Trump restarts Iran war-powers clock; ICE kills man in Maine; Saudis and Ansarallah trade strikes
Drop Site Daily: July 14, 2026
From Drop Site:
U.S. strikes Iran for the third straight night. Iran responds, hits two tankers in the Strait. U.S. to resume blockade on Iran. President Donald Trump threatens to strike Iranian nuclear site. Iranian military reiterates U.S. will not have any role in Hormuz administration. Iran continues to ship oil. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi calls war a “disaster.” Israel continues attacks in Lebanon despite “framework agreement.” Rome talks focus on Israeli withdrawal from “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon. Israel kills ten Palestinians in strikes across Gaza. Gaza Government rejects UN reports of aid obstruction. Marwan Barghouti shot with rubber bullet as global campaign for his release grows. Israel imposes new restrictions on Palestinian prison visits despite court ruling. ICE kills man in Maine. Trump notifies Congress U.S. is again at war with Iran, restarting 60-day war powers clock. Trump shrinks two Utah national monuments by more than a million acres each. Twelve states sue to block Paramount Skydance’s $8 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Judge rules Trump’s $10 billion IRS lawsuit was filed for “improper purpose.” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appoints Lindsey Graham’s sister to his Senate seat. Clashes between Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah in Yemen. Russian air attacks bombard Kyiv in fifth attack this month. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces U.S. plan to “dismantle” the ICC. U.S. sanctions Cuban Tourism Ministry after Democrats’ visit. Brazilian Supreme Court bans Bolsonaro visits. Chinese drone shot down in Sudan, Sudanese Army claims. China expels Politburo member accused of corruption. China denies that it seeks a “sphere of influence” in dealings with Pacific nations. UK arrests 12 people accused of plotting terrorist attack against Muslims.
A website dedicated to securing the release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya has been launched. It includes information about his life, the latest updates on his case, and a timer tracking how long he has been held in Israeli torture prisons.
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Iran and Ceasefire
U.S. strikes Iran for the third straight night: U.S. Central Command announced on Monday afternoon, Eastern time, that it would begin yet another round of strikes on Iran, after which several explosions were reported across the country’s south.
Following the announcement, detonations were heard in Kish, Chabahar, Qeshm, and Bandar Abbas. Five additional explosions were reported in Bandar Abbas on Tuesday morning.
A U.S. strike on Hormozgan province killed three people, all members of the same family, Iranian state media reported Tuesday.
A separate U.S. strike wounded at least four people in the southwestern city of Omidiyeh.
The latest wave of U.S strikes hit four locations in the strategically important city of Bushehr, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA.
U.S. attacks hit the western cities of Mahshar and Abadan on Tuesday, both proximate to Iran’s southwestern border with Iraq and close to Kuwait, IRNA reported.
Iran responds, hits two tankers in the Strait: Two Iranian cruise missiles struck two different UAE oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday, killing one crew member and wounding eight, according to an announcement from the Emirati Ministry of Defense, which condemned the attack as “brazen” and noted that it reserved its right to respond.
The tankers, the Mombasa and Al Bahiyah, were hit in the strait’s southern shipping lane, in Omani territorial waters, according to the statement.
An Indian crew member aboard the Mombasa was killed, and six other Indian nationals were wounded. Two Ukrainian nationals were wounded as well. India summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador in response on Tuesday.
A statement from the IRGC said that the ships had transited the Strait in violation of its announced protocol, calling them “offending supertankers” and alleging that they had “switched off their navigation systems and ignored repeated warnings” from Iran’s Maritime Security Control Center.
Iran has maintained that management of the Strait remains under its control, according to memorandum of understanding, and that navigation be conducted through its northern route, rather than through the southern U.S.-backed corridor along the Omani coast.
It also warned regional states against “cooperating with an aggressive enemy that has come from thousands of kilometers away to violate the rights of [the Gulf’s] people.”
The UKTMO reported that two additional ships were struck while transiting the Strait on Tuesday, though it has yet to provide identifying information.
