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U.S. floats memo to end the war in Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio declares conclusion of Operation Epic Fury. UAE says it faces Iranian attacks for the second day. Cargo vessels hit in the Gulf. Rubio defends U.S. blockade of Iran, sidesteps question on Kurdish arms transfer. U.S. and Gulf allies introduce UN Security Council resolution threatening sanctions over Hormuz blockade. Iran’s judiciary chief orders economic stabilization measures amid what he calls foreign “economic terrorism.” Iranian foreign minister visits Beijing. Israeli strikes kill eight across Lebanon on Wednesday. Rubio calls peace in Lebanon “imminently achievable.” Two Palestinians killed on Wednesday in Gaza. Israel orders demolition of 50 Palestinians shops and facilities as part of settlement project. Board of Peace told Gaza officials ceasefire would become “null and void” if Hamas refuses disarmament. U.S. military kills three in latest vessel strike in the Pacific. Senate Republicans slip $1 billion for White House East Wing renovation into $70 billion immigration enforcement bill. FDA blocked publication of multiple vaccine safety studies. U.S. gas prices spike to $4.48 a gallon, up 50% since Iran war began. Trump’s border czar threatens to “flood the zone” with ICE agents if New York passes sanctuary measures. China demands U.S. immediately lift Cuba embargo. Four pro-Palestinian activists convicted of criminal damage in raid on Elbit factory. RSF drone strikes in Sudan; Ethiopian ambassador recalled. Russian strikes kill 27 in Ukraine before ceasefire takes effect. Boko Haram kills 23 Chadian soldiers. Pakistan attack in Afghanistan condemned as “war crime.” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee refuses to resign. Ethiopia’s TPLF reasserts political control in Tigray. U.S. set to lift sanctions on Eritrea. U.S. fires Typhon missile from the Philippines for the first time.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 5, 2026. Photo by Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images.

Iran and Ceasefire

U.S. floats memo to end the war: The U.S. has put forward a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war, according to Axios. The document would formally mark an end to hostilities and launch a 30-day window for more detailed negotiations. Ebrahim Rezaei, the spokesperson of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission said in a social media post that the Axios article represented “the Americans’ wish list.” He added, “Americans will not gain in a lost war what they failed to achieve in face-to-face negotiations. Iran has its finger on the trigger and is ready.” According to Axios, a frequent recipient of Trump administration leaks, the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the U.S. agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides allowing transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington reportedly expects Iran to respond to several key points within the next 48 hours. The news follows President Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday that the U.S. has paused its short lived “Project Freedom” operation to guide commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz.
Rubio declares Operation Epic Fury concluded: Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at a White House news conference that the U.S. military campaign in Iran had ended. “The Operation Epic Fury is concluded,” Rubio said. “We achieved the objective of that operation.” In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump said, “Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran. If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before.” Iranian sources told Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill that they do not trust Washington and remain skeptical of the entire diplomatic process. “They also say that much of the U.S. media reporting on this is based on Trump admin spin. Iran is engaging in diplomacy, but also preparing for a resumption of the war,” Scahill reported.
UAE says it faces Iranian attacks for second day: The Defense Ministry of the United Arab Emirates claimed on Tuesday that it had come under attack from Iranian missiles and drones for the second day in a row, attacks which the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps denied. Iran, it said, had “not carried out any missile or drone operations against the UAE in recent days,” though in the same statement, Iran’s Foreign Ministry warned the Emirates of the “dangerous consequences” of cooperation with “illegal and provocative actions of the American terrorist.” Monday saw 15 missiles launched from Iran towards the UAE, all of which the UAE claimed it intercepted, and a fire reportedly sparked by a drone attack at the Fujairah oil facility in the country’s east.
Cargo vessels hit in the Gulf: After the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported no incidents across the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the 24-hour period ending at 1600 UTC, a French cargo ship was reportedly struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday evening.The attack resulted in several injuries to crew members and damaged the vessel, the company said in its confirmation of the attack.
