Portal:Current events/2026 May 7

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Middle Eastern crisis
  • 2026 Iran war
    • 2025–2026 Iran–United States negotiations
      • 2026 Iran war ceasefire
        • Pakistan foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi says that a ceasefire agreement between Iran and the United States to end the war is expected "sooner rather than later". (Arab News PK)
        • U.S. president Donald Trump says that the ceasefire is still in effect despite the recent strikes on the U.S. destroyers. (ABC News) (Reuters)
    • 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
      • A U.S. official tells Axios that Iran and the U.S. have reportedly exchanged fire at the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran claiming to strike three U.S. Navy ships and the U.S. claiming to strike targets on the waterway. (Axios) (AP) (Reuters)
      • The Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization says that ports in Iran are prepared to provide maritime services, technical support, supplies, and medical assistance to ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz. (AA) (The Economic Times)
    • 7 May 2026 United States strikes on Iran
      • The U.S. Central Command confirms that the military carried out "self-defense" strikes against military facilities in response to Iran's attacks on the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta, and USS Mason as the three ships were transiting the Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman. (The Asia Business Daily) (CNN) (The Times of Israel)
      • Several explosions are heard at a port in Qeshm and Bandar Abbas in Iran's Hormozgan province. Israel denies any involvement in the explosion, while Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin says that the U.S. military was behind the explosions. Officials say that the explosions does not mean the restart of the war or the end of the ceasefire. (AA) (AFP via France 24) (Reuters)
  • Israeli–Palestinian conflict
    • Gaza war
      • Azzam Al-Hayya, the son of Hamas Political Bureau chairman Khalil al-Hayya, is confirmed by a Hamas official to have been killed during a Israel airstrike last night. (Reuters)
• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency, Kivu conflict, Ituri conflict
  • Forty people are killed and homes are burned by Allied Democratic Forces militants during attacks in North Kivu and Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AP)

Business and economy

• 2026 Cuban crisis
  • Sherritt International suspends its mining operations in Cuba and withdraws expatriate staff, citing the risk of expanded United States sanctions affecting its operations. (AFP via News Abhiyan)
• Tariffs in the second Trump administration
  • The U.S. Court of International Trade rules that the 10% global tariffs imposed by president Donald Trump are illegal. (The New York Times)
• Mastercard says that they are planning to resume services in Syria for the first time in 15 years. (SANA) (AA)

Disasters and accidents

• At least 15 people are killed and dozens of others are trapped when a gold mine collapses in West Pokot County, Kenya. (AA)
• Ten people are killed in a road accident involving a truck carrying a 40-foot container near Freetown, Sierra Leone. (Xinhua)
• At least five people are killed and more than 12 others are injured in a large fire at a shopping mall in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. (BNO News)
• At least five people are killed in a fire at a fair in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• Two children are reported to have died from tuberculosis at displacement camps in Tawila, North Darfur, Sudan. (Sudan Tribune)

International relations

• Cambodia–Thailand relations
  • 2025 Cambodian–Thai border crisis
    • Cambodia and Thailand agree to restore relations following talks mediated by the Philippines on the sidelines of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu. (Bangkok Post) (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2024 South Korean martial law crisis
  • The Seoul High Court reduces former South Korean prime minister Han Duck-soo's prison sentence from 23 years to 15 years for crimes related to former president Yoon Suk Yeol's 2024 martial law declaration, citing a lack of evidence that Han played a leading or premeditated role in the declaration. (AFP via CNA)
• Anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping
  • Former Chinese defense ministers Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe are both sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve following their convictions on graft charges. (BBC News) (Politico)
• 2026 Canvas security incident
  • The ShinyHunters cybercrime group claims responsibility for breaching Instructure Canvas, a web-based learning management system, a second time, affecting at least 275 million teachers and students worldwide. (TRT World)
• Trafficking of Chinese nationals to scam centers abroad
  • Sri Lankan authorities arrest 30 Chinese and Vietnamese nationals in Colombo in a crackdown on cyberscams in the country, raising the total number of those detained to 261. (AFP via The Straits Times)

Politics and elections

• 2026 United Kingdom local elections
  • 2026 Scottish Parliament election, 2026 Senedd election
    • Voters in England elect six mayors and 5,066 council seats across 136 councils. In Scotland, voters elect 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament. In Wales, voters elect 96 seats to the Senedd. (BBC News) (The Guardian)
• Politics of Solomon Islands
  • The parliament of the Solomon Islands debates a no-confidence motion against prime minister Jeremiah Manele. The debate is a culmination of a political crisis that started with mass resignations of the cabinet on 16 March, recently escalated by a ruling on 1 May by the Court of Appeal ordering the reconvening of Parliament. (RNZ)
  • Manele is ousted from the premiership following a successful no-confidence motion of 26–22, with two MPs absent. Manele remains as caretaker prime minister until governor-general David Tiva Kapu declares a new prime minister. (Reuters)
• 2027 Salvadoran legislative election, Right of Salvadoran expatriates to vote
  • The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approves a constitutional reform that establishes an overseas constituency for Salvadoran expatriates. The constituency is allocated 6 seats in the 60-seat legislature. (La Prensa Gráfica in Spanish)

Sports

• International sporting sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Belarus at the Olympics
    • The International Olympic Committee lifts restrictions on Belarusian athletes participating in the Olympic Games from 2028, while Russian athletes remain limited to individual neutral participation because of the Russian Olympic Committee's suspension. (AFP via RFI) (BBC News)
• 2027 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, 2027 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
  • In basketball, the NCAA Division I men's and women's tournaments will expand to 76 teams beginning next year. (AP) (The Athletic via The New York Times)