Hormuz talks positive, Oman says, as Iran warns deal would not open strait
Oman has said positive talks have been taking place with Iran over an agreement to secure a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran warned that any deal would not see an immediate reopening of the vital waterway, BBC reported.
Both sides suggested on Saturday that discussions were progressing, but a timeline on any deal being finalised remained unclear. Oman's foreign ministry warned against attacks on shipping that could hamper that.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks were in their final stages but the reopening of the strait remained "subject to other conditions".
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to sign joint defence deal amid regional turmoil
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will sign a ​joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, sources with knowledge of the matter said, amid regional turmoil with Gulf states coming under fire from Iran after it was attacked by the U.S. and Israel, Reuters reported.
While the pact further cements a burgeoning grouping of major Sunni Muslim powers allied with the United States, there was no immediate clarity on each state's commitments or how it might affect the wider crisis in the Middle East.
Thai teenager kills at least seven and injures more than 30 as PM calls shooting 'well prepared'
At least seven people have died in Thailand after a teenage boy shot his grandparents and some schoolteachers, BBC reported.
More than 30 others are injured, with nine in a serious condition, PM Anutin Charnvirakul says.
Authorities say the suspected shooter, 14, is also dead, with Charnvirakul telling reporters the attack was "well prepared"with "clear steps and clear goals," according to BBC.
Trump signs orders to limit US birthright citizenship, despite Supreme Court ruling
US President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday in a new but narrower attempt to curtail birthright citizenship, once again challenging a provision of the US Constitution even though the Supreme Court rejected his previous effort, Reuters reported.
Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the top priorities in the Republican president’s crackdown on immigration, with the ‌White House taking particular aim at what it calls “birth tourism,” in which pregnant foreigners travel to the US to give birth.
