At 20, Peacebuilding Commission Must ‘Imagine New Generation of Peace Efforts’ for Today’s Reality, Secretary‑General Says

• NATO's deputy commander is calling for an upcoming summit in Turkey to urge member nations to increase defense spending and strengthen support for Ukraine. • The push for unity comes amid instability caused by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to leave the alliance and sent conflicting signals regarding U.S. force posture in Europe.

• The U.S. and its allies are exploring strategies to reduce global economic reliance on the Strait of Hormuz following lessons learned from conflicts with Iran. • Proposed measures include increasing strategic oil stockpiles and constructing new pipelines to bypass the waterway's potential for disruption.

• An expert at a World Economic Forum meeting in Dalian urged Gulf states to diversify their defense strategies to mitigate risks associated with their geographic locations. • The expert noted a shift in Iran's strategic priorities, stating that Tehran now views economic survival as its primary goal over geopolitical ambition.

• The city of El Obeid in North Kordofan, Sudan, faces an imminent ground offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies after 18 months of siege-like conditions. • Credible reports indicate a high risk of atrocity crimes and widespread human rights violations as the conflict intensifies in the region.

• The Iranian regime has introduced a 14-point draft agreement with the U.S., a move that has sparked internal divisions and increased tensions within the government. • This diplomatic push occurs amidst severe domestic crises, including chronic energy and water shortages, environmental degradation, and rampant inflation that has eroded purchasing power.

• A fragile lull in hostilities has been observed in southern Lebanon since Tuesday, with UN peacekeepers reporting no new airstrikes or missile fire. • Despite the pause, tensions remain high as Israeli drones continue to operate over the region and ground military operations persist.

• India is seeking to secure the financial viability of the Chabahar Port by implementing local currency payment frameworks or humanitarian trade exemptions to bypass shifting global sanctions. • To stabilize regional relations, India aims to re-engage shared cultural diplomacy by leveraging Indo-Persian historical and linguistic ties.

Strike was in response to drone attack a day earlier on a commercial vessel The US military ⁠conducted strikes ⁠against Iran ​on Friday, ⁠Central Command said in ⁠a statement, ​adding ‌that ‌US aircraft ‌struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and ‌coastal radar sites ​after Tehran’s attack on a ⁠commercial ship ​in the ​strait ​of ​Hormuz.The US strike was in response to a drone attack a day earlier on a cargo ship in the strait, a provocation that President Donald Trump said violated the ceasefire. Continue reading...

About 100 marchers demand transparency after Kohen Wiley was shot dead in a car outside a WalmartAbout 100 people gathered on Friday morning outside of the Walmart in rural Senatobia, Mississippi, to protest about the killing of a one-year-old boy by police earlier this month.Walmart itself was closed, its doors barricaded. During a protest at the Walmart earlier in the week, officers deployed teargas on those gathered to force the crowds to disperse. Continue reading...

Experts say move signals greater political interference into public health and will exacerbate opioid overdose crisisHealth programs receiving federal funding must agree within days to new priorities from the Trump administration, including a focus on “parental authority” in education and a move away from proven overdose-prevention methods like harm reduction, suggesting greater political control over public health.The new priorities will likely affect progress against the opioid crisis, and they could signal an attack on vaccination requirements at schools, which are set at the state and local level. The priorities may also weaponize public health to quash “public disorder.” Continue reading...

Environmentalists and immigrant-rights advocates demand accounting of damage done by notorious Everglades facilityWhile they welcome the recent closure of the controversial Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention center, leading environmental groups and their allies say they want an independent investigation into the environmental damage the facility inflicted on the surrounding wilderness during its 12 months of operations.Those groups made that demand alongside immigrant-rights advocates and members of Florida’s Miccosukee Tribe at a news conference on Friday outside the entrance to the shuttered detention center, where the Friends of the Everglades (FOE) executive director, Eve Samples, condemned the camp as a “failure, an obscene waste of taxpayer dollars and an abuse of the Everglades”. Continue reading...