Bahrain’s General Command reported that it foiled several attacks on Tuesday, urging citizens to exercise caution while hostilities continue. Jordan reported similar interceptions.
The Iranian military also claimed to have shot down three of the U.S.’s “LUCAS” drones in airspace over Bandar Abbas, according to the semi-official Mehr News Agency
U.S. to resume blockade on Iran: U.S. Central Command announced on Monday that it would resume its blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports, and would start doing so on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET.
According to its statement, U.S. forces will target ships transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas while continuing to allow other commercial traffic through regional waters.
Trump threatens to strike Iranian nuclear site: In an interview on Monday, President Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt it was “on the list.”
In the same interview, he called the MOU a “test” rather than a deal, and argued that it showed his Iranian counterparts to be “extremely unreliable.”
He bragged to Hewitt about “knocking out” two Iranian governments and killing “about 25%” of Iran’s current leadership and intimated he knew the location of others.
Iranian military reiterates U.S. will not have any role in Hormuz administration:
In a statement on Tuesday morning, and following Trump’s statement regarding controlling the Strait of Hormuz and charging a 20% fee on all cargo shipped, IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said that the Strait would never be opened by “war, evil, and American aggression,” according to the Mehr news agency. “We are obligated to avenge the blood of the martyrs, especially the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution,” Akraminia said.
Iran continues to ship oil: Iran continues to export oil despite the termination of sanctions waivers, oil minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Tuesday.
Because Iranians had expected that their American counterparts would break the agreement, Paknejad said, “the structures…for the continuation of oil exports” were maintained, and “the country’s oil export process continues as before.”
Iran has shipped out 80 million barrels of crude oil in the past four weeks, TankerTrackers reported on Tuesday, though 30 million barrels ready to export have yet to depart.
Omani FM calls war a “disaster”: Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al-Busaidi called the war on Iran a “disaster” in an opinion piece published by the French newspaper Le Monde on Monday, saying that the war “has achieved none of its officially assigned objectives” and lacks a UN mandate.
In the piece, he condemned Israel specifically for its aggression, saying it posed a greater threat to the region than Iran.
Busaidi said in the piece that “complex talks” had “begun to shape a lasting framework guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that it is “incumbent” upon his country to work with Iran and the rest of the international community to produce an arrangement that is “realistic, sustainable, and compliant with international law.”
He expressed optimism that, if anything, the war might lead to “the emergence of a fairer, more realistic and more effective system.”
European agency tells flights not to operate over Gulf states: The European Aviation Safety Agency warned airlines to avoid Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and their surrounding waters on Tuesday, citing “unpredictable military developments” in the region.
Last week, it told airlines to avoid Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon.
Lebanon
Israel continues attacks in Lebanon despite “framework agreement”:
Two people were injured after an Israeli drone carried out an airstrike on the town of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa in the Nabatieh district in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. The strike came after Israeli forces detonated explosives in the areas of Nabatieh Al-Fawqa and Kfartebnit, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Israeli forces also demolished several homes and infrastructure in the towns of Majdal Zoun and Haddatha before dawn on Tuesday.
Israeli shelling was reported in the town of Biyout Al Sayyad on Tuesday morning, and explosions were heard near the towns of Tayri and Kounine overnight.
On Monday, Israel shelled the Sadana area of Kfar Shouba, according to the NNA.
Rome talks focus on Israeli withdrawal from “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon: U.S.-brokered negotiations between Lebanon and Israel are underway in Rome over implementing a framework agreement reached last month, France 24 reported. The framework calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament, the deployment of Lebanese troops in the south, and a phased Israeli withdrawal from two “pilot zones.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was “ready to move forward” with implementing the pilot zones. Lebanon’s presidency, however, said its delegation had been instructed to insist that Israeli forces begin withdrawing from the two zones before any further discussions, while Israeli forces have continued carrying out strikes and demolitions in southern Lebanese villages.
