02/05/2026 – 22:59
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02/05/2026 – 22:02 In pictures: Villages in southern Lebanon targeted in fresh air strikes
Rescue personnel clear rubble from buildings destroyed in the Lebanese town of Habboush, following Israeli strikes, Nabatieh Governorate, Lebanon, May 2, 2026.
Photos: Reuters
02/05/2026 – 21:03In pictures: Displaced Lebanese find temporary refuge in Beirut school
Children play in the yard of a school used as a temporary shelter for displaced people, in Beirut, Lebanon, May 2, 2026.
Ibtisam, displaced from southern Lebanon and sheltered in the school, cooks in the temporary kitchen, in Beirut, Lebanon, May 2, 2026.
A displaced man hangs up his laundry in the school courtyard, in Beirut, Lebanon, May 2, 2026.
Photos: Raghed Waked, Reuters
02/05/2026 – 20:53Marshall Islands-flagged tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz, shipping ministry says
The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas for India, has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, India’s shipping ministry said.
The vessels with 20 crew members on board is expected to arrive at the Indian port of Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said in a statement.
02/05/2026 – 19:56Israel army says troops damaged ‘religious building’ in Lebanon
The Israeli military said troops operating in the southern Lebanese village of Yaroun have damaged a “religious building” while dismantling what it described as “terrorist infrastructure” in the area.
“It was determined that during the forces’ operations to destroy terrorist infrastructure, one of the houses located in a religious compound was damaged,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said on X. “There were no visible signs indicating this was a religious building,” he continued. “Once clear identifying features were observed on another building in the compound, the forces acted to prevent any further damage to the compound.”
Adraee justified the presence of troops in the area by citing multiple rocket attacks launched by Hezbollah from within the compound toward Israeli territory, as fighting continues in spite of a ceasefire.
The French Catholic charity L’Oeuvre d’Orient said the troops had “destroyed” a convent belonging to the Salvatorian Sisters, a Greek-Catholic religious order with which the charity is affiliated.
02/05/2026 – 18:44Iran says ‘ball in US court’, but ready for talks or war
According to Iran, it is up to the United States whether to pursue a negotiated settlement or to return to open war – Tehran is ready for either outcome.
“Now the ball is in the United States’ court to choose the path of diplomacy or the continuation of a confrontational approach,” deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi told diplomats in Tehran, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
“Iran, with the aim of securing its national interests and security, is prepared for both paths,” he said.
02/05/2026 – 18:16Lebanese army chief and US general meet on Lebanon security
Lebanese armed forces commander General Rudolf Haykal and US General Joseph Clearfield have met in Beirut to discuss the security situation in Lebanon and regional developments, the army said in a statement.
Clearfield heads a committee monitoring a US-backed ceasefire in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. The participants at the meeting underlined the importance of the Lebanese army’s role and the need to support it during the current phase, the statement said.
02/05/2026 – 17:55Iraq says oil output, exports can recover ‘within a week’ once Hormuz crisis ends
Iraq can restore oil output and exports to normal levels within seven days of the end of the crisis over the Strait of Hormuz, Deputy Oil Minister Basim Mohammed said.
He said production currently stood at 1.5 million barrels per day, with about 200,000 bpd exported via Ceyhan, while two tankers had been prepared and two more were expected depending on security conditions in the strait, which Tehran has largely closed during the US-Israeli war against Iran.
02/05/2026 – 16:48Nobel body urges Iran to release Mohammadi so she can get medical help
Iranian authorities must release Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi to her dedicated medical team so she can urgently receive treatment as her life remains at risk, the head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee told Reuters.
The health of Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her campaign for human rights in Iran in 2023, has “deteriorated seriously”, said Joergen Watne Frydnes, citing her family and lawyer.
Read more: Imprisoned Iranian Nobel laureate Mohammadi rushed to hospital following cardiac ‘crisis’
02/05/2026 – 16:41Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon kill 7 despite ceasefire
Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon have killed at least seven people and wounded several others despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, officials said.
Earlier in the day, Israel’s military issued a new warning for residents of nine southern villages to evacuate. Israel and Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group have kept up their attacks despite a ceasefire in place since April 17.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an airstrike on a car in the village of Kfar Dajal killed two people, while another hit a home in the village of Lwaizeh, killing three. Two others were killed in a strike on the village of Shoukin, it said.
02/05/2026 – 16:32Spain says Israel’s detention of citizen from Gaza flotilla ‘illegal’
Spain’s foreign minister has condemned the “illegal detention” of a Spanish activist who was taken to Israel after being seized in an Israeli military operation against a Gaza aid flotilla in international waters.
