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Thailand cuts visa-free stay period for more than 90 countries including UK

One of Southeast Asia’s most popular tourist destinations, Thailand, has announced a major shakeup of its entry rules for international visitors, ending the sweeping 60-day visa-free exemption that has been in place for travelers from 93 countries since July 2024. That policy was introduced as a core government initiative to reignite the country’s critical tourism sector after it was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but just a year after implementation, officials have approved plans to roll back the broad exemption and replace it with a customized, country-by-country system that tailors maximum allowed stays based on reciprocal agreements between Thailand and individual nations.

The Thai government cited two key drivers for the policy reversal: growing national security concerns tied to a string of high-profile arrests of foreign nationals linked to transnational crime, and widespread confusion created by overlapping multiple visa exemption rules that left many travelers unsure of their entry eligibility. In recent months, Thai law enforcement has detained dozens of foreign citizens for a range of illegal activities, from drug smuggling and sex trafficking to unauthorized employment. High-profile cases have included UK nationals charged with moving illicit substances, and a raid on an unlicensed international school in Bangkok in April this year that resulted in the arrest of 10 foreign teachers working without valid work permits.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed the change, noting that a policy review found the original 60-day exemption needed adjustments “to be more suitable for the current situation, both in terms of the economy and national security.” Under the new framework, most travelers that previously qualified for the 60-day entry — including citizens of major source markets such as Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Spain, the United States, and the United Kingdom — will only be allowed to stay visa-free for up to 30 days. Travelers hoping to stay longer than that window will be required to apply for an official visa in advance of their trip. A small number of nationalities will receive adjusted exemption periods, either shorter or longer than the 30-day standard, aligned with existing reciprocal travel agreements between Thailand and their home countries.

The new rules will officially go into effect 15 days after they are published in the Royal Gazette, Thailand’s official publication for all legal and regulatory announcements. Thai foreign ministry officials added that the overhaul will eliminate conflicting overlapping exemption terms that previously created unnecessary confusion for international visitors planning trips to the country.

Tourism has long functioned as one of the foundational pillars of Thailand’s national economy, drawing nearly 40 million international visitors in pre-pandemic 2019 before global border closures sent arrivals plummeting. The sector has only steadily rebuilt over the past two years, with official data showing nearly 12 million international travelers have already entered the country in 2025 as of the latest count, putting the recovery on solid but still incomplete footing compared to pre-COVID volumes.

19 5 月, 2026
US, Iran trade threats but Trump says Tehran wants peace deal

The escalating standoff between the United States and Iran has entered a tense new chapter, with the two nations trading sharp military threats even as fragile, Pakistan-mediated diplomatic efforts continue to search for a path to peace. In a dramatic announcement from the White House on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump revealed he had halted a planned major US military strike against Iran just one hour before it was set to launch, and warned that new attacks could resume within days if no deal is reached.

The conflict between the two nations, which first erupted on February 28, has been in a fragile ceasefire since April 8. Trump told reporters that he agreed to delay the assault at the request of Gulf regional leaders, who told him serious negotiations were already underway. “You know how it is to negotiate with a country where you’re beating them badly. They come to the table, they’re begging to make a deal,” Trump said. He added that he remains hopeful a new conflict can be avoided, but did not rule out a major new strike: “I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to give them another big hit. I’m not sure yet.”

Trump set a loose deadline of two to three days, potentially stretching into early next week, for parties to reach an agreement, and said he has ordered the US military to remain on standby for a full-scale large-scale assault if talks collapse. The US leader has repeatedly signaled he wants to exit the conflict, which has become a significant political liability. Iran’s continued control of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical global energy chokepoints, has sent oil prices soaring, raising costs for American consumers and roiling global energy markets.

Iran quickly hit back at Trump’s threats. Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia warned that if the US resumes offensive military action, Iran will open “new fronts” against American interests across the region. Akraminia added that Iran’s military has used the weeks-long ceasefire period to significantly strengthen its combat capabilities. Senior Iranian diplomat Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed Trump’s framing on social media platform X, writing that the US leader was absurdly “calling a ‘threat’ a ‘chance for peace’.”

