Headlines: 25-31 May 2026

Sunday, 31 May 2026

WHO chief hails 5 Ebola recoveries as a new treatment center opens in eastern Congo (LINK restricted) — 31 May 2026

Ebola recoveries bring signs of hope in DRC as suspected cases emerge outside Africa — (LINK)

Netanyahu hails capture of Lebanon's Beaufort Castle (LINK) — 31 May 2026

Iran war forces farmers to seek fertilizer alternatives from cow dung to compost: fertilizer prices have surged 40% (LINK) — 31 May 2026

Indigenous Leader Brooklyn Rivera dies in Nicaragua after nearly 3 years of detention (LINK) — 31 May 2026

Experimental pill promises new hope for deadly pancreatic cancer: daraxonrasib nearly doubled survival times for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer compared to chemotherapy (LINK) — 31 May 2026

Scientific American: CERN finds hint of "weird new physics" beyond standard mode (LINK (restricted)) — 31 May 2026. Conversation April 20 report — (LINK)

Saturday, 30 May 2026

Al Jazeera's MidEast: What is happening on day 92 as Trump weighs deal (LINK) — 30 May 2026

— Iran says talks continue, but no deal yet. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces had advanced beyond Lebanon's Litani River, as Israeli attacks across Lebanon on Friday left dozens more civilians reportedly killed or wounded.

U.S. says it stopped a merchant ship trying to breach blockade and reach Iran (LINK) — 30 May 2026

Qatar open to temporary Hormuz tolls, opposes permanent fees (LINK) — 30 May 2026

WHO chief visits Ebola outbreak epicenter in eastern Congo as cases outpace response (LINK) — 30 May 2026

Trump floats replacing 250th anniversary concert with massive MAGA rally after artists pull out (LINK) — 30 May 2026

— "We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Former premier of Turks and Caicos Islands Michael Misick sentenced to 4 years in landmark corruption case (LINK) — 30 May 2026

Spain is legalizing half a million immigrants, a very different policy from the U.S. (LINK) — 30 May 2026

Russia recalls Armenia ambassador over EU ties (LINK) — 30 May 2026

Venezuela's opposition candidate Edmundo González calls for presidential elections: threw his support behind Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado (LINK) — 30 May 2026

Carnival sued over Bahamas cruise excursion that led to double leg amputation (LINK) — 30 May 2026

Scientists challenge a 70-year-old theory of language with a surprising discovery: language is not organized mainly around emotion, but around a deeper pattern shaped by power, danger, and order (LINK) — 30 May 2026

Friday, 29 May 2026

Iran-US deal nears finish line — but Trump and Khamenei must say yes (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— The draft memorandum includes unrestricted Hormuz shipping, Iran removing mines within 30 days and US sanctions waivers on Iranian oil, with nuclear talks to follow.

Gaza: 26 killed over Eid holiday, UN rights investigators report (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— UN: Israeli forces have killed 922 Palestinians in attacks since the announcement of the ceasefire in October, bringing the overall death toll since the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks to nearly 73,000, according to local authorities.

3 astronauts from China return to Earth after nearly 7 months in space, a record for a Chinese crew (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— The crew had completed various tasks, from processing and transmitting experimental data to transferring remaining supplies.

US Treasury Secretary: 'America has seized $1 billion in Iranian crypto assets' (LINK) — ground.news: 24 media reports (LINK) — 29 May 2026

Nato condemns Russian 'recklessness' after drone hits Romanian apartment block (LINK) — 29 May 2026

UN Human Rights: Ten Key Steps for Regulations to Protect Children Online (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— The guidelines cover platform design, "maximum protection of childen's data [..] as a default setting", due diligence by companies, "guardrails around age verification systems", giving children a voice in governance, transparency, accountability and evidence collection.

WHO urges governments to protect young people from addiction to tobacco and nicotine products (LINK) — 29 May 2026

Federal judge orders President Trump to respond to "grievous" accusations that his settlement with the IRS, which led to the creation of his anti-weaponization fund, was "premised on deception" (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— Axios: The order comes the same day a separate judge placed a temporary hold on the $1.776 billion pot of money, another potential hurdle to the administration's controversial settlement plan.

