10 Things Global News - 25th August 2025
The news from around the world
Israel Hits Sana’a After Houthi Missile Attack
Russia Accuses Ukraine of Nuclear Plant Attack
National Guard in DC Begins Carrying Weapons
Trump Threatens to Deploy Troops to Baltimore
Lavrov Sets Terms for Ukraine Peace Deal
Vietnam Evacuates Thousands Ahead of Typhoon Kajiki
Spain Records Most Intense Heatwave on Record
Nigeria Kills 35 Jihadists in Border Air Strikes
Israel Faces Crisis Over Ultra-Orthodox Draft
Khamenei Rules Out Breakthrough With US
Israel launched air strikes on Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, in response to recent Houthi missile launches toward Israel. Military targets included a complex housing the presidential palace, power stations and a fuel depot.
Houthi casualty tallies differed: one statement reported six dead and 86 injured, another cited four dead and 67 injured. Israeli officials said Friday’s projectile most likely carried submunitions, describing the first launch of that kind from Yemen during the current conflict. The Houthis later released footage showing munitions dispersing in mid-air.
The Israel Defense Forces said a bomblet landed in a yard in the town of Ginaton, causing light damage, and opened an inquiry into why the missile was not intercepted before dispersal. The operation was overseen by the prime minister and defence minister, and authorities framed the strikes as a response to repeated attacks by the Iran-aligned group, which has also targeted Red Sea shipping since the Gaza war began.
Sources: The Guardian, BBC
Russia said a Ukrainian drone strike ignited a fire at a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region overnight as Ukraine marked its 34th Independence Day. Officials reported the blaze damaged a transformer but was quickly extinguished, with no casualties and radiation levels remaining normal. Several power and energy facilities were also targeted in the strikes.
Firefighters responded separately to a blaze at the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region after debris from intercepted drones ignited facilities. Russia’s defence ministry said air defences intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ukraine’s air force reported Russia launched 72 drones and a cruise missile into Ukraine, with 48 drones downed or jammed.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was aware of reports of the Kursk fire but could not confirm independently, stressing nuclear facilities must always be protected. Ukraine did not comment on the allegations. President Zelenskyy addressed the nation in Kyiv, vowing continued resolve.
Sources: Euronews, PBS
National Guard troops deployed to Washington, DC, began carrying weapons on Sunday after a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized them to do so under President Donald Trump’s anti-crime agenda. The Pentagon had previously said Guard members could be armed only when circumstances required it.
Witnesses reported troops carrying both sidearms and long guns in areas including The Wharf waterfront. Officials said only units on certain missions would be armed, with troops operating under strict rules for use of force that permit weapons only as a last resort in response to imminent threats of death or serious harm.
The Guard presence is part of a wider federal takeover of policing in the capital, which has also included thousands of Guard members from multiple states and expanded federal law enforcement patrols.
Sources: CNN, Politico
President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy National Guard troops to Baltimore, escalating a confrontation with Maryland Governor Wes Moore. The exchange began after Moore invited Trump to join a safety walk in the city, which the president dismissed as “nasty” and “provocative.” Trump said he would “send in the troops” if Moore needed help, citing ongoing deployments in Washington, DC.
The comments come as part of Trump’s broader strategy of sending troops into Democratic-led cities under his crime crackdown agenda. Moore criticised the threat as tone-deaf and ignorant, while pointing to reductions in gun violence and homicides since his inauguration. Baltimore is on track to record its lowest homicide total since official crime statistics began.
Trump has also suggested New York and Chicago are likely next targets for federal action. His use of troops in domestic policing has drawn backlash from Democratic leaders, who argue it amounts to an abuse of power.
Sources: BBC, Time
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a group of nations including permanent members of the UN Security Council should guarantee Ukraine’s security as part of peace terms. He told US media that Ukraine must remain neutral, non-aligned, non-nuclear and outside NATO. Lavrov said Germany, Turkey and others could also participate in providing guarantees.
The comments followed President Putin’s demand that Ukraine relinquish the entire Donbas region, renounce NATO ambitions, and prevent Western troops from entering the country. At the Alaska summit earlier this month, Putin raised the failed 2022 Istanbul talks, where neutrality for Ukraine in exchange for guarantees was discussed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly rejected ceding Donbas, citing the sacrifices of Ukrainians who fought to free the region during World War II and in the current war. Tens of thousands have died in Donbas battles, and Ukraine’s constitution prohibits giving up territory. Opinion polls show strong opposition among Ukrainians to territorial concessions.