Palestine
Killed and wounded: Over the last 24 hours, two Palestinians were killed and 21 were injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The total recorded death toll since October 7, 2023 has risen to 73,233 killed, with 173,707 injured. Since October 11, the first full day of the so-called ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 1,110 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 3,599, while 800 bodies have been recovered from under the rubble.
Israeli kills ten Palestinians in strikes across Gaza on Tuesday: At least seven people were killed and others wounded when Israeli aircraft struck a police post in the Faluja area of Jabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza. Gaza’s Interior Ministry said the dead included the head of the Jabalia refugee camp police station, along with several officers. The UN has documented Israel’s killings of dozens of police personnel in Gaza in 2026 alone. “The pattern of attacks raises concerns that Israeli forces apply no distinction between police personnel and fighters belonging to armed groups in Gaza. However, under international humanitarian law, police personnel are civilians who are protected against attack,” the UN Human Rights Office said in a statement last month. “Attacks targeting police personnel simply for performing ordinary law enforcement and policing functions would amount to war crimes.”
A man was killed and three others wounded, including a child and a woman, in an Israeli strike on the Qadisiya camp in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
Another man died of wounds sustained two days earlier in an Israeli strike on the Qadisiya camp, west of Khan Younis.
A child, Motaz Abu Shaar, was killed by Israeli gunfire in the Mawasi area of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
“Was he holding a pistol, or a rifle? What was he doing? He was playing in the tent… his mother’s only son,” Motaz’s aunt, Nawal Abu Shaar, told Drop Site. Motaz’s father, brother, and grandmother had previously been killed while displaced in the Miraj area, forcing the surviving family members to flee in search of safety.
Watch Mohamed Ahmed’s full video dispatch here.
Gaza Government rejects UN reports of aid obstruction: Gaza’s Government Media Office rejected a UN statement accusing Hamas-linked forces of obstructing aid in the Strip, calling it a “false” account of what it says was a routine police operation against smuggling at a World Food Programme site in Jabalia, in northern Gaza.
The office said Palestinian police responded to the Abu Rashid distribution center on Saturday after staff discovered contraband hidden inside aid parcels and seized cartons of cigarettes and mobile phone screens as evidence. It said the intervention came in response to repeated UN requests for security protection at aid sites, and that a few cigarette cartons were stolen when a crowd gathered.
The rebuttal followed a statement Monday by UN Deputy Special Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov, who said he “strongly” condemned the obstruction of humanitarian operations by Gaza’s “de facto authorities.”
The Media office accused Alakbarov of “double standards,” pointing out that the office issued no condemnation when Israeli strikes killed hundreds of humanitarian workers.
Marwan Barghouti shot with rubber bullet as global campaign for his release grows: The wife of imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti, Fadwa Barghouti, said Monday that an “inciting” report issued by the Israel Prison Service coincided with a prison guard shooting Barghouti in the leg with a rubber bullet inside his cell, causing bleeding and a painful injury. Israeli prison authorities have intensified their targeting of him as international support for the campaign for his release grows, Fadwa said.
Israel imposes new restrictions on Palestinian prison visits despite court ruling: A month after Israel’s High Court ruled that a blanket ban on International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visits to Palestinian detainees was unlawful, no new visits have taken place, according to Haaretz. Instead, Israeli prison authorities have introduced new restrictions limiting ICRC access to one visit per prison every three months, requiring advance lists of up to five prisoners, while excluding detainees in solitary confinement, under interrogation, or classified as “highly violent.” The new rules also cap visits at 30 minutes, allow prison commanders to end them early, require interviews to take place behind partitions via intercom, and prohibit ICRC delegates from requesting medical examinations or bringing communication and recording devices. Human rights groups say the measures undermine the High Court’s ruling and will make it more difficult to monitor and document abuse inside Israeli prisons.