Thus far, only one round of negotiations has been held between Tehran and Washington since the ceasefire went into effect, and it ended without any breakthrough agreement. Iran has repeatedly rejected US terms, while maintaining its core demands: the full release of billions of dollars in Iranian assets frozen overseas, the permanent lifting of decades-long US economic sanctions, and payment of war reparations for damage inflicted during the conflict.

Details of the latest US proposal, released by Iranian state media, show deep divides remain between the two sides. Iran’s Fars news agency described the US offer as having “excessive” terms and containing no meaningful US concessions. The five-point US draft includes demands that Iran shutter all but one of its nuclear facilities and transfer its entire stockpile of highly enriched uranium to US control, while refusing to release even 25 percent of frozen Iranian assets or commit to any war reparations, the report said. However, Iranian news outlet Tasnim later reported that the US did make one small concession: agreeing to waive oil sanctions on Iran while formal negotiations are ongoing.

The rising tensions have spilled over to other nations in the Persian Gulf. The United Arab Emirates’ defense ministry confirmed Tuesday that a recent drone attack on the country’s Barakah nuclear power plant, carried out on May 17, 2026, was launched from Iraqi territory. Senior Emirati officials have previously pointed to Iran or its regional proxy groups, which Tehran supports and have launched repeated attacks on Gulf states throughout the conflict, as the culprits. Iran has also ramped up other regional military pressure: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s ideological military arm, announced Monday it would require permits for all international fiber-optic internet cables that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that could disrupt global digital communications. The IRGC also said it struck US- and Israel-linked militant groups in Iran’s Kurdistan province near the Iraqi border, claiming the groups were attempting to smuggle American weapons into Iranian territory.

Qatar, another major target of Iranian military action during the conflict, has called for more time for diplomatic efforts. Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said Doha believes that the Pakistani-mediated negotiation process needs additional time to make progress. Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has confirmed that indirect talks between Tehran and Washington are continuing through Pakistan as a mediator, and said Iran has clearly communicated its core concerns to the US side.

Despite the mutual threats, both sides have left the door open to continued talks, leaving the region in a tense waiting game as the Trump deadline approaches.

19 5 月, 2026
Three Canadian off-duty officers arrested in Spain over ‘serious’ allegations

A high-profile incident involving three Canadian law enforcement officers has sparked scrutiny after the group was criminally charged during a personal vacation in Barcelona, Spain, Toronto Police Service has confirmed. In an official emailed statement to the BBC, Toronto police acknowledged that the accusations against the trio are severe in nature. One of the three officers has already returned to Canada and has been placed on administrative suspension immediately pending the outcome of the legal process. The remaining two officers are set to return to Canada in the coming days, and will also be suspended as soon as they re-enter the country, according to department officials.

Toronto Police have declined to release the identities of the three officers, noting that no further comment will be provided while the cases work through the Spanish judicial system. Initial reporting from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), citing sources within Spanish law enforcement, indicates the charges center on acts of violence. The BBC has reached out to local Spanish authorities to request additional context and comment on the case, but has not yet received a response.

Beyond confirming the officers’ employment with Toronto Police and that the trip was strictly personal leisure travel with no official law enforcement mandate, the department has released few additional details. More specific reporting from CBC outlines the individual charges: two of the three officers face counts of sexual assault and assault that resulted in bodily injury, while the third officer is charged with assaulting a public authority agent. The alleged incident is reported to have taken place inside a Barcelona taxi and involved a sex worker, according to Canadian media accounts.

Spanish law enforcement took two of the officers into custody on May 13, Canadian media sources confirm. The third officer was arrested days later following a police chase in the coastal resort city of Palma de Mallorca, located on the Balearic Islands off Spain’s eastern coast. All three officers made their initial court appearance in Spain on May 15.

19 5 月, 2026
UK trade minister hopes Britain will rejoin EU ‘in my lifetime’

Almost a decade after the United Kingdom’s narrow 2016 vote to leave the European Union, the long-dormant debate over Brexit has exploded back into British political life, with a senior cabinet minister adding his voice to growing calls for the country to ultimately rejoin the bloc.