Washington Post: Iran struck significantly more U.S. military assets than previously reported: Iranian airstrikes damaged or destroyed at least 228 structures or pieces of equipment at 15 U.S. military sites across the region since the beginning of the war on February 28, according to a Washington Post analysis of satellite imagery. U.S. hangars, barracks, fuel depots, aircraft and key radar, communications and air defense equipment have all been hit. More than half of the damage reviewed by the Washington Post occurred at the 5th Fleet headquarters, and three bases in Kuwait—Ali al-Salem Air Base, Camp Arifjan and Camp Buehring. Camp Arifjan is the U.S. Army’s regional headquarters.
Rubio defends U.S. blockade of Iran, sidesteps question on Kurdish arms transfer: Rubio rejected the characterization that the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports constitutes an act of war, calling it instead “a defensive measure” and framing Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz as the real act of war. He avoided a question about whether U.S. weapons were transferred to Kurdish intermediaries for delivery to anti-regime demonstrators inside Iran, though Trump has explicitly confirmed the arrangement, saying the Kurds kept the weapons and would “pay a big price.”
U.S. and Gulf allies introduce UN Security Council resolution threatening sanctions over Hormuz blockade: The United States and five Gulf states—Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar—introduced a draft UN Security Council resolution demanding Iran immediately halt strikes on commercial shipping, disclose the location of sea mines, stop imposing what the resolution calls “illegal tolls,” and cooperate with UN efforts to establish safe passage for essential goods. The resolution is drafted under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, meaning it could ultimately be enforced militarily. Rubio called the vote a “real test” for the UN while acknowledging uncertainty over whether text adjustments would be enough to avoid a Chinese or Russian veto, after both countries vetoed a previous Hormuz resolution in April.
Hegseth says ceasefire is “not over,” Joint Chiefs chairman calls Iranian aggression below threshold for resuming combat: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the ceasefire with Iran remains in effect despite rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, and pushed back on suggestions that President Trump has been drawn into the conflict at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s urging, saying Trump “has led at every step of this based on his view of American interests.” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine characterized Iran’s recent aggression as falling “below the threshold” for restarting major combat operations. Hegseth also dismissed Iranian claims of control over the strait, saying flatly: “They said they control the strait. They do not.”
Iran’s judiciary chief orders economic stabilization measures amid what he calls foreign “economic terrorism”: Iran’s judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i directed officials Tuesday to help stabilize the country’s economy amid mounting pressure on household living standards, calling on authorities to streamline essential goods imports at border crossings and ports, deploy prosecutors to monitor production centers for basic necessities, and take firm legal action against price gougers and hoarders, according to Mehr News Agency. “The enemy’s objective is to undermine the country’s economy, and we must disarm them in this regard,” Mohseni-Eje’i said, framing the crisis as “economic terrorism” by foreign adversaries. The remarks reflect growing strain on Iranian households as the U.S. naval presence in the region continues to disrupt trade and currency markets.
Iranian foreign minister visits Beijing: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Beijing Wednesday for talks with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi—his first visit to China since the war began—with bilateral relations and regional developments on the agenda, according to Tasnim News. The visit comes one week before President Donald Trump’s scheduled summit with President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14–15, with the Hormuz crisis expected to dominate both meetings; Secretary of State Marco Rubio used the occasion to publicly pressure Beijing, saying “I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told—that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated.” China is Iran’s largest trading partner, purchasing at least 90% of its crude oil exports, and has reportedly worked behind the scenes to encourage Tehran to continue negotiating with Washington.

Lebanon

Israeli strikes kill eight across Lebanon on Wednesday: An Israeli strike on a vehicle along the road between Zawtar al-Sharqiya and Mifdoun killed two people on Wednesday, according to the National News Agency. In the town of Zalaiya, a strike on a house killed the mayor, Ali Qassem Ahmad, along with three members of his family, while others were wounded; the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health confirmed four dead, including two women and an elderly man, and five injured, among them a child. Additional drone strikes hit Mifdoun in multiple waves, killing two more people, and targeted emergency responders from the Islamic Health Society in Deir Kifa, injuring three. The Israeli military also issued urgent evacuation warnings for 12 towns and villages across southern Lebanon.
