Day News Recap: Russia intensifies strikes as Middle East tensions, UK security warnings and IMF downgrades mount

Russia intensified its campaign against Ukraine with missile and drone strikes on Kharkiv and the Lviv region, killing three civilians in Kharkiv after a residential building collapsed, while Kyiv was also hit by ballistic missiles and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said allies gave no warning before the attack.  🔗  🔗

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Ukraine said it would pause strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure for two days, in a move meant to create space for a proposed ceasefire, even as Russia continued to hit power infrastructure inside Ukraine.  🔗

In the Black Sea, Bulgarian authorities said a drone attack off their coast struck two merchant vessels and sank one ship, with 11 people still missing, underscoring the widening maritime security risk around the conflict.  🔗

Across the Middle East, Gaza marked a year since its ceasefire with continued Israeli strikes and fresh displacement in Gaza City, while Israeli forces also raided Palestinian NGO offices in Ramallah and deployed snipers near a hospital.  🔗  🔗

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Yemen remained a second flashpoint, with Saudi Arabia saying it intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh, the Houthis claiming fresh attacks on the capital's airport, and Houthi authorities reporting two deaths after a strike on an oil company facility near Sanaa.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Fighting also continued on the ground in Yemen and the Horn of Africa, as pro government forces said they carried out nine air strikes in Taiz and pushed Houthi fighters back in Lahj, while Ethiopian government forces entered Adwa in northern Tigray amid a widening offensive.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Regional tensions and security warnings spread further, with the UK saying Iran is stepping up targeting of military bases and hybrid threats, MI5 chief Ken McCallum warning of rising Russia and Iran activity, and Anthropic saying Houthi militants used its Claude AI system in weapons development.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Europe and the wider security picture were also in focus as NATO unveiled a new defence plan against a possible Russian attack, Poland said two Turkish citizens were detained in Germany over a Russia linked Starlink station fire, and the EU approved a new support mission in Lebanon and fresh sanctions on three people and four entities over DPRK links to Russia.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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Elsewhere, the IMF cut its outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia, warning that war fallout and disruption around Hormuz would hit growth, while separately warning in Bangkok that AI and cyber risks could trigger a sharp tightening in global financial conditions.  🔗  🔗

Other political and legal developments included a new Kabila coalition with the M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo, African Union talks in Kigali on the Congo crisis, a Delta flight evacuation at Ben Gurion Airport after an anonymous bomb threat, the UK expanding police protection for non MPs and ordering an urgent security review, and a US federal search of Ilhan Omar's Washington home amid a criminal investigation.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

Further stories from the day included flash floods in Nepal stranding more than 100 trekkers, Indonesia's Bangka Belitung wildfire destroying nearly 300 homes, Pakistan's PTI preparing a court challenge to the federal takeover of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Australia promising a $630 million charity funding boost and pay rises for care workers, and the World Steel Association forecasting flat global demand in 2026 before a rebound in 2027.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

In the UK, a public inquiry into the Afghanistan SAS murder case heard claims that military police were blocked from following evidence, while the government also urged Interpol to reject Argentina's arrest requests over the Falklands oil project and leaked documents raised perjury concerns in the Abramovich oil fields case.  🔗  🔗  🔗

Air France said it would follow Israeli crew nationality restrictions on flights to Tel Aviv, Donald Trump kept his distance from Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israel's election, Russia's draft budget raised defence and security spending to a record 44 percent of federal spending, Iran said oil intermediaries owed billions, and Yandex services were disrupted after a Ukrainian strike on a data centre in Vladimir.  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗  🔗

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