Speaking to Agence France-Presse during a visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg for talks with legislators on strengthening post-Brexit bilateral ties, British Trade Secretary Chris Bryant made the unprecedented remark that he hopes to see Britain readmitted as a full EU member during his lifetime. The 64-year-old minister, who admitted that his “heart broke on the night of the Brexit vote”, went further than Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s current official stance. Starmer, whose Labour Party has sought to carve out a middle ground on the issue, has pushed for incremental alignment with the EU but has stopped short of backing a new membership application or a return to the European single market.

Bryant’s comments came on the heels of a high-profile call from outgoing Health Secretary Wes Streeting, one of Starmer’s potential successors as Labour leader, who publicly backed rejoining over the weekend. The dual statements have thrown the divisive Brexit issue back to the center of British politics at a moment of severe instability for Starmer’s government. Fresh off of disappointing local election results for Labour earlier this month, dozens of the party’s Members of Parliament have publicly called on Starmer to step down, creating open leadership turmoil just two years into Labour’s current term of office.

In his interview, Bryant did not shy away from the economic costs of Brexit, which he argued have created massive headwinds for the UK. Pointing to official data showing that more than 16,000 British firms have ceased exporting to the European single market since the split, he described Brexit as “an own goal for us”. While the Labour government has prioritized expanding trade partnerships with third countries ranging from South Korea to Turkey to Switzerland, Bryant emphasized that the EU still accounts for 47 percent of the UK’s total trade — a volume no other combination of partners can match. “That’s what we need to get right,” he added.

The minister also acknowledged that any path to rejoining remains a long-term prospect, conceding, “We’re not going to be doing that this summer.” But he rejected the idea that the current domestic political upheaval would derail the UK’s gradual push for a reset of relations with Brussels. Confident in the long-term trajectory, Bryant noted that Labour’s current parliamentary mandate runs through 2029, and argued that any future Labour government — whether led by Starmer or a successor — would prioritize deeper integration with the EU.

Pro-EU forces have gained new momentum in recent months amid shifting global dynamics. As former US President Donald Trump’s foreign policy has injected deep uncertainty into long-standing transatlantic alliances, pressure has grown for the UK to rebuild closer institutional ties with the EU. London and Brussels are already scheduled to hold their second bilateral summit this coming summer, building on the May 2025 meeting that delivered tangible progress: a new agreement to deepen defense and security cooperation, and a rollback of post-Brexit frictions on food trade.

Not surprisingly, the new calls for rejoining have already drawn fierce pushback from prominent Brexit supporters. Nigel Farage, the face of the 2016 Leave campaign and now leader of the hard-right, anti-immigration Reform UK party, has already attacked Streeting’s comments, accusing him of seeking to “drag” the country back into the EU against the 2016 result. The reemergence of the Brexit issue sets the stage for a bitter new domestic political fight that could reshape the trajectory of UK-EU relations for years to come.

19 5 月, 2026
Race to find vaccines, treatments for Ebola strain behind outbreak

A rapidly worsening outbreak of a little-known Ebola strain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has triggered an urgent global push among scientists to develop and deploy effective countermeasures that can curb the death toll and bring the crisis under control. As of this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that more than 130 people have already lost their lives to the outbreak, prompting the United States to issue a level 4 travel advisory warning all American citizens against visiting the affected regions.

This marks the 17th Ebola outbreak recorded in the DRC, but only the third caused by the Bundibugyo strain – a variant for which no vaccines or therapeutic treatments have yet won formal regulatory approval. While no licensed options currently exist, researchers have spent years developing a number of candidate products that have yet to undergo human testing, creating a pipeline of potential solutions that could be accelerated if sufficient support is secured.

The WHO has already begun reviewing all available candidates, including Ervebo, a widely deployed vaccine that targets the more common Zaire Ebola strain, which has been used successfully in multiple previous outbreaks. Thomas Geisbert, a virologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston who contributed to the development of Ervebo, has already designed a single-dose vaccine modeled on Ervebo that targets Bundibugyo. Preclinical research in non-human primates has shown the candidate provides robust protection against the strain. However, Geisbert explained that moving from preclinical research to mass manufacturing of doses for human use is a time-consuming and costly process, and major pharmaceutical companies have long had little financial incentive to invest in the product.

