• Middle Eastern crisis
      □ 2026 Iran war
          ☆ 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
              ○ The Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization says that ports in
                Iran are prepared to provide maritime services, technical
                support, supplies, and medical assistance to ships operating in
                the Strait of Hormuz. (AA)

  • Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping
      □ Former Chinese defense ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe are both
        sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve following their convictions
        on graft charges. (Politico)
  • Trafficking of Chinese nationals to scam centers abroad
      □ Sri Lankan authorities arrest 30 Chinese and Vietnamese nationals in
        Colombo in a crackdown on cyberscams in the country, raising the total
        number of those detained to 261. At least 74 Vietnamese nationals were
        arrested yesterday. (The Straits Times)

  • 2026 Scottish Parliament election, 2026 Senedd election, 2026 United
    Kingdom local elections
      □ Voters in England elect six mayors and 5,066 council seats across 136
        councils. In Scotland, voters elect 129 seats to the Scottish
        Parliament. In Wales, voters elect 96 seats to the Senedd. (BBC)
  • Politics of Solomon Islands
      □ The Parliament of the Solomon Islands debates a no-confidence motion
        against incumbent prime minister Jeremiah Manele. The debate is a
        culmination of a political crisis that started with mass resignations
        of the cabinet on 16 March, recently escalated by a ruling on 1 May by
        the Court of Appeal ordering the reconvening of Parliament. (RNZ)
      □ Manele is ousted from the premiership following a successful
        no-confidence motion of 26–22, with two MPs absent. Manele remains as
        caretaker prime minister until Governor-General David Tiva Kapu
        declares a new prime minister. (Reuters)

  • Middle Eastern crisis
      □ 2026 Iran war
          ☆ 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
              ○ 2026 Iran war ceasefire
                  ■ Pakistan in the 2026 Iran war
                      ★ Pakistani deputy prime minister and foreign minister
                        Ishaq Dar says that Pakistan is focusing on making the
                        current ceasefire between Iran and the United States
                        permanent. (Pakistan Today)
                  ■ Axios reports that Iran and the U.S. are closing in on a
                    one-page memorandum to end the war and set a framework for
                    negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program. (Axios)
                    (Reuters)
          ☆ 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
              ○ 2026 Iran war regional mobilizations
                  ■ France deploys the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and
                    its strike group to the Red Sea ahead of a proposed British
                    –French mission aimed at securing maritime traffic in the
                    Strait of Hormuz. (AP)
              ○ Ships attacked during the 2026 Iran war
                  ■ French shipping company CMA CGM says that one of its
                    container ships, San Antonio, was attacked yesterday while
                    transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. (AFP via Arab News
                    )
              ○ The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy says that safe
                passage on the Strait of Hormuz will be assured with new
                procedures and guidelines following the U.S. pause in Operation
                Project Freedom. (Reuters)
      □ 2026 Lebanon war
          ☆ Israeli attacks on the Lebanese health sector during the
            Israel-Hezbollah conflict
              ○ Five people are killed and three paramedics are injured by
                Israeli drone strikes and airstrikes across southern Lebanon
                despite the ceasefire. (AA)
      □ Israel carries out an airstrike against a building in Beirut, allagedly
        killing a top commander of Hezbollah's Radwan Forces. It is the first
        strike in the capital since the ceasefire started on April 16.
        (Reuters)
  • Sudanese civil war
      □ The Sudan Doctors Network says that the death toll from drone strikes
        launched yesterday by the Rapid Support Forces in Kosti, White Nile has
        risen to 235 after laboratory doctor Adel Musa al-Tijani was killed in
        the drone strike. (Sudan Tribune)
      □ Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates deny Sudan's accusations that
        they were responsible for the May 4 drone attack on Khartoum
        International Airport. (BBC News) (Medafrica Times) (Khaleej Times)

  • Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war
      □ Gold prices rise to more than a one-week high following reports that
        Iran and the U.S. may be nearing a peace deal to end the war. (CNBC)

  • 2026 North Musi Rawas collision
      □ At least 16 people are killed and four others are injured when a
        passenger bus crashes into a tanker truck in Sumatra, Indonesia. (AFP
        via Al Arabiya)

  • MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak
      □ Three passengers infected with hantavirus pulmonary syndrome from the
        Andes virus are evacuated off the MV Hondius cruise ship while it is
        stationed off the coast of Cape Verde to receive treatment in the
        Netherlands. At least 145 people remain on board, including two
        suspected asymptomatic cases. (ABC News) (NBC News) (Fox News)
      □ Spanish authorities allow the ship to dock at the Canary Islands as
        several passengers are Spanish citizens. (BBC News) (Reuters)

  • 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis, China in the 2026 Iran war, China–Iran
    relations
      □ Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and Iranian foreign minister Abbas
        Araghchi meet in Beijing, China, to discuss reopening the Strait of
        Hormuz, among other related topics, ahead of potential Iran–U.S. talks.
        (Al-Monitor)

