08/08/2026

SATURDAY | AUG 8, 2026

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Iran reviews Bill to restrict Strait of Hormuz transit

Uganda to send troops for Gaza

KAMPALA: The Ugandan Parliament has approved the deployment of troops to the Gaza Strip as part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), reported German Press Agency. At a sitting on Thursday, lawmakers approved a government motion to deploy a contingent of the Uganda People’s Defence Force. The ISF is intended to ensure security in the Gaza Strip and forms part of efforts, led by US President Donald Trump, to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Morocco, Indonesia and Albania have also agreed to take part. It is not yet clear when the deployment is due to begin. At the end of July, the Israeli Security Cabinet granted authorisation for part of the ISF, as well as representatives of the Palestinian Interim Administration, to begin work shortly in a limited area in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. A ceasefire has been in place in the Gaza conflict since October 2025, but deadly attacks continue to occur from time to time. Uganda is one of the largest contributors of troops to peacekeeping missions in Africa. The East African country’s most significant overseas deployment is currently taking place in Somalia. – Bernama-dpa Oil spill off Omani coast spells disaster CAIRO: An environmental disaster is looming off the coast of Oman due to an oil tanker that has run aground, satellite images have revealed, reported German Press Agency. Images show increasing quantities of oil are leaking from the 270m-long tanker Caroline Bezengi, which is believed to be part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. The oil slick has grown to cover an area of about 600 square kilometres, environmental organisation Greenpeace said on Wednesday. Caroline Bezengi is located in an ecologically sensitive region off the Omani coast. According to Greenpeace, coral reefs, sea turtles, migratory birds and marine mammals are among the species at risk. The waters around the protected islands in the area, where seabirds breed and turtles lay their eggs, are also home to the rare Arabian humpback whale. The tanker, subject to European Union sanctions, likely loaded oil at the Russian port of Novorossiysk, according to geodata company Synmax, which analysed satellite images. It is believed to have suffered an incident at sea in early June and subsequently ceased transmitting location data. Oman’s Transport Ministry has called on the owners to remove the vessel and its cargo from the area. – Bernama-dpa

o Draft says vessels belonging to United States, Israel and other countries Iran considers hostile to be barred

interests were threatened. The proposal comes as Iran and Oman continue negotiations on a new framework for managing navigation through the strait. The process follows an Iranian-US memorandum of understanding reached in June to end the conflict, under which Iran and Oman were tasked with negotiating new arrangements for maritime traffic through the strategic waterway. On Thursday, Tasnim cited an informed Iranian Foreign Ministry source as saying the proposed framework would initially retain the existing northern and southern shipping lanes before phasing them out in favour of a centrally managed corridor. Under the plan, inbound vessel traffic would be managed by Iran while outbound traffic would be jointly managed by Iran and Oman after the transition, the report said. Ships transiting the strait would pay fees for maritime services, including insurance, bunkering and environmental protection, rather than cargo-based transit tolls. The source rejected reports that Tehran and Oman are divided over proposed charges of 7% or 3% of a vessel’s cargo value, saying the fees would instead depend on the scope of maritime services provided. – Bernama-Anadolu

ISTANBUL: Iran’s Parliament is reviewing a draft Bill that would significantly tighten state control over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, including by banning vessels linked to the United States, Israel and other countries that Tehran designates as hostile, Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing Tasnim News Agency on Thursday. Tasnim cited Abbas Salimi, a member of the Parliament presiding board, as saying the preliminary text of the Strategic Action for the Security and Sustainable Development of the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf is being reviewed by the Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. Under the draft, vessels belonging to the United States, Israel and other countries that Iran considers hostile would be barred from transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The proposal would also prohibit the passage of military and civilian cargo linked to Israel, as well as vessels or cargo deemed to have supported operations against what Iran calls the “Axis of Resistance”.

Countries and individuals deemed responsible for causing damage to Iran would be denied permission to transit the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf until compensation is paid, according to the draft. The Bill also proposes heavy penalties for violations, including fines of up to 20% of a vessel’s cargo value. Under the proposal, the government would be required to work with the armed forces to oversee navigation, monitor vessel movements and ensure security and environmental protection in the Persian Gulf. Abbas said the Bill remains under expert review and Parliament has invited specialists to submit recommendations before the text is finalised, according to Tasnim. The draft comes amid heightened tensions over navigation through the Strait of Hormuz following months of regional confrontation involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Iranian officials repeatedly warned that they could restrict maritime traffic through the strategic waterway if Tehran’s security

ENSURING SAFETY ... A forensic technician working alongside a bomb disposal robot near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, eastern Germany on Wednesday, after an explosives-laden drone was found near the plane and another aircraft collided with an unknown flying object mid-air nearby before landing safely. – AFPPIC

Houthi attacks kill 58 govt soldiers DUBAI: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis killed at least 58 government troops in missile and drone attacks on Thursday, a military source said, in one of the deadliest days of the country’s civil war in four years. knowledge of the matter said. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military buildup backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

among the areas hit, adding that the rebels are “prepared to confront any escalation”. Yemen, which has been embroiled in more than a decade of war, became sucked into the Middle East war last month as the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels upended a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government. The rebels welcomed an Iranian plane directly in the capital Sanaa, triggering tit-for-tat attacks. They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi ports and began hitting its tankers. Last month, the Houthis killed 16 troops in an attack on government-aligned forces south of the port city of Hodeidah, two medical officials said. – AFP

taking measures to protect civilians. The rebels have ramped up provocations against their Saudi foes since last month, adding to the regional chaos since the US-Iran war erupted on Feb 28. The military official said a camp in the al-Ruwaik area of Marib province, in central Yemen, had been attacked, as well as in the Al-Abr and Al-Wadiah areas of Hadramawt, near the border with Saudi Arabia. One missile attack hit troops during their morning formation at the camp in Marib, “killing and wounding at least 45 personnel”, said a military source, who declined to be named for security reasons. Yahya named Al-Ruwaik, al-Thaniyah and al-Abr as being

and time”. The escalation spilled across the border on Thursday, with Saudi officials saying Houthi attacks wounded 11 civilians in the southern Najran region. Coalition spokesperson Major-Gen Turki al-Malki said the wounded included seven Saudis, a Yemeni, two Egyptians and a Pakistani, according to a statement carried in the official Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition backing Yemen’s government against the Houthis since 2015. Al-Malki accused the rebels of carrying out “indiscriminate shelling against civilian (structures)” and said coalition forces would continue

The attacks come as Yemen is increasingly drawn into the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the rebels stepping up attacks against both government forces and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and supporter of the internationally recognised Yemeni government. The evolving regional situation has prompted Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan to seek closer security ties, with the Muslim-majority nations set to sign a joint defence agreement in Jeddah, Saudi sources with

The attacks killed at least 58 government troops and injured dozens, the military source said, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Medical sources had earlier spoken of 38 dead. A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Thursday’s attacks on troop camps were the worst in Yemen since 2022. Yemen’s Defence Ministry said its armed forces would respond to the attacks “at the appropriate place