A bomb blast at a cafe in central Damascus on Thursday killed nine people and wounded 20 others, Syria’s interior ministry ​said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Syrian state television said an explosive ‌device had been planted at the cafe, near the Palace of Justice in the centre of the capital, Reuters reported.

The interior ministry said preliminary investigations showed the blast was caused by a crudely made explosive device ​weighing about one kilogram and packed with metal shrapnel, causing severe injuries and ​extensive damage at the site.

Videos that circulated on social media showed wounded ⁠people and blood on the floors of a cafe, purportedly the site of the ​blast. Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.

The attack presents another security challenge to the ​Syrian government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took control after overthrowing former President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. Assad’s ouster effectively ended more than 14 years of civil war.

Damascus has witnessed a handful of ​security incidents since then, including a car bomb that killed one Syrian soldier and ​wounded at least 18 people outside the defence ministry in May.

Although no group claimed responsibility for Thursday’s ‌blast, Islamic ⁠State has sought to exploit the security vacuum created by Assad’s ouster by reactivating sleeper cells, recruiting fighters and moving weapons as the new government extends its authority across the country, security officials had said.

The militant group announced earlier this year what it described ​as a new phase ​of operations against ⁠Sharaa’s government.

The group is far weaker than when it controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq before the collapse of its self-declared caliphate ​in 2019. It remains capable of carrying out deadly insurgency-style attacks ​and is ⁠viewed by Syrian, Iraqi and Western officials as one of the biggest threats to Syria’s transition.

Sharaa’s other opponents include Assad-era officers and soldiers. In 2025, Syria was rocked by fighting between ⁠the ​new government forces and insurgents from Syria’s Alawite minority, ​and separately between government forces and Druze gunmen.

The death toll from Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes has climbed to nearly 1,500 as rescue teams continue searching for survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings, with authorities warning that time is running out.

The powerful magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck on Wednesday, devastating the coastal state of La Guaira, about 40 kilometres north of Caracas. Officials say the disaster has left more than 3,100 people injured, displaced over 12,700 residents and destroyed at least 774 buildings.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said rescue operations would continue after emergency crews recovered additional survivors on Sunday.

“Rescue and recovery efforts are ongoing. Today we have recovered people alive, and therefore operations are not being suspended. We always maintain hope,” she said.

Rodríguez also announced the formation of a presidential commission to assess the structural safety of damaged buildings, extended the suspension of school classes for another week and said electricity had been restored to around 75 percent of La Guaira.

More than 2,600 international rescue workers have joined Venezuelan emergency teams, searching through mountains of rubble with the help of specialised equipment and rescue dogs. Several survivors, including children, have been pulled alive from collapsed buildings in recent days.

Among the latest rescues were an infant freed by US rescue personnel, an 11-year-old boy rescued by Colombian teams after being trapped three metres beneath rubble, and another 11-year-old saved by Mexican crews. Officials say such rescues are becoming increasingly rare as the critical 72-hour survival window passes.

Swiss rescue team leader Sebastian Eugster said the chances of finding survivors decrease significantly after the first three days.

“There exists a window of roughly 72 hours where the probability of rescuing people alive is much higher,” he said.

Authorities say nearly 50,000 people remain unaccounted for, although that figure is based largely on reports submitted through an opposition-backed missing persons website and has not been independently verified.

The United States Geological Survey has warned the final death toll could exceed 10,000, potentially making the disaster one of the deadliest earthquakes in Latin America in the past century.

The catastrophe has also disrupted the country’s energy sector. Venezuela’s largest oil refinery, the 645,000-barrel-per-day Amuay refinery, suspended operations following a major power outage in western Falcón state.

International aid continues to arrive, with the United States expected to announce an additional humanitarian assistance package worth hundreds of millions of dollars, on top of the $150 million already pledged.

The earthquakes have struck Venezuela at a time of ongoing political and economic instability, further complicating relief efforts as authorities, volunteers and international rescue teams continue the search for survivors.

A helicopter belonging to Saudi ​oil giant Aramco crashed on Sunday ‌in Ras Tanura on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast on the Gulf, west of the Strait of ​Hormuz, killing 14 nationals, the state ​news agency reported, adding that the ⁠cause was unknown.

Aramco had resumed crude oil loadings ​on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal ​in the Gulf after they were halted for nearly four months, Reuters reported.

“The relevant authorities have launched a ​full investigation to determine the cause ​of the crash,” the state news agency added.

Aramco did ‌not ⁠respond immediately to an emailed request for comment.

The incident took place at 6 a.m. local time (0300 GMT), the state agency ​said, without providing ​further ⁠details.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has joined a rush ​to move cargoes after Middle ​East ⁠producers ramped up oil and gas output and exports ahead of an interim deal ⁠to ​halt the war between the ​United States and Iran.