Day News Recap: Ukraine diplomacy, Middle East tensions and Nepal rescue efforts dominate the day

United States envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for talks on a proposal aimed at ending the war in Ukraine, as Russia paused strikes on Kyiv for the diplomatic contacts. The move comes amid a wider spread of drone incidents linked to the conflict across at least 20 European countries.  🔗  🔗

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In the Middle East, the Trump administration has begun work on an early stage post war strategy focused on Iran and normalisation, while Donald Trump downplayed the US, Israel and Iran confrontation as “small potatoes” and said there was no active shooting. Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian urged unity as Washington intensifies economic pressure, and the US also sanctioned a Turkish bank and two subsidiaries over alleged IRGC Qods Force links.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Israel and its neighbours remained on edge, with Israeli strikes killing three people in southern and eastern Lebanon and injuring 15, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces demolished all 12 homes in Khirbet al Tabban, leaving about 70 people homeless, while a new Freedom Flotilla mission set sail for Gaza to challenge the blockade.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Yemen’s internationally recognised government said it carried out at least 15 air strikes on Houthi positions, gatherings and vehicles in western Yemen amid fighting around Bab al Mandeb. Separately, Virgin Atlantic added fuel surcharges as Sir Richard Branson linked higher fares to the Iran, US and Israel conflict, saying the war has pushed up jet fuel costs.  🔗  🔗

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In Europe, Germany’s far right Alternative for Germany is heading into Sunday’s Saxony Anhalt election with a strong polling lead, raising the prospect of its first state level breakthrough there. German authorities are also widening a sabotage probe into attacks on electricity infrastructure, with investigators hunting a 48 year old suspect said to have links to militant climate activism.  🔗  🔗

Serbia faced fresh pressure after a commemoration for former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic opened in Belgrade, prompting the EU enlargement chief Marta Kos to cancel a planned visit and condemn the public glorification of a convicted war criminal. In the UK, ministers again rejected Argentina’s renewed claim to the Falkland Islands after President Javier Milei said his country needed to take them back and threatened oil sanctions.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Elsewhere, Brazil’s Supreme Court is dealing with a new internal dispute after justices Alexandre de Moraes and Andre Mendonca accused each other of wrongdoing, while the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution backing the Equal Earth map to better reflect Africa’s true size. Costa Rica’s president Laura Fernandez said US military operations in the country could be beneficial for security, but only with legislative approval.  🔗  🔗  🔗

In Asia Pacific, Nepal’s disaster response continued after catastrophic floods and debris flows, with rescuers finding two more survivors and a Chinese national brought out alive from a hydropower tunnel, even as the death toll passed 1,331. Malaysia extended haze emergency measures in Sarawak after pollution from Indonesian wildfires worsened, and a powerful front is forecast to bring heat, thunderstorms, flooding and snow to eastern Australia.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Further afield, Russia backed Africa Corps helped Nigerien loyalist forces regain control of Air Base 101 at Diori Hamani International Airport after mutinous soldiers seized it, and the UAE pardoned Egyptian dissident poet Abdul Rahman al Qaradawi days after an Abu Dhabi court sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Nigel Farage also said he was “frankly not listening” during an undercover filmed conversation about a possible foreign money channel to Reform UK.  🔗  🔗  🔗

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