The US military struck dozens of targets in Iran overnight in retaliation for Tehran's attack on American forces in Jordan on Wednesday (July 29), sparking a further Iranian response and threatening prospects for negotiations to achieve a permanent peace. The strikes - the first in more than five days - were launched hours after the US president, Donald Trump, vowed to hit Iran "very hard" following Tehran's targeting of a base in Jordan that hosts American troops. The latest attacks come after a days-long pause in violence between the two sides.

US Central Command said it hit dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran, including military command centres, as well as missile and drone facilities, in a two-hour wave of strikes. Iranian state media said three people were injured in attacks on the island of Qeshm in the strait of Hormuz and that explosions were also reported in Khuzestan province to the north-west.

Malaysia has started documenting and screening thousands of detained Myanmar nationals as part of a repatriation program agreed with Myanmar, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said Thursday. Saifuddin said Myanmar had committed to accept up to 5,000 of its citizens currently living in Malaysia and an unspecified number currently in Cox's Bazar, a town in south east Bangladesh. Malaysia had identified up to 4,000 Myanmar nationals in its 19 detention depots, who will be moved to a single site for security screening and documentation purposes, he said.

"We will certainly meet the target of 5,000 individuals once this process is complete," Saifuddin told reporters, adding that the foreign ministry will handle the next stage of the repatriation process with Myanmar. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had said Wednesday that those being repatriated were Rohingya refugees. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, a commissioner for refugee, relief and repatriation in Cox's Bazar, told The Associated Press by phone that he was not aware of any repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh.

The number of people who have died after a powerful earthquake hit southwestern Japan rose to 34, authorities in Kumamoto prefecture said on Thursday. Rescuers are still working to find survivors after the magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit Kumamoto prefecture on Kyushu island on Tuesday (July 28), causing widespread damage to houses and power lines. Several people died after part of a shopping centre collapsed and an explosion ripped through the mall about an hour later.

Thousands of displaced residents are now staying in evacuation centres - though the challenge is to keep them cool and hydrated as the region battles sweltering heat. Temperatures could reach 39C in the prefecture in the coming days, according to forecasts, with officials urging survivors and rescuers to take precautions against heatstroke. Japan's defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced the delivery of 300 air conditioners to Kumamoto, with 150 of the units bound for evacuation centres.

The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record has killed more than 1,500 people in eastern Congo, official data released on Thursday showed, marking a 50% increase in around a week that shows the emergency continuing to outpace response efforts. As of Tuesday, 3,442 cases had been recorded, with 1,521 deaths, according to the latest government update. The outbreak, which was declared on May 15, has been linked to the Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or treatments.

There are currently 797 patients in isolation or hospitalized, while a further 615 patients have recovered, the data showed. Contact tracing continues to lag, with only around 78% of known contacts monitored nationwide, well below the 95% target health officials say is needed to interrupt transmission. Displacement from armed conflict and illegal mining in the region have made it difficult to trace thousands who have come in contact with infected individuals.