Afghanistan
(RFE/RL) Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have closed down three local radio stations in the latest move in an ongoing crackdown that has seen the country’s media landscape decimated since the militant group seized power for a second time in 2021. The radio stations — Tahsin al-Quran, Sanga, and Zama Ziwer — were operating in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province, the Taliban’s birthplace and stronghold. In a statement on May 24, the Taliban’s Department of Information and Culture accused the radio stations of failure to pay their taxes, not being licensed, and of substandard broadcasting. – Taliban Closes Radio Stations In Ongoing Media Clampdown
Belarus Opposition Leader – Ukraine
(RFE/RL) Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya arrived in Kyiv on May 25, the exiled Belarusian opposition leader’s first trip to Ukraine more than four years into the all-out Russian invasion. Ahead of meeting with top Ukrainian officials, Tsikhanouskaya laid flowers at the Kyiv grave of Maria Zaytsava, a Belarusian woman who participated in anti-government protests in Minsk and was killed while fighting for Ukraine in 2025. – Amid Mounting Tensions Between Kyiv And Minsk, Belarus Opposition Leader Tsikhanouskaya Visits Ukraine
China – Pakistan
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) China’s President Xi Jinping hailed Beijing’s “unbreakable” friendship with Pakistan on Monday as he met visiting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, seeking to deepen their “all-weather” partnership. Pakistan is among an exclusive group of countries China regards as an “all-weather strategic partner,” with ties featuring close economic, trade and security cooperation. But repeated extremist militant attacks on Chinese nationals and projects in the South Asian country have emerged as an irritant, while Islamabad’s warming ties with Washington have added complexity to its ties with Beijing. – Xi hails ‘unbreakable’ Pakistan ties, praises role in Iran peace efforts
Europe – China
(Giorgio Leali – Politico) A France-led group of five EU countries is calling on Brussels to make a broader use of tariffs and other defensive measures to take on China and other countries’ abusive trade practices. In a joint non-paper seen by POLITCO, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Lithuania urged the EU to launch probes into unfair trade practices more frequently. The document, which was shared with the European Commission and other member countries on Friday, also proposed the creation of new, more defensive trade tools. The non-paper was issued at a moment when the European Commission is working on a “more assertive and effective trade defense policy” to deal with Beijing. Brussels is due to hold an internal strategy debate on the competitive threat posed by China next Friday. – Five EU countries call for tougher trade weapons to tackle China – POLITICO
Israel – Lebanon
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume bombing Beirut in response to increased explosive drone attacks by Hezbollah on Israeli troops and northern Israel towns. Smotrich’s comments came after an Israeli soldier was killed by a Hezbollah drone attack on Sunday. Israeli media reported that Smotrich made similar remarks at a cabinet meeting on Sunday. “The explosive drones harming our fighters are not a decree of fate,” he said in a statement. “For every explosive drone, 10 buildings should fall in Beirut.” – Israeli right-wing ministers urge Netanyahu to resume Beirut strikes to counter Hezbollah
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said Israel’s withdrawal from the country’s south was a “non-negotiable” demand that authorities would pursue through negotiations, days ahead of a new round of talks in Washington. In a statement commemorating Israel’s previous withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 after some two decades of occupation, Aoun said that “this year, the anniversary of the liberation comes as Lebanon is weighed down by a painful reality.”. “Israeli attacks have not stopped and our dear southern villages are still suffering under a renewed occupation,” he said. – Lebanon president says Israeli withdrawal ‘non-negotiable’
Russia – Ukraine
(AFP/Al Arabiya) Ukrainian strikes on Monday killed six people, including two children, in occupied Ukraine, as well as in the Russian border regions of Belgorod and Bryansk, local authorities said. Ukraine regularly targets Russia in retaliation for the daily bombardments it has been subjected to since the start of the large-scale Russian offensive in February 2022. Four people, among them two children, were killed in the frontline town of Gorlivka in the occupied Donetsk region, said the local Moscow-installed administration. – Ukrainian strikes kill six in Russia, occupied Ukraine
War in Iran
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told confidants in private conversations that Israel has little ability to influence Donald Trump’s decision-making on Iran as the US president negotiates a deal in the nearly three-month-old war, two sources said. Netanyahu’s comments, described to Reuters by two Israeli officials with knowledge of the conversations, come as Israel has largely been left out of talks to reach an initial deal to halt a war that began with joint US-Israeli bombardment. – Netanyahu admits difficulty influencing Trump decisions on Iran, sources say
(Reuters/Al Arabiya) Iranian top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on a potential US-Iran deal to end the conflict, an official briefed on the visit said on Monday. – Iran’s Ghalibaf, Araghchi in Doha for talks on possible US-Iran deal, official says
(Al Arabiya) The expected announcement of a potential US-Iran agreement has been delayed partly because of the difficulty of communicating with Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to be living under tight security in a secret bunker. – Iran’s supreme leader in secret ‘bunker,’ reachable only through couriers: Report
