Moscow — The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, the biggest city in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, said the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet had been struck in a Ukrainian missile attack. He warned shortly afterward of possible further Ukrainian attacks, but that warning was later dropped.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed concerns Wednesday that the U.S. deal to release five Iranians and agree to the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets — in exchange for the release of five Americans who were detained in Iran — encourages hostage-taking among hostile nations.
Derna, Libya — The United Nations warned Monday that disease outbreaks could bring "a second devastating crisis" to Libya a week after a huge flash flood shattered the coastal city of Derna, sweeping thousands to their deaths. Local officials, aid agencies and the World Health Organization "are concerned about the risk of disease outbreak, particularly from contaminated water and the lack of sanitation", the United Nations said.
Almost 20 staff members of a charity organization operating in central Afghanistan, including one U.S. national, have been arrested by regional officials in the Taliban-controlled nation, a spokesman for the provincial government in Ghor province told CBS News on Monday. The 18 detained aid workers were arrested for "propagating and promoting Christianity," a violation of the Taliban's strict regulations on all non-governmental groups, according to Abdul Wahid Hamas, the spokesman for the regional administration in Ghor province.