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The ongoing conflict and widespread displacement in Gaza has triggered a significant surge in child marriages, with families in desperate circumstances arranging marriages for daughters as young as 13 years old, seeking to provide them with safety and economic stability.

The Associated Press conducted interviews with six young girls in Gaza, ages 13 to 16, who entered into marriages, along with their families. Among these girls, two reported experiencing repeated sexual assault and severe physical violence. Four had already given birth and described high-risk pregnancies, while three experienced at least one pregnancy loss.

Government statistics reveal an uptick in underage marriages, reversing a downward trend that had been occurring prior to the October 7, 2023, attack that ignited the current conflict, which is now temporarily halted by an unstable ceasefire.

Every parent interviewed by the Associated Press stated that without the war’s circumstances, they would never have considered arranging such early marriages for their children.

The report highlights key findings from these interviews and data analysis.

One mother, identified only as Majda, was interviewed while residing in a deteriorated tent following the deaths of her spouse and oldest son in military strikes. The vast majority of Gaza’s residents have been forced to evacuate their homes, with hundreds of thousands now living in overcrowded, unsanitary temporary camps offering minimal security or privacy, depending on charitable organizations for sustenance.

Facing extreme poverty and overwhelmed by loss, Majda arranged marriages for her daughters, ages 13 and 14, to two brothers in their twenties.

“I thought I was protecting them,” she said. “Fear was slaughtering me.”

Both daughters reported that their spouses sexually assaulted them and that their new families physically abused them. The younger daughter experienced two pregnancy losses, both occurring after her husband physically attacked her during pregnancy.

The six girls and their families agreed to participate in interviews only under the condition that their complete identities remain confidential due to the extremely sensitive nature of the subject matter. The Associated Press maintains a policy of not identifying victims of sexual assault. Majda consented to being identified solely by her given name.

Majda’s older daughter delivered a baby boy. Several months afterward, she escaped, traveling 15 kilometers (9 miles) on foot while carrying her infant to reach her mother’s shelter. Shortly thereafter, her younger sister also returned to Majda while expecting another child.

Majda faced intense pressure from her father and her daughters’ in-laws, who argued she lacked the resources to support both daughters, her grandson, and the expected newborn.

Believing she had no alternative, she agreed to their demands. The daughters were sent back to their spouses in early May. Since that time, Majda has been unable to establish contact with either daughter.

“They did not want to return,” she said. “They were crying.”

Gaza’s legal framework permits exceptions to the 17-year minimum marriage age when parents provide consent and a judge grants authorization. Court administrators have received instructions to reject exception requests for individuals younger than 14 years and seven months, though some families create unofficial arrangements that bypass these regulations.

The United Nations and most humanitarian organizations classify marriages involving girls under 18 as early marriages.

The majority of girls interviewed by the Associated Press indicated their parents did not force them into marriage. However, they expressed feeling obligated to reduce their families’ financial strain.

Through marriage, they became eligible to receive aid as independent family units with their spouses, rather than being included in their parents’ assistance allocation. Multiple girls also noted that with educational institutions largely closed during the conflict, they perceived no opportunity to continue their studies.

“Marriage felt like the only sense of normalcy I could restore to my life,” said a girl who agreed to be married at 17.

Girls who marry at younger ages face increased risks of sexual violence and abuse, including mistreatment from their spouse’s family, explained Amal Siyam, director of the Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza. Given the high rate of divorce in early marriages, “the girl ends up returning home with one or two children,” she said.

Prior to the conflict, child marriage rates had been gradually decreasing in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. In 2022, the most recent data released by the bureau, 17.8% of all marriages included a bride under 18, representing a decline from over 22% in 2015.

This positive trend appears to have been reversed.

Following a request from the Associated Press, the Supreme Shariah Court in Gaza, which handles marriage registration, compiled information from court staff. Their data indicates that 20.6% of the 35,474 marriages documented in 2024 and 2025 involved brides under 18, including 627 marriages of girls younger than 15.

The actual percentage is likely significantly higher since many marriages have not been officially registered amid the wartime disruption, Siyam noted. The total count of marriage contracts processed by the Shariah court decreased by 35% in 2024, the first complete year of the conflict.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – Facing complete destitution after losing her husband and oldest son to Israeli bombing raids, Majda found herself living in a deteriorating tent surrounded by sewage and rodents. Unable to provide for her remaining children and worried about her daughters’ safety in overcrowded displacement camps, she made a heartbreaking decision she continues to regret.

The desperate mother arranged marriages for her 13- and 14-year-old daughters to men who offered protection and financial support.

“I thought I was protecting them,” she said. “Fear was slaughtering me.”

The widespread destruction caused by Israel’s military operations in Gaza has contributed to a sharp rise in marriages involving underage girls, according to specialists and government statistics. With nearly all residents forced from their homes and most surviving in deplorable camp conditions while relying on humanitarian assistance, some families have turned to marrying off their teenage daughters as a way to secure economic stability.

These arrangements have robbed girls of their youth and prospects for the future, often resulting in hazardous pregnancies.

In Majda’s case, her daughters endured terrible physical violence.

Prior to the current conflict, child marriage rates had been gradually decreasing in Gaza, data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics shows. The bureau’s most recent figures from 2022 indicated that 17.8% of marriages included a bride younger than 18, a decline from over 22% recorded in 2015.

Gaza law sets the minimum marriage age at 17, though exceptions are permitted. The United Nations and most relief organizations classify marriages involving girls under 18 as premature unions.

This positive trend has now been reversed.

Following a request from the Associated Press, the Supreme Shariah Court in Gaza, which handles marriage registration, compiled statistics from court staff. Their data reveals that 20.6% of the 35,474 marriages documented in 2024 and 2025 involved girls under 18, including 627 unions with girls younger than 15.

The actual percentage may be significantly higher since many marriages went unrecorded amid wartime disruption, explained Amal Siyam, who heads the Women’s Affairs Center in Gaza. Marriage contracts processed by the court fell by 35% in 2024, the first complete year following the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that sparked the war.

The Associated Press interviewed six girls in Gaza who married between ages 13 and 16, along with their parents, all requesting anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic. The AP maintains a policy of not identifying sexual assault victims. Majda consented to using only her first name.

Every parent stated they would never have considered arranging such early marriages for their daughters without the war’s circumstances.

Following the deaths of her husband and son in separate bombing incidents in April 2024, Majda fell into deep depression.

She pleaded with medical staff for sleeping medication, which left her unconscious for extended periods. She became unable to care for her daughters in their makeshift seaside shelter, which was constantly battered by harsh weather. Food distribution from charitable organizations, their primary sustenance source, was unreliable and infrequent.

“I was entirely shaken from the inside,” Majda said.

Two brothers in their twenties, from a family that had lived near them in Gaza City before displacement forced everyone to flee, requested permission to marry her daughters.

Despite having married at 14 herself, Majda wanted to spare her girls the same experience. However, her father sided with the brothers’ family, insisting this was their only option. They assured Majda that while marriage contracts would be signed, the girls could remain with her until after the war ended.

“I was not in my right mind. I am still not in my right mind,” Majda said. “I don’t know how I agreed to this.”

Majda’s older daughter, then 14, resisted the arrangement. “I felt lost,” the daughter recalled. “I thought if I got married, someone would be financially responsible for me … I truly regretted it.”

Most girls interviewed by the AP said their parents didn’t force them into marriage. However, they felt obligated to reduce their families’ financial strain.

Marriage allowed them to be classified as separate households with their husbands for aid distribution purposes, rather than remaining under their parents’ allocation. Several girls also mentioned that with schools mostly closed during the conflict, they saw no possibility of continuing their studies.

One girl described being displaced over 25 times with her parents and seven siblings during the war. Her father had strongly opposed early marriage and hoped she would attend university. But their desperate situation led him to accept a marriage proposal.

She also agreed to the arrangement at age 16.

“I couldn’t forgive myself for taking a share of the little food my family had,” she explained. She also feared that she and her siblings would be left without support if their parents died in airstrikes. Now 17, she was five months pregnant during her interview with the AP.

Another girl mentioned her family’s numerous relocations, each depleting their limited resources. While sheltering at a hospital in Khan Younis, a 25-year-old man there proposed to her. At 17, she accepted.

“Marriage felt like the only sense of normalcy I could restore to my life,” she said.

Gaza law permits exceptions to the 17-year minimum age with parental approval and judicial authorization. The Supreme Shariah Court has established guidelines preventing court officials from approving exceptions for girls under 14 years and seven months.

However, parents sometimes make informal arrangements without official registration. Two mothers interviewed by the AP chose this route, one after an official rejected her request because her daughter was only 14.

In the Israeli-controlled West Bank, Palestinian authorities established an 18-year minimum age in 2019, and early marriages have dropped dramatically to approximately 5%, according to government data.

Siyam noted that during periods of widespread displacement in conflicts with Israel, some Palestinians have viewed marriage as a way to provide stability for their daughters. “Wars and conflicts lead to a return to more conservative traditions,” she observed.

Girls who marry young face greater risks of sexual violence and abuse, including mistreatment from in-laws who burden them with household duties, Siyam explained. Given the high divorce rates in early marriages, “the girl ends up returning home with one or two children.”

Majda said the in-laws violated their agreement and soon demanded her older daughter join her 23-year-old husband, who was staying in his family’s tents in Deir al-Balah.

During the initial 10 days, the girl screamed whenever her husband came near her. “I kept screaming and he hit me,” the older daughter said.

Eventually, his mother “tied up my hands above my head,” the daughter recalled. Her husband then sexually assaulted her.

Subsequently, he repeatedly threatened to have his mother restrain her if she screamed, she said. She described multiple instances of sexual assault and mentioned being hospitalized once due to bleeding.

Several months later, the family came to collect her 13-year-old sister for her 21-year-old husband. The younger girl “kept screaming that she did not want to get married,” Majda remembered.

The younger sister told the AP that she was also restrained by her mother-in-law and sexually assaulted by her husband. She reported having two miscarriages, both following incidents where her husband kicked her while pregnant.

Majda’s older daughter gave birth to a son. Months later, in November, she escaped, carrying her infant for 15 kilometers (9 miles) to reach her mother’s tent.

Shortly afterward, the younger sister also fled back to Majda. They then learned she was expecting a child.

The maternity section of Awda Hospital in central Gaza experienced an increase in teenage pregnancies during the war, according to department head Yasser Shaaban. Many suffered serious health complications from becoming pregnant at such young ages, he reported.

Additionally, the vast majority were undernourished, as Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid repeatedly pushed Gaza’s population toward starvation.

Four girls interviewed by the AP had given birth, and all experienced dangerous pregnancies or deliveries. Three had suffered at least one miscarriage.