  • Ivory Coast dissolves its election commission following criticism over its
    management and independence, with authorities planning to establish a new
    electoral administration system. (Reuters)
  • North Korea drops mention of unification with South Korea from its
    constitution. (Euronews)

  • Middle Eastern crisis
      □ 2026 Iran war
          ☆ 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
              ○ 2026 Iran war ceasefire
                  ■ U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio and U.S. military
                    leaders, including U.S. defense secretary Pete Hegseth, say
                    that the ceasefire is holding despite recent attacks on the
                    United Arab Emirates and Strait of Hormuz. (Times of Israel
                    ) (Reuters)
          ☆ 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
              ○ 2026 Strait of Hormuz campaign
                  ■ U.S. president Donald Trump announces a pause in Operation
                    Project Freedom aimed at helping ships transit the Strait
                    of Hormuz, citing Pakistan's request to do so and progress
                    in negotiations. (CNBC) (Arab News PK)
          ☆ Rubio announces that Operation Epic Fury, the codename for the
            initial phase of U.S. military operations in the war with Iran, has
            concluded. (The Hill) (Time)
      □ Israeli–Palestinian conflict
          ☆ Gaza war
              ○ The Israel Defense Forces confirms that Hamas Nukhba commander
                Anas Muhammad Ibrahim Hamed, who took part in the October 7,
                2023 attacks including the Nova music festival massacre, was
                eliminated in a airstrike yesterday in the central Gaza Strip.
                (Israel National News) (Times of Israel)
  • Sudanese civil war
      □ Ethiopia–Sudan relations
          ☆ The Sudan News Agency reports that Sudan has recalled its
            ambassador to Ethiopia, accusing them of involvement in recent
            drone strikes targeting the airport in Khartoum. (EWN)
      □ Five people are killed and nine others are injured following a drone
        strike launched by the Rapid Support Forces on two fuel stations in
        Kosti, White Nile. (Sudan Tribune)
  • Boko Haram insurgency
      □ Boko Haram militants attack a Chadian military base on the shores of
        Lake Chad, killing 23 security personnel and injuring dozens of others.
        (DW)
  • Russo-Ukrainian war
      □ At least 27 people are killed and more than 80 injured in Russian drone
        and missile attacks on Ukraine. (Al Jazeera)

  • Anti-Israeli protests are held outside the Park East Synagogue in New York
    City, U.S., after the synagogue hosted the Great Israeli Real Estate Event,
    an expo for land sales in both Israel and the occupied West Bank. (Jewish
    Insider) (The New York Times)

  • As a result of the motion of no confidence against Romanian prime minister
    Ilie Bolojan, exchange rates between the Romanian leu and the euro rise to
    their highest level in history as the leu's value plummets. (Economica.net 
    in Romanian) (Digi FM in Romanian)

  • More than twenty people are killed over the past 24 hours in storms, heavy
    rainfall, and lightning strikes across Bihar, India. (The Hans India)
  • Eight people are killed and 41 others are injured in a fire at a commercial
    complex in Andisheh, Tehran province, Iran. (AA)

  • COVID-19 drug development
      □ German biotechnology company BioNTech announces it will halt production
        of its COVID-19 vaccine due to drastic restructuring plans, leaving
        sole production of the vaccine to its partner Pfizer. (DW) (Wall Street
        Journal)

  • Mass shootings in the United States
      □ 2026 Carrollton Koreatown shootings
          ☆ Two people are killed and three others injured in a mass shooting
            at a Korean supermarket in Carrollton, Texas, U.S., after a
            69-year-old man opened fire on his coworkers at a business meeting.
            The suspect is taken into custody. (NBC News)
  • Two people are killed and seven others are injured in a school shooting in
    Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil. A 13-year-old suspect is taken into custody.
    (Xinhua) (Central Brasileira de Notícias in Portuguese)
  • In Pasig, Philippines, the National Bureau of Investigation arrests the
    founder of an online news site and four other people, in an entrapment
    operation for an alleged extortion attempt on former House speaker Martin
    Romualdez. (Gulf News) (PNA)

  • Politics of Romania
      □ The Parliament of Romania votes 281–4 to pass a motion of no confidence
        , called by the Social Democratic Party and Alliance for the Union of
        Romanians, against prime minister Ilie Bolojan. (AP) (AFP via France
        24)
      □ President Nicușor Dan refuses the possibility of holding snap elections
        , saying that a new government will be formed comprising a coalition of
        pro-Western parties. (Radio Romania in Romanian)
  • Louise Arbour is announced by prime minister Mark Carney as the next
    governor general of Canada. (The Guardian)
  • The Ugandan parliament passes the Protection of Sovereignty Bill, which
    restricts foreign involvement in policymaking without government approval
    and imposes penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment for violations.
    (Reuters)