IMF says Bangladesh requests new assistance program amid Iran war fallout
The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday it was in negotiations with the Bangladeshi government for a new assistance program at Dhaka's request, as the South Asian country reels from the economic fallout of the Iran war.
"The Bangladeshi authorities have requested a new IMF-supported program," said Ivo Krznar, the Fund's Mission Chief for Bangladesh. "IMF staff are in discussions with the authorities on their reform agenda and policy priorities."
In March, Bangladesh's government said it was seeking loans of around $2 billion from multilateral donors to tackle energy security concerns sparked by the surging fuel prices caused by the war on Iran.
UN Security Council condemns attack on UAE nuclear plant
The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday condemned the attack on Barakah Nuclear Plant in the United Arab Emirates, according to a statement, adding that the attack constituted a violation of international law.
The council did not attribute blame for the attack.
The UAE said last week that six drones had been launched against it from Iraq, including one that caused a fire at the nuclear power plant in the Gulf state. Iraq is home to powerful Iranian-backed militia groups which have claimed attacks against "enemy bases in Iraq and the region" during the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Iran restores partial internet access after nationwide shutdown
- US military says it carried out 'self-defence' strikes in Iran, including on missile launch sites
- Rubio says Iran deal still possible within days despite US strikes
- Iran's supreme leader says regional powers will no longer be a shield for US bases
- Israeli strike on village in eastern Lebanon kills 12
- Iran partially restores internet access after months-long shutdown
Israel carried out attack against Hamas new armed wing chief, Netanyahu says
Israel said on Tuesday it had attacked Hamas’ new armed wing chief, who it said was appointed just days earlier after Israel killed his predecessor, as it steps up military pressure in Gaza and expands ground operations in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement the military had struck Mohammad Odeh, whom he described as Hamas' new armed wing chief in Gaza. He did not provide further details. Netanyahu did not say whether Israel believed he was killed.
Netanyahu said Odeh had headed Hamas' intelligence division at the time of the October 7, 2023 cross-border attack into Israel and was appointed about a week ago to replace Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the group's chief armed commander, who was killed by Israel on May 15.
Israeli military issues evacuation warning for 19 south Lebanon villages
The Israeli military issued two new evacuation warnings on Tuesday for residents of 19 villages across southern Lebanon, as it expanded its ground operations deeper inside Lebanese territory.
"For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move north of the Zahrani River," the military's Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, wrote on X, listing 14 villages.
Minutes later, he issued another warning calling on residents of five more villages to evacuate.
Iran allows 25 oil tankers and other vessels to pass through Hormuz in past 24 hours, Tasnim news agency says
Iran partially restores internet access after months-long shutdown
Iranian authorities partially restored internet connectivity Tuesday after an almost three-month shutdown imposed against the backdrop of the war against Israel and the US, said a monitor, a senior official and sources inside the country.
The shutdown left Iranians largely cut off from international networks, with only a domestic intranet working for daily tasks like shopping, ride-hailing and education.
"Live metrics show a partial restoration to internet connectivity in Iran on day 88," of the shutdown, monitor Netblocks said on X, saying it was "unclear" if this meant a permanent end to the "longest nationwide internet shutdown in modern history".
Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X that the "first step toward free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken," adding that the demands of Iranians "will be fulfilled."
State news agency IRNA and Fars news agency said "full international internet connectivity has been restored" for users of fixed broadband services, but this had not been confirmed by internet monitor NetBlocks.
Witnesses inside Iran also told AFP that mobile internet remains cut but home internet with Wi-Fi had been restored, even though VPNs were still needed to access some social media.
Israel's Elbit developing hardware to combat Hezbollah drones, CEO says
Israel's largest defence contractor is developing hardware to combat explosive Hezbollah drones that have killed Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, including through the potential use of laser-based defence systems, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has used the cheap, easy-to-assemble kamikaze drones to attack Israeli troops which have remained in southern Lebanon since an April 16 truce. Difficult for air defences to thwart, the drones are also being used to deadly effect in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Under pressure to address the threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Monday to escalate attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. But he did not spell out a plan to address the drones, which can evade Israel's high-tech jamming technologies.
Israel says French-Palestinian lawyer directed 'terror cell'
Israel on Tuesday accused French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri of organising and directing a "terrorist cell" from Europe composed of Palestinians from East Jerusalem that was dismantled in late 2025.
In a joint statement, police and the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet said that "five residents of East Jerusalem, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), were arrested and interrogated by the Shin Bet during November and December 2025."
"The Shin Bet investigation revealed that during 2024 and 2025, Hamouri met members of the cell -- all residents of East Jerusalem -- in several European countries and recruited them to establish an infrastructure intended to carry out terrorist activities in Israel," the statement said.
"To this end, he allegedly supplied them with phones enabling encrypted communications."
Born in Jerusalem to a French mother, Hamouri held a permanent residency permit granted to Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and later annexed.
The permit was revoked in late November 2022 for what Israel described as a "breach of allegiance" to the Israeli state, one month before his expulsion to France -- a move Hamouri denounced as a "deportation."
