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The conflict that erupted in April 2023 between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces has driven the country’s humanitarian situation to catastrophic levels, according to the international non‑governmental organisation Humanity & Inclusion.Three years on, the NGO warns that civilians are enduring a deepening crisis, while people with disabilities are confronting extreme challenges as violence continues, essential services crumble, and unexploded ordnance spreads across former battle zones.Humanity & Inclusion estimates that 11.6 million Sudanese have been displaced by the fighting, and that **more than 33 million people now require humanitarian assistance**—roughly half the nation’s population. By the end of January 2026, over **3 million displaced individuals had begun returning home**, including **700,000 who had fled abroad**. Most of these returns have been to states where hostilities have eased, such as Khartoum, the Blue Nile and Gezira regions.The organisation highlights that **4.6 million Sudanese—about 16 % of the total population—live with disabilities**. In conflict‑affected areas this proportion is likely higher due to war‑related injuries, trauma, and deteriorating health conditions. The NGO stresses that disabled persons “face extreme challenges in fleeing violence, accessing aid, and protecting themselves from harm,” and are often among “the first to be left behind,” exposing them to heightened risks of violence, abuse, discrimination and exclusion.Adding to the peril, Humanity & Inclusion points to the lingering presence of **explosive remnants of war**, describing them as a “new and deadly danger” for millions returning to their homes. Unexploded ordnance—including antipersonnel mines—has contaminated former front lines, residential areas, schools, hospitals, places of worship and roadways, severely restricting access to essential services and livelihoods.These findings underscore the urgent need for intensified humanitarian response, targeted protection measures for people with disabilities, and comprehensive clearance of explosive hazards to prevent further civilian casualties and enable the safe return of displaced populations.

The strategic Strait of Hormuz, linking the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, has become the focal point of the Israel‑U.S. war on Iran that began in February. In peacetime the narrow waterway handled about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments without any tolls, but the conflict has turned it into a contested zone. After a series of Israeli and U.S. strikes, Iran retaliated by targeting merchant vessels it deemed hostile, effectively shutting the passage and triggering one of the most severe energy‑distribution crises in recent memory. While a two‑week ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan, was declared on Tuesday, Tehran has issued a set of official terms that would govern the strait moving forward. According to Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghi, safe passage will be allowed in coordination with the Iranian armed forces and subject to technical limitations. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has even published a new navigation map that pushes traffic farther north, away from the traditional route near Oman’s coast, citing the risk of anti‑ship mines. Central to Tehran’s 10‑point peace proposal is the idea of charging fees for strait usage. Iranian media report that the plan could levy up to $2 million per vessel—a sum to be shared with Oman—or a charge of $1 per barrel of oil shipped. The revenue would allegedly fund reconstruction of military and civilian infrastructure damaged by the U.S.–Israeli campaign. Oman has publicly rejected any toll scheme, with Transport Minister Said Al‑Maawali reminding that the country has already signed all relevant international maritime transport agreements that prohibit such fees. International law adds another layer of complexity. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) prohibits levying charges for mere passage through international straits, allowing fees only for services like navigation assistance or port use. Neither the United States nor Iran have ratified UNCLOS, but the principle remains a benchmark for maritime norms. Analysts suggest a possible workaround: charging for de‑mining and safety services rather than for passage itself, which could be permissible under existing legal frameworks. The proposal has sparked diplomatic pushback. At the United Nations Security Council, Bahrain led a resolution urging coordinated reopening of the strait, backed by Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Jordan. The resolution passed with 11 of 15 votes, but was vetoed by Russia and China, who argued it unfairly targeted Iran and ignored the initial strikes. Beyond the region, the United States is unlikely to accept indefinite tolls. Former President Donald Trump, who announced the ceasefire, warned that U.S. forces would remain in the area and threatened to resume attacks if negotiations faltered. American troops are reportedly “hanging around” to assist with traffic buildup, though the extent of their operational control remains unclear. Maritime analyst C. Uday Bhaskar notes that only three to five ships have traversed the strait since the ceasefire began, underscoring the lingering uncertainty for global shippers. He adds that ship owners facing multi‑million‑dollar losses each day may ultimately acquiesce to Iran’s terms, at least temporarily. Should Iran implement a toll regime, the immediate impact would fall on Gulf oil‑producing nations, but the ripple effects could destabilize global energy markets, already strained by supply shocks. Major powers such as the United Kingdom have been coordinating with a coalition of 40 countries to explore alternative mechanisms for reopening the waterway without conceding to tolls. In sum, Iran’s proposed protocol for the Strait of Hormuz introduces a contentious new variable into an already volatile geopolitical landscape, pitting national security interests against established maritime law and the broader stability of world energy supplies.