Israeli settlers attack CNN crew: Israeli settlers attacked a CNN news crew on Saturday, including correspondent Jeremy Diamond, in the occupied West Bank village of Sinjil, while the journalists were reporting on the first anniversary of the killing of Saif Musallet, a Palestinian-American beaten to death by settlers in July 2025.
Minutes after the crew arrived north of Ramallah, settlers descended on the area and blocked the road with a vehicle as the journalists tried to leave. Armed with wooden and metal rods, stones, and a knife, they smashed the windshield of a trailing press vehicle and tried to slash the tires of CNN’s car.
Israeli police and military forces later dispersed the attackers and escorted the journalists out. CNN reported that four settlers were arrested and that clubs and a knife were recovered from their vehicle.
DMFI attacks Ro Khanna for his West Bank detention: Democratic Majority for Israel, an influential pro-Israel advocacy and fundraising group, released a video Saturday of Kathy Manning, its board chair, attacking Rep. Ro Khanna over his account of being detained by armed Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, calling his trip a political “stunt.”
The attack follows Khanna’s account of an incident on July 8 near Khirbet Zanuta, a Palestinian hamlet whose residents were forcibly displaced by settler raids. Khanna said masked men with U.S.-made M4 rifles blocked his delegation’s vans for more than an hour and that Israeli soldiers sided with the settlers when they arrived. His group was released after calls to the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, he claimed.
Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Michael Leiter, suggested without evidence that Khanna timed his visit to distract from his earlier support for Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who dropped out amid sexual misconduct allegations, and former U.S. envoy David Friedman accused Khanna of “self-victimization.”
DMFI is known for backing Democratic candidates and spending heavily to defeat candidates, usually progressives, whom it deems insufficiently supportive or overly critical of Israel.
Trump defends Netanyahu during radio appearance: During his appearance on Hugh Hewitt’s show (discussed above), President Trump strongly defended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying Israel “would not exist today” without their combined efforts.
When Hewitt asked him if Netanyahu should “finish the job” against Hamas and Hezbollah, Trump said “a lot of progress” had been made and claimed that Hamas was disarming, though he qualified this with some doubt about their ability to “follow through.”
U.S. News
By Julian Andreone, with Ryan Grim. Have a tip on Capitol Hill? Email Andreone at Julian@dropsitenews.com.
ICE kills man in Maine: An ICE agent shot and killed a motorist in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday morning, the second killing by an ICE agent of a civilian this week and the ninth since Trump took office in 2025.
In its response to the killing, the agency accused the man, Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old native of Colombia who reportedly had authorization to work in the U.S. and a Social Security number, of using his vehicle as a weapon.
A witness to the scene told reporters he heard the driver say “I tried to stop” and saw the man’s bloody head as he lay on the ground. The witness also described an ICE agent pulling the man out of the car after the shooting.
“I was emotional and I just let him have it, and he looked at me and said, ‘He tried to run me over,’ or something to that effect,” the witness said. “I don’t remember his exact words.”
Trump notifies Congress U.S. is again at war with Iran, restarting 60-day war powers clock: President Donald Trump formally notified lawmakers in a letter dated July 10 that the U.S. is again at war with Iran, restarting a 60-day clock allowing military action without congressional approval and describing strikes that began July 7 as necessary to protect Americans and U.S. interests, Politico reported on Monday.
The Senate voted 50-48 in favor of an Iran war powers resolution last month. That nonbonding measure called for an end to the hostilities absent congressional authorization and earned the support of four Republicans.
Trump shrinks two Utah national monuments by more than a million acres each: President Donald Trump signed orders Monday, shrinking Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument from about 1.87 million acres to roughly 181,500 acres and Bears Ears National Monument from about 1.36 million acres to roughly 121,100 acres, opening land containing coal, uranium, oil, and gas deposits to potential development, the Washington Post reported.
The move, which exceeds cuts Trump made to the monuments in 2017 before President Joe Biden reversed them, drew criticism from tribal groups and environmental advocates. “Our Tribes were not informed of or asked about this decision, and that’s unacceptable,” a Paiute leader said in response to the decision.
