International from Thursday, June 18th, 2026

Three Saudi-flagged supertankers carrying 6 million barrels of crude sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, hours after US President Donald Trump signed a deal with Iran to end the war that has disrupted global energy supplies.

Initial talks between the US and Iran are planned at the Buergenstock mountaintop resort in Switzerland on Friday, following the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Tehran and Washington, the Swiss government said on Thursday.

Explosions and sustained gunfire were heard early on Thursday morning at the airport and military airbase in Niger's capital Niamey, witnesses said, in what a security source described as an apparent attack on the facility.

Ukrainian drones hit Moscow's oil refinery for the second time this week while Russia fired missiles into Kyiv, as President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought support from the U.S. and Europe to reach a peace deal.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned on Wednesday that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children as he voiced alarm at a "staggering" rise in violations against Palestinian children.