A harrowing video captured by a 13-year-old girl has surfaced, showcasing the terrifying moment Israel bombed Beirut. The footage, obtained from aljazeera, provides a glimpse into the devastating impact of the airstrike on civilians in the Lebanese capital.The video, which has garnered significant attention, depicts the chaotic scene immediately following the bombing. The girl's documentation of the event serves as a poignant reminder of the human cost of conflict.The incident has sparked widespread concern and condemnation, with many calling for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the airstrike. The Israeli military has not publicly commented on the incident.

Residents of Tehran and much of Iran are breathing a sigh of relief after a two-week ceasefire was announced, bringing an end to daily bombardments. The ceasefire, agreed upon by Iran and the US with mediation from Pakistan, has allowed some traffic to return to the streets of the Iranian capital during daylight hours.Despite the temporary reprieve, Tehran remains far from its usual bustling state, having been targeted by several thousand munitions since February 28. The Iranian capital is home to more than 10 million people. Air defence systems were activated for short periods several times since the ceasefire was announced overnight, but there were no reports of impacts or any official explanation for the activations.People across Tehran are debating whether the ceasefire will hold and what the future may hold for them. A young man noted, “Looks like the ceasefire will continue. I heard the Israelis are opening up their airspace more,” referring to an announcement by Israeli authorities that flights will resume from Ben Gurion Airport.However, others are more pessimistic, especially after two critical islands off southern Iran were attacked on Wednesday morning, hitting oil facilities. It is unclear who was behind the attack. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it shot down a drone in the southern province of Fars.Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain also reported attacks on their territories by missiles and drones from Iran, with Iranian state television confirming this was in retaliation for the post-ceasefire oil attacks. Tehran said it was ready to restart military operations if attacked again.On Tuesday, Iranians had been worried about the targeting of critical civilian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges, after a threat from US President Donald Trump to end “civilisation” in a country with one of the world’s oldest civilisations. The ceasefire was announced shortly before the midnight GMT deadline that Trump had set for an agreement to be reached.The Israeli military intensified its attacks in the hours preceding the ceasefire, hitting electricity outposts, bridges, and the railway network. Warplanes also struck the Iranian Aluminium Company in Arak, damaging the country’s largest aluminium production facility.Even after the ceasefire, Israel continued attacking Lebanon, killing more than 250 people in a devastating day of attacks on Wednesday. Israel said it was targeting Iran’s ally Hezbollah, but civilian locations across Lebanon were hit.Trump hailed what he described as a decisive victory against Iran while announcing the ceasefire, but his top general emphasised that the deal only signifies a pause and combat operations could start once again if no final deal is reached. The US military said it struck 13,000 targets across Iran in less than six weeks of war.In Iran, similar proclamations of victory and celebrations were broadcast from Iranian state television. A statement from the Supreme National Security Council urged supporters of the government to trust in the system and refrain from making “divisive commentary”.The council also stressed that affairs were being overseen by Mojtaba Khamenei, who was declared Iran’s supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day of the war on February 28.