Rubio calls peace in Lebanon “imminently achievable”: At a press conference on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a peace deal between Israel and Lebanon is “imminently achievable.” He continued to foist the blame for the ongoing conflict on Hezbollah, however, despite near-daily Israeli attacks in violation of the ceasefire. “What has to happen in Lebanon, what everybody wants to see, is that you have a Lebanese government with the capability to go after Hezbollah and take Hezbollah apart,” Rubio said.
Lebanese PM says talks with Netanyahu “premature,” stresses “peace” is the objective and not normalization: Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Wednesday that talk of any potential meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “premature,” stressing that “any high-level meeting with the Israeli side requires significant preparation.” Speaking to journalists, Salam insisted that the Lebanese government is not seeking “normalization with Israel, but rather peace,” noting that this would not be the first time Lebanon has engaged in direct talks. He added that consolidating a ceasefire would be the foundation for any future negotiations, potentially in Washington, but cautioned that conditions “are still not ripe for discussions at a high level.” Salam also outlined that the “minimum” Lebanese demand would be a timeline for Israeli withdrawal.
Hezbollah claims 18 operations against Israeli forces across southern Lebanon: Hezbollah said Tuesday it carried out 18 operations against Israeli military positions and vehicles across southern Lebanon, claiming strikes on an Israeli military helicopter, two tanks in the border town of Al-Biyadiyah, a tank near Tyre district in Al-Qawzah, two D9 military bulldozers in Rashaf and Deir Siryan, and three Israeli Nimr armored vehicles. Mahmoud Qomati, Deputy Head of Hezbollah’s Political Council, said in a statement that the group “will not allow the Israeli occupiers to be stationed on our land” and would refuse negotiations “under fire,” adding that resistance would continue “until the last Israeli soldier leaves our territory,” according to Fars News.

Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel

Casualty count: Over the last 24 hours, four Palestinians were killed—three in new attacks and one recovered from under the rubble after an earlier attack—and 16 were injured across Gaza. The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 72,619 killed, with 172,484 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 837 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 2,381, while 769 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Two Palestinians killed on Wednesday: Two Palestinians were killed on Wednesday morning due to injuries sustained in earlier Israeli strikes targeting northern Gaza and central Gaza City, according to WAFA. The victims were identified as Khaled Jouda, who was wounded in a strike in northern Gaza, and Mohammed Al-Attar, who succumbed to injuries from a strike two days earlier in Gaza City.
Tuesday strikes: Two Palestinians were killed in Israeli shelling across eastern and western Gaza City. A child was among those killed after a strike near the Bahloul station in the Al-Nasr neighborhood, while another person was killed and three others wounded in a strike near Kuwait roundabout in the southeast of the city.
