Belarusian rapper Max Korzh played a sold-out 3.5-hour show in Istanbul, drawing tens of thousands of mostly Russian-speaking fans from across the post-Soviet world.
Given his anti-war stance has shut him out of Russia and Belarus, the concert became a rare cultural gathering and moment of unity for the diaspora.
NEW: Drive-by shooting attack reported across multiple sites in Israel’s Sharon region.
Attackers in a vehicle opened fire at a gas station near Kokhav Yair, then hit Tzur Yitzhak, Tzur Natan, and Route 5533.
One Israeli killed, 4–6 wounded (some critical).
One attacker neutralized by security forces; manhunt ongoing for others.
Helicopters also deployed.
Zainab Dashti — Kuwaiti state TV presenter — got 3 years in prison for social media posts deemed sympathetic to Iran during the 2026 US-Israel-Iran war.
Charges: sympathy with a hostile state, inciting sectarian strife, harming national security.
She’d been detained since March.
Kuwait has detained ~1,200 people in a sweeping crackdown on pro-Iran speech tied to the conflict.
Iraq's World Cup star Aymen Hussein was detained and questioned for nearly seven hours after arriving at Chicago O'Hare Airport with the national team.
Hussein was eventually allowed into the United States, but team photographer Talal Salah was denied entry after being held for more than 10 hours.
Source: Reuters
Armenia votes today in its first regular parliamentary election since 2017.
This is effectively a referendum on PM Pashinyan’s pro-Western, pro-peace course with Azerbaijan vs. a return toward Russia’s orbit.
Pashinyan’s Civil Contract is leading polls (~32–36%, possibly higher) against a fragmented opposition led by Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia bloc and Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance.
Polls close 8 PM local; preliminary results overnight.
Stakes: finalizing the 2025 peace deal with Azerbaijan, constitutional reform, EU/US alignment, and South Caucasus security.
A clear Civil Contract majority locks in the current trajectory; a weak result risks gridlock or reversal.
North Korean state media published a new report on Kim Jong Un inspecting a local defense plant and its fulfillment of ballistic missile production plans for the first half of 2026.
The current scale of Hwasong-11 ballistic missile production is huge.
Iran’s World Cup squad has been told it can only enter the United States on the day of its matches and must leave the same day, according to Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh.
Cuba has begun distributing weapons to civilians and urging citizens to prepare for a possible foreign invasion.
The government has reportedly activated contingency plans across the country.
Source: Versión Final
The U.S. is considering using Iranian assets to help Kuwait and Bahrain recover from damage caused by recent Iranian missile and drone attacks.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has reportedly ordered an assessment of reconstruction costs, with the policy potentially extending to future damage as well.
Source: Reuters
WATCH: Albanians are protesting a $5B luxury resort by Kushner’s Affinity Partners on Sazan Island and Vjosa-Narta wetlands.
Sixth day of rallies under “Albania Is Not for Sale.”
Recent U.S. intelligence reports indicate that Israeli spy agencies have intensified efforts to monitor American officials involved in negotiations with Iran.
According to the reports, Israel targeted senior officials including Steve Witkoff, Elbridge Colby, and Michael DiMino.
The Pentagon has raised Israel’s counterintelligence threat level from “high” to “critical.”
Source: NYT
India’s population is expected to begin declining within the next few decades as fertility has fallen to around 2.0 births per woman—below the replacement rate of 2.1.
Families that once commonly had 6–11 children now often choose to have just one or two, and many stop at one.
Source: The Economist
Germany’s Chancellor Merz:
If we hold together in Europe, we are one of the largest and most successful economic spaces in the world.
The best years are not behind us. Good years lie ahead.
Trump has pardoned Stephen Buyer, a former Republican congressman from Indiana who was convicted of insider trading and served nearly two years in prison.