Israeli forces have carried out a devastating bombardment across Lebanon, killing at least 254 people and wounding 1,165 others in air strikes that targeted areas in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, Mount Lebanon, Sidon, and several villages in southern Lebanon.The Israeli military said that the attack was its largest coordinated assault on Lebanon since it started a new military operation in the country on March 2, “targeting more than 100 Hezbollah command centres and military sites”.The attacks have sparked widespread international condemnation, with leaders from around the world calling for an end to the violence. Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called the attacks a “full-fledged war crime,” while Hezbollah said it had a “right” to respond to the attacks.International Reactions:• Iran: The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that it will respond to the attacks on Lebanon if Israel does not stop the assault.• US: President Donald Trump said Lebanon was not part of the ceasefire deal with Iran due to Hezbollah.• Qatar: The foreign ministry condemned the “brutal series” of Israeli attacks on Lebanon, calling them a “dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sister Lebanese Republic.”• Egypt: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Israel’s attacks on Lebanon had a “premeditated intent” to undermine regional and international efforts to reduce escalation.• UN: The United Nations strongly condemned the strikes by Israel across Lebanon that resulted in significant civilian casualties.

The recent showdown between the US and Iran has ended with Iran emerging victorious and Trump being forced to pause his war efforts. This outcome is a clear example of how to defeat Trump. According to Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, the strategy that connects all the successful countermeasures against Trump is simple: refuse to cave to his demands, despite his superior military or economic power. Instead, use a kind of jiujitsu to turn Trump's power against him. Examples of successful countermeasures include: Iran using cheap drones and missiles to close the strait of Hormuz and drive up oil prices, putting pressure on Trump. China leveraging its control of rare earth metals to gain leverage in trade negotiations. Russia using its vast deposits of oil and natural gas to gain leverage over US allies. Canada and Mexico winning tariff showdowns with Trump by leveraging their economic importance to the US. Greenland curbing Trump's ambitions through public opinion. Inside the US, similar strategies have been used by: The people of Minneapolis, who organized non-violent resistance to protect immigrants. Harvard University, which leveraged its influence with federal courts to stop Trump's interference. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who turned a crisis into a ratings victory. Writer E Jean Carroll, who secured over $88m in damages from Trump in two civil cases. Law firms like Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, Susman Godfrey, and WilmerHale, which refused to follow Trump's executive orders. On the other hand, countries and organizations that have caved to Trump have only strengthened his leverage over them. For example, Europe seems incapacitated, fearing Trump will leave Nato, while media networks like ABC continue to lose viewers. The bottom line is that there is now a clear blueprint for how to defeat Trump: reject his demands and use your own asymmetric power to turn his power against him.

Israel's devastating bombardment of Lebanon in the hours after a US-Iranian ceasefire was announced has been widely condemned amid global efforts to salvage the truce. The bombing, which killed more than 200 people, including strikes with heavy munitions on densely populated areas, drew outrage from the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international humanitarian organisations.Benjamin Netanyahu insisted Lebanon was not included in the Tuesday night ceasefire agreed by Donald Trump, and vowed the Israeli military would continue to strike Hezbollah targets “wherever necessary”. The Israeli prime minister said his forces had killed the secretary to Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem.The US vice-president, JD Vance, backed Netanyahu, claiming the US had never agreed to the inclusion of Lebanon in the truce. However, Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said that further Israeli strikes on Lebanon would render negotiations “meaningless”. Iran would not abandon the Lebanese people, he said.Pakistan, which led the efforts to broker a ceasefire after Trump threatened a civilisation-ending onslaught, has said Lebanon had been part of the agreement. Robert Malley, a former American envoy who led earlier US-Iranian negotiations, said: “I would trust the Pakistani mediator that Lebanon was included.The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said on Thursday: “Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the war, but Israel’s right to defend itself does not justify inflicting such massive destruction.” France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, condemned the Israeli strikes as “unacceptable” and his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, described them as “deeply damaging”, adding that failure to include Lebanon in the ceasefire would “destabilise the whole region”.

