their unconditional support for the victory of Wickremesinghe in the upcoming presidential election set for September 21.

Among those who supported Wickremesinghe were Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry and a number of Cabinet Ministers and State Ministers who joined him to recover the economy since former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country in 2022 amidst severe financial crisis and street protests. Away from the country Gotabaya, who promised the support of his party SLPP, had invited Wickremesinghe to take over the country.

“Under President Ranil Wickramasinghe’s leadership, Sri Lanka has made significant strides in overcoming the most severe crises in the history. To prevent a return to such challenging times, it is essential to continue supporting President Wickramasinghe’s vision and initiatives. We need to protect the country before our political views,” State Minister of Finance Sehan Semasinghe, who joined Wickremesinghe, posted on social media platform X.

“There are more to join President Wickremesinghe,” State Minister of Defence Pramitha Bandara Tennakone who joined Wickremesinghe told reporters.

Despite an invitation by President Wickremesinghe to join his Presidential race, Rajapaksa’s party has decided to field a rival candidate. Rajapaksa’s son Namal Rajapaksa has accused Wickremesinghe of splitting the party created by his uncles Basil and Gotabaya.

Last week, President Wickremesinghe announced his candidacy as an independent candidate while opposition leader Sajith Premadasa from Samagi Janabalawegaya (United People’s Power) and Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the Marxist party National People’s Power announced their plans to contest for the election.

At the decisive election since the worst-ever economic crisis the South Asian island nation faced, around 17 million out of 22 million population is eligible to cast their votes. AGENCIES

 A laboratory test for a suspected case of bubonic plague in the western Mongolian province of Govi-Altai has returned negative results, local media reported on Wednesday.

The tests were conducted on samples taken from a resident of the province’s Taishir soum (administrative subdivision), who had recently been hospitalised after consuming marmot meat.

Despite the ban on hunting marmots in Mongolia, the rodent is still considered a delicacy by many, leading some to ignore the law, Xinhua news agency reported.

Seventeen out of Mongolia’s 21 provinces are at risk of bubonic plague infection, the country’s National Center for Zoonotic Diseases said, urging the public to refrain from hunting marmots and consuming their meat to mitigate the risk of infection.

Bubonic plague, a bacterial disease transmitted by fleas that live on wild rodents like marmots, can be fatal within 24 hours if not promptly treated, according to the World Health Organization. AGENCIES

 Violent mob clashed with police outside a mosque in northwest England’s Southport near the scene of a horror stabbing that left three dead.

Merseyside Police said that the English Defence League is believed to be behind the violent protests.

Speculation about the alleged attacker’s identity circulated online, fuelling the tension that already existed after Monday’s horrific knife attack, The Sun reported.

Protesters threw bricks at the mosque, set fire to cars and wheelie bins and caused damage to a local convenience store, police said.

At least 22 police officers, responding to the situation, were injured and 11 were hospitalised after clashes. AGENCIES

 Venezuela has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Peru due to Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olaechea’s statement on the presidential election results in the country, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on social media on Wednesday.

“We are forced to make this decision after the reckless statements of the Peruvian Foreign Minister that ignore the will of the Venezuelan people and our Constitution,” Gli said on social media platform X.

He added that the decision was made based on Article 45 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, Xinhua news agency reported.

This came after Peru refused to recognise the presidential election results of Venezuela.

Additionally, the Peruvian Foreign Minister said that he recognised Edmundo Gonzalez, the Venezuelan Opposition candidate, as the country’s President-elect.

Several countries, including the United States and Japan, have also raised “serious concerns” about Maduro winning the presidential election once again, citing that “doubts have been raised both domestically and internationally” about the transparency of the entire election process.

On Monday, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that Nicolas Maduro has won the presidential election for the third time and will govern the country from 2025 to 2031.

Maduro was running against nine presidential candidates. Of all the candidates, Edmundo Gonzalez, a retired diplomat, was seen as a significant challenge to Maduro. AGENCIES

 Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has blamed the opposition’s presidential candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, for the post-election violence unleashed across the nation.

“I hold you responsible, Mr. Gonzalez Urrutia, for everything that is happening in Venezuela, for the criminal violence, for the criminals, for the injured, for the dead, for the destruction,” the president said in a message broadcast to the nation during a joint meeting of the Council of State and the Defense Council on Tuesday.

The President also announced the creation of a fund to aid victims of the violence, Xinhua news agency reported.

Up to 749 people have been arrested for participating in violent riots following Sunday’s presidential election, Attorney General Tarek William Saab said Tuesday.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council on Monday declared Maduro the winner of the election, paving the way for his third six-year term, from 2025 to 2031. agencies