The only direct train route from Beijing to North Korea resumed after a hiatus from operations during the pandemic. Cuba is experiencing a second nationwide power outage within a week due to a worsening energy crisis and a US oil embargo. The Persian Gulf has become a key battleground in the Iran War, with the US looking vulnerable. A new message attributed to Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was read on state TV but there was no accompanying video or audio of him.