Twelve states sue to block Paramount Skydance’s $8 billion Warner Bros. Discovery merger: A coalition of 12 state attorneys general, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit on Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to block Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing the merger would violate the Clayton Act by giving the combined company control of nearly a third of theatrical films and basic cable programming and lead to higher prices and less content.
The lawsuit, joined by attorneys general from states including New York, Massachusetts, and Oregon, comes a month after the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division approved the deal and follows monthslong opposition from Hollywood figures including Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo.
Industry groups, including the Writers Guild of America and Cinema United, a lobbying organization for theater owners, voiced their support for the litigation.
The merger has also faced some regulatory scrutiny overseas, with UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy saying she was “minded to intervene” in the acquisition in order to protect “the public interest.”
Judge rules Trump’s $10 billion IRS lawsuit was filed for “improper purpose”: U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled on Monday that President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed for an improper purpose, accusing Trump and his lawyers of manipulating the courts by suing a federal agency under his own control and calling the resulting settlement, which granted Trump immunity from tax audits, an exercise in self-dealing, the Associated Press reported.
“Whether Executive Branch actors can privately agree to give themselves and their former clients blanket immunities and billions of dollars in tax monies for legally undefined grievances was never an issue advanced to this Court,” Williams said.
Williams referred Trump attorney Alejandro Brito for possible disciplinary action before the Florida bar, barred lawyer Daniel Epstein from filing in the Southern District of Florida for up to a year, and forwarded her ruling to bar authorities in New York and Washington, D.C.
UAW accuses Stevens of falsely implying an endorsement: The United Auto Workers says it issued a cease-and-desist order to “A Stronger Michigan,” accusing the super PAC of using the union’s wheel logo in election ads supporting Rep. Haley Stevens, whom the UAW has not endorsed.
The union said its members interviewed candidates before voting by a two-thirds majority to endorse Abdul El-Sayed, and accused the PAC of trying to mislead voters and undermine that process.
Semafor’s Dave Weigel also reported that Barack Obama’s office confirmed the former president has not endorsed anyone in the race, despite ads that Stevens has run which heavily imply that Obama has endorsed her, leaving some voters with the impression that he had.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appoints Graham’s sister to his seat: South Carolina’s Republican governor appointed Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the recently deceased Sen. Lindsay Graham, to fill his U.S. Senate seat on Monday. Nardone, who has kept a low profile and has never held elected office, will serve in the role until a new Senator is elected in November.
South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry is taking steps toward a campaign for the Republican ballot line held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, having spoken with White House operatives about a run ahead of the Aug. 11 special primary, according to a Monday report from Politico.
Some cited in the report believe that Fry, who was picked by Trump to oust Rep. Tom Rice after he voted for impeachment in 2021, is a top contender for the president’s endorsement.
Trump’s former campaign manager running floundering Israeli influence operation: Israel and the Trump administration are both reportedly unhappy with former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale’s campaign to influence MAGA voters to support the country, Time reported on Tuesday
The campaign came under additional scrutiny when several MAGA influencers posted similar attacks on Trump’s June 17 ceasefire agreement with Iran, often using nearly identical language at roughly the same time, with some sharing an Israeli op-ed titled “You Could Have Been the Greatest President of All—But You Failed.” Time reported that Parscale distributed suggested messaging to conservative influencers through private group chats, with some creators paid based on their posts’ reach and engagement.
FARA filings previously reported on by Responsible Statecraft show that Parscale’s Clock Tower X agreed to produce pro-Israel content, distribute messaging through conservative media networks, and influence how AI systems—including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini—characterize Israel and its wars.
“We are pissed at Brad Parscale,” an Israeli official told Time. “He was supposed to make things better. We have paid him lots of money. But what did he do with it? Things have only gotten worse.”
Time cited Pew data showing just 32% of Americans now view the Israeli government favorably, the lowest level in decades.
