Bulgaria has won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, taking victory in a final overshadowed by a boycott over Israel’s participation and the war in Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump says China's Xi Jinping agreed Iran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran prepares a new shipping mechanism. Tensions over the U.S. blockade and stalled nuclear talks continue to disrupt global oil supplies.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least seven Palestinians in Gaza on Friday (15 May), including a child, as Israel said it had launched an operation targeting Hamas military commander Izz al-Din al-Haddad.
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 45-day extension of a ceasefire that has reduced fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. The agreement came as two days of Washington-facilitated talks concluded with a decision to hold further meetings in the coming weeks.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has “no trust” in the United States and will only consider negotiations if Washington shows seriousness. His remarks came as talks on Iran’s nuclear programme continued, with Trump and Xi also opposing Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
The United States is considering asking Israel to transfer part of the tax revenues withheld from the Palestinian Authority (PA) to Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to help fund Gaza’s post-war reconstruction, according to five sources familiar with the discussions.
The United States cast Israel-Lebanon talks held in Washington on Thursday as "productive and positive" and a State Department official said more discussions aimed at ending their conflict will continue on Friday.
Every year on 15 May, Palestinians across the Middle East mark Nakba Day - a commemoration of the mass displacement that accompanied the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
The second semi-final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest 2026 takes place tonight in a rain-soaked Vienna, with the final 10 places in Saturday’s grand final still up for grabs.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran loomed over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China, as signs emerged that the conflict is causing a shift in alliances across the Middle East.
An article published in The Lancet, one of the world’s leading medical journals, has warned that damage to Iran’s Pasteur Institute during the Israel–U.S. war on the Islamic Republic poses a “serious threat to regional health security.”
U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not think he will need China's help to end the war with Iran as he left for a high-stakes summit in Beijing on Tuesday, as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Tehran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.
Kuwait arrested four members of an IRGC-linked group as they tried to enter the country by sea, the Gulf state's KUNA news agency reported on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a senior IRGC officer said Iran had expanded its definition of the Strait of Hormuz to include a far wider area.
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has passed a law establishing a special military tribunal to try hundreds of Palestinian's accused of taking part in the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, in a move lawmakers say is aimed at addressing national trauma.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed Iran’s response to a U.S. peace proposal as a “stupid proposal,” saying Tehran failed to commit to abandoning its pursuit of a nuclear weapon, while warning the fragile ceasefire was on “massive life support”.
The Eurovision Song Contest is again under pressure over Israel’s participation, but this year attention is also turning to changes in the competition’s public voting system.
Iran warned of an “immediate, intense, and powerful” response to any renewed Israeli or U.S. attack, as efforts to secure an interim peace deal appeared to stall despite fresh diplomatic contacts.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a vital maritime chokepoint and serves as the primary artery linking the Persian Gulf to international energy markets. With approximately 20% of global oil and gas shipments transiting this waterway, it is the backbone of energy security for Asia, Europe, and beyond.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel aims to eventually end its reliance on U.S. financial military support within the next decade. The decision signals a long-term shift in the country’s defence policy as it seeks to deepen ties with Gulf states.
President Donald Trump's swift rejection of Iran's response to a U.S. peace proposal sent oil prices surging higher on Monday amid concerns the 10-week-old conflict will drag on, keeping shipping through the Strait of Hormuz paralysed.
Efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war appeared to stall as the two sides exchanged fire in and around the Strait of Hormuz. A reported CIA assessment suggested Tehran could withstand a U.S. naval blockade for months despite mounting sanctions and renewed Gulf attacks.
The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire in and around the Strait of Hormuz, though both sides signalled they did not want escalation. The clashes come as Washington awaits Tehran’s response to a proposed deal to end the war while leaving key disputes, such as Iran’s nuclear programme, unresolved for now.
Türkiye is urging Washington and Tehran to turn their fragile truce into a permanent ceasefire, as analysts say Ankara is seeking to use its geopolitical position to prevent a wider regional conflict.
As diplomatic talks over a possible U.S.–Iran framework agreement continue, analysts are assessing how any deal could alter security dynamics across the Middle East.
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