One nearly died during childbirth from severe bleeding, her mother reported. She was 16 and severely malnourished at the time.

“I was unconscious for many days (after birth), and I couldn’t hold my daughter for a while,” the girl said.

Back with their mother, Majda’s daughters were terrified by any mention of returning to their husbands. During an April interview with the AP, her youngest daughter said going back would be like “death.”

Majda described how her younger daughter had previously been chatty and playful. But since her marriage, “she does not talk to anyone, not to her husband and not to me,” she said.

The girls had resumed schooling, but the older daughter felt isolated and ashamed as the only married student with a baby. She described herself as a child raising a child.

“I am tired,” she said. “I want to die.”

Majda faced intense pressure from her father and in-laws, who argued she couldn’t afford to support her daughters, grandson, and expected baby.

While women can divorce their husbands in Gaza, the procedure is costly and complex. Divorce also carries social stigma, particularly for women, and would make future remarriage difficult for the girls.

The in-laws promised Majda that her daughters would receive proper treatment.

Believing she had no alternative, she gave in. The girls returned to their husbands in Gaza City in early May. Majda has been unable to reach her daughters since then.

“They did not want to return,” she said. “They were crying.”

A medical organization has accused fighters connected to Sudan’s paramilitary forces of deliberately attacking civilians during a significant Muslim religious celebration, resulting in 27 deaths including elderly victims.

The Sudan Doctors Network, which monitors violence throughout the nation, held forces tied to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces responsible for Thursday’s assaults on communities in the al-Murrah region, located west of Barah town in North Kordofan.

The organization stated that these assaults have intensified the already “catastrophic humanitarian conditions that citizens are enduring due to the ongoing war.”

A comprehensive conflict began in April 2023 following escalating disputes between Sudan’s military and the Rapid Support Forces. The Kordofan area has emerged as a primary battleground, with combat escalating across multiple areas, including through unmanned aircraft attacks.

The RSF paramilitary group and its supporters maintain control over the western Darfur area and portions of the Kordofan region along South Sudan’s border — territories abundant in petroleum reserves and gold deposits. The RSF has also engaged in repeated battles with military forces over Barah.

The Thursday incidents occurred during the second day of Eid al-Adha or “Feast of Sacrifice,” a religious observance celebrated by millions of Muslims worldwide.

In their statement, the medical network declared that “targeting villages and civilian areas and liquidating citizens in this horrific manner constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”

Earlier this month, fierce fighting in southern Sudan’s South Kordofan between forces connected to the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and the Otoro tribe resulted in more than 61 deaths, including nine children. Last week, an unmanned aircraft attack on a crowded marketplace in central Sudan claimed 28 lives and injured dozens more.

Sudan’s conflict began in April 2023 when simmering disputes between the military and RSF developed into comprehensive warfare. The fighting has claimed at least 59,000 lives, forced approximately 13 million people from their homes, and created famine conditions in numerous regions. Over 30 million individuals require humanitarian aid.

The United Nations and human rights organizations have accused both sides in Sudan’s conflict of committing serious crimes, including ethnic cleansing, unlawful executions and sexual violence against non-combatants. Relief organizations warn the actual casualty count may be significantly higher due to restricted access to combat zones across the expansive nation.

A chance encounter between a benefits office employee and a world-famous artist has led to what could become one of the most expensive paintings ever sold.

Sue Tilley was employed at an unemployment benefits office when she first encountered artist Lucian Freud. The artwork he created featuring her during the 1990s has become some of the most recognized and valuable pieces in contemporary art.

The painting titled “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet,” considered among Freud’s finest works, will be offered at Sotheby’s auction house on June 24. Experts expect it to sell for between 25 million and 35 million pounds, equivalent to $33 million to $47 million.

Despite the enormous sums her portraits have commanded at various auctions, Tilley has never received any portion of those proceeds. However, she expresses no bitterness about the situation.

“It did change my life,” Tilley shared with The Associated Press while viewing the 7 ½-foot (2.3-meter) tall nude portrait of herself displayed in the auction house. “Who would have thought I’d be in Sotheby’s?”

Created in 1996, “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet” represents the final piece in Freud’s series of four large-scale portraits showing Tilley in various resting positions. A previous work from this series, “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping,” achieved a then-record price for a living artist when it sold for $33.6 million in 2008.

“I was thrilled I was in ‘The Guinness Book of Records,’” explained the 69-year-old Tilley, whose infectious laughter reflects her joy at life’s unexpected turns. “Unfortunately, it didn’t say my name. There was a picture and it said ‘Benefits Supervisor.’ But I was still thrilled that it was there.”

The artist, who was the grandson of renowned psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, became celebrated for his raw depictions of nude subjects including friends, family members, and himself. His technique involved applying thick layers of oil paint to reveal the complex skin tones of his subjects, creating portraits that were simultaneously honest and affectionate. He even created a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, though she remained fully dressed. When he passed away at age 88 in 2011, he had earned recognition as Britain’s most distinguished portrait artist of the 20th century.

His artistic legacy has continued to flourish posthumously. Another Tilley portrait, “Benefits Supervisor Resting,” brought in $56.2 million at auction in 2015. In 2022, his work “Large Interior, W11” commanded $86 million.

Tilley’s introduction to Freud came through her friendship with Leigh Bowery, the deceased Australian performance artist who also served as one of the painter’s models. She remembers “trudging up the stairs” to reach Freud’s London workspace for sessions filled with tea and conversation, broken up by enjoyable meals. Each portrait required many months to complete.

Regarding “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet,” Tilley notes it “was the most comfortable one, because I was sitting up in a chair. Lying down on the sofa looks comfortable, but after a while it got a bit painful.”

Freud’s practice of painting friends, romantic partners, children, and professional associates resulted in artwork that was both daring and revealing. This approach has never troubled Tilley.

“I’m not really vain,” she explained. “Sometimes I get out of bed in the morning, and I look at my legs and go, ‘Oh, they look just like that painting.’”

She cherished the chaotic atmosphere of Freud’s workspace, where “he used to make you a drink and whisk it up with a dirty old paintbrush, and there was paint absolutely everywhere. I’d go home and there’d be bits of paint all over me.”

During the 1980s and 1990s, Tilley was connected to London’s artistic community, which included personalities like Bowery, who operated the experimental Taboo nightclub before his death in 1994 at age 33. She particularly appreciated Freud’s stories about his earlier bohemian experiences.

“I used to love hearing about when he was roaring around in a Rolls-Royce open top with Cecil Beaton and Marlene Dietrich and goodness knows (who), and when he met Judy Garland,” she recalled. “I used to love getting the stories of his youth and his misbehavior.”

The fact that her image will likely be purchased by extremely wealthy collectors doesn’t concern Tilley. “Benefits Supervisor Sleeping” was acquired in 2008 by Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea Football Club owner who faced sanctions from the U.K. following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“Sleeping by the Lion Carpet” is featured in a June 24-25 auction showcasing pieces from British billionaire Joe Lewis’s collection, who holds majority ownership of Premier League soccer team Tottenham Hotspur. The sale will also include pieces by Henri Matisse, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and other masters, with a combined estimated value exceeding 150 million pounds ($201 million).

The painting might establish a new auction record. Oliver Barker, chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, calls it Freud’s “magnum opus.”

“This is a painting that during his lifetime was very much described by Lucian as being the apogee of everything that he was trying to achieve as a painter,” Barker explained. “The market knows, and it’s very savvy, it wants to go for the best of the best — and this is it.”

Now retired and residing on England’s south coast, Tilley recalls that Freud “gave me a couple of etchings, and then I sold them, because I’d rather have the money, and I went on holiday.”

She harbors no resentment that Freud didn’t bequeath her one of the major paintings. Her position in art history is firmly established.

“When I was younger, I used to read art books the whole time and read all about the pre-Raphaelites and the Impressionists, all the goings on, how they’re all friends and interconnected and all the models knew each other,” she reflected.

“And now, I’ve only just realized, I’m part of that. And that’s thrilling for me that I’ve achieved my ambition without really knowing it.”

Communities in Indonesia’s East Java province gathered on Friday to commemorate two decades since a catastrophic mud volcano disaster that claimed at least 14 lives and buried entire neighborhoods under a sea of boiling sludge.

On May 29, 2006, the Lusi mud volcano began erupting in the Porong subdistrict of Sidoarjo, with scientific studies suggesting the catastrophe resulted from commercial gas exploration activities by a local drilling company. This finding contradicted claims by an Indonesian government minister at the time who maintained the event was a natural occurrence.

During Friday’s memorial, community members placed flowers, offered prayers, and honored victims at the edge of what is now a massive mud lake where their former villages once stood.

Despite years of expert efforts to contain the flowing sludge, including building containment dams, all attempts to halt the disaster have proven unsuccessful. The volcanic activity persists today, continuing to release mud from its underground source.

The fatalities occurred in two separate incidents: one worker died in August 2006 when his excavation equipment toppled from a levee, while 13 others perished in November 2006 during an explosion of an underground gas line beneath a containment structure.

The catastrophe forced tens of thousands of people from their homes, destroying not only their residences and livelihoods but also ancestral burial grounds that held generations of family history.

Among those affected was Sastro, a 55-year-old man who lost both his home and his employment at a factory that became submerged beneath the mud. The facility was among thousands of buildings consumed within the 572-hectare disaster zone.

Two decades later, Sastro now earns his living as a motorcycle taxi operator, transporting tourists who visit the site, which has evolved into an unusual attraction in East Java.

“As far as I can tell, things have been really tough ever since the Lapindo incident,” said Sastro, who like other Indonesians uses a single name.

PT Lapindo Brantas, the local mining company, was conducting gas exploration in the region when the disaster began in May 2006.

The country’s president at that time, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, directed the company to provide $420 million in compensation to displaced villagers and contribute to government emergency response funding.

While the government later stepped in with emergency financial support for affected residents, Lapindo Brantas contributed only a small portion of the total compensation needed.

Twenty years after the initial eruption, white smoke continues rising from the mud lake’s center, demonstrating that hot material is still emerging from the underground vent. Excavation equipment regularly works to dredge the mud pond’s bottom.

Overhead images reveal the vent as a tiny spot within the enormous mud lake expanse, marking the source of what became one of Indonesia’s most significant and enduring disasters.

The flowing mud has impacted more than 1,100 hectares as it consumed 19 villages spanning three subdistricts.

Survivors continue facing numerous challenges today, including environmental pollution, health complications, civil documentation issues, and ongoing uncertainty about their futures, according to Lucky Wahyu Wardana from the Indonesian Forum for Living Environment, or WALHI, in East Java.

