The Brief

The United States carried out fresh strikes along Iran's southern coast that Iran's health minister said killed at least 18 people. Iran says one strike hit a wedding party in Kuhestak, killing four people, including two children, and wounding dozens; the U.S. denies targeting civilians, Vice President JD Vance said he was "extremely skeptical" of the claim and that the military is investigating, and Iran's Red Crescent has called for an International Criminal Court investigation.

Iran retaliated with fire on U.S. bases and American allies across the Gulf and now claims new attacks on facilities used by U.S. forces in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, though a U.S. official said no military sites used by American troops were hit; Iran's first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, vowed an "asymmetrical" and "multi-layered" response. In his first White House briefing since press secretary Karoline Leavitt's departure, Vance played down the fighting, declined to call it a war and would not offer a timeline for its end, while the administration ruled out talks with Tehran until attacks on shipping stop. The Justice Department is moving to revive a prize law last used in the Spanish-American War to speed the seizure of Iranian oil tankers and cargo, and oil prices have risen sharply since the fighting resumed, with diesel near a record high over the Labor Day weekend.

The combined death toll from last week's flash floods across Nepal and parts of China has surpassed 1,270, officials say. Nepali authorities are using helicopters and zip lines to reach remote villages cut off by the water amid widespread destruction, and rescuers are still searching a flooded road tunnel for people believed trapped inside.

Eight days after the disaster, families who have been unable to recover missing relatives have begun holding symbolic funerals and cremations, and officials say many of the dead will have to be identified through DNA. Nepal's foreign minister has demanded that the world's three largest polluting nations pay compensation for the disaster.

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, agreed last week to hand the United States control of roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's oil reserves, the largest in the world, in an arrangement that has stirred anger at home. Many Venezuelans view the deal as a national surrender, and critics across the region have likened it to modern-day colonialism.

The agreement deepens U.S. involvement in the Venezuelan oil industry, including a reported $7 billion bet by Chevron, and analysts warn it could pose risks to democracy and fuel discontent over Washington's embrace of the government. Attention has centered on Alejandro Betancourt, a Venezuelan oil businessman reported to be a central figure behind the deal.

More than 80 people are feared dead after a wooden boat carrying migrants toward Spain's Canary Islands was found following weeks adrift at sea. Rescuers located 44 survivors on board but said bad weather forced them to leave five bodies behind.

The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the most dangerous migration crossings, with frequent losses of life at sea.

Moscow said it will close Goethe-Institut cultural centres in Russia after Germany announced the shutdown of two Russian institutions. The tit-for-tat moves follow German accusations that Russia was behind a failed drone attack on Leipzig airport.

The EU and NATO said they would step up pressure on Moscow, accusing Russia of growing increasingly reckless. German police have arrested two people suspected of attacking a weapons manufacturer in Munich, and Berlin has formally blamed the Russian government for a drone incident that came close to bringing down an aircraft as it landed.

The World Meteorological Organization warned that the current El Niño could be one of the strongest in decades, describing it as potentially "off the charts," and said forecasts point to a near-certain chance the pattern continues through early 2027, peaking later this year.

Governments are bracing for disruption to agriculture, water supplies and economies. In South East Asia, toxic wildfire haze has spread as the pattern deepens drought, with authorities reporting more than 12,000 children treated for respiratory problems, and France has reported its hottest summer on record, joining other European countries.