A US federal judge has ordered that President Donald Trump cannot rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, nor may he close it for what the Trump administration said were two years of renovations. (LINK) — 29 May 2026

US military leader held rare meeting with senior Cuban military officials near US base at Guantanamo Bay (LINK) — 29 May 2026

Guyanese soldier wounded in border gunfight with armed men in Venezuela: Venezuela claims two-thirds of Guyana's territory, (LINK) — 29 May 2026

Ghana's parliament passes a bill criminalizing the promotion of LGBTQ activities (LINK) — ground.news: 27 media reports (LINK) — 29 May 2026

US calls for Nicaragua to free Miskito leader Brooklyn Rivera, imprisoned since Sept. 29, 2023, after hospital photos (LINK) — ground.news: 15 media reports (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— A Wednesday 27 May report from Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo described Rivera in a "delicate" state connected to a mechanical ventilator with multiple organ failure. Photos showed an emaciated Rivera hooked up to multiple tubes.

Former leader of Hong Kong journalist group ordered to prison to serve 5-day sentence for obstructing police in September 2022 (LINK) — ground.news: 17 media reports (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— Reporting at MacPherson Stadium in Mong Kok, he allegedly acted "suspiciously" and remained "uncooperative" after refusing to show his identification card. Ground News: Hong Kong ranks 140th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index, as authorities maintain the media landscape "remained vibrant" despite national security laws implemented since 2020.

China: Former Shaolin Temple's head sentenced to 24 years in prison for embezzlement and bribery, state media reports (LINK) — ground.news: 41 media reports (LINK) — 29 May 2026

Kenyan police arrest 8 students on suspicion of arson a day after deadly school fire, at Utumishi Girls Academy in Kenya's Nakuru County, about 120 kilometres north of Nairobi, that killed 16 children and injured 79 others (LINK) — ground.news: 101 media reports (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— Reporter and AFP: The education minister said a preliminary inquiry had found the school had breached safety regulations, its board had been dissolved, and disciplinary action was being taken against the school head. The school is linked to the National Police Service, and most pupils are the children of officers.

Fox News: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi refuses to answer lawmakers' questions about Trump's involvement in Epstein files release (LINK) — 29 May 2026

— Democratic lawmakers said that Bondi told them she could decline those questions because she agreed to appear before the committee voluntarily.

Thursday, 28 May 2026

Donald Trump shares draft Iran peace agreement with Israel and other allies (LINK) — 28 May 2026

US strikes Iran military site as Tehran says it has targeted American base: it is the second time in three days that the US has attacked targets in Iran — saying that the strikes were conducted in self defence (LINK) — 28 May 2026

Israeli PM Netanyahu says he directed the military to take over 70% of Gaza (LINK) — 28 May 2026

Trump administration grants rare TPS (Temporary Protected Status) reprieve, extending protections for 11,000 Lebanese for 6 months (LINK) — ground.news: 21 media reports (LINK) — 28 May 2026

AP Exclusive: Trump administration tells prosecutors to stand down on Venezuela leader,acting President Delcy Rodríguez, a longtime target of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, sources say (LINK) — 28 May 2026

Ex-CIA official charged last week with stealing more than $40 million in gold bars received for work-related expenses and stashing them in his home (LINK) — 28 May 2026

Trump backs crypto market structure bill ahead of Senate fight: says his administration will codify a "future-proof" framework for digital assets (LINK) — 28 May 2026

ProPublica: The White House intervened to get a $620 million deal for a small North Carolina startup tied to Donald Trump Jr. (LINK) — 28 May 2026

— Interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. was made by Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a friend of Trump Jr.'s. Of the dozens of companies the Pentagon was considering funding at the time, Vulcan's was the only deal initiated by a top aide to the president, said an official at the Pentagon who was not authorized to speak publicly. The president's eldest son said through a spokesperson that he wasn't involved. The Pentagon said Trump Jr. played no role in the record-setting deal. And the startup's founder told reporters that his company, Vulcan Elements, received no political favoritism.

Fox News: CBS News fires '60 Minutes' correspondents, top producer in sweeping shakeup of program (LINK) — 28 May 2026

Wednesday, 27 May 2026

Many countries tighten travel rules as Ebola risk rises (LINK) — 27 May 2026

Ebola outbreak could become 'deadliest on record,' International Rescue Committee (IRC) has warned amid reports that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent an "urgent request" to recruit staff to screen travelers at U.S. airports (LINK) — 27 May 2026

Uganda closes its border with Congo as cases of Ebola surge (LINK) — ground.news: media reports (LINK) — 27 May 2026

Russia, Afghanistan sign military cooperation deal (LINK) — ground.news: 49 media reports (LINK) — 27 May 2026

— Moscow remains the only nation to recognize the Taliban as Afghanistan's official government, a status formalized following Russia's recognition of the regime in July 2025.