“ There hasn’t been an incentive for big pharma to jump in, because it’s not a money-maker, ” Geisbert told Agence France-Presse (AFP). He added that his research on the Bundibugyo candidate was first published back in 2013, and the project has sat dormant ever since – a pattern that mirrors his earlier work on what eventually became Ervebo. First published in 2005, Ervebo only garnered serious attention and investment during the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, which killed more than 11,300 people and became the largest Ebola outbreak in recorded history. After that outbreak began, U.S. pharmaceutical firm MSD (known as Merck in North America) was able to produce the first clinical doses in roughly nine months, and trials later confirmed the vaccine is 84% effective against the Zaire strain. Geisbert said he is optimistic that a similar accelerated timeline could produce usable doses of the Bundibugyo candidate in as little as six to seven months, if a pharmaceutical partner steps forward quickly. A spokesperson for MSD told AFP that independent data on Ervebo’s effectiveness against non-Zaire strains such as Bundibugyo remains limited, with no human data collected to date.

As the DRC outbreak expanded this week, a new potential candidate entered the conversation: a multi-strain mRNA vaccine developed by a team of Chinese researchers, whose findings were published in the *Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences* (PNAS) on Monday. The candidate leverages the mRNA platform that was widely refined and scaled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is designed to target the three most common Ebola strains, including Bundibugyo. While Connor Bamford, a virologist at Queen’s University Belfast, praised the research effort, he noted that mRNA vaccines remain costly to produce and require strict cold-chain storage – two factors that could severely limit their deployment in low-resource regions like rural DRC. Geisbert added that the new mRNA candidate has only been tested in mice so far, and positive results in mouse models frequently fail to translate to larger animals, let alone human populations.

Another team of researchers at the University of Oxford is also working to advance a candidate, partnering with the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer by volume, to ready a viral vector vaccine named ChAdOx1 BDBV for deployment as quickly as possible. “ We are working through the logistics at pace, ” Teresa Lambe, head of vaccine immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group, told AFP, though she noted that no precise timeline for rollout is available yet.

Beyond vaccines, researchers are also moving quickly to launch clinical trials for two experimental therapeutic treatments for Bundibugyo, under a trial sponsored by the WHO. Amanda Rojek, an Oxford researcher working on the trial, told *Nature* this week that the team is working around the clock to launch the trials as soon as possible, adding that the infrastructure and planning needed are already in place. One of the treatments being considered is remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral developed by U.S. firm Gilead Sciences that has already undergone human testing for the Zaire Ebola strain, though it has never been tested for Bundibugyo. Even so, Geisbert said that in vitro lab testing his team conducted found remdesivir is actually more effective against Bundibugyo than it is against Zaire. The second candidate is MBP134, a monoclonal antibody developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical that is specifically designed to target multiple Ebola species, including Bundibugyo. Geisbert, who has also tested MBP134 in preclinical research, called the drug “ fantastic, ” noting that it effectively protected non-human primates from death even when administered after infection had already set in. Any clinical trials in affected regions will require formal approval from both the DRC and Ugandan governments before they can begin.

19 5 月, 2026
Bolivia’s capital under siege as protests and blockades deepen crisis for President Paz

Six months after Rodrigo Paz took office as Bolivia’s president, the South American nation is grappling with its most severe political and humanitarian crisis in decades, as nationwide protests and coordinated road blockades have left the country’s administrative capital La Paz effectively under siege. What began as scattered demands from disparate labor and social groups has evolved into a full-scale movement calling for Paz’s resignation, amplified by the shadow of influential former president Evo Morales, who is currently evading arrest on sexual assault charges.

