World News

‘They Trifled With Us’: President Trump Downplays Clash in Strait of Hormuz, Says Deal Could Happen ‘Any Day’  

President Trump played down a military clash between US and Iranian forces in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday and said a ceasefire agreement with Tehran could happen “any day,” despite renewed exchanges of fire that included US strikes and Iranian missile and drone launches.   

“Yeah, it is. They trifled with us today. We blew them away,” President Trump told reporters while touring construction at the Washington, DC, Reflecting Pool, characterizing the confrontation as a “trifle” and a “love tap.”   

President Trump also said a deal with Iran remained possible despite the escalation.   

“A deal with Iran might not happen, but it could happen any day. I believe they want the deal more than I do,’” he said.   

The US military reported that the destroyers USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta, and USS Mason were attacked by Iranian drones, missiles, and fast-attack boats while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.   

US Central Command later confirmed what it described as “self-defense strikes” against Iranian military targets, including drone and missile launch sites. The US said Iranian boats involved in the confrontation were destroyed.   

Iranian state media reported that Iranian forces fired on what it described as “enemy units” and said the action came in retaliation for a US strike on an Iranian oil tanker.   

Explosions were reported near Iran’s Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas following the exchange.   

The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems were activated against incoming Iranian missiles and drones.   

“UAE air defenses are currently engaging missile and drone attacks originating from Iran,” the UAE defense ministry said on X, adding that interception sounds were heard “across various parts of the country.”   

According to a Fox News reporter, the US strikes on an Iranian port city and an island in the Strait of Hormuz followed anger from the UAE and Saudi Arabia over earlier Iranian attacks on the UAE that US officials had downplayed.   

The confrontation took place as negotiations continued over a possible ceasefire. The United Nations reported that around 1,500 ships remained trapped in the Gulf because of the ongoing Iranian blockade of the strait, while oil prices rose sharply amid the renewed hostilities.   

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KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — An Islamic State-affiliated group attacked villages in Congo near the border with Uganda, killing at least 40 people and burning and looting homes, a local civil society group said Friday.

The attacks were carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces overnight from Wednesday through Thursday afternoon, according to Charité Banza, the leader of the Ituri civil society group and Kinos Katua, a member of the group who lives in the area.

The Allied Democratic Forces, which has roots in Uganda and which pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2019, has long operated in the border region.

Banza told The Associated Press that 25 people were killed in border villages in the Beni territory of North Kivu while 15 others were killed in Ituri province.

The death toll may rise because several residents were still missing after the attacks, Katua said.

In a recent report this week, Amnesty International accused the Allied Democratic Forces of “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

The ADF is one of the numerous groups operating in Congo and it routinely attacks civilians. In July 2025, the group killed 66 people in eastern Congo in what the United Nations called a “bloodbath.”

The country also faces attacks from roughly 100 other rebel groups, most prominently the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which has seized key cities in the eastern region.

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An explosive eruption of Mount Dukono on a remote Indonesian island killed three hikers, authorities said Friday.

About 20 climbers set out Thursday to ascend the nearly 1,355-meter (4,445-foot) volcano on the island of Halmahera, in defiance of safety restrictions, said North Halmahera police chief Erlichson Pasaribu.

They became stranded when Dukono erupted at 7:41 a.m. local time, spewing a thick ash column that rose about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) above the summit. The eruption was recorded on seismographs for more than 16 minutes, Indonesia’s Geological Agency said.

“They were aware that climbing was prohibited as the mountain is the restricted zone due to its high alert status, but insisted on going ahead,” Pasaribu said in a television interview.

Rescue teams were deployed after receiving an emergency signal from the mountain area. Three men — two Singaporean and one Indonesian national — died at the scene, Pasaribu said.

As of Friday afternoon, 14 climbers including seven foreign nationals had been safely evacuated. Five of those evacuated were reported injured. Rescue teams continued to search for other climbers believed to be attempting to descend.

The bodies had not yet been recovered because continued eruptions and dangerous conditions prevented rescue teams from reaching the location.

The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation has long banned activities within a 4‑kilometer (2.5‑mile) radius of Dukono’s crater, citing hazards such as volcanic bombs, ashfall and toxic gases. Officials believe the hikers were inside the restricted zone at the time of the eruption.

Despite warnings on social media and signs at the site, “many people remain determined to climb, driven by the desire to create online content,” Pasaribu said.

Mount Dukono is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes and has been erupting almost continuously since 1933. Indonesia sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area of intense seismic and volcanic activity, and is home to more than 120 active volcanoes.

