Day News Recap: Oil shock, Gaza strikes and Ukraine pressure dominate a tense global news cycle

Fresh attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz have pushed oil prices higher and deepened fears of a wider regional spillover, after British maritime officials said three ships had been hit in recent days and the US said the waterway remained open despite rising tensions with Iran. Washington also said there were no talks planned with Tehran, while warning of new sanctions and broader economic pressure.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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The Gulf fallout is already hitting trade and markets, with the United Arab Emirates halting trade, commercial exchange and financial dealings with Iran after a reported missile incident, and separate reporting saying the war is disrupting energy and trade flows across the region. The shock has also fed through to global borrowing costs, which have climbed to fresh highs as investors react to higher oil prices and renewed inflation fears.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the Middle East, Israel carried out a series of deadly strikes in Gaza, including an attack on the municipal police headquarters in Gaza City that killed nine people, and another on a cafe in the city’s fishing harbour that killed at least six. Israel also said it would open a criminal investigation into the killing of Hind Rajab, the five year old Palestinian girl who died in Gaza, while the military concluded that a 2024 World Central Kitchen strike was a serious command failure but not a crime.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Israel also moved ahead with its controversial E1 settlement plan in the occupied West Bank, issuing a tender for more than 1,200 homes, a step the Palestinian Authority condemned as a threat to the two state solution. Separately, the UN said Gaza remained the deadliest place for humanitarian workers for a third year, after record attacks on aid staff in 2025.  🔗  🔗

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Ukraine faced another day of battlefield and political pressure. A drone strike near the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant killed one nuclear specialist and wounded 17 people, while Russian air attacks killed at least five people, including in a bus strike in Kherson. At the same time, anti corruption agencies widened their probe into alleged laundering linked to the presidential office, prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to dismiss deputy office chief Iryna Mudra.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere in Europe, Russia warned the UK of consequences after accusing Britain of helping supply drones used in long range strikes, and German prosecutors said a second Ukrainian suspect linked to the Nord Stream explosions had been arrested in Croatia. In Germany, the far right AfD could win outright in Saxony Anhalt, raising alarms over the country’s postwar political consensus, while Belgium and Germany lifted the last evacuation orders after the High Fens wildfire was contained.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In other conflict and security developments, the US issued a rare rebuke of Israel after strikes on Syria’s Abu Duhur airbase, and Turkey rejected Israeli claims that it was preparing to send troops to a Syrian base. Lebanon, Italy and France discussed the future of UNIFIL in Rome as the peacekeeping mission’s mandate nears expiry, while Lebanon also faced pressure to extradite former Syrian regime officials after the arrest of an ex general.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Asia and the Pacific, South Korea and the US shortened their Ulchi Freedom Shield drills after Donald Trump’s outreach to Kim Jong Un, and Kim Yo jong said she had no interest in the move. Trump also said Kim had responded positively to his overtures, while the Pentagon ordered a major increase in Tomahawk missile production and US lawmakers sought answers over conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln after its extended deployment.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Beyond the wars, the US charged 17 Iranians over an alleged long running cyber theft campaign, the ICC condemned fresh US sanctions on its top officials, and Iran said at least 900 people have been executed since January. In Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ebola outbreak passed 5,000 confirmed cases, a gold mine collapse in western Central African Republic killed at least 30 people, and Sudan saw another 200,000 people displaced as fighting and floods worsened the crisis.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In North America, Trump paused his threatened 50% tariffs on Canadian goods for three days after the two sides said they had reached an agreement in principle, and he linked the pause to a possible Keystone XL revival. Minnesota also sued Texas governor Greg Abbott over the extradition of an ICE agent in the Minneapolis shooting case, while a US judge allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopians.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Other political and media stories included Tim Montgomerie vowing to fight his Reform UK suspension after criticising senior figures, Disney and ABC suing the US regulator over an early licence renewal push, and reports that Russia is seeing billions withdrawn from banks amid fears savings could be seized for the war effort.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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