The unrest has stretched into its third week, led by a coalition of Bolivia’s largest labor union, the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB), peasant unions, and mining groups. The sustained road closures have gutted local markets in La Paz, drained critical oxygen supplies at the capital’s hospitals, and already claimed at least three lives: emergency response vehicles were blocked from reaching medical facilities, leaving patients without urgent care. On Monday, clashes broke out between police and Morales supporters who joined the mass mobilization in the capital, intensifying pressure on a beleaguered administration that holds no legislative majority and lacks a cohesive, nationwide political party structure.

For Paz, a business-friendly centrist who won office last year as part of a broader regional wave of conservative electoral gains, the uprising represents the existential threat of his young presidency. Despite his warning Friday that “Those seeking to destroy democracy will go to jail,” blockades have since expanded to cover nearly the entire country, leaving more than 5,000 vehicles stranded on national highways and draining the national economy of an estimated $50 million every single day, according to local business associations.

The demands driving the protest are varied across participating groups. The COB initially called for significant wage hikes, while peasant groups have demanded a consistent, affordable supply of gasoline. Miners are pushing for expanded access to untapped mining territories, and public school teachers are conducting separate negotiations for salary increases. Presidential spokesperson José Luis Gálvez argues that most of these demands have already been addressed responsibly in line with Bolivia’s current economic constraints, claiming “dark forces” aligned with Morales are deliberately destabilizing the elected government.

Paz has repeatedly emphasized that he inherited a “bankrupt state” from the previous government led by Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). His critics, however, decry his slow, ineffective response to a national crisis that has seen annual inflation climb near 20% and persistent fuel shortages – the worst economic downturn the country has faced in 40 years. A damaging early controversy, dubbed the “junk gasoline” scandal, further eroded public trust: the government imported low-quality fuel that damaged thousands of vehicles, sparking initial transport strikes and forcing the resignation of two senior executives at the state-owned oil company.

Morales, who led the MAS government for 14 years before leaving office in 2019, has emerged as the most high-profile figure behind the current unrest, organizing the latest mass march from his remote hideout in the Bolivian tropics. The former president has evaded an arrest warrant for 18 months stemming from allegations that he sexually abused a 15-year-old girl, charges he dismisses as politically motivated fabrication. In a recent post on social media platform X, Morales pushed back against claims he has lost his political influence, saying, “The government and the right wing claim that I am a political corpse and that I lack the ability to mobilize anyone, yet they continue to blame me. As long as structural demands — such as those concerning fuel, food and inflation — remain unaddressed, the uprising will not be quelled.” Most independent political analysts, however, argue Morales no longer holds the broad popular support he once commanded, and is instead stoking unrest primarily to distract from his legal troubles and avoid imprisonment.

The collapse of the MAS, which governed Bolivia for 20 years before splitting into factions led by Morales and former president Luis Arce, left Bolivia’s political landscape deeply fragmented, with no single party holding a clear governing majority. Paz’s surprise electoral victory last year quickly unraveled when his own political vehicle, the Christian Democratic Party, fractured soon after he took office. Compounding his governing challenges, Paz is also locked in a public, bitter feud with his own vice president, former police officer Edman Lara.

Early in his term, Paz positioned himself as a reformer, moving quickly to end the country’s international isolation that marked the MAS era and court foreign investment and loans. While he secured multiple pledges of international financial support, most of those funds have yet to materialize in Bolivian coffers. His first major domestic policy move, cutting long-standing fuel subsidies to stabilize public finances, did initially avoid mass unrest, but the subsequent low-quality fuel import scandal undermined what early goodwill he had with the public.

The crisis has drawn significant attention and response from across Latin America and the United States. Eight Latin American governments, ranging from Chile to Costa Rica, released a joint statement rejecting “any action aimed at destabilizing the democratic order.” Neighboring Argentina has stepped in to launch a week-long humanitarian airlift to bring critical supplies to Bolivia and alleviate widespread shortages of food and medical goods. The United States, which is rebuilding diplomatic and economic ties with Bolivia after decades of tense relations under Morales, has expressed public support for Paz’s efforts to “restore order for the peace, security and stability of the Bolivian people,” while also issuing a travel alert urging U.S. citizens in the country to exercise heightened caution amid ongoing unrest.