“The Lapindo tragedy must serve as a lesson for the government to stop relying on extractive industries, as the costs of the impact far outweigh the benefits.

“Not only have lives been lost, but children who once lived in the affected areas have lost their future and face health consequences,” Wardana said. “In addition, many parents have lost their sense of history regarding their origins and hometowns.”

The UN children’s agency reports that during the past week, an average of 11 children have been killed or wounded daily in Lebanon, even as a ceasefire remains officially in effect.

Israeli military operations expanded throughout the country, with intense bombardments targeting communities and villages in Lebanon’s southern region during overnight hours from Wednesday into Thursday. Israeli forces designated a new portion of this area “a combat zone.”

Thursday saw an Israeli military strike target a structure in Beirut’s southern suburbs, occurring despite the ceasefire agreement that has proven unable to stop ongoing hostilities between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon.

MADRID, May 29 (Reuters) – Spain’s governing Socialist Workers’ Party confronts multiple legal investigations involving corruption allegations, influence-peddling schemes, and other criminal charges that have ensnared members of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s close associates.

While Sanchez himself has not faced charges in any investigation, more than a dozen individuals are under scrutiny or facing trial, including his spouse and sibling, senior party leadership, and a former Socialist prime minister with significant influence.

The following details outline each investigation:

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT SCANDAL

• Prosecutors in September 2023 brought charges against seven public officials, including Koldo Garcia, who advised former Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, with Abalos subsequently facing charges as well.

• Authorities alleged the defendants collected illegal payments from government contracts for purchasing medical masks and equipment in bulk during the COVID-19 crisis.

• Abalos, who maintains his innocence, was removed from the PSOE in 2024, having previously held the organization secretary position from 2017 to 2021.

• The Supreme Court conducted proceedings in April 2026, with a verdict still forthcoming.

• Legal officials are pursuing a 24-year imprisonment term for Abalos, who gained freedom prior to trial following months of incarceration. Both Abalos and Garcia maintained their innocence throughout the legal proceedings.

PRIME MINISTER’S SPOUSE

• A Madrid judge in April 2024 initiated an inquiry into whether Sanchez’s wife, Begoña Gomez, leveraged her status to obtain sponsors for a university master’s program under her direction, potentially circumventing required public bidding procedures.

• Sanchez contends the investigation stems from political motivations orchestrated by far-right adversaries.

• Far-right party Vox and additional organizations support the accusations and pursue imprisonment for Gomez.

• A preliminary hearing is set for June 9, after which the judge will determine whether to proceed with trial or dismiss the matter as requested by prosecutors. Gomez maintains her innocence.

PRIME MINISTER’S SIBLING

• In May 2024, a judge launched an inquiry into the premier’s brother, David Sanchez, for allegedly obtaining his government position in the Socialist-controlled provincial council of Badajoz through family connections. The accusations originated from far-right organization Manos Limpias.

• Legal proceedings began on May 28 and continue through at least June 4. Prosecutors seek dismissal due to insufficient evidence. His legal representative requested case closure, characterizing the allegations as completely false.

ILLEGAL PAYMENTS

• Santos Cerdan, a legislator who replaced Abalos as the party’s third-ranking official, was summoned in June 2025 to provide voluntary testimony regarding claims that senior PSOE members received illegal payments for public construction contracts. This investigation stemmed from the mask controversy. He resigned his legislative position and departed the Socialist Party.

• He confronts accusations of bribery, criminal organization membership, and influence-peddling.

• Cerdan was held in custody before trial but received conditional release in November 2025 and currently awaits proceedings. He denies any misconduct.

UNDISCLOSED FUNDS

• As an extension of the Cerdan investigation, the High Court examines whether the PSOE operated an unreported internal fund for making secret cash distributions to high-ranking party members, including Abalos.

• The PSOE has dismissed claims of illegal funding, though its internal review identified certain “surprising” expenditures attributed to the party by Abalos’ office.

• The inquiry continues with confidential details.

ZAPATERO/PLUS ULTRA

• In May 2026, a High Court judge initiated an investigation into former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero for allegedly orchestrating an influence-peddling and money-laundering operation.

• The operation’s clients included Spanish airline Plus Ultra, which secured a pandemic recovery loan worth €53 million, according to the judge.

• Zapatero, a significant Sanchez supporter, rejected all accusations. Sanchez expressed confidence in his predecessor’s innocence.

• Zapatero received a summons to provide testimony on June 17 and 18.

JUDICIAL INTERFERENCE

• In May 2026, a Madrid judge revealed a separate investigation involving Cerdan, additional PSOE officials, legal professionals, a business owner, and a law enforcement officer.

• The judge stated the accused attempted to manipulate government administrative decisions and obstruct judicial processes or police investigations that threatened PSOE or government interests.

• The judge has demanded various documents and digital records from party headquarters. Cerdan has remained silent regarding these accusations.

Australia’s defense minister criticized China’s choice to dispatch only university researchers and military academics to Asia’s premier defense conference, calling it a wasted chance for meaningful dialogue during a period when regional nations seek greater clarity about Beijing’s military intentions.

Richard Marles, Australia’s defense minister, made the comments before the start of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore on Friday. He described the gathering as an exceptional forum for defense officials and policy experts worldwide to share perspectives and build diplomatic connections.

“We’ve seen China engage in the biggest conventional military buildup in the world since the end of the Second World War, and that has not happened with a strategic reassurance for other countries,” Marles told Reuters in an interview.

China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun chose not to attend the conference for the second consecutive year. Beijing announced plans to send a team composed primarily of military scholars and academic experts from the People’s Liberation Army instead of senior government officials.

The conference will feature Marles alongside U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, and defense leaders from France, Britain, Malaysia, the Philippines and additional countries.

“(China’s) presence is something that we welcomed in the past, and having opportunities to engage with China are important,” Marles said.

The Australian official explained that his country continues building defense partnerships throughout the Asia-Pacific region, while maintaining its strategic alliance with America as the foundation of Australia’s security framework.

Addressing concerns about potential American distraction from Asian affairs due to conflicts involving Iran, Marles stated: “We see that America remains very committed to the Indo-Pacific, and from our point of view, our alliance with the United States is absolutely fundamental to our national security.”

“The global rules-based order is under pressure in the Indo-Pacific,” he added, referring to the international system of shared laws, agreements, and institutions established after World War Two.

“This is a moment in time where we are looking to all the relationships that we have around the world, where we have common ground and where we can work together and where we can, we do.”

Marles, Hegseth and British defence minister John Healey have scheduled an announcement on Saturday regarding their AUKUS project, through which Australia will obtain nuclear-powered submarines.

While Marles refused to provide specifics, news outlets have reported the three nations are preparing to reveal substantial cooperation on unmanned underwater vehicles.

International diving experts are traveling to central Laos to assist in a complex rescue operation involving seven people who have been trapped underground for more than a week, according to a volunteer organization from Thailand announced Friday.

The group of Lao nationals had gone into the cave located in Xaisomboun province to search for gold when a landslide caused by severe rainfall blocked their way out. Volunteer rescue teams from Thailand began assisting with the operation on Sunday.

The additional rescue personnel include Robin Cuesta from France, Audita Harsono from Indonesia, Japan’s Yoshitaka Isaji, Naruchit Kiatmaneesri from Thailand and Australia’s Josh Richards, according to a social media announcement by the volunteer organization.

Kengkard Bongkawong, a cave diving expert from Thailand participating in the mission, reported Friday on social media that the trapped individuals’ physical condition is worsening while they wait for extraction.

“The rescue operation is extremely challenging, as it involves moving them through narrow passages stretching hundreds of metres and requiring underwater diving,” he said.

Video recorded Thursday by another volunteer from Thailand, Norrased Palasing, captured survivors positioned on a rock shelf far inside the cave, showing emotional reactions upon seeing rescuers. Norrased’s group successfully located five of the seven missing individuals. In the recording, he informed them that rescue teams would deliver supplies into the cave while working to remove the standing water.

One person who survived, giving his name as Lin, said, “Don’t worry about me, mum. The rescuers are here. I’m safe now. I miss you mum. I miss you mum and dad. In a few days I’ll be out.”

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced Friday that American military aircraft stationed in the NATO member nation will only be permitted to remain through the end of June, citing the United States’ failure to establish visa-free travel for Bulgarian citizens.

“I fully understand the complexity of the regulatory procedures and the need for time, but we also have our priorities and procedures, and we cannot respond positively to the request for long stays of aircraft and tanks at the Sofia airport,” the Prime Minister stated, according to BTA news agency.

The announcement follows recent diplomatic efforts between the two countries regarding visa policy. Earlier this month, Radev held discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump, requesting the elimination of visa requirements for Bulgarian nationals traveling to America.

According to the Prime Minister, he emphasized the urgent nature of this issue during their conversation but has yet to receive a favorable response from the United States.

Currently, Bulgaria allows American military aircraft to operate from its capital city Sofia under an arrangement that was set to expire at May’s end. Radev indicated that his government would approve a one-month extension on Friday, providing the aircraft permission to stay through June to allow the U.S. additional time to reconsider its position.

The Prime Minister recently secured a decisive victory in parliamentary elections held on April 19.

NAIROBI, May 29 – Eight students have been taken into custody by Kenyan law enforcement officials in connection with a deadly blaze at a girls’ boarding school that claimed 16 lives, according to an announcement made Friday by the police’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

The students face arson charges related to the tragic fire incident at the boarding facility.

French authorities have requested a criminal investigation into alleged mistreatment of French citizens who participated in a humanitarian flotilla attempting to deliver aid to Gaza, according to statements made Friday by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.

“Based on a report I requested from our Consul General in Turkey, who informed me of sexual violence, exposure to the cold, beatings, and repeated humiliation of French nationals, all of these acts are likely to constitute criminal offenses (and) I decided yesterday to refer the matter to the public prosecutor,” Barrot stated during an interview with France Inter radio.

The flotilla was stopped last week while attempting to transport humanitarian supplies to Gaza. According to organizers, participants faced serious abuse during their detention, resulting in multiple hospitalizations due to injuries and at least 15 reports of sexual assault, including rape. All detained activists have since been freed.

Legal representatives for the French flotilla participants announced plans to file their own formal complaint regarding the violence their clients endured, which they described as including humiliation, rape and torture.

However, these lawyers rejected an offer from Barrot’s office to meet and discuss the situation. In their response, they stated that “the buzz from the minister’s declarations will not make us forget that the French government has supported the state of Israel since the beginning of the genocide.”

Emergency teams battling flooding in a remote Laos cave announced Friday they are pumping water from the underground chambers in hopes of extracting five villagers who have been stuck inside for more than a week.

