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The Kremlin applauds Trump’s security doctrine pivot, Chancellor Merz meets Netanyahu in Israel, and Baghdad is thrown into turmoil over terror designations for Hizbollah and Ansar Allah.

In Honduras, political crisis deepens over election fraud claims and mounting U.S. pressure.

 More below ⤵️

Top 5 Stories

1️⃣ 🇵🇸 🇮🇱 Trump’s Gaza plan nears second phase: As Israel and Hamas move toward phase two of a US-backed ceasefire plan for Gaza, the central dispute is over security: Hamas says it may freeze its weapons but will not accept an international force enforcing disarmament inside the territory. Israel, backed by Washington, is demanding full demilitarisation, while key elements of the proposed stabilisation force—its mandate, leadership, and timeline—remain undefined, leaving the next phase highly fragile.

2️⃣ 🇺🇸 🇨🇳 Hegseth declares ‘end of liberal interventionism’: At the Reagan Defence Forum, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth denounced decades of U.S. interventionist foreign policy, declaring the era of “utopian idealism” over and unveiling a shift toward hard-nosed realism focused on homeland and hemispheric defence. He signalled reduced military burden-sharing for allies, a more pragmatic stance toward China, deeper involvement in border and Caribbean operations, and massive reinvestment in defence production under Trump’s new security doctrine.

3️⃣ 🇨🇳 🇯🇵 China accused of radar-locking Japanese jets near Okinawa: Japan and China traded sharp diplomatic protests after Tokyo accused Chinese fighter jets of locking fire-control radar onto Japanese aircraft near Okinawa during PLA carrier drills. Beijing denied the claim, accused Japan of harassment, and warned against “hyping” the incident, as tensions continue to rise over Taiwan, disputed waters, and expanding military manoeuvres in the East China Sea.

4️⃣ 🇧🇯 🇳🇬 ECOWAS forces deploy after failed coup attempt in Benin: West African troops led by ECOWAS were rushed into Benin after mutinous soldiers briefly seized state television and declared the government dissolved, before loyalist forces regained control and arrested at least 14 suspects. Nigeria deployed fighter jets to secure Benin’s airspace at the president’s request, underscoring regional alarm as the country heads toward elections amid rising jihadist violence from the Sahel.

5️⃣ 🇹🇭 🇰🇭 Thailand launches airstrikes on Cambodian border after ceasefire collapse: Thailand has carried out airstrikes against military positions along its disputed border with Cambodia after fresh clashes, with both sides accusing the other of violating a Trump-brokered ceasefire. Cambodia says it has shown restraint despite repeated provocations, while tens of thousands of Thai civilians have been evacuated from the border. Regional leaders, including Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, are urging both sides to pull back before the escalation unravels the fragile truce.

Major Story

🇭🇳 🇺🇸 HONDURAS PLUNGES INTO CRISIS AMID ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS AND U.S. PRESSURE

Days after Honduras’s presidential election, the country remains without a declared winner as its post-vote crisis intensifies. Marlon Ochoa, a representative of the governing Libre Party on the three-member National Electoral Council (CNE), has accused the other two commissioners—aligned with the National and Liberal parties—of orchestrating what he called “monumental electoral fraud.” At the center of the dispute is the TREP results-transmission system, which has been repeatedly taken offline amid allegations of unauthorised software changes, disabled biometric verification, delayed tally sheets, and unexplained vote transfers. Ochoa claims these failures have compromised nearly a million votes, rendering the count fundamentally unreliable. 

The election remains officially too close to call, with conservative National Party candidate Nasry Asfura narrowly ahead of Liberal Party contender Salvador Nasralla after volatile swings in reporting. Honduran law allows up to 30 days for the CNE to certify a result, but mounting technical failures and public distrust are eroding confidence in that process.

Trump’s shadow over the vote

The crisis is further inflamed by the overt intervention of U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly endorsed Asfura after the polls and followed through on a promise to pardon former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, a convicted drug trafficker. Civil society groups such as COPINH argue the episode exposes Washington’s enduring grip over Honduras’s fragile democracy, warning that entrenched political and criminal elites are positioning to reclaim power regardless of the outcome.

Human rights observers report widespread public anger at the perception of U.S. coercion, particularly amid aggressive American immigration policies that leave many Honduran families vulnerable through their dependence on remittances.

A legitimacy crisis ahead

Whatever the final result, the next Honduran government is likely to inherit deep legitimacy deficits, heightened social tensions, and renewed questions about sovereignty. With fraud allegations unresolved and foreign pressure unmistakable, the credibility of the electoral system itself now hangs in the balance.

Other News

1️⃣ 🇷🇺 🇺🇸 Kremlin welcomes Trump security doctrine pivot: Russia has welcomed Donald Trump’s new U.S. national security strategy, saying it broadly mirrors Moscow’s worldview, particularly its rejection of NATO expansion and its emphasis on restoring strategic stability with Russia. The doctrine marks a sharp shift from past U.S. policy.

2️⃣ 🇮🇱 🇩🇪 Merz meets with Netanyahu in Israel: During his first official visit to Israel, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reiterated support for an eventual Palestinian state, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted by the ICC as a war criminal, again dismissed the two-state solution as a threat to Israel’s existence. 

3️⃣ 🇮🇶 🇮🇷 Baghdad stumbles into crisis over terror listings: Iraq’s caretaker government was thrown into turmoil after its official Gazette briefly listed Hizbollah and Yemen’s Houthis as terrorist organisations before abruptly retracting the designations, triggering fury from Iran-aligned factions and exposing deep tensions inside the state. Prime Minister Muhammad Shia’ Al-Sudani now faces accusations of bowing to US pressure as rival Shi’a groups, street protesters, and armed factions openly challenge his authority. 

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