Lebanon's health ministry reports over 3,200 dead since March
Lebanon's health ministry says the cumulative toll from the Israeli offensive since March 2 had reached 3,213 dead and 9,737 wounded by May 26, while the Israeli military says Hezbollah has launched explosive drones towards Israeli troops and northern Israeli towns, killing at least 11 soldiers since the ceasefire.
The World Health Organization has said at least 608 people in Lebanon have been killed in Israeli attacks since the truce. Hezbollah has not released figures for its own casualties.
Turkish President Erdogan says Turkey to keep supporting talks in call with Iran's Pezeshkian
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would continue providing support for peace talks during a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday.
Erdogan said the conflicts in the region had cast a shadow over the Muslim Eid holiday period, adding that he believed the Iranian people would overcome the challenges.
Iran vice president says first steps taken to restore internet after shutdown
Iran's vice president said on Tuesday that the government has taken the first steps to restore the internet after a near-total blackout since war with the United States and Israel broke out in late February.
"The first step towards free and regulated access to cyberspace has been taken," Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said in a post on X, adding that the demands of Iranians "will be fulfilled".
Israeli media say army expands south Lebanon ground operation beyond Yellow Line
Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the military had expanded its ground operations in southern Lebanon beyond the "Yellow Line", an Israeli-drawn demarcation line near the border, though the reports gave no further details on the extent of the advance.
Cross-border fighting has been escalating between Israel and Hezbollah, despite the declaration of a ceasefire several weeks ago.
Iran accuses US of violating ceasefire over past 48 hours
Iran's foreign ministry on Tuesday accused the United States of violating a fragile ceasefire during the past 48 hours in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan, without specifying the incident.
"The US terrorist army, continuing its illegal and unjustified actions since the ceasefire ... has, in the past 48 hours, committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region," the ministry said in a statement.
The US Central Command said forces had on Monday attacked missile sites and boats it said were trying to lay mines in the Gulf, while Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had fired at US aircraft attempting to enter the country's airspace.
Explosion damages tanker off Oman, marine monitor reports
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO)said on Tuesday that a tanker had reported an external explosion on the vessel's port side, close to the waterline 60 nautical miles off Oman's capital Muscat.
UKMTO said the vessel and its crew were safe, although the tanker reported that some bunker fuel was discharged into the sea.
Iran judiciary suspends presidential body after order to restore internet
Iran's foreign ministry says US violated the ceasefire
The United States has violated the ceasefire with strikes in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, Iran's foreign ministry has said in a statement.
The US military carried out strikes late on Monday in southern Iran against targets including boats attempting to lay mines and missile launch sites, in what it described as defensive actions.
Iranian media reported early on Tuesday that sounds of explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas in the province.
"The United States committed a gross violation of the ceasefire in the Hormozgan region in the past 48 hours... Iran holds the US regime responsible for all the consequences resulting from these aggressive and unjustified actions", the statement said.
Sheep theft ruins Eid festivities for Palestinian shepherd
Palestinian shepherd Sameeha Rasheed was planning for the sacred ritual of sacrificing her family's sheep for the Eid al-Adha holiday, one of the holiest occasions in Islam, but West Bank Jewish settlers stole them in a pre-dawn raid, she told Reuters.
Instead of celebrating, Rasheed has been left with nothing and has also been deprived of the income she would have received from selling the sheep not used by her family.
The settlers stole around 45 sheep from her home in Masafer Yatta, a collection of Palestinian hamlets near Hebron, she said. Before the theft, they stole the family's guard dogs, so no one was alerted when the men broke in before dawn on May 21 and herded the animals away.
Photo: Mussa Qawasma, Reuters
"This is our livelihood, my husband and I live from the income from these sheep. I don't have anything to get treatment for my husband or spend on myself," said Rasheed, whose husband has cancer.
Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's two main festivals, marks the climax of the annual Haj pilgrimage, when Muslims slaughter animals to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim, or Abraham, to sacrifice his son on God’s command, often distributing meat to the poor.
Ireland to ban goods from Israeli settlements in West Bank by July
Ireland aims to pass a law curbing goods trade with settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by mid-July, Foreign Minister Helen McEntee has said.
Ireland's government, one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's war in Gaza, first promised to sanction Israeli settlements in October 2024.
But the legislation has since been held up by pressure from opposition politicians who aimed to extend the ban also to services trade, on one side, and international company lobbyists seeking to scrap the bill, on the other.
Prime Minister Micheal Martin confirmed last week that the bill would be limited to goods and said widening the scope to services was neither "implementable" nor "viable”.
Yesterday's key developments:
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Vessels carrying Middle East oil, liquid natural gaz exit Hormuz Strait, head for Pakistan, China
- Israel military issues new evacuation warning to 10 Lebanon villages
- Iran says charging fees for "navigational services" through Strait of Hormuz
- Mexico accepts to host Iran during the World Cup
- Israel's Netanyahu orders escalation of Lebanon offensive to "crush" Hezbollah
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
