Ukraine launched a major drone campaign striking Moscow and the Primorsk oil port, damaging a warship and energy infrastructure, while Russia retaliated with heavy missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, killing at least 7 and causing power outages. On the front lines, Russian forces made incremental gains in eastern Ukraine. Sweden detained a suspected Russian shadow fleet ship, and Finland pledged $300 million in military aid to Ukraine.

The BJP has secured a decisive victory in West Bengal state elections, ending the Trinamool Congress's three-term rule, while early trends in Tamil Nadu show the TVK party leading. The Mayon Volcano eruption in the Philippines has intensified with heavy ashfall affecting over 50 villages. China has instructed refineries to ignore US sanctions on Iranian oil, directly challenging American efforts to isolate Iran. Japan's prime minister warned of the Iran war's impact on Asia Pacific energy security, as Japan resumes Russian oil imports.

The US launched 'Project Freedom' in the Strait of Hormuz with 15,000 troops and over 100 aircraft, drawing Iranian protests and a renewed threat of force from Trump, while Congress moves to limit his war authority. Domestically, a mass shooting in Edmond, Oklahoma left at least 15 shot and a federal officer was confirmed injured in the WH dinner assassination attempt. In Colombia, a monster truck accident killed three and injured 38, and Cuba's president condemned escalating US sanctions and warned of invasion.

The US-Iran confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz escalated sharply as President Trump launched 'Project Freedom' to escort vessels through the waterway, prompting Iranian military threats and new attacks on merchant shipping. Diplomacy remained stalled after Trump rejected Iran's peace proposal, while Israel's security cabinet convened amid a major military buildup and intensified cross-border clashes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. In Syria, heavy fighting erupted between Syrian forces and Israeli-backed Druze separatists near Suweida.

Kenya landslides kill 18; Somali pirates hijack an oil tanker; Sudan's military shows Islamist influence; two US soldiers missing in Morocco during African Lion exercises; Nigeria sees vigilante killings of Fulani herders and bandit retaliation; South Africa faces low-trust local elections and a rodent virus outbreak.