FBI creates new "anti-tech extremism" category to monitor AI critics (LINK) — ground.news: 22 media reports (LINK) — 27 May 2026

British spy chief says Russia is relentlessly targeting UK (LINK) — 27 May 2026

— In a speech at a World War II code breaking center near London, the spy chief will accuse Russia of stealing technology and plotting sabotage and assassination attempts.

US has deported thousands of Cubans and Venezuelans to danger in Mexico, Human Rights Watch says (LINK) — 27 May 2026

Brazil to invest $75 million in highway through Amazon and unveils Environmental Protection Plan (LINK) — ground.news: 18 media reports (LINK) — 27 May 2026

US: Contractor earning $850,000 more than usual on no-bid Trump deal to fix Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, report says: nearly twice the typical profits (LINK) — 27 May 2026

Former US Attorney General Pam Bondi diagnosed with thyroid cancer and recovering from treatment (LINK) — 27 May 2026

— President Donald Trump fired Bondi as attorney general in early April and Todd Blanche is now serving as acting attorney general.

Google engineer in Switzerland made $1.2M by placing bets on prediction market platform Polymarket using confidential info, prosecutors allege (LINK) — 27 May 2026

— Michele Spagnulo, a 36-year-old Italian citizen living in Switzerland, used insider information to bet D4vd, singer accused of killing a teenage girl, would be Google's most-searched person of the year in 2025, according to prosecutors.

Climate change reportedly fueling 10% rise in antibiotic resistance (LINK) — ground.news: 20 media reports (LINK) — 27 May 2026

Stock trading app Robinhood now lets your AI agents trade stocks (LINK) — 27 May 2026

Hong Kong overtakes Switzerland as world's top cross-border wealth hub (LINK) — ground.news: 24 media reports (LINK) — 27 May 2026

Tuesday, 26 May 2026

UN: Security Council: Founding principles of the UN facing 'profound strain', Guterres warns (LINK) — 26 May 2026

UN chief warns of dangerous erosion of respect for international law — (LINK)

Russia slams US for not granting visa to diplomat for meeting (LINK) — 26 May 2026

US targets Iranian missile launch sites and boats in 'self-defense' strikes, hours after Iranian negotiators met with Qat ari mediators in Doha (LINK) — 26 May 2026

Iran's IRGC says 25 vessels transit Strait of Hormuz in previous 24 hours (LINK) — ground.news: 14 media reports (LINK) — 26 May 2026

Zelenskyy's top negotiator flies to Berlin for talks with Germany, France, UK, amid Russia's warning to foreign diplomats to leave Kyiv due to planned airstrikes (LINK) — 26 May 2026

US targets Iranian missile launch sites and boats in 'self-defense' strikes, hours after Iranian negotiators met with Qatari mediators in Doha (LINK) — 26 May 2026

UN: Security Council: Founding principles of the UN facing 'profound strain', Guterres warns (LINK) — 26 May 2026

UN chief warns of dangerous erosion of respect for international law — (LINK)

Russia slams US for not granting visa to diplomat for meeting (LINK) — 26 May 2026

CNN: DRC is no stranger to Ebola outbreaks. Why isn't there a vaccine or treatment to help now? (LINK) — 26 May 2026

— The fast-growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is already the third-largest on record and the 17th outbreak the country has dealt with since the virus was discovered there in 1976. A vaccine was developed during the West Africa outbreak of the different Zaire strain and trialled successfully there in 2015. Called Ervebo,

UK sanctions Huobi and ruble stablecoin issuer in crackdown on Russia crypto networks (LINK) — 26 May 2026

— Britain applied banking-style sanctions to crypto exchanges for the first time, requiring U.K. financial firms to freeze funds and trace transactions. Sanctions target Russia's "illicit financial infrastructure", focusing on the A7 payments network, which officials say moved over $90B for military support.

US journalist charged with acting as Chinese agent (LINK) — ground.news: 20 media reports (LINK) — 26 May 2026

US targets Iranian missile launch sites and boats in 'self-defense' strikes, hours after Iranian negotiators met with Qatari mediators in Doha (LINK) — 26 May 2026

Iran cracks down on international news organizations: outlets must state that their content cannot also be used by Israeli media and Farsi-language TV stations located outside of Iran, according to the new guidance released by Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. (LINK) — ground.news: 26 media reports (LINK) — 26 May 2026

BP removes Chairman Albert Manifold, citing 'oversight and conduct' issues (LINK) — ground.news: 209 media reports (LINK) — 26 May 2026

— Manifold's tenure proved brief after joining BP as a non-executive director in September 2025 and receiving his chair appointment in October with lower-than-typical board support. Four sources cited aggressive and "unacceptable" behaviour toward colleagues across the company,