Israel orders demolition of 50 Palestinians shops and facilities as part of settlement project: Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of around 50 commercial shops and facilities in the town of Al-Eizariya, southeast of Jerusalem, according to the Jerusalem Governorate. Officials said residents were verbally instructed to evacuate their businesses in the Al-Mashtal area by Sunday, as part of the “E1” settlement expansion plan. Authorities warned that the structures would be destroyed with their contents if owners fail to comply, despite ongoing legal appeals. The plan is linked to broader efforts to connect the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim with Jerusalem, fragmenting the occupied West Bank. In an open letter, more than 400 former European officials, including former Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, urged the European Union to take immediate action to halt the project, warning it amounts to de facto annexation, according to Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Israeli government secretly funded $700,000 of Christian Zionist lobbying push on Capitol Hill, documents show: The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs secretly paid the Christian Zionist organization Eagles’ Wings $700,000—including $245,000 allocated specifically for lobbying efforts this year—to help organize Israel Advocacy Day, a Capitol Hill lobbying campaign planning more than 100 congressional meetings this week, according to a previously unreported Israeli procurement document obtained by Drop Site. The funding was not disclosed at Monday night’s kickoff event at the Ronald Reagan Building, and does not appear anywhere on the organization’s website. Eagles’ Wings is not registered as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Ethics expert Craig Holman of Public Citizen told Drop Site the arrangement raises serious compliance questions, while FARA attorney Jonathan Winer said organizations engaged in political activity intended to influence U.S. government policy are required to register regardless of their religious status. The Israeli government’s contract states it is funding Eagles’ Wings to prevent churchgoers and clergy “from adopting pro-BDS and anti-Israeli positions”; approval of Israel among white evangelicals has dropped ten points since February 2024, according to Pew Research. The Israeli government has separately funded a $3.2 million outreach plan targeting evangelical churches in the American Southwest and paid more than $300,000 to produce a pro-Israel television program on Trinity Broadcasting Network, the world’s largest evangelical TV network. The latest from Nick Cleveland-Stout for Drop Site is available here.
Board of Peace told Gaza officials ceasefire would become “null and void” if Hamas refuses disarmament: A document obtained by the Times of Israel shows that the U.S.-led Board of Peace informed Gaza technocratic committee officials in early April that Israel would no longer be bound by key ceasefire commitments—including halting attacks, allowing large-scale aid entry, reopening Rafah Crossing, and withdrawing to the agreed Yellow Line—if Hamas refuses to accept a proposed disarmament framework. The letter, signed by former UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov and senior U.S. official Aryeh Lightstone, states that Hamas’s failure to accept the framework “within a reasonable timeframe” would render those Israeli obligations “null and void.” The document also appears to acknowledge that Israel had not fully implemented eight key provisions of the October 2025 ceasefire humanitarian annex; Hamas has consistently maintained that weapons discussions cannot begin until Israel first fulfills its phase-one obligations.

U.S. News

By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at Julian@dropsitenews.com.

U.S. military kills three in latest vessel strike in the Pacific: The U.S. military conducted a strike against a boat in the Eastern Pacific on Tuesday, killing three people, according to U.S. Southern Command. SOUTHCOM posted a video of the strike and said, “Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action” without providing evidence. Over 190 people have been killed in dozens U.S. strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific since September.
Senate Republicans slip $1 billion for White House East Wing renovation into $70 billion immigration enforcement bill: Senate Republicans inserted $1 billion for security enhancements tied to President Donald Trump’s East Wing renovation project into a roughly $70 billion immigration enforcement funding bill unveiled Monday, setting up a political fight over a White House ballroom Trump had previously said would be financed with private donations. A White House spokesman on Tuesday applauded the proposed funding as addressing a “long overdue” project, citing last month’s attack at a journalism gala attended by Trump. The bill directs the money toward security upgrades “within the perimeter fence of the White House compound” related to the East Wing Modernization Project and bars spending on “non-security elements,” though the provision could also clear legal obstacles to the ballroom’s construction, which a federal judge has ruled requires congressional approval. Democrats quickly seized on the measure, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York saying, “Republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a Trump ballroom.” The broader bill— advanced through a party-line process designed to bypass a Democratic filibuster—would provide approximately $39 billion through the Judiciary Committee and $32.5 billion through the Homeland Security Committee for ICE hiring, border technology, including artificial intelligence, and a $5 billion flexible fund for the Homeland Security secretary, with none of the spending offset by cuts elsewhere.
FDA blocked publication of multiple vaccine safety studies: Food and Drug Administration officials blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used Covid-19 and shingles vaccines in recent months, a Department of Health and Human Services spokesman confirmed to the New York Times. In October, FDA scientists were directed to withdraw two Covid-19 vaccine safety studies that had been accepted by peer-reviewed journals; in February, top FDA officials declined to sign off on submitting abstracts about Shingrix shingles vaccine studies to a major drug safety conference. Both withdrawn Covid studies—one examining 7.5 million Medicare beneficiaries and another examining 4.2 million vaccine recipients across ages six months to 64 years—found serious side effects to be very rare. The suppressed studies are part of a broader pattern: the CDC’s interim leader canceled a report finding Covid vaccines sharply reduced hospitalizations last winter, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s office previously sought deletion of a vaccine safety summary from the CDC website.
