Early reports indicate that the pilot of a US F-15 fighter aircraft downed over Iran has been rescued, though this remains unconfirmed. If verified, this would mark the latest incident in the long history of US Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) missions conducted over decades, highlighting the ongoing risks and complexities of military operations in hostile regions.
US President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled his 2027 budget proposal, aiming to boost defense spending to $1.5 trillion (€1.3 trillion). This request comes five weeks into the US-Israel war with Iran and would lift military spending by more than 40% in a single year—the steepest increase since World War II.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning regarding the threat to Iranian health facilities from US-Israeli attacks during the ongoing conflict, following assaults on one of Tehran's oldest research and health institutions, the Pasteur Institute. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in a post on X that "multiple attacks" on Iran's health facilities had been reported in Tehran, with the Pasteur Institute having "sustained significant damage and was rendered unable to continue delivering health services."
More than two dozen Democrat-led states have filed a lawsuit against the administration of United States President Donald Trump to block an executive order imposing new limits on mail-in ballots. Friday's legal action comes as voting rights groups charge that Trump is allegedly seeking to make voting more difficult ahead of the consequential midterm elections in November. Trump, meanwhile, has argued that his efforts are purportedly meant to counter rampant voter fraud in US elections, a claim that contradicts findings from independent monitors.
The medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has denounced a drone attack on a hospital in the south-central part of war-torn Sudan that killed 10 people. The attack on Thursday involved two strikes on Al Jabalain Hospital in White Nile State, hitting an operating theatre and a maternity ward, MSF said in a statement on Friday, adding the assault was “reportedly” carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The Uffizi Galleries in Florence have confirmed they were subjected to a cyber-attack but denied reports that the security systems protecting their famous artworks had been compromised. The museum administration stressed that no damage or theft occurred, despite hackers reportedly infiltrating its IT systems and accessing sensitive security data.
A major gathering of Muslims in northern Paris is proceeding as planned after a French administrative court overturned a government attempt to ban it. The Paris police department had argued that the four-day Annual Encounter of Muslims of France posed a security threat, claiming it could be a target for terrorism in what they described as a particularly tense international and national context.
Burkina Faso's military ruler, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has launched a scathing critique of democracy in an interview aired on state television, asserting that democracy "kills" and the people must "forget" it. Traoré, who seized power in a coup three years ago, suggested that most Africans do not desire the democratic system and that Burkina Faso has its own, alternative approach, though he provided no specifics. He initially pledged to restore democratic rule by July 2024, but two months prior to this deadline, the junta announced it would extend its rule for another five years, further consolidating military control.
US President Donald Trump has removed Attorney General Pam Bondi, a longtime ally and fierce defender of his administration, from her post as the nation's top law enforcement officer. Trump praised her in a post on Truth Social and said she would be "transitioning" to a role in the private sector. This move comes as Bondi's tenure was often overshadowed by controversies surrounding the handling of files related to Jeffrey Epstein and the investigation into the convicted sex offender.
Hostility between Turkey and Armenia, stemming from the 1915 massacre of Armenians and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, has isolated the two neighbors for over a century. However, a cautious rapprochement began in 2022 after Armenia dropped its insistence that Turkey recognize the 1915 events as genocide. In 2023, Armenia signed a peace deal with Azerbaijan, leading Turkish businesses to hope for normalized relations and the opening of the border, closed for more than thirty years. Observers note that border crossings at Alican in Igdir Province and Akyaka in Kars Province, shut since the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, could reopen within months. Armenian media report that their government has completed preparations, while Turkish work is advanced but ongoing. If the border opens before Armenia's parliamentary elections in June, it would be a significant win for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has long pursued reconciliation with Turkey and closer ties with the West.
NASA has released the first high-resolution images of Earth captured by the Artemis II crew as they embark on their trip around the Moon. The "spectacular" images, taken by mission commander Reid Wiseman, were shared after the crew completed a final engine burn that set their trajectory toward our closest celestial neighbor.
More than 100 international law experts have signed an open letter expressing "profound concern" about serious violations of international law by the United States, Israel, and Iran in the Middle East war. The experts assert that the US-Israeli decision to attack Iran constitutes a clear breach of the United Nations Charter, which prohibits the use of force outside self-defence or without UN Security Council authorisation.