The Brief

U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, the first known U.S. strike since late July, killing two people and injuring two others. Iran said it retaliated by targeting American bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, ending a roughly monthlong lull in the six-month war.

President Trump said more strikes were coming, called Iran a 'failed nation' and posted an AI-generated video depicting an attack on an Iranian energy hub. The exchange sent global oil prices higher. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned Iran could face economic collapse within months, but the administration's push to get other countries to cut off business with Tehran has run into resistance from China, which says it will not cooperate. The UAE said it intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters and called the attack a 'dangerous escalation.'

The death toll from catastrophic flooding along the Nepal-Tibet border has risen to at least 939, with more than 4,000 people still missing after flash floods triggered by a glacial collapse in the Himalayas. Nepali authorities warned residents of possible fresh flooding as water levels rose again in the Bhotekoshi River amid heavy monsoon rains.

Rescuers have used explosives to blast through a hillside in an effort to reach workers trapped in hydropower tunnels. In one hard-hit area, a school principal evacuated more than 900 students before floodwaters swept away their school. Private power producers have accused authorities of losing crucial time in the early response, and Nepal's reluctance to accept foreign assistance has come under scrutiny.

Lionel Messi, 39, announced on Instagram that he is retiring from international soccer after two decades with Argentina's national team, saying 'the time has come' in a decision that 'hurt' deeply. He played in six World Cups and captained Argentina to the 2022 title in Qatar.

Messi said he wrote his retirement letter after the 2026 World Cup final, a 1-0 loss to Spain, but held off publishing it while his father was ill. His father later died. Messi will continue to play at club level with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.

A ferry carrying nearly 270 passengers and crew capsized off the coast of northern Cyprus on Aug. 30, killing at least eight people. Around 20 people remained missing, including several children.

Survivors described frantic attempts to hold onto family members as the vessel went over. Parents of missing children told reporters they were still hoping for word of survivors.

More than 6,000 Ebola cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the death toll approaching 3,000, health officials said. Authorities described it as the fastest-spreading Ebola epidemic ever recorded.

The country is still struggling to contain the infections.

Russian forces struck Kyiv and surrounding cities for a fifth consecutive day, using jet-powered drones in repeated attacks on warehouses that left some supermarket shelves bare.

The sustained bombardment has rattled residents of the Ukrainian capital and the region around it.