U.S. gas prices spike to $4.48 a gallon, up 50% since Iran war began: The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States climbed 31 cents in a single week to $4.48 on Tuesday, up 50% since the war with Iran began, according to AAA, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to drive the largest oil supply disruption in the history of global energy markets.
Trump exacts revenge on Indiana Republicans who blocked redistricting, with at least five losing primaries: At least five of the seven Indiana state senators targeted by President Donald Trump for opposing his congressional redistricting plan lost their primary races Tuesday to Trump-backed challengers, according to the Associated Press. Trump had threatened the senators after a slim Republican majority in the state Senate joined Democrats last December to vote down a redrawn map designed to flip two U.S. House seats held by Democrats, issuing social media endorsements of their challengers, hosting some of these challengers at the White House, and mobilizing outside groups to pour money into the races.
Trump’s border czar threatens to “flood the zone” with ICE agents if New York passes sanctuary measures: Border czar Tom Homan threatened Tuesday to dramatically expand immigration enforcement operations in New York if the state passes a pending package of sanctuary-like legislation, telling a border security expo “you’re going to see more ICE agents than you’ve ever seen before.” The warning complicates a deal between Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) and the Democratic-led state Legislature on measures that would limit local police coordination with federal immigration authorities, restrict where civil deportation warrants can be executed, ban law enforcement officers from concealing their faces during operations, and make it easier for New Yorkers to sue federal officials over constitutional violations. Hochul pushed back on Homan’s remarks, noting that President Donald Trump personally told her in March he would not surge ICE agents to New York unless she asked. “I’m not asking,” the governor told reporters.
Cornell interim president accused of hitting two students with his car after Gaza debate: Students for a Democratic Cornell alleged Monday that interim university president Michael Kotlikoff struck two students with his vehicle in a campus parking lot on April 30 after they followed him to ask about university protest policies following a Gaza debate. Student Aiden Vallecillo said Kotlikoff ran over his foot and was treated on-site by campus emergency medical services; a second student said the car backed into him. Kotlikoff characterized the encounter as “harassment and intimidation,” saying students surrounded and banged on his vehicle. Cornell released surveillance footage it said shows students surrounding the car to prevent him from leaving, though the video does not show window banging. The university said it is investigating.
Ala Stanford has gone silent: Ala Stanford, a physician running to represent Pennsylvania’s 3rd district in Congress, has reportedly dropped out of all debates and candidate forums since Drop Site reported that she received $500,000 in AIPAC funding; she has also locked her replies on Instagram and Twitter. Our reporting on Stanford’s AIPAC backing is available here.
Rubio denies U.S. blockade of Cuba: Secretary of State Marco Rubio falsely denied at a Tuesday press conference that the U.S. had imposed an “oil blockade” on Cuba, arguing instead that the country’s energy shortages stem from Venezuela “choosing” to end subsidized shipments. “The Venezuelans have decided we’re not giving you free oil anymore,” Rubio said, calling Cuba a “failed state” run by “incompetent communists.” The blockade and the mechanism by which it was enforced are well-reported: the Trump administration earlier threatened to impose tariffs on any country supplying the island with petroleum starting in January, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, and Mexico’s state-owned oil company PEMEX suspended planned shipments of petroleum under these threats.
Protests at West Bank land sale expo at Manhattan synagogue: Several hundred protesters gathered outside a real estate expo held at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan on Tuesday that included promotion of land sales in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The event’s website advertised opportunities to “explore the best Anglo neighborhoods to find your dream home” and invited registrants to indicate interest in areas including Gush Etzion, a cluster of settlements in West Bank territory expropriated by Israel in 2014. Pro-Israeli demonstrators were also present outside the event. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly opposed the event, with his spokesperson Sam Raskin calling the settlements “illegal under international law and deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians.”
