Displaced Somali citizens wait in long queues to receive humanitarian aid distributed by charities at a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, on May 29. Metin Yuksel Kaya/Anadolu/Getty Images Millions of people are struggling to meet basic food needs and, in some cases, being pushed into acute hunger due to the Iran war, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today. In March, WFP predicted that 45 million people could fall into acute food insecurity if the Middle East conflict continued to spike oil prices. Now, WFP says, that scenario is unfolding. A new WFP report released today, which explores the impact of the crisis on some of the world’s most vulnerable countries, found that an additional 2.5 million people in Somalia, 1.3 million in Sri Lanka and 2.3 million in Afghanistan are “struggling to meet basic food needs and, in some cases, being pushed into acute hunger due to...

Four people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the state news agency NNA. The strikes, which took place in the towns of Nabatiyeh and Bint Jbeil, came despite a US-mediated ceasefire agreed by the Israeli and Lebanese governments on Wednesday. The ceasefire is contingent on a “complete cessation of Hezbollah fire and the evacuation of all Hezbollah operatives” from an area of Lebanon south of the Litani River, according to a US State Department document outlining the conditions of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon. But Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem rejected the truce, demanding a comprehensive ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. As Israeli strikes and Hezbollah rocket fire continue, Israel’s military has warned residents of several villages north of the Litani River to evacuate, as well as of the coastal towns of Sarafand and Saksakiyeh. Addressing residents of three villages, the Israel...

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei purportedly called on Iranians to face the war with the United States and Israel with national unity, in a lengthy written statement that commemorates the death of the Islamic Republic’s founder. “In confronting these hostile designs, all members of society must respond with steadfastness, clarity of vision, preservation of unity and cohesion, mutual trust, and by refusing to echo the enemy’s narrative,” Khamenei said in the statement. “In doing so, they can neutralize its malicious aims.” In the midst of a conflict seen as posing an existential threat to the regime that has ruled their country for nearly half a century, Khamenei has been conspicuously absent. Instead, statements attributed to the 56-year-old cleric have been read out on national television or posted on social media. Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he believes Khamenei is alive and is “increasingly engaging.” “I...

Following widespread controversy, the head of the Veterinary Directorate in Giza Governorate, Mohamed Fares, commented on reports about the seizure of dog meat in food establishments intended for human consumption, RT reported on Wednesday. According to a statement from the directorate, Fares denied “all that has been circulating on some social media platforms about the seizure of dog meat prepared for human consumption.” The controversy arose after Giza authorities announced the seizure of spoiled meat in food establishments during raids conducted at Eid al-Adha, due to the increased number of slaughter areas during the holiday, and in an effort to tighten controls as demand for restaurants rises. Fares explained: “What was seized was 10,000 kg of spoiled meat and poultry products, as well as meat slaughtered outside of government-approved slaughterhouses.” The Veterinary Directorate, in coordination with executive bodies, is continuing its efforts to intensify oversight of markets and food establishments...

Ukraine drones rained down on St. Petersburg late Tuesday, striking infrastructure and wounding several people, just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signature economic forum opened in the city. Hundreds of drones hit several other Russian cities, with Kyiv claiming to have struck a naval warship and other key assets in a major attack reaching as far as Moscow. Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed more than 350 Ukrainian drones over areas both close to the border and deeper into the country including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the western city of Novgorod, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. At least 60 drones flew over the Leningrad region alone, authorities said. Three districts of St. Petersburg were targeted in the overnight Ukrainian drone assault, according to its governor Aleksandr Beglov. The strikes wounded several people, and damaged infrastructure facilities in the city, which is this week hosting the St. Petersburg...

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order seeking early government access for the most advanced AI models to weigh cybersecurity risks and protect critical infrastructure. The executive order comes as models like Anthropic’s Mythos have spooked government and Wall Street over security concerns. The order requests AI companies voluntarily share new models deemed to have advanced cyber capabilities with the government up to 30 days before providing access to other partners. Trump was expected to introduce the executive order nearly two weeks ago, but it was postponed just hours before the planned signing ceremony. An earlier draft of the executive order from May viewed by CNN called for a longer 90-day review period. Multiple sources in the AI industry told CNN many AI companies preferred a shorter review period considering how rapidly AI models are developing. A meeting on Monday with top Trump advisers and cabinet officials helped...

Facing intense pressure at home to act against Hezbollah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced plans to strike the group in the Lebanese capital. Hours later, following an intervention by US President Donald Trump, the operation was shelved. In the morning, Netanyahu said he would not accept a scenario “in which Hezbollah attacks our cities and our citizens, and its terrorist headquarters in Beirut, in Dahiyeh, remains out of bounds.” In the afternoon, the military issued an evacuation warning for Dahiyeh, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut. The prime minister has been under increasing pressure to escalate the conflict in Lebanon as Hezbollah rockets have reached deeper into Israel and its explosive drones have injured and killed Israeli soldiers. Opposition lawmaker Avigdor Liberman said on Monday that Israel should have bombed Dahiyeh “long ago,” claiming “every second house there is connected to Hezbollah.” The Israeli military has also...

A nurse looks through a shattered window of the Jabal Amel Hospital into a destroyed building that was hit Monday in an Israeli airstrike, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, on Tuesday. Mohammed Zaatari/AP Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, and the Israeli military continued to exchange strikes overnight in southern Lebanon, as delegations from both countries prepare for another round of negotiations on Tuesday. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee ordered residents of Nabatieh to evacuate to north of Zahrani river as the army says it is “compelled to act” against Hezbollah attacks. Israel continued to launch strikes on areas in the south of Lebanon, according to the Lebanese state news agency (NNA). Meanwhile, Hezbollah announced it targeted an Israeli tank in Nabatieh district in the early hours of Tuesday. Lebanon’s embassy in Washington said Hezbollah had confirmed it would refrain from attacking Israel in exchange for...

J. Patrick Fischer – Wikimedia Commons Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty lauded the steady development of Egyptian-South Korean relations in recent years. Abdelatty made the remarks on Monday, June 1st, 2026, during his meeting with Hong Seok-hwa, Vice President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America. They discussed ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation and exploring new areas of partnership in development, economic and educational fields. Abdelatty underlined the importance of building on the current momentum in relations to advance cooperation across areas of mutual interest, in a way that serves the interests of both countries and reflects their comprehensive cooperative partnership. He also highlighted the significance of a memorandum of understanding signed between the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development and KOICA, on the sidelines of the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit. He said that it...

New York —  Four months after TikTok’s US assets were spun off into a new joint venture to avert a ban, Sen. Ed Markey says Americans still don’t have enough information about whether the deal addresses national security concerns related to the popular video app. Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, on Friday sent letters to TikTok US and Oracle claiming the spin-off deal violated “the spirit, if not the letter” of a 2024 law meant to protect Americans on TikTok. The letters demand information about the group’s relationship to TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance. The letters could reignite lingering questions about the yearslong effort to secure TikTok’s future in the United States while protecting American users. CNN has reached out to TikTok and Oracle for comment. President Donald Trump, during his first term, vowed to ban the app. In 2024, then-President Joe Biden signed a law requiring that the US version of...