Other International News
Clashes between Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah in Yemen: Saudi forces and Yemen’s Ansarallah movement traded fire on Monday, potentially shattering a UN-backed ceasefire that had largely frozen the conflict since 2015.
Saudi aircraft struck Sanaa International Airport, with Ansarallah accusing the planes of attempting to prevent humanitarian flights from leaving. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government insisted that the strike was meant to prevent an Iranian Mahan Air flight from landing without Saudi permission.
Axios later reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought and received backing from U.S. President Donald Trump before launching military strikes.
In response, Ansarallah launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport and reported that it “successfully achieved its objectives.”
The movement issued a statement Monday warning Americans that closing the Bab al-Mandab strait alongside the Strait of Hormuz could cause oil prices to soar.
Russian air attacks bombard Kyiv in fifth attack this month: Russia launched 135 drones and 10 missiles at several Ukrainian cities including Kyiv overnight, including a major strike on the capital that damaged 16 sites including a school according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine said it intercepted five of eight ballistic missiles and 108 drones, but the attacks injured at least 10 people, including seven in the eastern Kharkiv region and three in the northern Chernihiv region.
Responding to the attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for “greater pressure on Russia” and urged European allies to approve a new sanctions package targeting Russian energy exports
The bombardment comes as Moscow intensifies nightly strikes on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure while Ukraine expands its own drone attacks on Russian oil and industrial targets.
Rubio announces U.S. plan to “dismantle” the ICC: Following remarks Monday in which he threatened to “teach” the International Criminal Court “the full meaning of American resolve,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a campaign to “dismantle” what he characterized as the body’s “threats to U.S. sovereignty.”
Noting that “no diplomatic option” would be “off-limits,” the State Department said it could pressure member nations to withdraw from the ICC, urge U.S. allies to reject ICC jurisdiction over Americans, increase scrutiny of countries that support the court when they request U.S. assistance, revoke visas from or impose travel bans on ICC personnel, and expand sanctions against the body announced last year by the Trump administration.
The court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza in 2024. It has not issued warrants for any Americans.
U.S. sanctions Cuban Tourism Ministry after Democrats’ visit: Democratic Reps. Mark Pocan, Teresa Leger Fernández, Maxine Dexter, and Delia Ramírez met President Miguel Díaz-Canel during a four-day visit to the island, which concluded this weekend.
Pocan, the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, reported that a Cuban he spoke with called the U.S. economic warfare on the island a “silent Gaza” and said he found the metaphor “apt.”
“There may not be bombings, but there are certainly conditions that prevent people from going about their daily lives. They can’t go to work, they can’t preserve their food, they can’t access medical supplies,” Pocan said.
Pocan noted the role played by Marco Rubio and right-wing anti-Castro exiles in crafting the current economic warfare on the island, which began in January and has caused continued rolling blackouts, choking the country’s vital tourism sector and crippling its healthcare infrastructure.
Hours earlier, the State Department announced sanctions against 10 additional Cuban entities, including the official Ministry of Tourism, along with energy importers, the foreign-trade group Gecomex, and three armed bodies tied to state security.
Brazilian Supreme Court bans Bolsonaro visits: Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator and a right-wing candidate in Brazil’s upcoming presidential elections, cannot visit his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, for 90 days after finding that the pair violated the terms of the latter’s house arrest.
Flavio Bolsonaro read a handwritten letter from his father on a livestream earlier this week, even though the former president was prohibited from using social media or communicating through social media as a result of his 2025 conviction on charges related to a failed coup he orchestrated in 2022.
The 90-day restriction covers the run-up to October’s election, preventing the Bolsonaros from coordinating during the campaign.
Gunmen kill 18 in Nigeria: Gunmen killed 18 people in an attack in Nigeria’s northern Benue state this weekend, Reuters reported on Tuesday, in a region where pastoral and agricultural communities have frequently engaged in hostilities, and where armed groups have considerable control.
Morocco arrests dissident reporter: Moroccan police arrested Ali Lmrabet, a frequent critic of the Moroccan government, at the country’s Tangier Airport on Sunday, Reporters Without Borders announced Monday.
