LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 24, 2026--
Viking ® ( www.viking.com ) (NYSE: VIK) today announced that seven distinguished travel advisors will serve as godparents of its newest river ships. Selected in recognition of their longstanding partnership with Viking and contributions to the travel industry, the seven advisors and industry leaders represent some of the company's most valued relationships across the global travel advisor community.
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Of the seven new river ships, the Viking Haki, the Viking Halogi, the Viking Sjofn and the Viking Rota will sail Viking’s most popular itineraries along the Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. The Viking Sekhmet and the Viking Ptah will sail the Nile River, while the Viking Fjolvar will sail itineraries on the Seine River. These vessels will join Viking's award-winning fleet of more than 100 ships.
"For nearly 30 years, our travel advisor partners have helped curious travelers explore the world with Viking," said Leah Talactac, President and Chief Executive Officer of Viking. “These seven individuals represent the strength of those longstanding relationships, and we are proud to honor them as godparents of our newest river ships.”
Viking Godparents
The maritime tradition of appointing a ceremonial godmother for each new ship dates back thousands of years. Viking has adapted this custom and extended it to include godfathers. Viking’s tradition is to appoint individuals who have made an impact—either in the world or in the life of Viking. For its newest ships, the company invited the following valued travel advisor partners to serve as godparents:
Viking plans to celebrate the official naming of the seven new river ships during a ceremony in Amsterdam on October 15. During the event, the godparents will officially name their ships and welcome them to Viking’s award-winning river fleet.
Media Assets
For more information about Viking, or for images and b-roll, please contact vikingpr@edelman.com.
About Viking
Viking (NYSE: VIK) is a global leader in experiential travel with a fleet of more than 100 ships, exploring 21 rivers, five oceans and all seven continents. Designed for curious travelers with interests in science, history, culture and cuisine, Executive Chairman Torstein Hagen often says Viking offers experiences For The Thinking Person™. Viking has more than 450 awards to its name, including being rated #1 for Rivers and #1 for Oceans five years in a row by Condé Nast Traveler in the 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards. Viking is also rated a “World’s Best” by Travel + Leisure —no other travel company has simultaneously received such honors by both publications. For additional information, contact Viking at 1-800-2-VIKING (1-800-284-5464) or visit www.viking.com.
Viking today announced that seven distinguished travel advisors will serve as godparents of its newest river ships. The seven new river ships will join Viking’s award-winning fleet of more than 100 ships, exploring destinations around the world. Pictured here, a sister ship to the Viking Sekhmet and the Viking Ptah, sailing the Nile River. For more information, visit www.viking.com.
Viking today announced that seven distinguished travel advisors will serve as godparents of its newest river ships. Selected in recognition of their longstanding partnership with Viking and contributions to the travel industry, the seven advisors and industry leaders represent some of the company's most valued relationships across the global travel advisor community. Pictured here, a sister ship in the Viking Longship fleet on the Seine River in Paris. For more information, visit www.viking.com.
Iran warned that new U.S. sanctions on Tehran announced Monday would not bring peace to the region. Meanwhile, Israeli and Syrian officials met less than a week after Israeli strikes in Syria. And Israel said it killed a Hamas commander in Gaza.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Monday. Full coverage can be found here.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson warned that Tehran would respond harshly to expanded U.S. sanctions, including measures against countries it sees as cooperating with Washington.
“Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences,” Esmail Baghaei said. “Our hands are not tied.”
The new head of Iran’s top security body warned Sunday that Tehran will see any country’s support for the sanctions as an “act of war.”
The expanded sanctions come after weeks of impasse. The United States has not dislodged Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passed before the war started nearly six months ago.
Iran's demands for reopening the strait include lifting the U.S. naval blockade, withdrawing U.S. forces from the region and reparations for damages sustained in the war. It has held separate talks with Oman, on the other side of the strait, on jointly managing the waterway regardless of whether a new deal is brokered with the U.S.
Sanctions have historically raised prices of basic goods in Iran, but after decades of withstanding them, Iran’s economy has adapted through finding new trading partners and building domestic industries.
The country's currency hit a record low on Monday.
China said Monday that sanctions and additional pressure “will not help resolve the issue,” as the U.S. has threatened to impose secondary sanctions on countries that trade with Iran.
“They will only exacerbate tensions and escalate the situation, which is in no one’s interest,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a daily briefing in Beijing.