Authorities also warned of possible secondary hazards, including volcanic mudflows, especially during heavy rain, which could travel along rivers flowing from the volcano’s slopes.

Volcanic activity at Dukono remains high, and authorities said it was at the second highest alert level. Authorities said the volcano has shown an increase in explosive magmatic eruptions since late March, with nearly 200 eruptions recorded since March 30 and an average of about 95 eruptions a day.

“Friday’s eruption was among the strongest during this period,” said Lana Saria, who heads Indonesia’s Geology Agency at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. She added that ash clouds ranging from white to gray and black in color were being blown northward.

She warned that ashfall could affect nearby settlements, including the town of Tobelo, raising health risks and disrupting transportation and daily life.

Officials urged residents, tourists and climbers to remain calm, follow official guidance and avoid restricted areas as monitoring of Mount Dukono continues.

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BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least five people Friday, while Hezbollah fired rockets on northern Israel without in inflicting any casualties.

The Health Ministry in Lebanon said that an Israeli airstrike on the southern village of Toura near the port city of Tyre killed four people and wounded eight. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency report another airstrike near the southeastern village of Kfar Chouba, saying it killed a paramedic with the Lebanese Civil Defense.

The strikes came hours after the Israeli army’s Arabic-language spokesperson issued an evacuation warning to the residents of six villages in Tyre province, including Toura.

In the early afternoon, Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets toward northern Israel. The Israeli military said it shot down one rocket while the rest fell in open areas without inflicting casualties.

The latest exchange between Israel and Hezbollah, despite a ceasefire that has been in place since April 17, came two days after the first Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburbs since the ceasefire went into effect.

The Israeli military said Thursday it had killed Ahmed Balout, who it identified as a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, along with two other militants. There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah.

Israel says it has killed more than 85 Hezbollah militants and struck 180 sites used by the group in the past week, without providing evidence.

On Friday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told a visiting delegation from the European Union that European countries should pressure Israel to commit to the ceasefire and abstain from “detonating and bulldozing ” homes in villages under Israeli occupation.

Aoun added in comments released by his office that Lebanon is committed to the ceasefire in order to start negotiations that will end the current conditions.

Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, told reporters after the meeting with Aoun that Israel and Hezbollah are taking Lebanon “hostage.”

“Hezbollah should stop its attacks and disarm, and Israel should put limits to its airstrikes that target and have targeted humanitarian centers,” Lahbib said.

Aoun later met with Simon Karam, the head of the Lebanese delegation to talks with Israel in Washington. The meeting is expected to be held in Washington on Thursday and Friday next week.

The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah began on March 2, when Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, two days after the United States and Israel launched a war on its main backer, Iran. Israel has since carried out hundreds of airstrikes and launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon, capturing dozens of towns and villages along the border.

Later, Lebanon and Israel held their first direct talks in more than three decades. The two countries have formally been in a state of war since the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

A 10-day ceasefire declared in Washington went into effect on April 17. The ceasefire was later extended by three weeks.

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By Rami Ayyub

JERUSALEM, May 8 (Reuters) – A prominent Palestinian-American developer asked a U.S. judge on Friday to throw out a lawsuit accusing him of supporting Hamas through his Gaza projects, arguing it equates participating in Gaza’s economy with terrorism.

Bashar Masri, who built luxury hotels in Gaza and the Palestinians’ first planned city in the West Bank, was sued last year by U.S. families of victims of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks who alleged his Gaza properties concealed tunnels the militant group used to stage its assault.

Before Israel’s war in Gaza, Hamas built a labyrinth tunnel network that stretched across nearly all of Gaza. Businesses often grappled with whether and how to invest in a territory ruled by a group deemed a terrorist organization by the U.S. and whose tacit approval was needed for large development projects.

The civil complaint, filed on behalf of around 200 American plaintiffs, alleges that Masri knew about Hamas tunnels under his two seaside hotels, which it says the group accessed from guest rooms. It also says the group powered underground fortifications with electricity from solar panels in an industrial zone he operated.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages from Masri and four of his companies under the Anti-Terrorism Act, which lets American victims of terrorism sue for damages in U.S. courts.

Filing a motion to dismiss the complaint in federal court in Miami, Masri’s lawyers said he bore no blame for the October 2023 attacks on Israel, describing them as “barbaric acts of terrorism”.

The defendants “unequivocally condemn Hamas’ violence and the suffering it inflicted upon innocent civilians”, they wrote, adding that the plaintiffs had failed to show Masri knew his conduct could aid Hamas in staging attacks.

