Middle East & Iran War
Iran Threatens Retaliation After U.S. Renews Strikes on Iranian Targets The U.S. military launched new attacks on southern Iran even as fragile diplomacy efforts to end the war continued. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned that Gulf powers “will no longer be a shield for US bases” and the U.S. “will no longer have a safe haven in the region.” — NYT · Guardian · NPR · Bloomberg
Trump Demands ‘Mandatory’ Abraham Accords Adherence in Iran Truce Talks President Trump said Saudi Arabia and other Muslim-majority nations must normalise ties with Israel as part of any deal to end the war on Iran. U.S. and Arab diplomats said the demand took them by surprise and was unlikely to gain traction. — Middle East Eye
Iran and Iraq Discuss ‘Dialogue and Diplomacy’ to End Regional Tensions Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iraqi President Nizar Amidi discussed enhancing regional security and stability and emphasised “the importance of stopping the war and ending tensions in the region through dialogue and diplomacy.” — Middle East Eye
Iran Medicine Shortages Worsened by War Amid a fragile ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel, Iranians are finding it harder to access essential medicines as imports and payment systems are disrupted. — DW
No Sign of End to Iran’s 88-Day Internet Blackout Despite Regime Claims An Iranian government announcement that the blackout was being lifted had no immediate noticeable impact. Internet monitors were unsure if political or technical issues were behind the delay. — Guardian
Israeli Attacks on Eastern Lebanon Village Kill at Least 12 Attacks struck the village of Mashghara in the Bekaa Valley late Monday as Israel intensified its assault across Lebanon. — Al Jazeera
Israeli Strike Hits Civil Defense Centre in Lebanon, Killing Two Paramedics An Israeli strike targeted a civil defense and rescue centre in southern Lebanon, killing two paramedics and wounding several others. — Middle East Eye
Libyan Forces Detain Gaza Land Convoy Activists at Sirte Checkpoint Forces loyal to Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar detained members of a land convoy trying to bring aid to Gaza. — Al Jazeera
Muslims Pray on Mount Arafat at High Point of Hajj Pilgrimage On the most spiritually significant day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Muslims gathered on Mount Arafat to pray. — Al Jazeera
Europe
Belgium Train-School Bus Collision Kills Four Including Two Children A train crashed into a school minibus near Brussels, killing two children (ages 12 and 15), their chaperone, and the driver. The students attended a special education school. — BBC · NYT · DW
UK PM Starmer Promises Crackdown on Teenagers’ Social Media Use ‘Very Quickly’ Starmer said “we are going to act” but did not specify which options would be adopted after a public consultation ends. — Guardian
UK Court of Appeal to Review Non-Custodial Rape Sentences for Three Teenage Boys Starmer announced a review after three boys (ages 14-15) received youth rehabilitation orders instead of custodial sentences for rape. — Guardian
Mango Founder’s Son Steps Down to Fight Allegations Over Father’s Death Jonathan Andic is temporarily stepping aside as vice-chair of the fashion chain after being named a suspect in the investigation into Isak Andic’s death. He strongly protested his innocence. — Guardian
Americas
Texas Senate Runoff: Cornyn vs. Trump-Backed Paxton Amid Anti-Muslim Rhetoric The Republican runoff between incumbent John Cornyn and AG Ken Paxton has featured a surge of anti-Muslim rhetoric in campaign ads. Both candidates have tried to portray the other as insufficiently aggressive toward Muslim institutions. — Guardian · Guardian
Chile’s Trump-Inspired Border Controls Complicate Life for Migrants Two months into far-right President José Antonio Kast’s presidency, the mass deportations he pledged have not materialized, but his border wall modeled on Trump’s is making life increasingly difficult for migrants in the border region. — France 24
Minorities Fear ICE Threat at 2026 World Cup Fans including Haitians in Massachusetts, where one of their biggest diasporas resides, fear how immigration enforcement may affect them during the tournament. — Al Jazeera
Africa
Mali Crisis Could Have Dangerous Spillover Effect Across the Sahel The Sahel region could see a major surge of instability unless urgent diplomatic action is taken to address the Mali crisis. — Al Jazeera
Asia-Pacific
U.S. and India Seek to Repair Ties Over Trade and China Secretary Rubio’s visit to India comes as Washington seeks closer ties with New Delhi amid trade tensions and energy politics. — Al Jazeera
Why Conservatives Backed Trump’s China Trip but Slammed Carney’s When Canada’s PM Mark Carney visited Beijing, U.S. and Canadian conservatives attacked him — but Trump faced no such criticism for his own China trip earlier this month. — SCMP
Hong Kong to Set Ride-Hailing Permit Quota at 10,000 Authorities plan to submit a consultation paper to the Legislative Council as early as Tuesday to introduce a regulatory regime for ride-hailing services. — SCMP
Technology & Science
Pope Leo XIV Urges AI Leaders to Slow Down at Event with AI Co-Founder Nearby The co-founder of a prominent A.I. company was present as the pope implored AI leaders to consider the technology’s possible perils. — NYT · France 24
FBI Warns Microsoft 365 Users About New Phishing Tool Bypassing Two-Factor Authentication The Kali365 platform, distributed via Telegram since April, lets attackers steal OAuth tokens and access Outlook, Teams, and OneDrive without a password. — Quartz
French ‘Bugs Matter’ App Enlists Drivers to Track Insect Decline France’s National Museum of Natural History launched a citizen science project asking car drivers to count dead insects on their windshields to measure insect population decline. — France 24
Markets & Finance
Oil Drops on Hopes of U.S.-Iran Deal Brent crude briefly fell below $94 a barrel before climbing back above $96 on Tuesday, on hopes that a deal to end the war was near. — Quartz
Dow Futures Rise 300 Points on Tentative U.S.-Iran Deal Hopes S&P 500 futures rose 0.6% as investors remained hopeful that the latest American strikes on Iran won’t derail talks. — CNBC · Bloomberg
Ferrari Shares Fall After Launch of First EV, Jony Ive Design Proves Divisive The Luce, Ferrari’s first electric vehicle starting at $640,000 with a 329-mile range, drew comparisons to mass-market EVs. Analysts cited design concerns and brand dilution fears. — Guardian · CNBC · Quartz
BP Removes Chairman Albert Manifold Over ‘Oversight and Conduct’ Issues BP’s board unanimously decided to remove Chairman Albert Manifold with immediate effect, naming Ian Tyler as interim chair. — FT · CNBC
Eli Lilly Plans Nearly $4 Billion in Vaccine Startup Acquisitions The deals give Lilly vaccines targeting shingles, bacterial pathogens, and Epstein-Barr virus as it expands beyond weight-loss drugs. — CNBC · Quartz
Quantinuum Sets IPO Terms, Eyes Nearly $13 Billion Valuation The quantum computing company looks to raise up to $1 billion in its initial public offering. — MarketWatch
SpaceX Pressured Pentagon into Paying More for Satellite Service on War Drones SpaceX told the Defense Department it should pay $25,000 per Starlink terminal, up from $5,000, for the satellite links guiding LUCAS suicide drones over Iran. — Quartz
Bitcoin Wavers as Iran Strikes Revive Geopolitical Tensions Analysts warn of a range trap as underwater bitcoin buyers build resistance near $79,000 and Middle East tensions flare again. — The Block
Briefing compiled from 16 sources via RSS at 07:01 CST on May 26, 2026.
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