The British Royal Navy, citing monitoring results from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) it leads, said that since the United States and Israel launched military operations against Iran on Feb. 28, reports of incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters have gone “through the roof,” in the strait especially.
Between March 1 and April 27, a total of 41 security incidents were recorded.
The UKMTO said that around 850 to 870 large merchant vessels, including oil tankers, liquefied natural gas carriers and container ships, are currently stranded in the Gulf waters.
Meanwhile, about 20,000 seafarers are trapped in the region. Crew changes have been severely disrupted.
Although supplies continue to reach ships, they have been reduced, and prolonged stranding could affect the mental health of seafarers.
The agency noted that as international attention focuses on the Strait of Hormuz, there is a warning of resurgent piracy off the coast of Somalia.
The photo released on July 21, 2019 shows the British oil tanker “Stena Impero” surrounded by Iranian Revolutionary Guard near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran.
The soldiers were at a security checkpoint in Big Babanki in the Tubah subdivision when they were attacked, a military official in the region confirmed.
“The separatist terrorists took them by surprise. The sad incident occurred by midday this Friday. We have deployed additional forces to pursue the terrorists and capture them,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua.
Local media reported an increase in attacks on civilians and security forces in the region in recent weeks.
Cameroon has been experiencing an armed separatist conflict in its English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017, as separatists seek to create a new nation in the regions.
Two Cameroonian soldiers were killed on Friday in an ambush by separatist fighters in the country’s English-speaking Northwest region, security sources said.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while attending a symposium on strengthening basic research in Shanghai.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers an important speech at a symposium on strengthening basic research in Shanghai, east China, April 30, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)
China’s zero-tariff policy for 53 African diplomatic partners demonstrates the shared commitment of China and Africa to contributing to global peace and development with stability, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday, adding that China will steadily enhance trade facilitation with Africa.
Lin made the remarks at a regular news briefing in response to a query about China’s zero-tariff treatment for African countries starting May 1, 2026.
“China has noted Africa’s eager anticipation and positive feedback on the zero-tariff measures,” Lin said.
He noted that global protectionism and unilateralism are on the rise, and the spillover effects of the situation in the Middle East have spread to adjacent continents. By sharing opportunities and pursuing common development through the zero-tariff policy, China and Africa have demonstrated their determination to contribute to global peace and development with stability, Lin added.
“China will continue to negotiate and sign economic partnership agreements for common development with relevant African countries. At the same time, it will upgrade the green channel for the export of agricultural products from Africa to China and steadily enhance trade facilitation between China and Africa,” Lin said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday that China will steadily enhance trade facilitation with Africa.
Xi made the remarks while presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Tuesday.
The importance of disaster prevention, mitigation and relief work must be fully understood from a strategic perspective of ensuring both high-quality development and high-level security, Xi said.
To do a good job in such work, it is imperative to uphold the Party’s overall leadership, put people and their lives first, respect the laws of nature, prioritize prevention, push forward reform and innovation, apply systems thinking, and promote public participation, Xi said.
He stressed that reducing disaster risks and minimizing losses hinge on prevention before disasters occur, adding that safety requirements must be integrated into territorial space planning and construction planning, and that the safety standards for critical infrastructure in major cities and disaster-prone areas should be raised reasonably.
Xi called for continuous work to improve the country’s capacity to handle major disasters and catastrophes, such as strengthening monitoring and early warning systems and refining emergency response plans.
Stressing the need to strengthen scientific and technological support and legal safeguards for disaster response, Xi urged efforts to drive technological and industrial innovation in the emergency management sector.
Xi also called for improving grassroots emergency rescue systems and raising public awareness and preparedness for disasters.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has urged efforts to enhance the capacity to prevent and respond to natural disasters
The inclusion of an additional 20 African nations under the zero-tariff treatment policy has demonstrated the nation’s active commitment to expanding high-standard opening up, according to the authorities.