Lmrabet is reportedly under investigation for “alleged dissemination of false information harming constitutional institutions,” the press freedom group told Reuters.
Lmrabet convicted of “offending the king” in 2003 and jailed as a result. In 2005, a Moroccan court banned Lmrabet from practicing journalism in Morocco for 10 years.
Chinese drone shot down in Sudan, Sudanese Army claims: Sudan’s army said it shot down a Chinese-made FH-95 strategic drone northwest of El-Obeid on Monday, the fourth drone of the same model it claims to have intercepted in a month.
The FH-95, capable of electronic warfare and precision strikes, can remain airborne for up to 24 hours and has reportedly been used by the Rapid Support Forces to strike targets deep inside army-controlled territory.
The reported interception comes as the RSF mobilizes around El-Obeid, a major commercial and humanitarian hub linking Kordofan with Darfur.
Humanitarian organizations have expressed concern that El-Obeid could be subject to the same type of genocidal attacks that consumed El-Fasher during the RSF’s siege of the city in October 2025.
China expels Politburo member accused of corruption: China has expelled Ma Xingrui from the Politburo, Reuters reported Tuesday, in the third such expulsion from the country’s most important decision-making body by President Xi Jinping since he began his anti-graft campaign in 2025.
Ma is accused of soliciting bribes in connection with his role in selecting and appointing officials, of helping relatives buy property at below-market rates, and of using his political power in exchanges involving sex, according to Reuters.
Guo Yonghang, Ma’s former chief of staff during his time as the top official in the southern city of Shenzhen, is also under investigation, as are several officials Ma promoted when he was party chief in the northwestern province of Xinjiang.
China denies that it seeks a “sphere of influence” in dealings with Pacific nations: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his counterpart from the Solomon Islands that China “has no geopolitical intentions and does not seek a so-called ‘sphere of influence’” in the Pacific during a Tuesday meeting, according to Reuters.
Yi added that China’s cooperation with Solomon Islands “comes with no political strings attached” and would not be imposed upon the island nation by force, according to a statement released by the Chinese ministry on Tuesday.
Yi reaffirmed the sovereignty of Solomon Islands and their neighbors in Oceania, saying they were “not someone’s backyard” and “should not be subject to interference from any third party.”
The remarks come after Solomon Islands criticized a Chinese test launch in the South Pacific last week, with the country’s prime minister saying that China is “a good friend of the Solomon Islands, but this is not something a friend does,” and suggesting the maneuver would draw the nation closer to Australia, which signed a mutual defence pact with Fiji on Monday.
Hungarian Parliament votes to remove its President: Hungary’s Parliament approved a constitutional amendment on Monday to remove current President Tamás Sulyok from his position.
Sulyok is a member of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s right-wing Fidesz Party and took office in 2024.
Orbán was defeated in April’s elections and was replaced by Peter Magyar, the head of the center-right Tisza party.
Magyar has spent much of his early term attempting to remove and replace officials associated with Orban, who governed the country for 16 years.
Sulyok has five days to sign the order demanding his own removal. Parliament has indicated it will open impeachment hearings into Sulyok if he fails to do so.
UK arrests 12 people accused of plotting terrorist attack against Muslims: British police arrested 12 people suspected of plotting terrorist attacks against an Islamic gathering held in the eastern part of the country over the weekend, according to an announcement from the UK’s Counter Terrorism Command’s London Office.
Arrests were made across the country on Sunday and Monday, the office said.
The majority of the suspects, whose ages ranged from 27 to 82, were white men, though one woman was arrested in connection with the plot.
The Ijtima festival, the target of the threats, was visited by an estimated 15,000 people.
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Is there any doubt as to which world power is the greatest impediment to peace?
"Trump shrinks two Utah national monuments by more than a million acres each." Trump shrinks
everything the makes America special to its citizens. Why does he have so much hate for our country?