Sources: Reuters, New York Times
Vietnam has closed airports, shut schools and evacuated tens of thousands of people as Typhoon Kajiki approaches its central coast. With gusts reaching 166 kilometers per hour, the storm was 110 kilometers offshore early Monday and forecast to make landfall that afternoon. Authorities warned it would bring heavy rain, flooding and landslides, calling it the most powerful storm so far this year.
About 30,000 people had been evacuated by Monday morning, with more than half a million expected to leave vulnerable areas. The government mobilized 16,500 soldiers and over 100,000 paramilitary personnel for evacuation and rescue operations. Two airports in Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh provinces were closed, and dozens of flights canceled.
Kajiki brushed past China’s Hainan island over the weekend, where 20,000 people were evacuated, businesses shut and transport halted in Sanya. China later downgraded its emergency alerts but warned of continued heavy rain.
Sources: Reuters, Associated Press
Spain endured its most intense heatwave on record this month, the State Meteorological Agency said, with provisional readings from August 3 to 18 surpassing the previous record set in 2022. The average temperature was 4.6 degrees Celsius above the expected threshold, with peaks reaching 43C.
A 10-day stretch within the heatwave was the hottest recorded since at least 1950. Officials linked the pattern to the broader trend of more extreme summers driven by climate change, noting that five of the six most intense heatwaves since 1975 have occurred since 2019. The extreme heat has been linked to more than 1,100 deaths and has fuelled widespread wildfires in northern and western Spain.
Over 382,000 hectares have been burned, making this one of Southern Europe’s worst fire seasons in decades. Spain deployed 3,400 troops and 50 aircraft, while six European countries sent additional firefighters, vehicles and planes to assist.
Sources: Le Monde, Al Jazeera
Nigeria’s military said it killed more than 35 jihadists in a series of air strikes near the border with Cameroon. The strikes targeted four assembly areas after intelligence warned of an imminent attack on ground troops. The military said the operation stabilized the situation on the ground and was intended to deny militants freedom of movement.
The campaign is part of Nigeria’s ongoing fight against Boko Haram and its splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province, both of which have stepped up attacks this year. The conflict has killed more than 35,000 people and displaced over two million, according to the UN. Last week the United States approved a proposed $346 million arms sale to Nigeria to bolster its counterterrorism capacity.
Nigeria has also conducted operations against armed “bandit” gangs in the northwest, where the military said it rescued 76 kidnap victims in Katsina State after recent attacks that killed at least 50 people.
Sources: France 24, BBC
Israel’s decades-long exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from military service has become a political crisis as the war in Gaza stretches into its second year. The Israeli Supreme Court ended the exemption in 2024, making tens of thousands eligible for service, but compliance has been minimal.
Only 2,940 ultra-Orthodox have enlisted in the past year, well short of the military’s target of 4,800. Protests erupted this month in Jerusalem and other cities as police clashed with demonstrators opposing the draft. Rabbis have warned followers against enlisting, though surveys suggest many younger men would serve if community pressure were eased.
The army says it needs 12,000 new recruits as reservists grow exhausted and nearly 900 soldiers have died in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition is under threat after ultra-Orthodox parties withdrew over the draft, deepening divisions within Israeli society and raising questions about the war’s sustainability.
Sources: New York Times, France 24
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday that relations with the United States were “unsolvable,” ruling out concessions as nuclear tensions rise. He declared Iran would never bow to American pressure, saying the nation would stand “with all of its power” against such expectations.
His comments followed Friday’s agreement between Iran and European powers to resume talks aimed at restarting nuclear negotiations suspended after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during a 12-day war in June. That conflict saw Iran launch more than 500 ballistic missiles and 1,100 drones at Israel, killing 31 people and wounding over 3,000, according to Israeli health officials.
European governments have warned they may reimpose UN sanctions if Tehran fails to return to the table. Some Iranian officials are reportedly considering capping uranium enrichment at 20% to avoid sanctions, though hardliners and the Revolutionary Guard oppose the move.
Sources Reuters, Times of Israel
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