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BBC News with Roisin Hastie.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced an expansion of secondary sanctions aimed at severing Iran's links with the global economy. Mr. Bessent said banks, businesses and countries would be put under pressure to cut economic ties with Tehran, and those that did not comply would share its isolation. That, he said, included China. From Washington, Khashayar Joneidi on the BBC's Persian Service told us what the impact the latest round of sanctions might have on Iran. This is not new. The U.S. is expanding the secondary sanctions to technology, to cryptocurrency, to shipping and to airlines. The fact is Iran has some major trading partners in places like the UAE, China. Of course, the Emiratis last week announced that they are stopping all kind of trade and financial transactions with Iran. That's gonna damage Iran very hard. That's very serious and very important. The question is, is China going to follow suit? Whether President Trump could persuade the Chinese not to do any trade with Iran. A British maritime safety organization, the UKMTO, says an oil tanker has been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz. It's reported damage to its engine room and is said to be disabled. The crew is reported to be safe. The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted a lower court order that blocked President Trump's plan to restrict postal voting. In a six to three decision, the court's conservative majority put on hold a June injunction issued by a Boston judge. That order had prevented the restrictions being imposed in 23 mostly Democratic-led states and Washington DC. Mr. Trump has long claimed mail ballots are insecure. From Washington, here's our correspondent, Anthony Zurcher. Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of the dissenting liberal judges, said that this decision takes the eye off the ball of what the administration is really trying to do. It's not trying to secure elections, it's trying to foment doubt and concern about the legality of the elections, the validity of the elections. And in that view, this is a win for the administration beyond just the temporary procedural victory. This is what Donald Trump wants, even though he votes by mail, he doesn't want this to be a widespread practice, particularly because it happens in a lot of Democratic states like California, Washington and Colorado. The Sudanese army is reported to have carried out drone strikes on paramilitary positions in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state. The attack came hours after a large cargo flight landed in the city and followed weekend attacks on RSF supply convoys in Chad and North Darfur. Nyala Airport has become one of the paramilitary group's chief logistics hubs. The continuing flow of weapons into Sudan is of mounting concern. World news from the BBC. Fire crews in the U.S. state of Nevada said they've brought under control about a quarter of the wildfire outside Reno. Officials, however, remain concerned that gusts of wind could drive the flames towards more homes. Our correspondent, Shaimaa Khalil, reports. Some residents have been allowed to return to their properties, but around 40,000 people remain under warnings to prepare to evacuate. Since Saturday, walls of orange flames have swept across the foothills around Reno, sending enormous plumes of smoke above the city and threatening to destroy densely populated neighborhoods. Helicopters are continuing to drop water on the blackened hills, while the National Guard controls access to evacuated areas. Officials say the fire was started by human activity, but whether it was accidental or deliberately set remains under investigation. The new Colombian president has ordered a crackdown on illegal immigrants. Abelardo de la Espriella has already announced campaigns against the high rate of crime and the country's drug trafficking gangs in his two weeks in office and on Monday signaled that the hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants would be his next target. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will only return to trade talks with the United States if the conditions are right after negotiations ended without a deal. He was speaking after President Trump threatened to impose further tariffs of up to 50 percent on key Canadian goods from next year. Mr. Carney said he was not surprised by Mr. Trump's comments and warned that Washington could not treat Canada as a subsidiary of the United States. A destructive tornado has torn through a village in southern France, injuring more than 40 people and damaging hundreds of buildings. The swirling wind reached over 100 kilometers an hour as it passed through the village of Pomas in the old region, ripping the roofs off homes. That's the latest BBC news. |