19 5 月, 2026
Praise for inspirational boy who saved family from drowning

A 13-year-old Australian teenager whose quick thinking and incredible grit saved his family after a terrifying ocean incident has received high honors from Ireland’s top political leadership during a recent meeting. Austin Appelbee, who swam miles through open water to summon rescuers when his family was swept out to sea off Australia’s West Coast, sat down with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin on Tuesday.

Martin took to social media platform X to share his reaction after the meeting, saying he considered it a profound privilege to meet the young teen. Calling Austin a truly exceptional young person, Martin highlighted that the teen displayed remarkable courage at the exact moment his family depended on him most. “Austin’s story is a vital reminder of the importance of water safety for all outdoor enthusiasts, and his bravery stands as an inspiration to people of every age across the world,” Martin added.

The near-tragedy that brought Austin international attention unfolded on January 30, when Austin, his mother Joanne – a native of Ireland’s County Monaghan – his 12-year-old brother Beau and 8-year-old sister Grace were out paddleboarding when a current pulled the entire group far out into open water. Trapped in a dangerous situation that stretched on for 10 long hours, Joanne instructed her eldest son to make the treacherous journey back to shore to call for emergency help.

Though Austin initially set out in a kayak, the small vessel capsized in rough conditions, forcing the 13-year-old to swim the final 4 kilometers (nearly 2.5 miles) to reach safety. Speaking to the BBC shortly after the rescue, Austin downplayed his heroism, saying he simply did what any family member would do. “I didn’t think I was a hero – I just did what I had to do,” he explained at the time. “I was only thinking about my mum, Beau and Grace. I was also thinking about my friends and my girlfriend – I have a really good bunch of people around me.”

Two weeks before his meeting with Martin, the entire Appelbee family traveled back to Ireland for an emotional surprise family reunion, and even appeared as guests on Ireland’s iconic RTÉ talk show *The Late Late Show*. During the interview, Joanne opened up about the sheer terror of the experience, sharing that every parent’s worst fear raced through her mind while they were trapped at sea. “It’s every mother’s nightmare,” she told the audience.

Austin’s heroism has been widely celebrated across Ireland in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Monaghan County Council held a formal civic reception in his honor, with council chair Cllr PJ O’Hanlon saying the entire local government was deeply honored to recognize Austin’s incredible display of courage. “Austin’s actions were nothing short of heroic and his bravery serves as an inspiration to us all,” O’Hanlon noted.

Irish acting President Catherine Connolly also recognized the teen’s courage, sending a personal letter of commendation that praised his immense bravery. In the letter, Connolly wrote that Austin’s story of courage has spread across the globe, and has become a source of both inspiration and national pride for Irish communities everywhere who have learned of his actions.

19 5 月, 2026
Ghana to face Ivory Coast in Afcon 2027 qualifying

The draw for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers has delivered one of the tournament’s most anticipated group-stage matchups, pairing regional heavyweights Ghana and Ivory Coast in a tough Group C that will test both sides’ credentials ahead of the finals. Jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the 2027 tournament will run from June 19 to July 17, marking a new chapter for African football that comes amid lingering uncertainty over the result of the controversial 2025 edition.

Ghana, colloquially known as the Black Stars, found itself unseeded for the Cairo draw after dropping down FIFA’s global rankings in the wake of its failure to qualify for the 2023-24 Afcon held in Morocco. Joining Ghana and Ivory Coast in Group C are 2021 quarter-finalists The Gambia, who impressed on their tournament debut three years ago, and Somalia, making the four-team group one of the most challenging on paper. Former Ivory Coast international Max-Alain Gradel, who won the 2021 Afcon title with the Elephants on home soil and served as a draw assistant in Cairo, acknowledged the toughness of the matchup. “Why always us? This group is a difficult group,” Gradel said, adding: “But we will do everything that we can to qualify. I believe in the team so there is no problem.”