On a Wednesday night, Israel launched a massive air campaign against Lebanon that resulted in the deaths of over 300 civilians and struck more than 100 targets within ten minutes, including densely populated neighborhoods in central Beirut. The operation, described by Israeli officials as the largest strike against Hezbollah since the month‑long war with Iran began, has drawn sharp international condemnation. The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, maintains that the attacks were narrowly aimed at Hezbollah operatives who allegedly relocated command posts to civilian districts such as the Dahieh suburb. Critics, however, argue that the scale and timing of the strikes suggest a broader political motive: to disrupt the US‑Iran ceasefire negotiated by former President Donald Trump, a deal many view as unfavorable to Netanyahu. Evidence fueling this theory includes the lack of any prior warning and the targeting of locations where high‑profile Hezbollah figures were present. Among the dead was Ali Yusuf Harshi, the nephew and personal adviser of Hezbollah secretary‑general Naim Qassem, leading some observers to speculate that the operation may have been a failed attempt to eliminate Qassem himself—mirroring Israel’s 2024 alleged assassination of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Hezbollah officials later claimed they had been “notified of a ceasefire” and were committed to it from the morning of the attack, yet by Thursday both sides were again exchanging heavy fire. Netanyahu’s public justification for the strike—citing the killing of an aide to Qassem—appeared thin, reinforcing the perception that the operation was designed to act as a “spoiler” to a ceasefire he had previously opposed. Analysts at the Soufan Center in New York warned that, even if Lebanon is technically outside the ceasefire framework, the sheer magnitude of Israel’s assault will be viewed as escalatory. They argue the strikes serve a dual purpose: to widen the rift between Iran and its proxies and to retaliate against what Israel perceives as being sidelined in the ceasefire negotiations. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the attacks, stating they breach the ceasefire agreement and render ongoing talks meaningless. He warned of a possible Iranian response against Israel, underscoring the fragile nature of the diplomatic effort. Marion Messmer, director of the international security programme at Chatham House, highlighted a deeper strategic dilemma: the United States’ difficulty in managing its alliance with Israel amid the broader US‑Iran conflict. She noted that Israel’s insistence that its Lebanese operations are unrelated to the ceasefire reveals a “key vulnerability” in Washington’s ability to steer its regional partners, potentially trapping the US in a conflict it seeks to exit. Further complicating the picture, the Israeli Defense Forces reportedly assess that defeating Hezbollah remains unrealistic despite the intensified bombing campaign, suggesting that the current strategy may be more about political signaling than achieving decisive military objectives. In sum, the Israeli strike on Lebanon not only caused a tragic loss of civilian life but also raised serious questions about the durability of the US‑Iran ceasefire, the strategic calculations of Netanyahu’s government, and the broader stability of Middle‑East geopolitics.

Israeli airstrikes devastated Lebanon on Wednesday, killing more than 300 people and wounding 1,165 in a span of just 10 minutes. The strikes, which targeted over 100 sites across the country, have been described as one of the deadliest mass killings in Lebanon since the end of the civil war in 1990.Omar Rakha, a survivor, recounted his terrifying experience: he was bleeding and face down on the street when he realized a building next to his in Beirut's Barbour neighborhood had been destroyed by two Israeli bombs. The neighborhood, once considered safe, felt like a war zone.The Israeli military claimed it had targeted Hezbollah 'command and control centers' in the bombing campaign dubbed 'Operation Eternal Darkness.' However, residents and Lebanese officials argue that the strikes mainly killed civilians. Lebanon's prime minister, Nawaf Salam, accused Israel of targeting 'densely populated residential neighborhoods' and killing unarmed civilians in breach of international law.Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a surgeon at the American University of Beirut Medical College, described the overwhelming influx of wounded, including children pulled from under the rubble. 'The youngest was an 11-month-old. I had to operate on him just to relieve some pressure in the head,' he said.The airstrikes have escalated tensions and raised concerns about the potential for further conflict. The war in Lebanon, which started after Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel on March 2, has left around 1,800 people dead and 5,873 wounded.