From May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2028, China will grant zero-tariff treatment, in the form of a preferential tariff rate, to 20 African countries that have established diplomatic ties with China and are not classified as the least developed countries, according to an announcement by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.
The announcement specified that for products under tariff quotas, only the in-quota tariff rate will be reduced to zero, while the out-of-quota tariff rate will remain unchanged.
During the two-year implementation period, China will continue to promote the negotiation and signing of the agreement of China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development with relevant African countries, it said.
China’s latest move to apply zero-tariff treatment to an additional 20 African nations came after the country had granted zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines since Dec. 1, 2024 for 33 least developed African countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations.
The commission added that this move will play an important role in strengthening the economic and trade cooperation bond between China and Africa as well as advancing joint efforts to build an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
Calling it a “significant measure,” China’s commerce ministry said Tuesday that with the expanded policy taking effect on Friday, China will become the first major economy to provide unilateral, full-coverage zero-tariff treatment to all African countries with diplomatic ties, and to all least developed countries with diplomatic relations.
In a statement, the ministry said that the zero-tariff arrangement is also an innovative and phased step as China and relevant African countries work toward the signing of the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development agreement.
It said that at a time when unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, China’s move will expand the opening up of its market through zero-tariff treatment, creating development opportunities for African countries. Meanwhile, by negotiating and signing the China-Africa Economic Partnership for Shared Development agreement, China aims to ensure stable benefits for African countries and provide long-term, stable and predictable institutional safeguards for deepening China-Africa economic and trade relations.
As a concrete step demonstrating China’s unwavering commitment to expanding high-standard opening up and its initiative to open wider, the implementation of zero-tariff treatment for the 53 African countries will inject strong impetus into China-Africa trade and investment cooperation as well as Africa’s development, it said.
China’s policy announcement on Tuesday aligns with its broad efforts to build a new system of a higher-standard open economy through mutually-beneficial and open cooperation and expansion of institutional opening up over the coming years.
According to the outline of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), the country will actively take the initiative to open wider and create a transparent, stable and predictable institutional environment. It has also pledged to improve the quality and level of trade and investment cooperation in the years through 2030.
“Since 1980, Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average, making it the fastest warming continent on Earth,” Celeste Saulo, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said while presenting the European State of the Climate Report 2025.
Fastest-warming continent
Europe suffered record or near-record climate extremes in 2025, with heatwaves, wildfires, marine heat and ice loss intensifying across the continent, the EU-funded Copernicus Climate Change Service and the WMO said in the report.
According to the report, at least 95 percent of Europe recorded annual temperatures above average, with prolonged heat spreading from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle.
Europe experienced its second-most severe heatwave on record, while sub-Arctic Fennoscandia endured a 21-day heatwave in July — the longest and most severe ever recorded in the region. Temperatures near and within the Arctic Circle reached or exceeded 30 degrees Celsius.
The findings align with broader Copernicus data showing that 2025 was the third-warmest year on record globally.
Hot and dry conditions fuelled Europe’s worst wildfire year on record. Wildfire data in the report showed that about 1.034 million hectares of land, an area larger than Cyprus, were burned in 2025. Wildfire emissions in Europe also reached their highest level on record, with Spain accounting for around half of the continent’s total fire emissions.
Extremes strain biodiversity and community
Numerous extreme events in 2025 – including drought, wildfires, and land and marine heatwaves – placed mounting pressure on biodiversity in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Shrinking and shifting habitats, disrupted seasonal cycles and changing precipitation patterns have further intensified stress on nature.
The report highlighted concrete examples of climate change impacts on sensitive ecosystems, such as marine heatwaves damaging seagrass meadows in the Mediterranean Sea and wildfires affecting peatlands, underscoring the growing links between climate and biodiversity loss.