Recent overnight storms have made their mission more challenging, rescue officials reported. Teams are also continuing their search for two additional people who remain unaccounted for. The group had reportedly gone into the cave seeking valuable minerals.

International rescue specialists from Laos and Thailand have collaborated throughout the week, navigating winding, tight corridors with sharp rock formations and water-filled sections of the underground system. The cave sits in a mountainous region of central Xaisomboun province, roughly 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the capital, Vientiane.

The rescue team includes multiple divers who participated in the complex 2018 mission in northern Thailand that saved 12 schoolboys and their soccer coach after they spent more than two weeks trapped underground.

According to the Lao organization Rescue Volunteer for People, a Malaysian diver is also participating in the operation. Kengkaj Bongkawong, who leads the Thai rescue group Metta Tham Rescue Kalasin, reported that diving specialists from Indonesia, Japan and France were traveling to join the effort.

Wednesday’s confirmation that five trapped villagers had been located sparked celebration among rescue personnel. Officials confirmed they would press forward with the search for the remaining two missing individuals.

Footage captured by Thai cave diver Norrased Palasing documented the powerful moment when he and Finnish diving instructor Miiko Paasi surfaced and found the stranded men. The video shows the men with headlamps, seated on rocks while surrounded by floodwater.

The Lao rescue organization identified the five men by their first names: Khamla, Mued, Ee, Ing, and Laen. Reports indicate they were in stable condition but weakened by dehydration and hunger. Rescue divers have provided them with soft food and water.

The men could be heard crying out when they spotted their rescuers, and Norrased asked about their physical condition and circumstances.

The men introduced themselves on camera and sent reassuring messages to their loved ones.

“Don’t worry mom, dad. I’m still strong, I’m still healthy. Tomorrow I will be home. I love you mom and dad,” said the man who identified himself as Mued.

Lao authorities report the villagers typically gather resources from the mountainous, densely forested area to support themselves.

The villagers had reportedly gone into the cave searching for gold deposits. Bounphong Khammanyvong, a local official in Longcheng, the district containing the cave, explained they had spotted rocks or sand with distinctive colors inside the cave and entered hoping to extract them to determine their value.

In a Thursday interview with local media outlet Xaisomboun Province Television, Bounphong explained the villagers became trapped when heavy rainfall caused flooding that prevented their exit. An eighth member of the group who managed to escape notified authorities.

He stated the group entered on May 20, which differs from rescuers who reported the date as May 19.

Rescue Volunteer for People announced on its Facebook page that Friday’s mission included pumping water from the cave system to attempt evacuating the five villagers later that day, but heavy morning rainfall had hindered their progress.

“The front of the cave is in a low-lying area. When it rains, all water will flow down to this area and into the cave,” Bounphong explained during his interview.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan court has temporarily blocked American plans to build a quarantine facility in the East African nation for U.S. citizens who have been exposed to a dangerous strain of Ebola virus currently spreading in northeastern Congo. The decision came after significant opposition from healthcare professionals and advocacy groups.

An official from the U.S. administration revealed on Wednesday that America intended to transport exposed citizens to this proposed Kenyan facility rather than bringing them back to American soil. The official requested anonymity when discussing the administration’s strategy. Details remained unclear about the specific location within Kenya for the proposed facility and whether Kenyan officials had formally approved the arrangement.

Kenya’s government acknowledged ongoing discussions with the United States regarding Ebola preparedness support but avoided directly addressing the quarantine facility proposal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a statement that the U.S. government plans to provide $13.5 million to support Kenya’s Ebola readiness initiatives.

The High Court in Nairobi issued an order on Friday halting any agreements related to the Ebola facility pending the resolution of legal challenges scheduled for Tuesday.

Two separate organizations filed petitions against the facility: the Katiba Institute, which works to protect Kenya’s Constitution, and the Kenya Law Society. The Kenya Law Society requested the court invalidate any existing agreements between the two nations regarding this project, pointing to public health dangers and insufficient public consultation.

The legal group also argued that Kenya does not possess “the high-containment infrastructure required to safely manage such a facility, exposing the public to serious health risks.”

A union representing Kenyan physicians issued a 48-hour strike warning on Thursday if the government moves forward with the agreement. The union stated that since the U.S. clearly refuses to allow Ebola on American territory, Kenya should not become another “dumping ground.”

“As the vanguard of Kenya’s healthcare system, we are utterly disgusted by the government’s apparent willingness to trade national biosecurity and the lives of its citizens for foreign aid,” the union’s chairperson, Davji Atellah, said in a statement.

In northeastern Congo, healthcare professionals working with limited resources are fighting to control an outbreak of the Bundibugyo virus, an Ebola variant without any authorized treatment or vaccination.

Congolese officials have documented over 1,000 suspected infections, including at least 220 fatalities, since declaring the outbreak on May 15. However, the virus had been circulating undetected for weeks, and the WHO believes the actual scope exceeds reported numbers.

The outbreak has also crossed into neighboring Uganda, which has reported seven confirmed cases and one death.

BEIJING, May 29 – Beijing issued a sharp rebuke on Friday regarding Canada’s recent naval passage through the Taiwan Strait, declaring strong opposition to nations that threaten Chinese sovereignty and security while claiming to exercise navigation rights.

Reports from Canadian news outlets indicated that the frigate HMCS Charlottetown completed the passage last week, traveling solo without escort vessels from partner nations.

A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, Mao Ning, stated that while China acknowledges all nations’ maritime navigation rights under international law, the country “firmly opposes any attempt by any country to undermine its sovereignty and security under the pretext of freedom of navigation.”

The United Nations’ Human Rights Office issued a statement Friday demanding stronger government regulations and monitoring to protect children using digital platforms.

“Enhancing protection of children online is an urgent priority that we need to make sure not only gets done – but that it gets done right,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Tuerk said in a statement.

Tuerk also emphasized that technology companies must integrate child safety measures directly into their digital platforms.

Western intelligence and government officials report that Russia has escalated secret operations aimed at sabotaging Armenia’s leader ahead of next month’s election, concerned that his success could cement the former Soviet nation’s shift toward Western allies.

According to interviews with five Western intelligence officials and documents reviewed by Reuters, Moscow’s strategy before the June 7 election includes spreading false information to benefit pro-Russian candidates and an ambitious plan to bring tens of thousands of Russian-Armenians to influence the outcome.

Armenia, a nation of 3 million people without ocean access, has largely stayed within Moscow’s sphere of influence since the Cold War ended and continues to house Russian military forces. However, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who leads in polling, has strengthened ties with Europe and NATO, becoming an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, who endorsed Pashinyan’s re-election campaign on Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio traveled to Yerevan this week, finalizing a minerals agreement and a deal for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity – a planned transportation corridor through Armenia that could weaken Russian regional influence.

Armenia, which belongs to a Russian-led economic alliance, halted its involvement in Moscow’s regional security partnership in 2024. This month the country welcomed NATO’s leader at a European leaders summit.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has openly expressed his dissatisfaction with Pashinyan’s Western turn. Recently, Moscow has threatened that Armenia could lose access to affordable natural gas and has limited imports of Armenian goods including fruit, vegetables, flowers and brandy.

“What Pashinyan is trying to do is a threat to Russia,” said Thomas de Waal, senior fellow with Carnegie Europe. Diversification “means Russia loses the virtual monopoly it’s had in Armenia.”

Three Western officials identified Moscow’s favored candidate as Samvel Karapetyan, a billionaire facing trial for allegedly advocating government overthrow.

Karapetyan, who holds Armenian-Russian citizenship, rejects the accusations. His attorney, Robert Amsterdam, told Reuters his client was unaware of any Russian backing.

Europe has repeatedly charged Russia with election interference, including recent cases in Moldova and Hungary. Russia claims that the EU and United States meddle in neighboring countries to draw them into Western influence.

Russia’s foreign ministry did not reply to requests for comment, but told reporters Thursday that allegations of Russian interference in Armenia’s domestic matters represented “spymania.”

Armenia’s government communications department refused to address the specific claims in this report, but described steps being implemented to combat false information and guarantee free, fair, and transparent elections.

In October, the Kremlin created a department called the Directorate for Strategic Cooperation and Partnership, which four sources say is directing influence operations in Armenia. The sources, like others in this report, requested anonymity.

Russian officials have discussed in recent months sending Russia-based Armenians to vote against Pashinyan, five sources reported.

Armenians form a substantial worldwide diaspora, including a Russian population that some estimates place above 2 million. Armenians cannot cast ballots in elections from overseas.

One source, a senior U.S. official, said the number of people Moscow could successfully transport remained debated within the intelligence community. However, the source noted, intelligence officials consider the concept seriously. Armenians regularly travel between the countries, with dozens of daily flights.

Russian authorities estimated approximately $50 million to transport 100,000 voters, three sources said. By mid-May, the Kremlin had assigned quotas of Armenians each region should send and asked administrators to report preparation updates, those officials added.

Reuters could not determine whether such a plan was active or if it would be sufficient to narrow the substantial gap between leading candidates.

A poll from earlier this month indicated Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party would place first with approximately 30% of votes.

The same poll showed Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party at roughly 6%, placing second in a competitive field.

Pashinyan assumed office in 2018 when demonstrations removed his Moscow-friendly predecessor. Relations worsened after Russian peacekeepers stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian separatist territory within neighboring Azerbaijan, could not prevent its capture by Azerbaijan in 2023.

In August, Pashinyan signed a U.S.-mediated peace agreement ending the decades-long dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the contested region. The agreement would establish the transport route through southern Armenia, enabling goods to move eastward toward Central Asia, while providing Azerbaijan direct access to its exclave of Nakhchivan and to Turkey. Moscow cautiously supported the agreement.

Washington has indicated U.S.-supported security personnel could supervise the narrow land strip, which would follow the Iranian border, a prospect intelligence officials say Russia considers unacceptable.

If Pashinyan loses power, major components of Trump’s peace initiative would likely collapse, two Western officials said.

In a video circulated online in May, masked individuals speaking an Armenian dialect threatened to kill Pashinyan. Reuters could not verify if the threat was genuine or identify those responsible. The matter is under investigation in Armenia.

Three sources, including a senior U.S. official, described serious and continuing concerns about the Armenian leader’s safety, without providing details.

Parts of the U.S. government, including the C.I.A., have recently provided covert assistance for Pashinyan’s personal security, according to a current U.S. official, a former U.S. official and a third person familiar with the arrangement. One source said the assistance included sharing information about potential threats.

The White House, State Department, U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence and Pashinyan’s office did not respond to requests for comment about the prime minister’s security situation. The CIA declined to comment.

Russian officials have intensified existing online false information campaigns to damage the Pashinyan government, officials said.