Federal prosecutors dropped drugs-for-votes charges against Puerto Rico prison gang after Trump’s election, ProPublica finds: Federal investigators building a case against Puerto Rico prison gang Los Tiburones discovered the group was coercing drug-addicted inmates to vote for Gov. Jenniffer González-Colón by threatening to withhold drugs or inflict violence, according to a ProPublica investigation. Prosecutors were preparing an indictment that included voting fraud charges against inmates and corrections staff when, days after Trump won the 2024 election and González-Colón clinched the governorship, supervisors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico directed them to drop all voting-related counts and all charges against prison staff. The lead prosecutor was subsequently told to take the investigation no further. “Before the election, it was definitely full steam ahead,” one person familiar with the case told ProPublica. “After the election, that all changed.” Read more about the case in the latest from ProPublica, available here.

Other International News

China demands U.S. immediately lift Cuba embargo: China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday called on Washington to immediately end its embargo and sanctions against Cuba, condemning President Donald Trump’s newly expanded measures as “illegal” and a “serious violation” of international relations norms. Trump signed an executive order Friday broadening sanctions against the Cuban government, part of broader pressure on Havana following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January, a close Cuban ally. Beijing said the sanctions violated the Cuban people’s right to existence and development and affirmed China’s support for Cuba’s sovereignty, saying it “resolutely opposes interference in its internal affairs.”
Four pro-Palestinian activists convicted of criminal damage in raid on Elbit factory: London’s Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday convicted four of six defendants of criminal damage stemming from a 2024 raid on an Elbit Systems facility in Filton, Bristol, which prosecutors said caused approximately one million pounds in damage. Prosecutors said all six were members of Palestine Action, which organized the August 2024 assault on the Israeli defense firm’s research and development facility; the defendants admitted damaging Israeli military drones and equipment, saying they did so “to save lives in Palestine.” The verdicts follow an earlier trial in which all six defendants were acquitted of aggravated burglary after the jury failed to reach verdicts on the criminal damage charges. Palestine Action has been proscribed domestically in the UK as a terrorist group, a decision London’s High Court ruled unlawful, though the group remains banned pending the government’s appeal.
RSF drone strikes in Sudan; Ethiopian ambassador recalled: Rapid Support Forces drones struck gas stations in Kosti, White Nile State—roughly 300 kilometers south of Khartoum—on Tuesday, killing five people and wounding nine others, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. The Sudanese government on Tuesday also recalled its ambassador to Ethiopia, accusing Addis Ababa and the UAE of enabling RSF drone operations launched from Bahir Dar Airport; both countries continue to deny involvement despite what Khartoum says is mounting evidence.
Russian strikes kill 27 in Ukraine before ceasefire takes effect: Russian drone and missile attacks killed at least 27 people across Ukraine on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reports. Glide bombs killed at least 12 people and wounded 20 in Zaporizhzhia, striking a car repair shop and residential buildings; six more were killed and 12 wounded in Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region; and four were killed in Dnipro. Overnight strikes on state-run gas facilities in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions killed three employees and two rescue workers, cutting gas supplies to nearly 3,500 customers, according to Naftogaz chief executive Serhiy Koretskyi. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strikes “absolutely cynical, senseless terrorist strikes” and announced an open-ended Ukrainian ceasefire beginning at midnight Wednesday, urging Russia to reciprocate. Ukrainian attacks on Tuesday killed 7, with drone attacks killing five civilians in Russian-occupied Crimea and two people in Russia’s Chuvash Republic. Ukrainian forces also struck one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in Kirishi in the Leningrad region, sparking a fire with no reported casualties.