Saif Abu Keshek, who was taken to Israel along with a Brazilian activist, “must be released immediately so that he can return to Spain”, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told Rac1 radio.
02/05/2026 – 16:22Iran official says renewed fighting ‘likely’ as Washington rejects proposal
A senior Iranian official on Monday said renewed fighting between the United States and Iran was “likely” after Washington rejected Tehran’s latest proposal for negotiations. The two countries remain deadlocked as a fragile ceasefire, now three weeks old, continues to hold. FRANCE 24’s Charlotte Lam reports.
02/05/2026 – 16:17China rejects US sanctions on refineries over Iran oil links
China will not comply with US sanctions against five firms targeted for purchasing Iranian oil, Beijing’s commerce ministry said stating the measures “shall not be recognised, implemented, or complied with”.
China is a key customer for Iranian oil, mainly through independent “teapot” refineries that rely on discounted crude from the Islamic republic.
The ministry said the sanctions “improperly prohibit or restrict Chinese enterprises from conducting normal economic, trade and related activities with third countries… and violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations.”
The injunction applies to three companies in Shandong province—Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group, Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical and Shandong Shengxing Chemical—and two others based elsewhere in China, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery and Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group.
02/05/2026 – 16:10US does not think airline industry needs bailout
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy does not think the government needs to bail out low-cost airlines that have sought $2.5 billion in government relief because of high jet fuel prices.
“I would say that at this point, I don’t think it’s necessary. They do have access to cash. If they want to come to the US government, we would be a lender of last resort. If they can find dollars in the private markets—I think that’s better for them,” Duffy said at a press conference at Newark airport.
02/05/2026 – 15:10Read more about the US troop withdrawal from Germany
02/05/2026 – 15:05US warns shipping firms over paying Iran to transit the Strait of Hormuz
The United States is warning shipping companies they could face sanctions for making payments to Iran to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control alert posted on Friday adds pressure in the standoff between the US and Iran over control of the strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, where about a fifth of the world’s trade in oil and natural gas typically passes.
Iran effectively closed the strait by attacking and threatening ships after the US and Israel launched a war on February 28. It later began offering some ships safe passage by detouring them through routes closer to its shore, charging fees at times.
That “tollbooth ” effort is the focus of the US sanctions warning, which said payment demands could include transfers not only in cash but also “digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments,” including charitable donations and payments at Iranian embassies.
02/05/2026 – 14:22Spirit Airlines shuts down, industry’s first Iran war casualty
Bankrupt discount carrier Spirit Airlines has ceased operating, becoming the industry’s first casualty linked to the Iran war, after failing to secure creditor support for a US government bailout plan.
The collapse of the carrier following a doubling in jet fuel prices during the two-month-old Iran war will cost thousands of jobs. It is a blow to US President Donald Trump, who had proposed $500 million to save Spirit despite opposition from some of his closest advisers and many Republicans in Congress.
No US carrier of Spirit’s size – it accounted for 5 percent of US flights at one point – has liquidated in two decades. Spirit helped keep fares lower in markets where it competed against major carriers.
02/05/2026 – 13:48UAE says air traffic back to normal after precautionary measures lifted
The UAE’s aviation authority said air traffic in the country has returned to normal, the state news agency reported, after precautionary measures implemented on February 28 at the start of the Iran war were lifted.
The decision followed a comprehensive assessment of operational and security conditions in coordination with relevant entities, the General Civil Aviation Authority added.
02/05/2026 – 12:55OPEC+ agrees in principle on small oil output quota hike without UAE, sources say
Seven OPEC+ countries have an agreement in principle to raise oil output targets by about 188,000 barrels per day in June, pressing on with plans despite the departure of the UAE, two sources familiar with OPEC+ thinking said ahead of a policy meeting on Sunday.
The increase is similar to last month’s hike of 206,000 bpd minus the share of the United Arab Emirates, which in a surprise announcement this week said it would leave the group from May 1. The decision signals that OPEC+ is pressing on with a business-as-usual approach, one source said earlier.
Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity. The seven members are scheduled to meet online on Sunday.
The output hikes are largely symbolic for now, with most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz halted by the US-Israeli war against Iran that is causing far more disruption to OPEC producers’ output than the group’s agreed targets.
02/05/2026 – 12:54Two Gaza aid flotilla activists brought to Israel for questioning: foreign ministry
Two activists who participated in a Gaza-bound aid flotilla have been brought to Israel for questioning, the Israeli foreign ministry said Saturday, after the vessels were intercepted by Israeli forces this week.
Spaniard Saif Abu Keshek, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian, are now in Israel and “will be transferred for questioning by law enforcement authorities”, the ministry said on X, adding that the two activists were affiliated with an organisation sanctioned by the US Treasury department.