Separate findings from the Global Forest Watch platform showed that climate change-linked forest loss was also significant in Europe in 2025. In France, tree cover loss due to fire reached a record high in 2025 – seven times higher than in 2024. In Spain and Portugal, around 60 percent of all 2025 tree cover loss was caused by wildfires.
Extreme heat also takes a measurable toll on human health and productivity. A joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the WMO has warned that extreme heat is disrupting global agrifood systems, threatening over one billion people. It estimated annual losses of around 500 billion working hours worldwide due to heat stress.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu described extreme heat as a “major risk multiplier,” exerting mounting pressure on crops, livestock, fisheries, forests, and on communities and economies that depend upon them.
Call for urgent action
Citing Europe’s record heatwaves, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Director-General Florian Pappenberger said: “The 2025 report offers clear, actionable insights to support policy decisions and help the public better understand the changing climate we live in.”
The report also points to steps taken by European policymakers, including legally binding EU targets to restore at least 20 percent of land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need by 2050. Broader frameworks such as the European Green Deal and EU Climate Law embed biodiversity protection within climate strategies.
However, despite these initiatives, the report underlined that progress must accelerate.
The European State of the Climate 2025 report “is a stark reminder that we must sustain and accelerate both adaptation and mitigation efforts,” said Dusan Chrenek, principal adviser for Digital Green Transition at Directorate-General for Climate Action, adding that Europe should further strengthen its Earth observation capabilities through advanced technologies.
Multiple reports released on Wednesday paint a stark picture of accelerating climate extremes, with Europe warming faster than any other continent.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the UN health body, expressed hope that the United States could clear its arrears before completing its exit, a requirement set by Washington itself.
While answering relevant questions at a press briefing hosted by the Association of Correspondents Accredited to the UN, Tedros outlined the two conditions for withdrawal: a one-year notice period and full payment of outstanding dues.
On his first day back in office in January 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump submitted a one-year notice of withdrawal from the WHO.
The United States has historically been the organization’s largest contributor. However, Tedros said there have been “no signals” that Washington intends to settle its dues.
He stressed that the issue extends beyond finances. “To be honest, it’s not about the money,” he said. “The issue is health security needs universality, and the United States, by withdrawing, makes itself unsafe and makes the rest of the world unsafe. So it’s lose-lose.”
“So our focus is not on the money. The focus is on helping the United States to understand and reconsider,” he added.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has been the WHO’s director-general since 2017
The move is “an expected relief for roughly 4,500 sailors who have been deployed for 10 months — but a loss of significant firepower as peace talks between the United States and Iran stagnate,” said the report.
The Ford Carrier Strike Group began its latest deployment on June 24, 2025, departing from the U.S. state of Virginia for the U.S. European Command area of responsibility, later deploying to Latin America for counter-narcotics operations and then to the Middle East as tensions with Iran escalated.
It is one of three carriers operating in the Middle East region, alongside USS George H.W. Bush and USS Abraham Lincoln.
U.S. President Donald Trump is set to receive a briefing on new plans for potential military action in Iran on Thursday from the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), online media Axios reported on Wednesday.
“The briefing signals that Trump is seriously considering resuming major combat operations either to try to break the logjam in negotiations or to deliver a final blow before ending the war,” said the report.
CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran — likely including infrastructure targets — in hopes of breaking the negotiating deadlock, it said, citing three sources with knowledge.
The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford will leave the Middle East and begin sailing for home in the coming days, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The decision, framed by Emirati officials as a “sovereign, strategic choice,” is believed to better align with the country’s long-term economic vision and production ambitions. However, experts argue that the move may steer the global energy geopolitics toward a more fragmented structure.
Sovereign decision
The UAE formalized its departure through a statement released by the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) on Tuesday, confirming its exit from both OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance.
The withdrawal is set to take effect on May 1, removing the group’s third-largest producer from its quota system. Analysts estimated that OPEC will lose about 15 percent of its capacity.