In one case, a Russian-supported online campaign falsely claimed a corrupt land transaction involving Pashinyan with Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, two U.S. senators who publicly raised concerns in April about Russian disinformation, the U.S. official said. Shaheen and Tillis did not respond to requests for comment.

One European official said the campaigns involve a Kremlin-connected bot network called “Storm-1516”, which participated in attempts to interfere with recent U.S. elections.

Three sources said the Kremlin had recruited Russian political consulting firms and think-tanks, including the Social Design Agency (SDA), sanctioned in the European Union and the United Kingdom for spreading disinformation to weaken support for Ukraine.

Reuters examined five Russian-language documents that sources said were created by SDA. The news organization could not independently confirm that SDA produced the documents.

One document suggested establishing a media outlet named Yerevan1 for Russia’s Armenian diaspora to foster a “negative attitude” toward Pashinyan with a “core narrative” that “Armenia can only prosper in a close alliance with Russia and under its protection.” Neither SDA nor Yerevan1 responded to comment requests.

The document concluded that Russian-Armenians could influence the election decisively if “high turnout among them can be ensured”.

Ukrainian officials announced Friday that Russian drone strikes targeted three international merchant ships as they traveled through Ukraine’s Black Sea shipping corridor late Thursday and into the early morning hours.

Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba reported via Telegram that the attacks sparked fires aboard all three vessels, though ship crews managed to extinguish the flames.

According to Ukraine’s seaports authority, the targeted ships operated under flags from Vanuatu, the Comoros and Panama.

Ukrainian naval forces provided additional details about one vessel, the Ant, describing it as a Turkish-owned freight ship flying the Vanuatu flag. The navy said the ship was en route to Turkey after departing from a port in the Odesa region.

The attack on the Ant resulted in a blaze and forced the evacuation of two crew members who sustained injuries, naval officials reported. The vessel was carrying cargo when the strike occurred.

This latest assault continues Russia’s pattern of targeting Ukraine’s maritime trade routes throughout the conflict, which has lasted more than four years since Russia’s invasion began. These attacks have focused on ports crucial to Ukraine’s international commerce and wartime economic stability.

A well-known Hong Kong journalist has begun serving a five-day jail term after his appeal was rejected in a case that has heightened worries about the territory’s shrinking press freedoms.

Ronson Chan, who previously served as chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, lost his appeal Friday and was immediately ordered to prison following his conviction for obstructing a police officer.

The territory was previously considered a stronghold for media freedom throughout Asia, but numerous news organizations have been shuttered, multiple journalists detained, and those continuing their work face increasingly restricted conditions since officials launched a crackdown on activist movements after the large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.

Chan was taken into custody in September 2022 while heading to cover a story. Authorities alleged he refused to present his identification card when requested by a plainclothes officer.

A trial court imposed the five-day sentence in 2023, determining that Chan had not produced his identity card promptly and continued questioning the officer in a “reckless” manner. He challenged the ruling and was released on bail pending appeal.

Deputy High Court Judge Lily Wong confirmed both Chan’s conviction and sentence Friday, directing that he be taken into custody immediately.

Before the court session, Chan, dressed in a black shirt bearing the phrase “Free Press,” spoke with reporters about feeling troubled and conflicted. He explained his decision to remain in Hong Kong to continue his journalism work, citing press freedom guarantees in the territory’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.

“If I end up losing today, I feel it would be quite a big irony for me personally,” he said.

During the post-2019 protest crackdown, two outspoken Hong Kong news organizations — Apple Daily and Stand News — were compelled to cease operations in 2021.

Two former senior editors from Stand News were found guilty of conspiracy to publish and distribute seditious materials in 2024. One received a 21-month prison term.

In February, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai was given a 20-year sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to collaborate with foreign entities and conspiring to publish seditious content. Six additional newspaper employees, also convicted under national security legislation like Lai, received sentences ranging from six years and nine months to 10 years.

Throughout other newsrooms, reporters encounter increasing restrictions and growing self-censorship. The decline in press freedom mirrors a wider reduction of Western-style civil rights in the former British territory, which was returned to Chinese control in 1997.

Hong Kong officials maintain that security legislation is essential for the territory’s stability.

The territory placed 140th among 180 nations and territories in the most recent World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders.

Market turbulence is strengthening arguments for Japan’s central bank to halt the reduction of its enormous bond portfolio in the upcoming fiscal year, potentially providing breathing room for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as investors grow increasingly worried about her fiscal policies.

Such a halt would represent a significant shift in the Bank of Japan’s quantitative tightening strategy, which has been underway since 2024 as part of Governor Kazuo Ueda’s campaign to reverse a decade of extensive economic stimulus measures.

During its June 15-16 session, the BOJ will examine its current bond reduction schedule that runs until March and establish a new framework for fiscal 2027.

While no modifications are anticipated for the existing reduction plan, financial markets are closely watching whether the BOJ will continue decreasing its monthly bond acquisitions in fiscal 2027 or keep the current purchasing level unchanged.

Though the BOJ has not reached internal agreement on the ultimate choice, halting the reduction is gaining favor as the preferred approach, with uncertainty surrounding the Iran conflict keeping bond markets unstable, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions.

“Markets remain volatile, so there’s no need to rush,” one source commented regarding the BOJ’s reduction plan, noting that many market participants seemed to support maintaining current purchasing levels.

Political factors may also encourage the BOJ to pause, as climbing bond yields could limit Takaichi’s spending initiatives.

“What the administration wants to avoid most is rises in bond yields,” stated one of the sources.

Recent central bank research revealed that some investors are now urging the BOJ to suspend its bond reduction strategy, underscoring the difficulties it encounters in decreasing its substantial Japanese government bond holdings.

Previous indicators suggested the BOJ might contemplate slowing its reduction plan given market uncertainty.

A more definitive signal regarding the BOJ’s bond strategy will emerge next week when the central bank publishes notes from its May 21-22 meeting with bond market participants.

“We’ve seen a pretty fast rise in bond yields, which makes it hard for investors to buy bonds. The finance ministry may be getting worried too,” explained former BOJ official Nobuyasu Atago.

“Given the political headwinds, I see no reason for the BOJ to keep tapering next fiscal year,” he added.

Worries about Japan’s deteriorating fiscal situation and increasing inflation drove the 10-year JGB yield to a three-decade peak of 2.8% last week, approaching the 3% projection the finance ministry used when preparing its fiscal 2026 budget. Exceeding 3% would increase debt servicing expenses and limit resources for additional spending.

The BOJ’s interest rate decision could also influence its reduction plan, with an increase in short-term rates to 1% from 0.75% viewed as highly likely at the June meeting.

Although the central bank has stated its reduction program carries no monetary policy consequences, the argument for slowing quantitative tightening grows stronger if it implements a rate increase, analysts note.

“With the bond market so unstable, it would be natural for the BOJ to play it safe and avoid causing undue market turbulence,” said Mari Iwashita, executive rates strategist at Nomura Securities, who anticipates a reduction pause in fiscal 2027.

“A combination of a taper pause and rate hike would be a good one,” she explained, as the former would reduce upward pressure on yields while the latter would address concerns that the BOJ is falling behind in managing inflation risks.

Increasing debt and unstable yields have intensified challenges for central banks unwinding balance sheets that expanded dramatically from years of extensive asset purchases designed to stimulate their economies.

In the United States, analysts question whether new Federal Reserve chief Kevin Warsh can advance his proposals for a smaller balance sheet as U.S. Treasuries lose appeal.

The BOJ has also proceeded carefully with its quantitative tightening program that started in 2024, gradually reducing purchases and currently cutting monthly buying by 200 billion yen each quarter.

Political obstacles for the BOJ’s quantitative tightening have increased under Takaichi, who has promised to reduce taxes and increase spending through debt-financed funding.

Regardless of reduction decisions, a decrease in the BOJ’s holdings, currently around 500 trillion yen, will continue steadily due to maturing JGBs rolling off, which has already reduced its balance sheet by 20% from its late 2023 peak.

This provides additional justification for the BOJ to maintain current purchasing levels, said former BOJ executive Akira Otani, currently managing director at Goldman Sachs Japan.

“When inflationary risks from the Middle East conflict and the government’s proactive fiscal policy are putting upward pressure on bond yields, proceeding with further tapering could cause political friction by pushing up yields,” he stated.

A court in Kenya has temporarily blocked plans by the United States to establish an Ebola quarantine facility within the East African nation’s borders.

High Court Judge Patricia Nyaundi issued the suspension order late Thursday, also prohibiting Kenya from accepting any individuals who have been exposed to or infected with Ebola under the proposed arrangement with the United States. The temporary ban will remain in place until a legal challenge to the agreement is resolved.

The White House announced Thursday that the United States planned to establish the Kenyan facility to isolate American citizens who had encountered Ebola exposure. Under the proposal, these individuals would not be returned to American soil if they showed symptoms, but would instead be transported to a third nation.

The Katiba Institute, a Kenyan rights organization, filed the legal challenge on Thursday to block the facility’s creation.

“The secretive, unilateral establishment of an Ebola quarantine facility raises grave constitutional concerns regarding the rights to life, health, fair administrative action, public participation, and parliamentary oversight,” the rights group said.

Judge Nyaundi scheduled the next court proceeding for June 2 to continue hearing arguments in the case.

Economic analysts predict China’s manufacturing sector likely stagnated during May after experiencing growth for the previous two months, with weakening consumer demand domestically and rising costs from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran potentially impacting factory production.

Economists surveyed by Reuters anticipate the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index will decline to 50 from April’s reading of 50.3, reaching the critical mark that divides expansion from decline. The median prediction from 14 economic experts suggests this downturn.

The National Bureau of Statistics plans to publish the PMI data on Sunday, which should provide insight into how continued supply chain interruptions and price increases from the ongoing Middle East crisis affected Chinese manufacturers, particularly with the Strait of Hormuz oil transportation route staying mostly blocked.

Data released earlier in May showed conflicting signals about China’s economic performance in April, with overseas shipments jumping significantly while domestic retail activity and factory output growth weakened. Manufacturing costs climbed as producer prices increased sharply, though industrial company earnings posted their strongest gains since November 2023.

The economy faces challenges from continued sluggish domestic consumption and excess manufacturing capacity, leaving it vulnerable to external threats like fluctuating energy costs and protective trade policies from international partners. However, worldwide demand for artificial intelligence technology has boosted orders for Chinese-manufactured electronics, supporting growth in high-tech manufacturing and maintaining strong export performance.

While U.S. President Donald Trump’s May visit to Beijing produced limited major agreements, both governments committed after the meeting to pursue mutual tariff reductions on goods worth $30 billion or more. China’s Commerce Ministry expressed hopes that the U.S. would “honour its commitment” to keep tariff rates on Chinese products at or below levels established in last year’s trade agreement.

