Section
Security
Trump signs counterterrorism strategy targeting drug cartels, left-wing groups
President Donald Trump signed a new 16-page counterterrorism strategy on 6 May that places the neutralisation of drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere at the centre of American counterterrorism operations. The document identifies four threat categories and marks the first such strategy of Trump's second term.
Three US Navy Destroyers Came Under Iranian Fire in Strait of Hormuz
Three US Navy destroyers came under missile and drone fire from Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, the most serious breach of the month-old ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. No American vessels were struck, and the US military responded with self-defense strikes against Iranian launch sites.
US-China undersea rivalry fuses submarine warfare with race for seabed minerals
Ahead of a Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, the two powers are racing to map the ocean floor, deploy drone submarines, and secure access to deep-sea critical minerals in a contest that merges military strategy with resource extraction.
Trump announces three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia starting May 9
President Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia starting May 9, calling the agreement a breakthrough after months of diplomatic pressure on both capitals to halt fighting.
Iran seizes oil tanker in Gulf of Oman as US disables two Iranian ships
Iran seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Friday, hours after the US military fired on and disabled two Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. It was the most serious escalation between the two sides since the ceasefire began.
US disables two more Iranian tankers in Strait of Hormuz as ceasefire frays
U.S. forces disabled two more Iranian oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, hours after Tehran fired ballistic missiles and drones at targets in the United Arab Emirates. The exchange was the most serious since the May 1 ceasefire and pushed Brent crude back above $103 a barrel.
UAE engages Iranian missiles and drones as Hormuz ceasefire frays
UAE air defences engaged Iranian missiles and drones on Friday, hours after three US Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz under fire, leaving the four-week ceasefire visibly strained.
Vance presses Trump on Iran war intel as US missile stockpile fears mount
Vice President J D Vance has privately pressed President Donald Trump on whether the Pentagon is giving the White House an accurate read of the Iran war, including the scale of US missile-stockpile depletion. The report opens a rare crack in the administration's national-security discipline.
Israel strikes Beirut for first time since Lebanon ceasefire, targets senior Hezbollah commander
Israel hit Beirut's southern suburbs on Wednesday for the first time since the April 17 Lebanon ceasefire, saying the strike targeted a Hezbollah Radwan force commander. The attack landed as Iran reviews a US peace plan that aides on both sides describe as the closest the war has come to a deal.
China's top envoy meets Iran's foreign minister in Beijing, calls for full Hormuz reopening
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Beijing on Wednesday and called for a 'comprehensive ceasefire' and full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, days before President Donald Trump arrives in the Chinese capital for a summit with Xi Jinping.
Taiwan defense budget stalls for third time as Trump-Xi summit nears
Taiwan's ruling and opposition parties on Tuesday failed for the third time to break a deadlock over a NT$1.25 trillion ($40 billion) special defense budget, with the latest negotiation collapsing days before US President Donald Trump's mid-May trip to China for a summit with Xi Jinping.
Starmer warns antisemitism is 'a crisis for all of us' as Downing Street summit opens
Keir Starmer convened business, policing and community leaders on Tuesday after the Golders Green stabbing, an arson at a former East London synagogue and a counter-terror probe into possible Iranian links. He promised a 'whole of society' response and warned of consequences if a foreign state was involved.
US ships $2.1bn in cheap APKWS rockets to Israel, Qatar and UAE as Iran war drains stockpiles
The State Department on May 1 cleared three emergency foreign military sales totalling $2.1 billion for the APKWS guided rocket, a Korean War-era weapon retrofitted as the West's cost-effective answer to Iranian Shahed drones. Israel and Qatar each get 10,000 rounds; the UAE gets 1,500 air-to-air guidance sections.
US tables tougher UN resolution threatening Iran with sanctions over Hormuz
The United States and a group of Gulf nations circulated a draft Security Council resolution on Tuesday that threatens Iran with sanctions and "other measures" if it does not stop attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the most concrete diplomatic step yet to break a four-week stand-off over the world's most strategic oil chokepoint.
Iran ceasefire on the brink as world leaders press Tehran after Hormuz attacks
World leaders piled pressure on Tehran on Tuesday after a salvo of Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates and a US-Iran exchange of fire in the Strait of Hormuz left a four-week-old ceasefire on the brink of collapse.
Trump tells Iran to 'wave white flag' as Hormuz ceasefire frays
Donald Trump on Tuesday demanded Iran 'wave the white flag of surrender,' calling its military 'totally gone' even as Iranian missiles again struck the United Arab Emirates and a four-week-old ceasefire showed fresh signs of strain.
