World news updates: 2 seriously injured, with 18 others hurt, after train derails in East Sussex
Two people are seriously injured, with 18 others hurt, after a train derailed near Lewes in East Sussex
· The Indian Express · JoinEighteen people were injured, two of them seriously, after a passenger train came off the tracks in southern England on Thursday, leaving passengers trapped inside carriages that had tipped onto their sides, CNN reported.
South East Coast Ambulance Service said two people suffered serious injuries, while a further 16 with less serious injuries were taken to hospital for treatment.
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Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday rejected claims that conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have deteriorated, calling recent reports “completely misrepresented.” Speaking to Newsmax, he did not directly respond to accounts of supply shortages, water contamination, or declining mental health among sailors, some of whom families say have attempted to jump overboard during the ship’s long deployment since leaving San Diego in November. Hegseth said every crew is given full support and that he wants sailors home “as soon as everybody else” does, adding that Pentagon leadership and President Trump share that goal.
UAE condemns Iran over Hormuz tanker attacks: Tensions in the Gulf escalated after the UAE condemned Iran for attacking two oil tankers owned by Abu Dhabi’s national oil company, ADNOC, in the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE’s Foreign Ministry said the strikes violated a UN Security Council resolution protecting free navigation, calling the action “piracy” by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. No injuries were reported, and the UAE urged Iran to halt the attacks and honour the current ceasefire, warning of risks to regional stability.
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Live Updates
Aug 14, 2026 06:38 AM IST
US says it can keep naval blockade on Iran 'indefinitely,' vows more economic pressure
The United States said on Thursday it can keep up its naval blockade of Iran for as long as needed, and warned of tougher economic measures against Tehran as ceasefire talks stall, oil supplies tighten and tensions build across the region.
Four key points:
Blockade to continue indefinitely. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US Navy can sustain its presence in the region by rotating ships in and out, keeping the blockade on Iran in place for as long as required, according to Reuters.
New financial measures coming. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would unveil fresh economic measures against Iran within the week, describing them as an unprecedented level of financial isolation, Reuters reported.
Strait of Hormuz under strain. With the June ceasefire effectively collapsed, Iran has been pressuring Washington by targeting vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz, a route that once carried a fifth of the world's oil and LNG. Reuters reported that two Abu Dhabi National Oil Company vessels were attacked on Thursday, an incident the UAE blamed on Iran, and that shipping traffic through the strait has fallen sharply, from as many as 140 vessels before the war to around eight on Tuesday.
Oil markets and global growth at risk. The International Energy Agency raised its forecast for the drop in global oil supply to 4.3 million barrels a day this year, up from an earlier estimate of 3.7 million, Reuters reported. Oil prices still fell more than 2% on Thursday on signs of weaker demand, even as reports of a Houthi drone strike on a Saudi Aramco refinery raised fears of a wider war, with economists warning of a broader hit to global growth the longer the conflict continues.
Aug 14, 2026 05:37 AM IST
Trump orders the Navy to return to an older system of launching jets off aircraft carriers
US President Donald Trump is ordering the US Navy to remove the advanced system used to launch fighter jets from its newest type of aircraft carrier and return to using older steam catapults that he has long said he prefers, according to a directive issued Thursday.
The new mandate would likely cost billions of dollars and revert the Navy’s most advanced ships to a system that takes more sailors to operate and is more difficult to maintain.The memo directs the Pentagon and the Navy to present Trump with plans to remove the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, also known as EMALS, within two months. It also says the Ford-class carrier's electromagnetic weapons elevators should be replaced.
The move comes after years of Trump railing against the new, magnetically powered catapult system that shoots fighter jets off the deck of the carriers. It also comes at a time when the US military is trying to find funding from Congress for all its desired equipment and as the Navy is struggling to fill its ships with enough sailors.
Trump's ire with the new technology goes back to at least 2017 in his first term, when he claimed the new system is “not good” and “doesn't have the power” of the older, steam systems in an interview with Time magazine.“You're going to goddamned steam,” Trump said at the time.
Aug 14, 2026 05:09 AM IST
Pete Hegseth dismisses reports of deteriorating conditions on USS Abraham Lincoln
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted reports of deteriorating conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln were "completely misrepresented," pushing back against growing congressional pressure over the carrier's record-breaking, nearly nine-month deployment. His remarks came a day after Senator Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Pentagon leadership raising serious concerns.
Key points from Blumenthal's letter:
Deteriorating conditions onboard: sailors reported shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues and deck safety concerns
Mental health and morale: increasing worries over declining wellbeing amid the extended deployment, with reports of sailors attempting to jump overboard
Communication breakdowns: mail disruptions left care packages and correspondence lost in transit for months
Formal accountability demanded: Blumenthal posed six questions to Pentagon leadership, including what metrics the navy uses to track fatigue and morale, and set a deadline of 27 August for a response
Aug 14, 2026 04:58 AM IST
Bessent says US to apply measures never seen on Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that the United States is going to apply measures that have "never been seen" on Iran.
"Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country," Bessent said in an interview on on Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight" program.
"It will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports," Bessent said.
Aug 14, 2026 04:56 AM IST
UAE condemns Iranian attacks on two ADNOC vessels in Strait of Hormuz
The Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs has “strongly condemned” Iran’s targeting of two of Abu Dhabi’s energy vessels while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The ministry said the attacks constitute a “flagrant violation” of UNSC Resolution 2817, which affirms freedom of navigation and rejects the obstruction of international maritime routes.
It added that the “targeting of commercial shipping” and the use of the strait as a tool of “economic coercion or blackmail” represent an act of “piracy by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps”.
The UAE called on Iran to “halt these unprovoked attacks” and ensure full commitment to “the cessation of hostilities” – which it said are a “threat to the stability of the region and its people”.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said no injuries were reported in the attacks and the situation was brought under control.
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