Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy on Wednesday reported a "massive" explosion and fires aboard two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz late on Tuesday when the vessels were attempting to exit the waterway.
In a statement carried by its official news outlet Sepah News, the IRGC Navy said the tankers attempted to secretly exit an unauthorized and highly dangerous route of the Strait of Hormuz, struck naval mines and suffered a massive explosion.
The announcement followed separate reports from the IRGC Navy that three tankers had suffered explosion earlier that same day while attempting to use routes Iran had not authorized.
Iran reports new tanker explosion in Strait of Hormuz
The media center for the 2026 APEC Economic Leaders' Week opened in southern China's tech hub of Shenzhen on Wednesday, with a 15,000-square-meter facility designed to serve nearly 5,000 accredited journalists covering the event.
Inside the press center is an eye-catching art installation, symbolizing the Asia-Pacific economies joining hands and setting sail together toward a shared future.
The center houses a central public workspace with about 700 standard workstations for journalists covering the meeting week.
The facility features digital technology including China's first HarmonyOS-powered smart studio, paired with XR virtual production and 4K ultra-high-definition signal transmission. Intelligent editing tools are also available to help journalists with rapid video editing and multilingual production.
A dedicated "Home of Journalists" space presents intangible cultural heritage, interactive smart displays and a city photography exhibition, showing Shenzhen's development and vitality to media.
"To facilitate Chinese and international journalists covering the event, we have established a press center with full functions and imbued with a distinct sense of sci-tech and culture. We hope that our friends from Chinese and international media will take the media center as their home, together write compelling stories about Asia-Pacific cooperation and development, and feel for a true, multi-dimensional and panoramic picture of China through the window of Shenzhen," said Su Rongcai, head of the media center.
The center will host a series of official briefings and city tours during the week starting from November 14. The centerpiece is the two-day APEC Leaders' Meeting on November 18-19, which will bring together leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific economies.
2026 APEC Economic Leaders' Week media center opens in Shenzhen
