US attacks ship entering Gulf, Zelensky makes another accusation against Russia - daily digest

US attacks ship in Gulf, Zelensky blames Russia again - daily digest

**US-Iran war**

As hopes for an end to the war fade, the US and the Houthis reported separate attacks on ships on Tuesday.

Four crew members were killed in an attack on a small cargo ship in the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the southern Red Sea on Tuesday. Two rescuers from a military group fighting the Houthis in Yemen also died. The Tihamah ship that was attacked was an Egyptian-owned ship.

The Houthis said they had attacked a Saudi ship carrying military equipment in the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Saudi Arabia did not comment on the report.

Also yesterday, the US military launched two Hellfire missiles from a helicopter at a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship.

The US Central Command said the ship ignored repeated warnings to stop violating the naval blockade. Maritime security sources said the ship was hit off the coast of Pakistan as it entered the Gulf of Oman.

Both Iran and the United States have ratcheted up their rhetoric in the past two days.

On Sunday, an Iranian military commander said that “the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened unless America changes its behavior and accepts Iran’s conditions.”

Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an adviser to the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said on Tuesday that the corps was developing the ability to conduct operations “in enemy territory.” “We must be able to move operations into enemy territory whenever the need arises and the order is given. This is a characteristic of the offensive doctrine that must be achieved,” he said.

Trump, speaking to reporters in Ohio, said, “Iran is doing great.”

“We have complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. No one else, just us. If you think about it, there’s a country that has been the aggressor of the Middle East for 51 years… and they’re not the aggressor of the Middle East anymore,” he said.

**Russia-Ukraine War**

Ukraine and Russia continued to fire at each other overnight. President Zelensky accused Moscow of using North Korean missiles.

Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 120 drones and various types of missiles overnight. However, the number of missiles fired or shot down for the first time was not disclosed.

According to the Ukrainian side, seven people were killed and at least 24 were injured in the attack on the city of Zaporizhia. Zelensky said the strikes used ballistic missiles from a Russian ally, but he offered no evidence to support his claims.

This is not the first time Zelensky and other officials have accused Russia of receiving military assistance from North Korea. Over the weekend, the Ukrainian president also spoke of up to 50,000 North Korean troops being sent to Russia.

The Russian attacks come a day after Ukrainian drones struck Tatarstan, killing 15 people, including eight Uzbeks.

Ukraine also struck Wildberries warehouses in the western Russian city of Voronezh on Sunday. The company has been targeted several times in recent weeks.

Wildberries has not yet confirmed the attack, but said its facilities in the region bordering Ukraine have been evacuated.

**Assad sentenced to death**

A Syrian court sentenced former dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia on Tuesday.

The court sentenced the former president to death for “the intentional killing of several people and children, torture, arbitrary detention and crimes against humanity.”

The judge also sentenced Assad’s brother, Mahir, the head of the Fourth Armored Division, to death in absentia, who was accused of leading the crackdown on protests and drug production and trafficking.

Atif Najib, a security official in the southern province where the first anti-Assad protests began in 2011, was also sentenced to death. Najib, a cousin of the Assads, was captured by Syrian security forces in early 2025. He was the only defendant to appear in person at the trial.

Assad was ousted from power in December 2024 by a group led by al-Shar’a, ending decades of rule by the Assad family and a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians.

News of the verdict was greeted by crowds of people gathered around the courthouse, cheering, clapping and waving Syrian flags. Assad, who fled Damascus as the militants approached, is in Russia, where Putin has granted asylum to his former ally and his family on “humanitarian grounds.”

**North Korea fires another missile**

On Wednesday, North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea off the peninsula’s eastern coast, days before major joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington, which Pyongyang has long condemned.

The South Korean military said the missile was launched around 6 a.m. from the Wonsan area, a region where North Korea launched another ballistic missile six days ago.

Defense officials said the missile flew about 430 miles (700 km). But Seoul officials did not immediately identify the weapon as a short-range ballistic missile. Its technical specifications are being closely examined.

Analysts say the launch is likely part of North Korea's ongoing weapons development program. But the timing could also be a signal to the U.S. and South Korea ahead of joint military exercises.

South Korea estimates Wednesday's launch is the 11th ballistic missile test this year.

There was no immediate comment from Pyongyang.

**Earthquake death toll rises**

The death toll from a devastating earthquake in western Colombia has risen to 254. Rescuers are searching for survivors trapped under collapsed buildings.

The magnitude 7.4 quake cracked, tilted or flattened apartment buildings, private homes, schools and health centres.

Many indigenous communities in the forested Choco region near the epicentre are still without electricity and basic services, hampering rescue efforts.

The quake came just days after the inauguration of new President Abelardo De La, who has visited the affected areas and promised economic aid to those displaced.

Rescuers are using cranes, excavators and even their bare hands to dig through the rubble. A human chain of people, passing buckets of rubble from hand to hand, continues to search for survivors.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 100 aftershocks had been recorded since the quake.

Cali health officials said the city's morgue was already full and authorities were still retrieving more bodies from the streets.

A nighttime, militarized curfew was imposed to prevent looting.