Strong export performance and China’s energy stockpiles have so far protected the economy from war-related impacts and lessened pressure for significant economic stimulus programs, particularly after officials established more modest growth objectives for this year.

However, if cost burdens continue increasing, government leaders may need to strengthen domestic consumer spending, stabilize employment conditions, and provide additional support for the troubled housing market to protect against international economic uncertainties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears poised to dramatically intensify his military campaign against Ukraine as his forces encounter battlefield setbacks and domestic support for the conflict begins to waver.

Military analysts suggest Putin is preparing to significantly increase aerial bombardments of Ukraine’s capital, hoping such actions will boost his declining popularity at home and convince a increasingly doubtful Russian public that Moscow is prevailing in the conflict, which has now entered its fifth year.

Moscow’s threat to conduct “consistent and systematic” missile attacks on Kyiv, coupled with demands that foreign diplomatic missions evacuate the capital, demonstrates Putin’s plan to expand Russia’s bombardment campaign despite significant costs and potential global condemnation.

Large-scale exercises of Russia’s nuclear arsenal earlier this month and aggressive rhetoric from Moscow warning Ukraine’s European partners about possible retaliation for what the Kremlin describes as their participation in Ukrainian drone operations have highlighted Putin’s determination to raise the stakes.

Following territorial gains last year, Russia’s progress along the more than 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) battle line has recently stalled, while Ukraine’s military has conducted effective counterattacks and regained territory.

“The character of the war is shifting in favor of Ukrainian forces, at least for now,” the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in a recent analysis. “Russian forces’ rates of advances are stagnating while Ukrainian forces are employing novel tactics and operational concepts in efforts to break out of positional warfare.”

The military deadlock undermines Putin’s stated objective of rapidly seizing the eastern Donetsk region that remains under Ukrainian authority. Kyiv has refused his demands to retreat from the area as a precondition for ending hostilities.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has substantially increased its long-distance attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and weapons manufacturing facilities, causing growing destruction.

Putin reduced the scope of the annual May 9 Victory Day parade, concerned about Ukrainian drone attacks. Shortly afterward, a large drone assault on Moscow’s outskirts resulted in three deaths and demonstrated that even the heavily defended capital remains vulnerable to strikes, undermining Kremlin attempts to portray the war as a remote conflict that doesn’t impact regular Russians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks were “significantly changing the situation — and, more broadly, the world’s perception of Russia’s war.”

Recognizing the increasing danger of Ukraine’s deep-strike capabilities, Russian legislators this week passed legislation requiring the country’s financial institutions to fund the installation of drone-jamming equipment at their locations, rather than depending on military protection.

“From Russia’s perspective, these attacks are just going to get worse,” said Thomas Withington of the Royal United Services Institute in London. He added that Ukraine’s increasingly audacious drone attacks were “exacting not only a political but an economic cost in Russia.”

Russia’s economy has stalled as the initial stimulus from enormous military expenditures has diminished. The administration has increased taxes and expanded domestic borrowing to maintain budget balance. Despite windfall oil profits from the U.S. war in Iran, core economic problems persist.

Putin is anticipated to minimize these negative trends at next week’s international economic forum in St. Petersburg, an annual gathering designed to highlight Russia’s accomplishments.

Nigel Gould-Davies of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies said in an analysis that “war-fueled high prices of capital, labor and goods, as well as rising taxes, have begun to depress the civilian sectors,” resulting in “a dual economy of overheated military output and civilian stagnation.”

Although Russia has depended on volunteer forces to conduct the war, providing them relatively generous compensation and additional benefits, Gould-Davies contended that “there are signs that this incentive may no longer be working effectively, and that Russia has begun to lose more troops than it can recruit.”

To maintain the war effort, the Kremlin must compel mobilization of human and material resources, requiring it to “curtail the last remaining post-Soviet market freedoms, labor freedom, and freedom of movement,” he said.

Indicating growing dissatisfaction, some social media personalities who previously supported the Kremlin have begun publicly criticizing government actions.

Government moves to limit mobile internet access and block widely-used messaging applications have disrupted daily life for millions, generating public complaints. Natalya Kasperskaya, a prominent IT entrepreneur and strong Kremlin ally, sharply condemned the shutdowns and efforts to block virtual private networks, warning they inflict massive harm on the technology industry.

Tatyana Stanovaya, a Russia expert who founded the R.Politik newsletter focused on Kremlin politics, noted the expanding Ukrainian drone attacks along with mobile internet shutdowns and increasing taxes have weakened Putin’s position. While he faces no immediate challenges to his authority, “the gradual fading of Putin’s credibility is real,” she said.

During early spring, Russian public opinion surveys, including one conducted by a government-operated polling organization, showed a decline in Putin’s approval numbers, though they increased slightly in May in the state-controlled poll after the organization modified its methodology to include in-person interviews. Many experts believe the figures may be exaggerated amid an extensive crackdown on opposition.

“Putin is losing his magic,” Alexander Baunov of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center wrote in a commentary. “Power remains undivided in his hands, but its spell is fading. Even loyalists complain about the mounting restrictions and repression, and once-upbeat businesspeople are now despondent.”

Following a May 22 Ukrainian drone strike on a college dormitory in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine that Moscow claimed killed 21 people, Putin authorized a massive missile attack on Kyiv and surrounding areas. Sunday’s bombardment that included Russia’s new hypersonic Oreshnik missile resulted in two deaths, injured dozens, and destroyed or damaged numerous structures.

On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Moscow will conduct “consistent and systematic” attacks on Kyiv to target drone manufacturing sites and “decision-making centers.” It called on foreign diplomats to evacuate the capital — a request Ukraine’s allies rejected.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov contacted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to alert him of the planned strikes and advocate for the evacuation of American diplomats.

“The danger in all of these wars as they continue and then they go on is that they always have the threat of escalation, of spreading into something new,” Rubio told reporters after the call.

The Iran war has essentially suspended U.S. diplomatic efforts in Ukraine and depleted American missile stockpiles, postponing the shipment of U.S.-manufactured Patriot missiles that Ukraine urgently requires to defend against Russian attacks.

Moscow-based military analyst Sergei Poletaev said Russia views the shortage of air defense systems in Kyiv as an advantage.

“Kyiv’s air defenses have been exhausted enough to make a massive attack efficient,” he said in a recent commentary.

Along with the announced offensive against Kyiv, Russia issued numerous threats directed at Ukraine’s European partners.

The Defense Ministry released a list of European facilities it claimed were participating in producing drones and components for Ukraine. Moscow’s Foreign Intelligence Service warned the Baltic nations that their NATO membership won’t shield them from Moscow’s retaliation if they permit Ukraine to conduct attacks from their territory. Those allies have rejected Moscow’s accusations.

“We are actually very, very close to direct military confrontation,” said Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are scheduled to participate in a commemorative summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia this June, according to the Philippines’ top diplomat on Friday.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Theresa Lazaro announced on X that she had a phone conversation with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, regarding ASEAN’s upcoming gathering in the Russian city of Kazan.

According to the Russian Embassy in Manila, Lavrov and Lazaro discussed “the prospects of expanding Russia’s strategic partnership” with ASEAN in preparation for the June 17 to 18 summit.

ASEAN’s membership consists of the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam.

While the majority of ASEAN member states supported a United Nations General Assembly resolution that condemned Russia for its Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine, the regional organization has continued its relationship with Moscow as a “dialogue partner” and participates in annual high-level meetings with Russian officials.

The diverse ASEAN membership includes states with varying international alignments. Some nations, such as Washington’s treaty ally the Philippines, which currently holds the association’s yearly rotating presidency, are viewed as aligned with the United States. Other members maintain significant trade and security relationships with China and Russia. Vietnam and Laos chose to abstain from the UN General Assembly resolution regarding the attack on Ukraine.

Multiple ASEAN members, including the Philippines Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, have either imported or shown interest in buying Russian crude oil following the spike in global fuel prices after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.

A Philippine government official, speaking anonymously to The Associated Press due to lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will participate in the summit with Putin.

Singapore’s participation remains uncertain. The prosperous island nation has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and implemented sanctions against Moscow.

Myanmar’s leader, despite the country currently coordinating ASEAN’s relations with Russia, will probably be barred from attending. ASEAN has banned Myanmar’s leaders from participating in high-level meetings, including annual summits with Asian and Western nations, following Myanmar’s military forcibly removing Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in 2021, which triggered a civil war. Lower-level career diplomats have been permitted to participate.

In 2021, ASEAN leaders put forward a five-point peace plan calling for an immediate cessation of fighting and hostilities, but Myanmar’s government has not succeeded in ending the violence or promoting dialogue.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces mounting political challenges as members abandon his party to join a rival organization established by a former ally, according to political observers and legislators.

Ibrahim assumed leadership in November 2022 following more than twenty years leading opposition efforts against government corruption.

Although his administration has brought political stability back to Malaysia, questions have emerged regarding his anti-corruption commitments, the pace of government reform efforts, and increasing discord within his governing coalition.

Rafizi Ramli, a former economic minister previously considered a possible successor to Ibrahim, declared earlier this month his intention to leave the prime minister’s People’s Justice Party (PKR), resign from parliament, and lead the relatively unknown Malaysia United Party, known as Bersama.

According to party officials, Bersama has attracted over 18,000 membership requests, with approximately one-third coming from previous PKR members.

Although most departing PKR members have been grassroots supporters or local officials rather than parliamentarians – who are legally prohibited from switching parties while serving – the scale of departures has sparked concerns about Ibrahim’s capacity to maintain power should internal coalition conflicts trigger early elections.

Hassan Abdul Karim, a PKR legislator and long-time Ibrahim ally, stated on social media Thursday that he had stopped attempting to prevent member departures because leadership ignored their grievances. Despite maintaining faith in PKR, he described the party as currently “hurt, wounded and critically injured.”

Hassan told Reuters separately that Bersama might attract substantial support from undecided voters, younger citizens, and those focused on economic issues.

“If more PKR members of parliament who support Rafizi leave the party, Anwar will lose legitimacy as prime minister,” he said.

Ibrahim’s office did not provide comment when contacted.

PKR secretary-general Fuziah Salleh, who also serves as a deputy minister, told Reuters there was “no noticeable exodus of members leaving PKR to join Bersama.”

Government spokesperson and PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil also minimized reports of mass departures this week, noting that 5,000 people had joined during the previous two months and total membership exceeded one million.

The resignations do not immediately threaten Ibrahim’s position as prime minister, since he retains parliamentary majority support.

However, University of Nottingham Asia political analyst Bridget Welsh said the PKR division would hurt the party’s electoral prospects and diminish Ibrahim’s chances for a second term as prime minister.

