Panama canal fees soar due to Iran war and El Niño as ship ‘pays $4m to jump queue’

Lebanon's parliament on Wednesday passed a general amnesty law reducing sentences for inmates and people detained for more than 12 years without charges in a bid to reduce prison overcrowding. The legislation was passed a day after Lebanon became the first Middle Eastern country to abolish the death penalty.

Vietnam, a country of more than 100 million people, is facing a sharp decline in its birthrate. Once known for large families, the nation's fertility rate has fallen to just 1.9 children per woman. This figure worries the government, which for decades was obsessed with controlling population growth – for more than 40 years, a two-child policy was the norm in Vietnam. But in June 2025, that restriction was officially lifted.

Donald Trump reportedly took a secret military flight out of Turkey last month in an undercover operation prompted by fears that Iran was planning an assassination attempt against the US president. The operation reportedly involved Trump being transferred between aircraft inside a catering truck.