Syria has assumed control of all military bases previously hosting U.S. forces, with the final American convoy departing Qasrak air base in the northeastern Hasakah governorate. The withdrawal marks a complete U.S. military exit from positions it had occupied in coordination with Syrian Democratic Forces during the campaign against the Islamic State. The handover of Qasrak, a strategically positioned installation in Syria's Kurdish-majority northeast, completes a broader transfer of U.S. military infrastructure to Syrian government authority. The departure closes a significant chapter in American military engagement in Syria, where forces had operated without formal Syrian government consent. The new Syrian administration now controls the full geography of former U.S. forward positions, altering the security architecture of the northeast, a region that borders both Iraq and Turkey and sits atop Syria's primary oil-producing areas. Analysts will watch whether Damascus can consolidate control over these bases and how Turkey, Kurdish groups, and regional actors respond to the changed on-the-ground reality.
Iranian armed forces attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, briefly halting traffic through the waterway. The strike threatens a fragile US-Iran arrangement and could push shipping insurance costs and oil prices higher.
The US has struck Iran, with President Trump citing an Iranian attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz as justification. The action raises immediate risks for global oil flows through one of the world's most critical shipping chokepoints.
The US struck ten Iranian targets on the second consecutive day of military action, putting a fragile ceasefire under serious pressure. The escalation raises immediate risks for Gulf shipping, global oil supply, and regional stability.
Venezuela's twin earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, have killed at least 164 people and injured 971, interim president Delcy Rodriguez confirmed Thursday. The quakes are the country's strongest since 1900, collapsing buildings across Caracas and prompting a state of emergency, with the death toll expected to rise as
