Tensions across the Middle East intensified Monday as Iran launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks against the United Arab Emirates, striking critical infrastructure and further straining a fragile cease-fire.

Tensions in the Middle East surged Monday as Donald Trump warned that Iran would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if U.S. vessels are attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the high stakes surrounding America’s newly launched maritime operation, “Project Freedom.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has welcomed Belarus’s release of journalist Andrzej Poczobut as part of a multinational prisoner exchange involving Poland, the United States, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine.

Remembrance Day commemorations for Dutch victims of World War Two, including those who perished in the Holocaust and in later conflicts or peace missions, were overshadowed Monday by protests and vandalism blamed on suspected anti-Israel activists.

At least two people were killed and eight were injured after Russian drones attacked minibuses in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, officials said, underscoring mounting concern about strikes on civilian areas.

Ukraine has warned of increased military activity along its border with Belarus, raising concerns about a possible escalation in the more than four-year-long war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Tensions have emerged between Budapest’s progressive mayor Gergely Karácsony and incoming conservative Prime Minister Péter Magyar, underscoring divisions ahead of Hungary’s political transition.

Tensions remained high Monday in the Dutch town of Loosdrecht after days of protests against plans to house asylum seekers, with clashes between demonstrators and police and widespread damage to municipal property.

There is mounting concern about the future of the NATO military alliance after U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced plans to withdraw thousands of troops from Germany, as transatlantic tensions deepen over the Middle East war.

President Donald Trump has granted a key federal approval for a major new oil pipeline from Canada into the United States, a project already being dubbed “Keystone Light” for its resemblance to the previously canceled Keystone XL.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States will begin guiding commercial ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, where global shipping has been effectively trapped amid the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran.

The Middle East is rapidly moving toward what many officials believe could be the second phase of the ongoing Iran war, with new military deployments, massive arms transfers, and rising tensions pointing to renewed conflict within days.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that the United States is dramatically escalating financial and military pressure on Iran, describing the strategy as a deliberate effort to “suffocate” the regime and cut off its ability to function.

Iran’s newly installed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a defiant warning Thursday, declaring that the Islamic republic will safeguard its nuclear and missile capabilities as a “national asset,” even as Donald Trump pushes for a broader agreement to stabilize a fragile ceasefire in the ongoing conflict.

Incoming Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Wednesday he expects the European Union to soon unlock billions of euros (dollars) in funding frozen over corruption and rule-of-law concerns, after what he described as “highly constructive” talks in Brussels.