World News Updates: US military says it hit three Iranian oil carriers after warships attacked

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv, the Kremlin said Saturday, as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow to try to revive a stalled push to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.“Putin has ordered that no strikes be carried out against Kyiv for three days, starting at midnight today,” presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s Tass news agency. AP

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Saturday that an attempted drone attack on ⁠a ​German airport last month shows that ​Germany is ​facing a "profound ⁠rupture," with far-reaching consequences ‌that will only become clear in retrospect.

Merz, speaking at a party event ⁠near ⁠Hanover, said the German government's ⁠attribution of ‌the ​attack to ‌Russia was "clear and legally ‌sound," and ​sent ​a ​clear warning to Russia not ​to continue ⁠this type of hybrid warfare. Reuters

Nearly 2,000 people, most of them students, fell ill in suspected food poisoning outbreaks linked to President Prabowo Subianto ’s flagship Free Nutritious Meals program this week, raising fresh concerns about food safety as the government rapidly expands the multibillion-dollar initiative nationwide, officials said Saturday.The incidents, reported between Tuesday and Thursday in East Java, Central Java, West Sumatra, Aceh and South Sulawesi, affected about 1,950 students, teachers and Islamic boarding school pupils who became sick after consuming meals distributed under the government program, known by its Indonesian acronym MBG.The outbreaks are the latest setback for Prabowo’s signature free meals program, which has been rolled out across the archipelago despite repeated food poisoning incidents and corruption allegations. AP

Iran on Saturday accused the U.S. of attacking an Iranian tanker near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. The U.S. did not immediately comment, but a new strike would raise the risk of sparking a new round of Iranian attacks on U.S. allies and interests in the region. Meanwhile in Yemen, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels accused the government of killing three people in an attack and Israeli strikes killed three people in southern Lebanon. Here’s a look at the news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.Iran accuses the U.S. of striking its oil tankerIranian state TV said Saturday that four U.S. missiles struck a tanker about six miles (10 kilometers) from Kharg Island. It said the crew was being evacuated and there were no casualties.The report did not provide evidence and did not include comment from Iranian officials. U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment. AP

A group of masked men blocked roads leading to Britain’s busiest ferry port on Saturday in what officials said appeared to be an anti-immigration protest.The Port of Dover said all traffic in and out was "stopped due to an ongoing public order incident," and police said they were “engaging with the protesters.”Video posted on social media showed several dozen men in black, their faces covered, standing across a major road near the port. One clip showed demonstrators linking arms across a main road and shouting “stop the boats.”Chris Vinson, a Conservative Party local councilor, said the protest appeared to be “illegal migration-related.” AP

Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev will meet U.S. special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared ⁠Kushner ​upon their arrival in Moscow on Saturday, two ​people ​familiar with ⁠the upcoming visit told Reuters.

Dmitriev, who ‌told Reuters in June that he had remained in contact with the ⁠U.S. ⁠negotiators during a pause in ⁠their ‌visits to ​Russia, took ‌part in all their previous ‌meetings ​with President ​Vladimir ​Putin. He also played ​a role in ⁠negotiating U.S. sanction waivers for Russian ‌oil ⁠this year. Reuters

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met on Saturday with Palestinians, including the families of U.S. citizens killed by Israeli settlers, in a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank that has been the target of repeated settler attacks.

Settler violence in the ⁠West Bank ​has risen sharply since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, the most right-wing in Israel's history, took office in late 2022.

Several settlements have been established around Turmus Ayya, the Palestinian town near Ramallah that Huckabee was visiting on Saturday. Its residents say that harassment by militant Israeli settlers ​is ​common and that they are unable to stop them ⁠from entering the town and damaging their homes.

"We have many issues that we will address," Nawwaf Zaghoul, the town's mayor, told reporters ahead ‌of the meeting, describing what he said were constant attacks by settlers.

He said that the town's residents would be asking the ambassador to help secure their safety and security. About 80% of the town's roughly 3,000 residents were Palestinian Americans, he said. Reuters