Iran, the United States, and mediator Pakistan reports that progress has been made in ceasefire talks, with the Iranian foreign ministry saying that Iran is focused on finalizing a memorandum of understanding.
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May 23, 2026 (Saturday)
1.3 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Financial Times reports that mediators are nearing a deal to extend the ceasefire between the United States and Iran by 60 days and establish a framework for nuclear talks.
The U.S. Central Command says that they have redirected 100 commercial ships and disabled four others from the Strait of Hormuz to enforce the blockade.
The Pakistan Army confirms in a statement that "encouraging progress" in negotations has been made following a visit by field marshal Asim Munir to Tehran the previous day in which he met with Iranian officials such as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
Health and environment
The International Red Cross announces that three of its local volunteers have died from Ebola while working in the Djugu territory, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in March.
Uganda's health ministry confirms three new Ebola cases, a woman who traveled from the DRC and two Ugandan workers that had contact with her, bringing the country's total to five cases and one death.
A leak of methyl methacrylate forces the evacuation of 40,000 people in Garden Grove, California, United States.
International relations
In accordance with bilateral agreements, the Vietnamese government grants 40 scholarships to Ukrainians for the 2026–2027 academic year for Bachelor's, Master's, and postgraduate degrees, including a one-year language course for those who do not speak Vietnamese. The Kazakh government also grants 40 scholarships for similar degrees.
Sports
The DR Congo national football team announces that it will maintain its planned schedule, including two friendly matches in Belgium and Spain, before going to Houston, Texas, United States, despite being warned to isolate, as the entire squad is based outside of the DRC.
May 22, 2026 (Friday)
3.7 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Six people are killed and six more injured in an Israeli airstrike in Deir Qanoun an-Naher. Two paramedics are among the fatalities, while three more are injured.
Pakistan Army field marshal Asim Munir visits Tehran, Iran, in a effort to broker a ceasefire deal between Iran and the United States to end the war.
U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio says that no peace talks are currently taking place, but the United States is "ready" to play a role if they resume.
A paramedic is killed and four more are injured in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Tyre District.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi says that "excessive demands" by the U.S. are the main obstacle in the peace talks.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy reports that 35 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz with permission over the previous 24 hours.
A Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker crosses the strait for the first time in nearly two weeks, bound from Ras Laffan to Tianjin, China.
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson says that Iran will not agree to give its highly enriched uranium to the U.S.
Russian president Vladimir Putin says that a drone strike on a dormitory and school in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast has killed at least six people and injured dozens more, attributing the attack to Ukraine, but Ukraine's military describes the comments from Russia as manipulation, saying it hit a drone command unit in Starobilsk.
According to the Tasnim News Agency, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and field marshal Asim Munir held late night talks amidst ongoing diplomatic efforts.
The Malian military conducts drone strikes on the governor's office and other locations in Kidal, Kidal Region, Mali, which did not cause any casualties.
Seven people are killed and 110 more injured in clashes between the Misak and Nasa, rival Indigenous groups, over a dispute to a land in Silvia, Cauca Department, Colombia. The army has deployed 500 soldiers in response.
Business and economy
Mexico and the European Union sign an updated trade agreement that reduces tariffs and expands market access.
The Dutch cabinet approves a bill to ban the importation of goods from Israeli settlements, and will explore if the ban can be extended to services and investments.
Disasters and accidents
At least one person is killed and nine others are injured in an explosion at the petrochemical plant of MOL in Tiszaújváros, Borsod–Abaúj–Zemplén County, Hungary.
More than 90 miners are killed and others are injured in a mining accident after a gas explosion at a coal mine in Shanxi, China.
One person is killed and 36 others are injured, including two seriously, in an explosion at a dry dock in Staten Island, New York, United States.
Major power outages at night on Sumatra island leave millions without electricity for hours. Several officials declare a state of emergency due to concerns over temperature and weather conditions.
Health and environment
The World Health Organization raises its assessment of the risk from the Ebola outbreak within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from "high" to "very high" due to its rapid spread, while keeping it "low" at the global level. Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that the outbreak in Uganda is stable.
Rwanda imposes a travel ban on foreign nationals that have been to the DRC in the past thirty days, and requires a quarantine for Rwandan citizens or residents who have been there.
United Nations emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher announces that the organization is providing US$60 million in funding for the outbreak response.
International relations
NATO conducts Operation Arcade Strike, an exercise in drone warfare, at an unused platform of the London Underground's Charing Cross tube station to be prepared for potential conflict with Russia by 2030.
Acting U.S. navy secretary Hung Cao says that the United States has put on hold US$14 billion of arms sales to Taiwan to preserve munitions during the Iran war.
Politics and elections
Slovenia elects Democratic Party leader Janez Janša as prime minister after lawmakers approve a minority coalition government, replacing former prime minister Robert Golob of the Freedom Movement.
Senegalese president Bassirou Diomaye Faye dismisses prime minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolves the government amid growing tensions within the ruling coalition and ongoing economic challenges in Senegal.
The New York Post reports that Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, a commander of the IRGC-aligned Shia Iraqi militia group Kata'ib Hezbollah, who was arrested earlier this month in Turkey for plotting terror attacks across Europe and North America including Jewish sites, also plotted to assassinate U.S. president Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump in retaliation of the 2020 strike against former Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani.
Sports
Andrew Giuliani, head of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force, says that the DR Congo soccer team must isolate for 21 days or risk the ability to enter the U.S. for the upcoming FIFA World Cup amidst the ebola outbreak in the country.
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