Boko Haram kills 23 Chadian soldiers: At least 23 Chadian soldiers were killed and 26 were injured in a Boko Haram attack on a military post on the island of Barka Tolorom in Chad’s Lake Chad region on Monday night, the country’s armed forces said Tuesday. The military said a significant number of attackers were also killed, and that the assault was ultimately repelled. Chadian soldiers have faced intensifying Boko Haram attacks in the Lake Chad region, including an October 2024 strike that killed roughly 40 members of the country’s armed forces.
Pakistan attack in Afghanistan condemned as war crime: Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government accused Pakistan on Tuesday of killing three civilians and wounding 14 others in a cross-border strike on Dangam in Kunar province, condemning the attack as a “war crime” and saying Pakistani fire deliberately targeted homes, schools, a health center, and mosques. Pakistan dismissed the allegations, suggesting Kabul may have staged the damage as part of a “propaganda effort.” The incident is the latest strain on a China-brokered ceasefire reached in April, following months of cross-border fighting that left hundreds dead. A separate attack occurred late Monday in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where security forces foiled a suicide bombing at a checkpoint near the Afghan border, killing the attacker before the explosives-laden vehicle reached its target.
West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee refuses to resign: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Tuesday she “will not resign” and has “not been defeated” after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party swept her Trinamool Congress from power, winning more than two-thirds of the state’s 294 seats—including Banerjee’s own constituency. Banerjee alleged without evidence that roughly 100 seats were “forcibly taken” from her party and that the Election Commission had been “biased,” saying “morally, we won the election.” State electoral officials called the allegations “baseless.” Banerjee did not say whether she would challenge the result in court.
Ethiopia’s TPLF reasserts political control in Tigray: The Tigray People’s Liberation Front restored the legislative council that existed before the 2020–2022 civil war and elected TPLF chair Debretsion Gebremichael as regional president on Tuesday, following through on last month’s threat to violate a key provision of the Pretoria Agreement that ended the conflict. The move creates two rival administrations in Tigray, as interim administration President Tadesse Worede has said he intends to remain in his post. The TPLF accused the federal government of provoking armed conflict, withholding funds for civil servants, and extending the interim president’s tenure without consultation. On Monday, a hand grenade exploded near the interim administration’s offices in the regional capital Mekelle, with no casualties reported.
U.S. set to lift sanctions on Eritrea: The United States is preparing to remove sanctions against Eritrea imposed by the Biden administration in 2021, according to an internal State Department document seen by Reuters. The Biden administration imposed sanctions on Eritrea for its role in Ethiopia’s Tigray war, in which Eritrean forces backed the Ethiopian government in its fight against rebels in Tigray, in which Eritrean forces were accused of perpetrating “serious human rights abuses.” Analysts linked the Trump administration’s decision to Eritrea’s strategic position on the Red Sea, which has grown in significance following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. fires Typhon missile from the Philippines for the first time: A medium-range Typhon missile launched from Leyte Island struck a target nearly 400 miles away at Fort Magsaysay during joint U.S. “Balikatan” military exercises with the Philippines, marking the first known firing of the land-based system on Philippine soil. The missile test comes amid rising tensions in the region and puts China’s eastern seaboard and Taiwan Strait approaches within reach of U.S. missile capabilities. Beijing, which has long demanded the Typhon system’s removal from the region, responded by deploying naval and air patrols around contested Scarborough Shoa in the South China Seal. Manila is considering buying more units. This year’s Balikatan exercise is the largest yet, including 17,000 troops from seven countries, and with Japan participating for the first time.
Fireworks factory explosion kills 26 in Hunan, China: An explosion at a fireworks factory in Liuyang, Hunan province killed at least 26 people and injured 61 on Monday, flattening buildings and sending towering clouds of smoke into the sky, state media reported Tuesday. More than 1,500 firefighters, rescuers, and medical personnel were deployed to search for survivors and manage hazards associated with the highly combustible black powder stored in two nearby warehouses. The person in charge of the site where the explosion occurred was detained, and authorities ordered all fireworks manufacturers in the city to suspend production pending inspections.

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