Day News Recap: Iran, Ukraine and Gaza flare as markets track oil jump and mixed equities

The biggest escalation came in the Gulf, where the United States said it had carried out strikes across southern Iran for a fifth day and disabled tankers that ignored repeated warnings, as Washington reimposed a blockade and tensions with Tehran deepened. Iranian officials said the attacks had spread across the south, while a Tehran billboard showing Donald Trump in a coffin underlined the hardening mood.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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The confrontation also raised wider shipping fears. India told shipping firms not to deploy Indian seafarers on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and analysts said a June memorandum on the waterway left key questions unresolved about who would control safe passage, helping explain the renewed escalation. Iran meanwhile allowed US Iranian citizen Dena Karari to leave the country after her detention since December 2024.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Ukraine, Russian ballistic missiles hit Kyiv again overnight, killing at least two people and injuring five, including a child, while drone attacks were also reported in Kharkiv. The strikes came as protests spread in Kyiv and other cities after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, with hundreds gathering in the capital and parliament preparing to vote on the wartime government.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the Middle East, Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least five more Palestinians amid repeated ceasefire breaches, and Israel told the United States it intends to keep troops in security zones in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. Hamas is also heading to a runoff next week to choose its political bureau chief after no candidate won an outright majority in the first round.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Elsewhere in Europe, France's Fontainebleau forest fire was placed under formal arson investigation after more than 2,000 hectares burned and about 1,000 people were evacuated. In Switzerland, at least seven drones were spotted near the Gösgen nuclear power plant, prompting a police response, while Hungary and Slovakia reported the first EU detections of the emerald ash borer.  🔗  🔗  🔗

France also moved on assisted dying, with the National Assembly approving a landmark bill that would create a legal right for adults with incurable illnesses, pending constitutional review. In Morocco, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu began a two day visit aimed at a diplomatic reset, and in Ireland the central bank defended its handling of Israeli war bonds before a parliamentary committee.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Security and justice stories elsewhere included a 14 year old boy charged in London over an alleged mosque plot, Reform UK calling for round the clock protection for all MPs after the alleged targeted killing of Ann Widdecombe, and Polish prosecutors charging an 18 year old Ukrainian man with 47 alleged sabotage acts for Russian intelligence. Hong Kong police also raided independent bookshops and arrested five people over alleged seditious books, while a court in Malta heard testimony naming former officials in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder plot.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Public health and humanitarian concerns widened too. The World Health Organization said Ebola is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo faster than in any previous outbreak, while Uganda discharged its last confirmed Ebola patient and began a 42 day countdown to declare its outbreak over. The UN said more than 500 people are feared dead after two boat disasters off Myanmar, and in Algiers 11 people died and 19 were injured in a fire at a foster care facility.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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In the Americas and wider politics, businesses around the world began receiving refunds after Trump's tariffs were ruled unlawful, Mexico rejected the US DEA chief's claim that its government was linked to cartels, and Trump is due to deliver a rare primetime White House address on elections and voting machines. In Washington, the US is also hosting a ministerial on political violence with more than 65 countries attending, while a report said Trump promoted companies after buying their stocks, raising fresh conflict questions.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Other developments included Andy Burnham refusing to rule out a wealth tax as he prepares to become prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer making what he called his final Kyiv trip as prime minister and pledging continued UK support, and the UK economy returning to growth in May with 0.1% expansion after April's contraction. India and the United Kingdom also brought their trade deal and social security pact into force, while a report warned AI systems can be tricked into giving extremist bomb making guidance and Bangladesh's tribunal said bodies from the July 2024 uprising were dumped in a river near Dhaka.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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