Aug 26 (Reuters) - Iran and Oman have reached agreements on their share of the Strait of Hormuz and its revenues, Iran's Revolutionary Guards spokesperson said, according to a report by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the U.S. was obstructing negotiations between Oman and Iran, leading to them being delayed

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Saudi investment in France reflects the fast-growing rapprochement between Paris and Riyadh as power dynamics are reshaped across the Middle East, with the kingdom seeking to diversify its partnerships without jeopardising its strategic alliance with the United States. 

The visit to Paris by Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, provided the occasion on Monday to announce 21 agreements and memorandums of understanding between the two countries. 

There are few joys left for 10-year-old Ahmed Hamdouna, whose childhood has already been scarred by years of war and displacement in Gaza. 

Now, what little reprieve he found playing with scraps of plastic and sticks has also been torn away, as Israel warns it will step up military operations in the territory if kites continue to land on the Israeli side of the border.

"My father stopped me from flying my kites because of the occupation's threats," said Ahmed, who has been displaced to Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

As extreme heat fuels wildfires worldwide this summer, Lebanese officials and residents have accused Israel's military of systematically sparking blazes that have burnt swathes of forest and farmland in the country's south.

In the village of Shaqra, Haidar Qoteish, 36, says he has watched fires devour fields and orchards in his hometown of Hula, just five kilometres (three miles) away but under Israeli military control.

"They've burnt everything. You can see the fields are all black," the father of four told AFP by telephone.

Aug 26 (Reuters) - A massive flash flood killed at least nine people on Wednesday in the Himalayan border areas of Nepal and adjoining Tibet, washing away villages, damaging roads, bridges and power projects, with authorities fearing more casualties.

Here are some of the biggest disasters in the Himalayas over the last dozen years, which some analysts have blamed on climate change and widespread development.

AUGUST 2025

Four die, with dozens missing, in sudden flooding and landslides in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

SEPTEMBER 2024

By Mohi Narayan

NEW DELHI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, little changed from a day earlier but well below the 10-day average of 15, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday.

Two tankers carrying liquefied petroleum gas and one tanker carrying bitumen exited the Gulf via the strait, while two empty product tankers entered the waterway from the Gulf of Oman, initial data from shiptracker Kpler showed at 0408 GMT. On Monday, four commodity vessels transited the waterway, the data showed.

BEIJING, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, as part of a state visit there and then to Egypt from August 30 to September 3, China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

At the Bishkek summit, Xi will discuss deepening cooperation as well as major international and regional issues with participating countries and leaders, foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a daily press conference.

By Federico Maccioni

DUBAI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Dubai International Airport saw passenger traffic fall 31.3% in the first half of the year, its operator said on Wednesday, as the Iran war heavily disrupted traffic across the Gulf including at the busy international travel hub.

DXB welcomed 13 million passengers in the second quarter, bringing the traffic in the first six months of the year to 31.5 million, Dubai Airports said in a statement. That compared to 46 million passengers in the same period a year earlier.

Iran and Oman are discussing a temporary transit corridor and mine-clearing for the Strait of Hormuz, b

By Michael Georgy

DUBAI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Iraq could serve as an example of how the United States could carry out its threat to force countries that continue trading with Iran out of the dollar-based financial system.

Washington has already sanctioned a host of Iraqi banks accused of doing business with Tehran, though it has avoided measures that would devastate the economy of the strategic ally of both countries.