Nasa selects Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin for first of three uncrewed lunar missions (LINK) — 26 May 2026

— Three lunar landings are planned for this year in preparation for the construction of a $20bn moon bases

AI detection tool flags parts of Pope Leo's Encyclical as AI-written (LINK) — ground.news: 15 media reports (LINK) — 27 May 2026

— Using the AI detection tool Pangram, one analyst found that certain passages of the document were estimated to be anywhere between 40 per cent and fully AI-generated. Another researcher reportedly analysed the text chapter by chapter and found that nearly two-thirds of the first chapter was flagged as AI-written.

Biden sues Justice Department to stop release of audio and transcripts of his interview with a ghostwriter that were obtained by the special counsel who investigated his handling of classified documents (LINK) — 26 May 2026

Earlier Biden stories

US: Longview paper mill disaster could be 'deadliest industrial tragedy in modern Washington state history,' governor says: confirmed death toll climbed to two people Wednesday, with nine others presumed dead, after a tank of corrosive chemicals ruptured (LINK) — 26 May 2026

Switzerland: Blatten landslide caused damage totalling CHF255 million: around CHF240 million is covered by the natural hazard pool of private insurers (LINK) — 26 May 2026

— More than 80% of the insured sums for buildings and household contents were paid out for total losses four months after the event.

China executes man for poisoning billionaire gaming tycoon (LINK) — 26 May 2026

Trump-backed Ken Paxton ousts John Cornyn in heated Texas primary after scandal-plagued campaign (LINK) — 26 May 2026

AI solution to an 80-year-old problem: the first major mathematical open problem solved with AI with minimal human intervention beyond the initial prompt (LINK) — 26 May 2026

— Days after OpenAI's paper, US mathematician Will Sawin followed the same line of reasoning to an improved result. Also last week, a team from Google DeepMind used one of their own models to resolve nine lesser open problems left.

Monday, 25 May 2026

WHO chief says suspected Ebola deaths at 220 as epidemic 'outpacing us': delay in detecting cases means responders are 'playing catch-up' (LINK) — 25 May 2026

"Azerbaijan turned urban diplomacy into a global political platform" (LINK) — 25 May 2026: World Urban Forum news coverage — (LINK)

— More than 57,000 participants from 176 countries attended the forum, making it the largest session in the history of the World Urban Forum. The final Baku Call to Action even refers to participation exceeding 58,000 people. What was formally a forum dedicated to urban development evolved into something much broader: a discussion about post-conflict reconstruction, sustainable development, international cooperation, environmental responsibility, and the role of cities in addressing some of the most pressing challenges of the twenty-first century.

Rising seas will swallow New Orleans. People need to start relocating now, scientists say (LINK) — 25 May 2026

— Approximately 99% of the population in New Orleans is at high flood risk, according to a recent study. Coastal Louisiana faces sea level rise of around 10 to 23 feet [3-7m], according to the analysis published in May in the journal Nature Sustainability. The impacts will be bleak: around 75% of its remaining wetlands are set to be lost and its shoreline could retreat inland by up to 62 miles [100km], the scientists found.

Australian activists detained by Israeli forces after a Gaza-bound flotilla interception returned home, alleging abuse including sexual assault and beatings that left some hospitalized (LINK) — ground.news: 25 media reports (LINK) — 25 May 2026

Pope Leo XIV declares Artificial Intelligence a moral crisis in sweeping manifesto (LINK) — 25 May 2026

Pope Leo XIV apologizes for the Holy See's role in legitimizing slavery (LINK) — ground.news: 240 media reports (LINK) — 25 May 2026

swissinfo: New Swiss ambassador to UN Frank Grütter seeks to strengthen International Geneva (LINK) — 25 May 2026

— With 25 years of experience, the diplomat knows the UN well: he spent four years in New York early in his career in the early 2000s. Later, from 2018 to 2022, he headed the United Nations and the International Organisations Division in Bern, and subsequently led the Swiss government's campaign to secure a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Iran ends 88-day Internet blackout, restores access (LINK) — ground.news: media reports (LINK) — 25 May 2026

White House gunman had previous run-ins with Secret Service, court documents show: previously obstructed a White House entry lane in June of 2025 and told Secret Service agents he was Jesus Christ. He was sent for a mental evaluation after that incident (LINK) — 25 May 2026

Roland Garros: Monfils reunites with Gasquet, Simon & Tsonga for memorable tennis farewell (LINK) — 25 May 2026