“Equally important, are perceptions of how Anwar is managing his own party, as problems within PKR do not reflect well,” she said.

While the next general election is scheduled for early 2028, Ibrahim indicated earlier this month he might call early voting if administrative divisions continue expanding.

Dissatisfaction has increased among the premier’s reform-minded supporters regarding the government’s handling of an anti-corruption agency scandal, while coalition partners have occasionally disagreed over approaches to ethnic and religious matters in the diverse, Muslim-majority nation.

Two legislators told Reuters in March that national elections might occur as early as July alongside several anticipated state elections.

“We believe that a political party must practise the values of reform and democracy that it proclaims to the people. Unfortunately, we no longer see these principles being practised consistently in PKR today,” 21 local PKR members stated in a joint Monday announcement of their immediate party departure.

Multiple regional PKR leaders have also resigned this month in similar circumstances, with one stating that Rafizi’s Bersama represents a continuation of PKR’s founding principles.

Australia’s opposition Liberal Party has chosen former Prime Minister Tony Abbott as its new president, marking a decisive shift toward conservative politics as the party struggles to recover from major electoral defeats.

The center-right Liberals, who once controlled Australian politics, have faced significant challenges following devastating losses in 2022 and 2025 elections. During those contests, they surrendered large portions of their traditional urban strongholds to centrist independent candidates and Labor opponents.

Current polling data indicates the party now trails behind an emerging populist right movement, spearheaded by the One Nation party.

Party leader Angus Taylor, who took over from a more moderate predecessor in February, has already committed to reducing immigration, lowering taxes, expanding mining and gas operations, and slowing emission reduction efforts – all positions that align with Abbott’s views.

In a recent blog entry, Abbott expressed his support for the new direction, stating: “The Taylor-led Coalition is resolved to be a clear alternative, keeping government within limits and unleashing the talents of the Australian people, via our proven ability to drill, dig, and grow our way to prosperity.” Abbott did not respond to requests for comment.

The former prime minister faced no opposition and received confirmation during Friday afternoon’s party meeting, according to a party spokesperson.

Zareh Ghazarian, an associate professor of politics at Monash University, characterized the situation bluntly: “This is a party really on the ropes.”

“It needs to do something to get out of this rut,” he explained. “Bringing in a high-profile national president would potentially be a way to do that, putting the party on a more attacking footing.”

Abbott’s new role operates outside parliamentary duties. He will oversee party operations and influence governance decisions, membership matters, fundraising efforts, and strategic planning.

Recent polling highlights the magnitude of the Liberal Party’s predicament. A survey conducted this week suggests that if elections were held today, the party would secure just 12 seats in the 150-member federal parliament – its worst showing ever – while completely eliminating its coalition partner, the Nationals.

Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, an anti-immigration movement experiencing renewed support, would capture 53 seats to become the nation’s primary right-wing faction and main opposition force, according to the Access Group and Redbridge poll.

Abbott addressed this challenge directly in his blog, writing: “It’s been the Liberal Party’s political timidity that’s driven the rise of One Nation, with conservative voters despairing of ever again having a champion to vote for.”

The 68-year-old Abbott brings a reputation as a conservative Catholic, devoted monarchist, and fitness enthusiast. Party members regard him as one of their most effective campaigners and the most recent Liberal leader to successfully win power from opposition status.

His 2013 electoral victory came through a landslide campaign built around memorable three-word messages targeting illegal immigration, carbon taxes, and government expenditures: ‘stop the boats’, ‘axe the tax’, and ‘stop the waste’. Despite this success, party colleagues removed him from leadership and the prime minister’s office after only two years through an internal vote.

When asked for response, a spokesperson for Taylor referenced a recent media appearance where he expressed enthusiasm for Abbott’s appointment. “He’s going to work with me and rebuild the party,” Taylor stated during the interview.

Sarah Cameron, who lectures in public policy at Griffith University, suggested that while Abbott might help the Liberal Party secure conservative backing, Australia’s mandatory voting system typically rewards parties that appeal to moderate voters.

Abbott himself lost his parliamentary seat seven years ago to centrist independent candidate Zali Steggall.

Steggall told reporters that voters “made a decisive choice in 2019 to reject the politics Mr Abbott represented: division, climate denial and culture wars.”

“Reinstalling one of the key architects of the Liberal Party’s decline suggests the party has learnt very little,” she concluded.

Satellite imagery has uncovered a massive military construction project in China’s remote desert regions, where security experts believe the country is building extensive infrastructure to safeguard its nuclear missile capabilities from potential first strikes.

The satellite photos examined by news organizations show China constructing an expansive network of launch platforms, protective bunkers and communication centers near the isolated nuclear missile sites housing the military’s most powerful long-range weapons.

According to three security analysts who reviewed the imagery, the photographs reveal more than 80 platforms that could accommodate China’s growing collection of mobile missile systems and air-defense equipment. The facilities may also support electronic warfare operations, satellite communications and command functions.

This previously unreported construction demonstrates a major expansion of reinforced infrastructure meant to protect and operate China’s ground-based nuclear capabilities. The network represents a substantial upgrade in the country’s efforts to maintain second-strike abilities, highlighting escalating nuclear rivalry with the United States amid growing tensions over Taiwan’s status.

“We can see this infrastructure is being built on a grand scale, covering thousands of square kilometers of desert beyond the silo fields,” said Alexander Neill, an adjunct fellow at Hawaii’s Pacific Forum think tank. Based on the potential capabilities, he noted, “we’re looking at a very considerable enhancement and diversification of China’s strategic nuclear deterrent.”

Protecting these desert installations is crucial to China’s declared objective of maintaining a minimal yet effective nuclear deterrent — a strategy based on the ability to strike back if attacked first. Although the People’s Liberation Army can launch nuclear weapons from submarines and aircraft, the missile sites in northwestern Xinjiang region and Gansu province form the foundation of its nuclear arsenal.

China’s nuclear expansion ranks among the most closely watched aspects of President Xi Jinping’s military modernization efforts, partly due to what some foreign diplomats characterize as insufficient transparency from the country and unsuccessful American attempts to engage Chinese leadership about their developing nuclear capabilities and goals.

A fundamental element of China’s approach is its “no first use” policy, indicating its forces would not begin a nuclear conflict. However, some senior Western diplomats and analysts suggest China might potentially use nuclear threats to discourage outside intervention in a Taiwan conflict.

Earlier this month, Xi cautioned U.S. President Donald Trump that poor management of their nations’ Taiwan disputes, which China considers its territory, could bring them to a “dangerous place.” Taiwan’s government disputes China’s territorial claims.

China’s defense ministry did not respond to inquiries about its nuclear program and the developments shown in the satellite images. The Pentagon declined to comment on intelligence-related issues.

The new desert facilities center on two octagon-shaped installations constructed over the past six years in eastern Xinjiang. Both are located southwest of the Hami nuclear missile sites — one approximately 140 kilometers away, the other roughly 230 kilometers distant.

Satellite images reveal the octagonal structures house personnel quarters and large military vehicles. They are surrounded by armored bunkers and fortified weapons storage areas, plus airfields and rail connections linking the octagons to the Hami installations.

Images show exercises involving large military vehicles took place around the northern octagon this month and in April. Recent photographs also display large tents and what two analysts identified as camouflaged launch sites carved into the desert, some equipped with air-defense missile systems.

While the octagons have been documented before, this is the first report detailing the scope of the launch-pad network connected to the octagons, recent military activity at one facility, and analysts’ evaluations that the pads could accommodate mobile missile launchers and electronic-warfare operations.

Five security scholars consulted agreed the infrastructure could broadly support China’s nuclear program and other military functions. However, they noted that crucial details remain unclear — including what weapons China might position at the launch pads and whether the octagon structures contain truck-mounted ballistic missiles or nuclear warhead assembly facilities.

The PLA showcased nuclear-capable weapons during a Beijing parade last September marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s end. These included silo-based and truck-mounted intercontinental ballistic missiles.

U.S. officials and arms-control experts say China is expanding and upgrading its nuclear weapons capabilities more rapidly than any other country. The most recent Pentagon assessment of China’s military modernization indicates the nation’s warhead production has decelerated but remains on course to deploy 1,000 warheads by 2030. The December report estimated China likely has positioned 100 ICBMs across its three primary silo locations.

China has also been enhancing its early-warning capabilities, supported by its Huoyan-1 satellites, according to U.S. officials. The system can identify an approaching ICBM within 90 seconds of launch and notify a command center within three to four minutes, according to the Pentagon — enough time for China to launch its own silo-based weapons before impact.

Each octagon anchors a network of dirt roads and conduits extending deep into the desert. These pathways connect to concrete platforms positioned among rocky formations and dry creek beds.

Three security scholars said the platforms could deploy mobile air-defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment or, from some larger ones, road-mobile ICBM launchers.

Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project, said while determining how the various installations would be utilized was challenging, “it is hard to rule anything out” considering the infrastructure’s scale in such a harsh environment.

Kristensen and Neill suggested the conduits linking the pads to the octagon structures might house fiber-optic cables for communications.

At the northernmost octagon, three analysts identified a possible space or microwave communications facility under construction, pointing to satellite dishes and two large towers.

“Taken together, I think there is a real possibility that the octagonal structures and the strange towers are linked to C3 — command, control, and communications — as well as maintenance and storage activities related to China’s nuclear operations at the Hami ICBM silo site,” said Tong Zhao, a senior fellow in nuclear policy at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

A third octagon-shaped facility south of the Lop Nur nuclear test sites is less advanced. It appears to function as a target range: Images reveal pock-marked terrain, damaged structures and what analysts at Vantor, a commercial satellite imagery provider, identified as replicas of Western jet fighters.

The scope of the defensive network surrounding its silos potentially distinguishes China from other major nuclear powers. The U.S. and Russia — whose warhead inventories and deployed weapons greatly surpass those of China — depend on a combination of large numbers of silos, their remote locations and reinforced construction to prevent a first strike, rather than extensive missile defense, Kristensen explained.

The magnitude of what is developing in China’s northwestern desert has surprised even experienced analysts.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” Kristensen said. “It’s an extraordinary effort.”

TORONTO — A Toronto-area man facing charges for allegedly providing deadly substances to individuals who used them to take their own lives will enter a guilty plea this Friday to 14 counts of counseling or aiding suicide, according to his legal representative.

Kenneth Law is set to appear before a Newmarket, Ontario court to formally enter his plea, with sentencing proceedings anticipated to follow at a later date. In exchange for Law’s guilty plea, Canadian prosecutors have agreed to drop 14 murder charges, confirmed his attorney Matthew Gourlay.