The decision followed “a careful look at current and future policies related to level of production,” Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei told Reuters, adding that the UAE did not raise the matter with any other country.
The sentiment was echoed by the Foreign Ministry, with its communications director Afra Mahash Al Hameli describing the exit on X as a “sovereign, strategic choice grounded in its long-term economic vision.”
Al Hameli said the move will give the country greater flexibility in using its energy capacity, strengthen national development, and reinforce market confidence.
Diverging paths
The UAE decision, analysts say, reflects a strategic pivot driven by its expanded production capacity and independent export routes, underscoring a broader ambition to become a versatile global energy leader beyond the cartel’s constraints.
Mohamed Nour El-Din Hashim, a Sudanese economist, believes the UAE’s exit is driven by a strategic desire to break free from OPEC production constraints to maximize oil revenues.
“This is true especially after Abu Dhabi has made substantial investments in expanding its oil production capacity in recent years,” Hashim said.
Though regional tensions almost paralyzed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the UAE possesses alternative export routes that grant it greater flexibility, he said, boosting its confidence in managing its oil policies “outside OPEC+ collective commitments.”
Aside from oil, the UAE harbors ambition to become a global energy hub in a broader sense, encompassing oil, gas, hydrogen and renewable energy, noted Emirati political analyst Abdulaziz Sultan Al-Mamari.
The country wants to pursue “greater autonomy” to better manage its “production levels” and meet its new role in the global market, Al-Mamari told Xinhua.
On a larger scale, Jumaa Mohammed, a politics professor at Iraq’s Tikrit University, argues that OPEC has increasingly struggled to balance the differing production strategies of its members.
“The strongest evidence: the UAE did not consult Saudi Arabia,” Mohammed said. “In GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) culture, this has never happened before. Major decisions were always preceded by meetings and coordination.”
This, however, does not mean a political rupture within, Al-Mamari said.
“Gulf countries are undergoing a phase of economic and sovereign repositioning characterized by diversified tools and approaches, without affecting the foundations of strategic coordination among them,” he added.
Fragmented energy order
The UAE’s exit not only entails oil price volatility in the short term, regional experts argue, but also signals a shift from OPEC collective discipline toward a more fragmented, market-driven energy order.
Mohammed Belqasim Al Barghouti, a Syrian political economy professor, hold the view that the exit of a country the size of the UAE, an influential producer, could weaken OPEC’s cohesion, but not its overall influence.
“In reality, the organization’s weight today largely depends on a central axis led by Saudi Arabia within OPEC, alongside its partnership with Russia under OPEC+,” Al Barghouti said.
Thus, the impact will be more on the level of discipline within the alliance rather than a collapse of the organization, he said.
Still, any signal of fragmentation within OPEC could create volatility and uncertainty in oil prices, pointed out Oytun Orhan, a senior researcher at the Ankara-based Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
“If the UAE moves to increase production outside quota constraints, this could put downward pressure on prices, especially if it coincides with a slowdown in global demand,” the researcher said.
In the long term, Sudanese political analyst Abdul-Rahman Awad said, the decision potentially marks the beginning of a new phase where national calculations trump collective discipline.
The expert warned, “The UAE’s decision could mark the beginning of a new phase in the global energy market, where traditional blocs lose their ability to enforce collective discipline, giving way to more independent policies driven by national calculations.”
Al-Mamari also believes this could accelerate a structural shift away from collective supply management.
“The decision may form part of a broader structural transformation in global energy architecture, shifting from collective control mechanisms toward a more open model, governed by supply and demand dynamics and balances of power among producers,” he said.
Photo taken on Nov. 30, 2023 shows the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria. (Xinhua/He Canling)Photo taken on June 28, 2021 shows the industrial estate of Saudi oil giant Aramco in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. (Xinhua/Hu Guan)This photo taken on Sept. 1, 2024 shows a view of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)Photo taken on Sept. 5, 2022 shows the headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by Wang Zhou/Xinhua)