He added that China was calling on all parties to avoid measures “that could further intensify differences and conflicts and disrupt global economic development and financial stability.”
China is considered the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, and was importing more than 80% of Iranian oil before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 14 television that Iran had attempted to assassinate one of his sons. He said that without security around his son, the attempt would have succeeded.
“Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to murder one of my sons,” he said in a phone interview with the television station.
Netanyahu did not say which son, where the attempt happened, what the attempt was and how it was thwarted. His office also gave no further details when asked by The Associated Press.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met over the weekend with a high-level Israeli delegation in Jordan to try to defuse tensions after Israel last week struck an air base in northern Syria, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
The U.S.-mediated discussions on Sunday focused on restarting negotiations for a future security agreement, SANA said.
Israel struck the Abu Duhur air base in Idlib province, saying it aimed to stop Turkey — which has supported the new Syrian government’s efforts to rebuild its armed forces after 14 years of civil war — from establishing a presence there.
Syrian officials during the talks asserted the right to develop an army and freely forge alliances with any country, SANA said.
They also called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from a buffer zone in southern Syria they have occupied since December 2024, and reiterated Syria’s stance that the Golan Heights — which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed — is Syrian territory.
Israeli officials didn't immediately comment on the meeting.
Israeli strikes killed at least four people Monday in the war-torn Gaza Strip, including two children, hospital officials said.
In the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, a strike hit a building after residents said they received an evacuation warning. A 4-year-old child was killed after his family was unable to flee, according to Awda Hospital. His mother and sister were wounded.
Four other structures, including mosques, were hit after residents said they received evacuation warnings, sending scores of already displaced Palestinians fleeing again. Smoke rose over a landscape of rubble and destroyed buildings as elderly people pushed wheelchairs or used canes, women carried babies and others sprinted for safety.
Commenting on some of the strikes, the Israeli military said it struck Hamas weapons storage facilities in mosques after issuing warnings, but provided no evidence.
Separately, Israel said it killed a militant affiliated with Hamas’ special forces unit in an overnight airstrike. Israel says it targets Palestinian militants who participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.
Israel has announced targeted strikes on six of the seven days since U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week hoping to push the ceasefire deal forward.
At least 1,288 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect last October, according to Gaza’s health ministry, part of the Hamas-run government. Its numbers are generally considered reliable by the international community.
Loui Ridi had traveled from Ohio a week ago to join his relatives at his home in the village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank, which was besieged this month by Israeli settlers. He says he is unable to move freely.
The Israeli military declared the area a closed zone to restore order in Qusra. Ridi said settlers returned throughout the week to the hill above his house.
Since Israeli settlers surrounded the house more than two weeks ago, preventing occupants from leaving, Israeli soldiers have encouraged them to leave but Israel’s police have not announced arrests.
The siege and Israel’s response have sparked condemnation from Israeli rights groups and foreign officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who called the violence terrorism.
Palestinians consider the West Bank, home to some 3 million Palestinians and 560,000 Israeli settlers, the heart of any future state and have condemned Israel’s expansion there. This year has seen a dramatic spike in violence carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
The Trump administration on Monday formally removed Syria from the U.S. State Department’s blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, making permanent a series of sanctions removals that had been initially announced more than a month ago.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had announced the move in early July, but there was a 45-day period for congressional review before it was formalized. That review period has now expired and sanctions related to the designation have been almost completely removed, the State and Treasury departments said.
“Treasury is following through on President Trump’s promise to give the Syrian people a chance at greatness,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Palestinians walk amid the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli airstrikes during the war with Hamas, in Gaza City, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump underwater amid explosions, with the words "Great Victory! Strait of Hormuz," in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
FILE - Former Revolutionary Guard commander Mohsen Rezaei casts his ballot during the parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections at a polling station in Tehran, Iran, March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
Israeli army soldiers block the road leading to the houses of three Palestinian families that have been besieged by Israeli settlers for six days, while activists march to deliver food and water supplies for the residents, in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, south of Nablus, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
FILE - Decommissioned Syrian air force planes are seen at the Abu Duhur military air base east of Idlib, following the takeover of the area by Syrian opposition fighters on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam, File)
Women walk past a portrait of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S. and Israel strike on Feb. 28, and images of the Iranian flag, on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