Law’s case has triggered investigations spanning multiple continents, with law enforcement agencies worldwide examining more than 100 deaths potentially connected to his activities. The Canadian charges specifically involve 14 individuals throughout Ontario, ranging in age from 16 to 36 years old.

Investigators say Law operated multiple websites to advertise and distribute sodium nitrite, a chemical typically used in meat preservation that becomes lethal when consumed. Law allegedly distributed at least 1,200 packages across more than 40 nations, with approximately 160 shipments reportedly going to Canadian addresses, according to police reports.

Law has remained in custody since authorities arrested him at his Mississauga, Ontario residence in May 2023. Law enforcement agencies in the United States, Britain, Italy, Australia and New Zealand have also launched their own investigations into his alleged activities.

British authorities reported in 2023 that they were examining 88 deaths involving individuals who purchased items from Canada-based websites that allegedly provided lethal materials to vulnerable people considering self-harm.

Under Canadian law, those convicted of aiding suicide face potential sentences of up to 14 years in prison, while first-degree murder convictions carry mandatory life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for 25 years.

A coroner in New Zealand determined that four suicide victims in that country had purchased materials online from a business connected to Law, though the coroner noted that Law’s actions fall outside New Zealand’s legal jurisdiction.

While recommending suicide remains illegal under Canadian law, medically assisted dying has been permitted since 2016 for individuals 18 and older. Adults suffering from serious illnesses, diseases or disabilities may request assistance in dying, but must obtain help from a licensed physician.

Financial markets face a weekend of uncertainty as they wait for U.S. President Donald Trump to make a crucial decision on a reported agreement with Iran, according to sources who spoke with Reuters.

The potential deal would extend the current ceasefire between the two nations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump’s final approval remains the last hurdle before implementation.

Asian markets showed little movement early in the trading day. Currency values remained stable while bond markets maintained their weekly gains, as traders believe rising fuel costs may pressure Trump to approve the agreement.

The push for Middle Eastern stability is gaining momentum as global borrowing costs climb higher. Financial experts worry that increased interest rates could worsen economic pressures and hurt investment markets.

European nations will release new inflation data on Friday, and while economists predict only minor increases, the numbers will likely strengthen expectations for interest rate increases in June.

Japan’s inflation remained under the country’s 2% goal for the fourth consecutive month, according to Friday’s data from Tokyo. However, improving manufacturing production continues to support the possibility of a Japanese rate increase next month.

Currency traders are watching the yen carefully as it hovers near 160 per dollar, a threshold that has made investors cautious about challenging government intervention to protect the currency.

Technology stocks continued their artificial intelligence-driven rally. Dell’s stock price jumped 39% in extended trading after the company increased its AI server revenue projections. In Hong Kong, computer manufacturer Lenovo has seen dramatic gains, rising 18% and posting a weekly increase of nearly 50% – its biggest weekly jump since 1997.

Friday’s key market influences include inflation reports from Germany, France, and Italy, Canadian economic growth data, and continued developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations.

BUCHAREST, Romania — Romanian officials reported Friday that a Russian drone involved in nighttime strikes against Ukraine went off course and slammed into an apartment building in eastern Romania, leaving two people hurt.

According to a statement from Romania’s Defense Ministry, radar systems monitored the drone as it entered Romanian territory before it struck the rooftop of a structure in Galati. The collision sparked a blaze, caused minor injuries to two individuals, and forced the evacuation of multiple residents.

Emergency responders and law enforcement arrived at the location. Galati sits along the Danube River, positioned east of both Moldova and Ukraine’s borders.

Romanian defense forces deployed two F-16 fighter aircraft and a helicopter with authorization to engage potential threats, while emergency alerts were issued to people living in the impacted regions.

Moscow has been deploying long-range ballistic weapons and drones to target Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure and strike urban areas, while Ukraine prepares for additional intense bombardments.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated Thursday that he was urging the United States to supply additional Patriot air defense systems capable of defending against Russian strikes.

He cautioned that shipments to Ukraine are dangerously inadequate as the Iran war redirects and reduces U.S. inventories. “I believe (the U.S.) must act quicker. We are being very persistent,” Zelenskyy told reporters during a visit to Sweden.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres cautioned the U.N. Security Council that the growing escalation and intensification of attacks threatens to spiral beyond control, carrying “unknown and unintended consequences.” He noted that civilian deaths in the first four months of this year exceeded those in the corresponding timeframe over the previous three years.

Guterres urged increased diplomatic efforts, immediate de-escalation and “a full and unconditional ceasefire.”

May 22-28, 2026

During the week of May 22-28, 2026, performers in colorful costumes celebrated their special national observance in Lima, Peru. Meanwhile, damaged structures continue to stand five months following an assault by breakaway members of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in Buenos Aires, Cauca, Colombia. On the sports front, Cruz Azul claimed victory in the Mexican soccer championship over their city competitors Pumas.

The photo collection was assembled by photo editor Leslie Mazoch, who is based in Mexico City.

BEIJING, May 29 (Reuters) — The Philippine justice department has freed 64 Chinese nationals from custody after determining there was not enough evidence to support the charges brought against them, according to China’s embassy in the Southeast Asian nation.

The workers faced accusations of breaking nuclear safety regulations as well as immigration and labor laws.

The Chinese nationals, employed at a steel facility in Misamis Oriental province, had been held since May 15.

According to the Chinese embassy, six additional workers are currently going through the release process. The embassy also noted it has made multiple formal protests regarding the detentions.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Asia’s most significant defense conference begins this weekend with Beijing’s accelerating military buildup and questions surrounding America’s regional commitments taking center stage as world leaders and security officials gather in Singapore.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies is hosting the Shangri-La Dialogue as tensions mount across multiple global hotspots, including escalating Middle East conflicts that have disrupted a fragile ceasefire in the Iran war and Russia’s continued assault on Ukraine.

Vietnamese leader To Lam will deliver Friday’s opening keynote speech, followed by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday, who plans to outline the Trump administration’s approach to the Indo-Pacific region.

This year, Lam has strengthened his position within Vietnam by assuming dual roles as both Communist Party general secretary and president, breaking from the Southeast Asian country’s historical practice of distributing leadership responsibilities.

Vietnam finds itself in a complex position, facing territorial disputes with Beijing in contested waters while maintaining China as its largest trading partner. Simultaneously, the United States serves as Vietnam’s primary export market and has been working to expand diplomatic ties and defense agreements to compete with Hanoi’s longtime partner, Russia.

However, recently disclosed documents revealed that despite upgrading diplomatic relations with Washington to their highest level, Vietnam’s military leadership continues to question American motives and has prepared defensive measures against potential American military action.

Given Hanoi’s careful diplomatic maneuvering between Washington and Beijing, observers anticipate Lam will emphasize building consensus to address disagreements and promoting collaborative efforts for regional peace and growth.

Lam is scheduled to hold private discussions with Hegseth during the conference. This marks Hegseth’s second participation in the summit, where he previously sparked Beijing’s anger by declaring that “the threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” while describing Chinese military exercises as “rehearsing for the real deal.”

Hegseth previously stated that Washington would strengthen its defensive capabilities against what the Pentagon views as rapidly emerging threats, especially regarding China’s hostile position toward Taiwan.

However, this year’s address follows closely after U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent visit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, where Xi cautioned that the two nations could face conflict over Taiwan without proper handling of the situation.

After their discussions, Trump praised Xi as a “great leader” and expressed optimism about having a “fantastic future together.” Trump also questioned Washington’s commitment to defending Taiwan, describing a pending $14 billion weapons package as “a very good negotiating chip for us” with China.

China maintains its claim over the independently governed democratic island, with Xi refusing to eliminate the possibility of military action to seize control.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues providing Taiwan with advanced aircraft, missiles and defensive weapons while maintaining “strategic ambiguity” regarding potential military intervention should China attack the island.

Trump has demonstrated less certainty about Taiwan compared to previous presidents, raising doubts about whether he might reduce American support for the island.

According to Pentagon officials, Hegseth’s address will emphasize the military’s “common-sense approach to safeguarding U.S. vital national interests in the Indo-Pacific.”

Given the recent Beijing meeting between the two leaders, Hegseth appears unlikely to make statements that would overshadow Trump’s own comments.

China plans to present its perspective during Sunday’s session, though Beijing is reportedly sending a lower-ranking delegation this year, with the specific speaker yet to be announced.

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun was also absent from last year’s gathering.

Although the annual summit primarily addresses Asian security matters, discussions will inevitably include Russia’s continuing war against Ukraine and the Iran conflict, which has resulted in closing the Strait of Hormuz.

During normal conditions, twenty percent of global oil shipments pass through the strait, and Iran’s effective blockade has driven up worldwide oil prices, creating economic challenges internationally. Qatar’s defense minister is among this weekend’s scheduled speakers.

Prior to the conference opening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy contacted Trump and U.S. Congress requesting additional American-manufactured air defense supplies to counter escalating Russian missile strikes.

While Zelenskyy, who made an unexpected personal appearance two years ago at Shangri-La, is not anticipated to attend this year, the speaker lineup includes numerous senior European defense leaders from countries including Lithuania and Poland.

BUCHAREST, May 29 – Romanian defense officials announced Friday that a Russian drone violated the country’s airspace before crashing into an apartment building in the southeastern city of Galati, sparking a blaze on the structure’s rooftop.

The incident occurred when the unmanned aircraft breached Romanian territorial boundaries and struck the residential complex, according to a statement released by the nation’s defense ministry.

An unmanned aircraft crashed into a high-rise residential building in Romania’s Galati city near the Ukrainian border on Friday, leaving two people with minor injuries, according to Romania’s General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations in a Facebook announcement.

The aircraft collided with an apartment on the building’s 10th floor, sparking a blaze, emergency officials reported. Photos from the scene revealed firefighting crews responding to the incident and scattered wreckage on the ground below.

Emergency responders stated that the aircraft’s complete explosive load went off upon impact, prompting the evacuation of approximately 70 residents. Officials did not release additional information regarding the type of unmanned aircraft involved. Fire crews successfully extinguished the flames.

In another occurrence, an unmanned aircraft carrying no explosive materials was discovered near Basesti in Maramures county in Romania’s northwest region, with the location being secured, TVR broadcaster reported Thursday evening, referencing local officials.

Officials were examining where the aircraft originated and how it ended up in the region, according to TVR. The report indicated the device had a wingspan measuring approximately 3 metres (9.84 feet).

Meanwhile, local officials in southern Ukraine reported that multiple unmanned aircraft targeted the Izmail port in the Odesa region during the early morning hours Friday.

Izmail, situated near the Romanian border, houses Ukraine’s largest port facility along the Danube River and serves as a regularly attacked strategic site.