A total of 48 national teams entered qualifying, split into 12 four-team groups. Under standard qualifying rules, the top two teams from each group would advance to the 24-team finals. However, the structure is adjusted to accommodate the three co-host nations, who already receive automatic qualification. For the groups containing Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, only one additional qualifying spot will be up for grabs, raising the stakes for seeded teams drawn alongside the hosts. Powerhouses Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia all face tight qualification battles after being placed in groups with one of the three co-hosts. Kenya, for its part, will face Eritrea — which is returning to Afcon qualifying for the first time since the preliminary rounds for the 2008 tournament — alongside Guinea and South Africa in Group A.

Other notable draw results include record seven-time Afcon champions Egypt being placed with Angola, Malawi and South Sudan in Group B, while 2021 champions Senegal will face Mozambique, Sudan and Ethiopia in Group J. Defending (but disputed) 2025 champions Morocco will face Gabon, Niger and Lesotho in Group A.

The qualifying schedule will unfold over three international windows across the next 10 months: the first two matchdays will run between September 21 and October 6, 2026, followed by matchdays three and four from November 9 to 17, 2026, with the final two qualification rounds set for March 22 to 30, 2027.

Beyond the 2027 qualifying draw, African football still faces unresolved fallout from the 2025 Afcon final, which finished in dramatic and controversial fashion. Senegal defeated hosts Morocco 1-0 in extra time on January 18, but the match was marred by a penalty decision that sparked a 17-minute delay after multiple Senegal players walked off the pitch in protest. While Brahim Diaz saw his late stoppage-time penalty saved, a Confederation of African Football (CAF) appeals board ruled in March that Senegal had breached tournament regulations, awarding Morocco a 3-0 walkover victory and the 2025 title. The Senegalese Football Federation has rejected CAF’s ruling and appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which has not yet issued a final judgment on the dispute.

Recent organizational changes to Afcon have also been confirmed: CAF has announced that starting in 2028, the tournament will be held every four years, adjusting from its current every-two-years schedule, and CAF president Patrice Motsepe has stated that organizational deficiencies seen in the 2025 final have already been addressed.

19 5 月, 2026
Drone attack kills 28 at market in southern Sudan

On a routine Tuesday in the Sudanese town of Ghubaysh, a drone attack tore through a crowded public market in West Kordofan, leaving 28 civilians dead and 23 others injured, according to medical sources and witness accounts shared with Agence France-Presse. The strike ranks among the deadliest attacks on non-combatants since Sudan’s brutal civil war entered its fourth year in April 2025.

Ghubaysh falls under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group that has been locked in a devastating power struggle with Sudan’s regular military since April 2023. Local medical personnel confirmed that all casualties, both dead and wounded, were transported to the town’s main hospital for treatment immediately after the attack.

Witnesses painted a harrowing picture of sudden, indiscriminate destruction in the town’s central commercial hub, where thousands of local residents rely on daily trade for food and essential goods. Two witnesses confirmed that a drone hit a popular packed restaurant within the market, and both laid blame for the attack at the feet of the Sudanese military. A third witness described a possible two-stage strike pattern: an initial blast targeting an RSF vehicle that killed three people, followed seconds later by a second explosion that hit the crowded restaurant.

Sudanese legal advocacy organization Emergency Lawyers noted that the strike hit a critical market that serves as the primary source of food and basic supplies for thousands of civilian households in the area. A spokesperson for the Sudanese military quickly issued a denial of responsibility, stating that the armed forces only conduct targeted strikes against legitimate military objectives, such as enemy vehicles and weapons storage facilities. An alliance aligned with the RSF issued a formal condemnation of the attack, accusing the military of carrying out a systematic campaign of intentional strikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure, a clear violation of international humanitarian law.

Tuesday’s fatal attack comes as drone warfare has emerged as an increasingly dominant tactic in Sudan’s expanding conflict, with both the RSF and the military routinely deploying unmanned aerial strikes across widening front lines. United Nations data shows that between January and April 2025 alone, drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths – more than 80 percent of all conflict-related civilian fatalities recorded in that period.

Fighting has escalated sharply in recent months across southern Kordofan and the southeastern state of Blue Nile, a shift that followed the RSF’s capture of El-Fasher last October. El-Fasher was the Sudanese military’s last major stronghold in the western Darfur region, and its fall opened the door for expanded operations across central Sudan.

