Day: March 17, 2026

Afghan officials reported significant casualties, claiming that up to 400 people were killed and around 250 others injured in the attacks.

Member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) may release additional oil to global markets if needed, the agency’s Executive Director Fatih Birol said, warning that recovery could take time even if shipping resumes through the Strait of Hormuz, AzerNEWS reports.

Explosions have been heard in Dubai amid ongoing escalation in the Middle East, AzerNEWS reports, citing foreign media outlets.

Georgian Orthodox Church Patriarch Ilia II has been hospitalized on the night of March 17 and is in “very critical” condition, Georgian Dream Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze confirmed.

“Considering the age and every factor, the situation definitely is not easy,” GD Health Minister Mikheil Sarjveladze told the media at the Caucasus Medical Center, a hospital in Tbilisi where the Patriarch has been admitted.

A doctor at the hospital said that the Patriarch, who turned 93 in January, has been admitted to the “critical care department” with “mass bleeding from stomach,” saying the “hemodynamics are unstable.”

According to Sarjveladze, the bleeding has been stopped by doctors, but the condition remains “very critical” and “utterly concerning.”

“It is especially important to ensure that vital parameters are maintained in a stable condition,” Sarjveladze said.

The Public Relations Department of the Orthodox Church Patriarchate said early on March 17 that “the situation is problematic, but stable,” calling to help the Patriarch with prayers.

Ilia II has led the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1977.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a telephone conversation with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar.