People disembark in Bratislava from a Slovak government flight from Jordan
Slovaks return home from Jordan on repatriation flightspublished at 07:37
As strikes continue across the Middle East, many countries outside of the region are arranging repatriation flights to bring citizens home.
These images show people being brought back to Bratislava from Jordan on flights arranged by the Slovakian government.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency, 53-year-old Zuzana describes sirens “going off there every now and then. And missiles were just flying over us. We even saw some shot down”.
Anton, 23, says air raid warnings “started to get more intense”.
“I did not even see the rockets, it was terrifying and I cannot imagine experiencing it on a daily basis,” he says.
Israel says it is carrying out a fresh wave of strikes in Iran, after the country earlier said it had carried out new attacks on Iran’s “leadership compound” on Tuesday – BBC Verify assesses videos of the aftermath
Meanwhile President Trump Donald told reporters at the White House “everything’s been knocked out in Iran”
He also criticised Prime Minister Starmer and the UK’s initial response to US-Israeli strikes on Iran, saying “this is not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with”
The US says it has hit more than 2,000 targets in Iran since it began its military operations on Saturday. Tehran has retaliated with a wave of attacks across the region – here’s why the US and Israel attacked Iran
The number of people killed in Iran so far has reached 787, the Red Crescent says, while Tehran residents tell BBC Persian they are worried about the availability of groceries
The UK will send helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and air defence destroyer HMS Dragon to Cyprus, after attacks on a British base there. France is planning to send a frigate and further air defences to the island too
Stock tumble forces South Korea to pause tradingpublished at 06:45
Stock markets across Asia are seeing red this morning, but South Korea is having an especially tough time.
Its Kospi exchange was forced to halt trading for 20 minutes on Wednesday after stocks fell by more than 8%. Trading has since resumed but the Kospi is more than 10% lower.
The pause is part of an automatic mechanism called the circuit breaker, designed to prevent extreme market volatility if share prices fall drastically.
It was the first time the country’s index circuit breaker was activated since August 2024.
A circuit breaker will kick in again if share prices fall by 15%.
Seoul is a big importer of Middle Eastern oil and its export-reliant economy is especially vulnerable to geopolitical shocks that can put shipments at risk.
Iran operation is double the scale of ‘shock and awe’ mission in 2003published at 03:37
Image source,ReutersThe commander of the US Central Command has just released an update on the military operation in Iran in a video on X.
Referencing the “shock and awe” of the 2003 attacks on Iraq, he says the first 24 hours of this operation were nearly double the scale.
He says the US has struck nearly 2,000 targets in Iran and has destroyed 17 Iranian ships.
“Today, there is not a single Iranian ship underway in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, or Gulf of Oman,” Senior US Admiral Brad Cooper says.
With the mission involving more than 50,000 troops, 200 fighters, two aircraft carriers and bombers, he says this represents “the largest buildup by the US in the Middle East in a generation”.
“We have severely degraded Iran’s air defences and destroyed hundreds of Iran’s ballistic missiles, launchers and drones,” he says.
In retaliation, the US commander says “Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missies and 2000 drones”, adding they “indiscriminately targeting civilians”.
Trump to see first test on war powerspublished at 03:31
Image source,ReutersFor the first time since the strikes on Iran began, US President Donald Trump will be tested on whether he has the authorisation to launch the military action.
The vote on the War Powers Act has been scheduled in the senate for 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
The measure is aimed at limiting Trump’s ability to wage military operations – but given the growing number of unknowns surrounding the conflict and previous lack of authorisation during other administrations, it will face an uphill battle.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio argues “there’s no law that requires the President to have done anything with regards to this”.
“No presidential administration has ever accepted the War Powers Act as constitutional – not Republican presidents, not Democratic presidents,” he added.
The senators who introduced the measure – Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, and Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky – have said they want it on the record how senators feel about the administration’s action.
“[Senators will] Vote on whether we want to send our own kids – our own sons and daughters, the most precious resource we have in this country – into a war that could end up like the wars we have just recently exited in the same region,” Kaine said.
Strikes continue as UK charters evacuation flightpublished at 07:41
Welcome to our ongoing live coverage of the war in the Middle East.
Israel has launched new strikes on targets in Iran, and warned of retaliatory attacks.
Several people were also reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon. Israel says it was targeting Hezbollah operatives and facilities.
And the UK government has chartered an evacuation flight out of Oman on Wednesday to help British nationals who want to leave the Middle East.
The flight, the first specifically arranged by the UK government, is currently scheduled to leave Muscat International Airport on Wednesday night at 23:00 local time (19:00 GMT) – and will prioritise the most vulnerable people.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates.
BBC
US and Ecuador forces launch operation to fight drug trafficking
ReutersEcuadorean security forces patrol after a violent outbreak in Quito in 2024 Ecuadorean and US forces have launched operations against what it said were designated terrorist organisations in the South American country, the US military’s Southern Command said on Tuesday.
The Southern Command said the action was aimed at tackling illicit drug trafficking, but did not provide more details in a statement on X.
The announcement comes a day after Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said the US was among “regional allies” taking part in a “new phase” of Ecuador’s war on the drug cartels.
Noboa says around 70% of the world’s cocaine now flows through Ecuador’s huge ports, making it a lucrative location for drug-trafficking gangs.
It also neighbours Colombia and Peru, the world’s two largest producers of cocaine.
The latest operations come four months after Ecuadoreans dashed US hopes of expanding its presence in the eastern Pacific region by voting against allowing the return of foreign military bases in the country.
The referendum result was a blow to Noboa, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, who is trying to fight organised crime and reduce soaring violence.
In recent years, the country has become one of the world’s biggest drug-trafficking hotspots.
On Monday, Noboa held talks in Quito with US Southern Command chief Francis Donovan and Mark Schafer, head of US Special Operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
During the meeting, they discussed plans for information sharing and operational coordination at airports and seaports, Noboa’s office said in a statement.
“Together, we are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere,” the US Southern Command said on Tuesday.
The announcement comes three months after the Washington announced a temporary deployment of Air Force personnel to the former US base in the port city of Manta.
Tackling drug trafficking in the region is a key priority for the US.
The Trump administration has carried out more than 40 lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean since September.
In January, the US seized Venezuela’s then-President Nicolás Maduro, who they accused of “narco-terrorism” and enabling the transport of “thousands of tonnes” of cocaine to the US.
And last month, Trump met his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, at the White House after months of rising tensions between the pair.
Trump has repeatedly accused Petro and his administration of failing to stem the flow of drugs to the US, suggesting that expanded strikes could also target Colombia.