The broader Kordofan region holds major strategic and economic importance: it holds significant oil deposits, large swathes of arable agricultural land, and hosts the RSF’s most powerful paramilitary allies. It also acts as a critical geographic link connecting the RSF’s established strongholds in Darfur to the army-controlled eastern half of the country. The RSF already holds full control of West Kordofan, and has been pushing eastward for months in an attempt to seize Sudan’s central supply corridor. The military has mounted a fierce counteroffensive, breaking RSF sieges on two key cities in South Kordofan and working to cut off the RSF’s critical supply lines connecting their forces to Darfur.

Now in its fourth year, the conflict has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Sudanese people and forced more than 11 million to flee their homes, creating what the United Nations has labeled one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes on the globe today. Compounding the crisis, Sudan is currently facing the world’s largest acute hunger emergency: a UN-backed food security monitor, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), estimates that nearly 20 million Sudanese – roughly two out of every five people in the country – are currently experiencing severe acute food insecurity.

Just last week, the UN issued a stark warning that without immediate, large-scale international intervention, the already catastrophic crisis could spiral into an even greater human tragedy. Famine was officially declared last year in both El-Fasher and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan. The IPC has further warned that 14 additional areas across Darfur and South Kordofan face imminent famine risk if fighting continues to escalate, access to food, medical care and clean water keeps deteriorating, and mass civilian displacement accelerates.

Since October 2024, more than 300,000 people have fled frontline combat zones including El-Fasher, parts of Kordofan and Blue Nile, according to UN figures. As the war grinds on with no diplomatic breakthrough or clear military resolution in sight, the human cost of the conflict continues to climb at an alarming rate.

19 5 月, 2026
‘Not a big fan’ – Top Senate Republican breaks with Trump on $1.8bn compensation fund

A high-stakes political rift has emerged within the Republican Party, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune has become the most prominent member of former President Donald Trump’s own party to publicly oppose the newly unveiled $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” a initiative created to compensate people the Trump administration claims were unfairly targeted by prior U.S. presidential administrations.

Thune’s public criticism marks the most significant intraparty pushback against the plan to date. Speaking with reporters on Capitol Hill, the top Senate Republican made his stance clear: he is “not a big fan” of the fund and sees no clear justification for its existence. He added that he remains uncertain of the fund’s intended use, and called for a rigorous full vetting process by congressional lawmakers, noting that the widespread backlash following the announcement guarantees the proposal will face intense scrutiny moving forward.

The fund was announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Justice, as part of a deal that saw Trump drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the 2020s leak of his personal tax returns to national media outlets. Under the terms of the agreement, Trump, his adult sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization — all named plaintiffs in the original suit — will receive a formal apology from the agency, but no direct financial compensation. The $1.776 billion funding amount was intentionally chosen to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States’ 1776 declaration of independence from Great Britain.

Governance of the fund will fall to a five-member commission, four of which will be directly appointed by the U.S. Attorney General, a structure that has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers across the aisle. Democrats have already decried the initiative as an unaccountable “slush fund” designed to direct taxpayer dollars to Trump’s political allies, including many who faced criminal charges or convictions for their role in the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund during a Tuesday congressional hearing, pushing back against Democratic claims of partisan bias. Blanche argued the initiative is explicitly non-partisan, stressing that no groups are barred from filing claims, including Democrats. While he acknowledged the fund structure is unusual, he noted it is not without precedent in U.S. governance.

Democratic lawmakers rejected Blanche’s defense, with senior Washington Senator Patty Murray calling the initiative open, blatant political corruption. “Trump and his cronies cash it. American taxpayers who are already being whacked with high prices are going to foot the bill,” Murray said during the hearing.

The controversy has already sparked personnel upheaval: just hours after the fund was announced on Monday, Brian Morrissey, general counsel for the U.S. Treasury Department, resigned abruptly after just seven months on the job. Morrissey has not publicly shared his reason for stepping down, but a Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed his departure, noting he served the agency with “honour and integrity.”

19 5 月, 2026