Islamabad deal "a declaration of U.S. defeat": Iranian parliament speaker
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf called the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) "a declaration of U.S. defeat" at a parliamentary conference of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Baku on Wednesday.
"The Islamabad agreement came not as a result of pressure and coercion, but (as a result) of the resilience and strength of the Iranian people. This is why we regard the Islamabad MoU as a declaration of U.S. defeat," Qalibaf said, according to Azerbaijani news outlet Vesti.az.
The recent conflict was not merely a military confrontation but an attempt to alter the strategic balance in the region and impose external will on an independent nation, and those who organized the "aggression" had miscalculated Iran's response to military pressure, blockades and psychological operations, he said.
68,000 households affected by power outage in western France amid heatwave
About 68,000 households remain without electricity in the southwestern part of France's Finistere department following a major transformer incident caused by extreme heat, local authorities said Wednesday.
The incident occurred at approximately 9:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) on Tuesday at an electricity substation operated by RTE, France's transmission system operator, in the commune of Ergue-Gaberic, and no injuries have been reported, according to a statement by the prefecture of Finistere.
The power failure was accidental and directly linked to the high temperatures currently affecting the region, it said, noting that due to technical complexities, full grid reconnection is expected to take place no earlier than late Wednesday evening.
Oman opens temporary shipping routes in Strait of Hormuz
Oman has announced the opening of temporary shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, the country's Maritime Security Center said on Wednesday in a social media post.
In coordination with the International Maritime Organization, the toll-free corridor will be open to all vessels.
Uganda records new Ebola case, total rises to 20
Uganda has registered a new Ebola case, bringing the cumulative total of confirmed cases in the country to 20, the Ministry of Health said here on Wednesday.
The recovery rate remains high, with 15 out of the 20 confirmed cases successfully healed and discharged from the hospital, the ministry said in a post on social media platform X.
The ministry said that out of the 20 cases, 15 are imported from the neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, while five are local cases. Three patients are currently admitted, while two have died of the disease.■