The complaint amounts to “speculation” that Masri and his companies “engaged in international terrorism merely by participating in economic development projects” in Gaza, Masri’s lawyers wrote.

Masri declined to provide further comment. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately provide comment.

PLAINTIFFS INCLUDE MASRI’S EX-BUSINESS PARTNER WHOSE DAUGHTER WAS KILLED

Masri has had a high profile as a developer, and received U.S. aid grants. His flagship project is Rawabi, a $1.4 billion development in the occupied West Bank that is the first master-planned city built by and for Palestinians.

In Gaza, his companies’ major projects included two Mediterranean-front luxury resorts – the Ayan Hotel and the Blue Beach Resort – and the Gaza Industrial Estate located on the border with Israel. All suffered major damage during the war, during which Israeli bombardment reduced much of Gaza to ruins.

The plaintiffs include Israeli tech mogul Eyal Waldman, a peace activist and former business partner of Masri whose youngest daughter was among those killed by militants at the Nova outdoor dance festival on October 7.

One of Waldman’s firms once employed more than 100 Palestinian engineers in Rawabi and in Gaza through an IT company backed by Masri, an arrangement both men held up as an example of how economic cooperation could foster peace.

Waldman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Rami AyyubEditing by Peter Graff)

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BANGKOK (AP) — Miners in Myanmar have discovered a rare ruby of enormous size, considered to be the second-largest by weight ever found in the conflict-battered Southeast Asian nation, state media reported Friday.

The ruby, measuring 11,000 carats (2.2 kilograms, or 4.8 pounds), was unearthed near the town of Mogok, in the upper Mandalay region, the heartland of the lucrative gem-mining industry that has recently experienced intense fighting in the country’s wide-ranging civil war.

According to a report from the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the newly found rough ruby was discovered in mid-April, just after the traditional New Year festival.

While it weighs roughly half the weight of a 21,450-carat (4.29 kilograms, or 9.45 pounds) stone found in 1996, the new discovery is considered more valuable due to its superior color and quality. It is described as having a purplish-red hue with yellowish undertones, a high-quality color grade, moderate transparency and a highly reflective surface.

Myanmar produces as much as 90% of the world’s rubies, primarily from the areas of Mogok and Mong Hsu. Gemstones, both legitimately traded and smuggled, are a major source of revenue for Myanmar. Human rights activists and organizations such as the Britain-based research and lobbying group Global Witness have urged jewelers to stop purchasing gems sourced from Myanmar, as the industry has served as a vital revenue stream for its military governments over several decades.

A new, ostensibly civilian government was installed this year, but it followed elections described by human rights and opposition groups as a sham. The vote returned to power President Min Aung Hlaing, the army chief who led the most recent military takeover in 2021. He and his Cabinet recently examined the giant ruby at his office in the capital, Naypyitaw.

Gemstone mining also serves as a primary source of funding for ethnic armed groups fighting for autonomy, a factor that has helped fuel decades of internal conflict.

The security of these mining regions remains volatile. Mogok was captured in July 2024 by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, a guerrilla force representing the Palaung ethnic minority. Although the TNLA took over and operated the mines, control was eventually transferred back to Myanmar’s army as part of a China-mediated ceasefire agreement concluded late last year.

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By Renju Jose

SYDNEY, May 8 (Reuters) – Australian police said on Friday they had charged two women linked to the Islamic State extremist group with slavery offences after they returned overnight from Syria, where they had been detained in a refugee camp for more than seven years.

The women, aged 53 and 31, face crimes against humanity charges including owning and using a slave in Syria, which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. They were arrested at Melbourne airport on Thursday upon their arrival.

“This remains an active investigation into very serious allegations,” Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism Stephen Nutt said in a statement.

Both women travelled to Syria in 2014 with their families and allegedly kept a female slave at their homes, police said. Reuters could not immediately contact the women or their lawyers.

Separately, a 32-year-old Australian woman was arrested at Sydney airport on Thursday and charged with terror-related offences, including allegedly joining Islamic State. The charges carry a maximum jail term of 10 years, and she is due to appear in a Sydney court on Friday.

The woman travelled to Syria in 2015 to join her husband, who had previously left Australia and joined ISIS, police said. 

The government said earlier this week that four women and nine children planned to return to Australia from Syrian camps without official assistance.

Officials have declined to comment on the status of the fourth woman or the children.

The arrival of the women and children put pressure on the centre-left government with critics blaming the government for not doing enough to prevent their travel home. But the government said there were “very serious limits” on what authorities could do to prevent Australian citizens re-entering the country. 

Following ISIS’s territorial defeat, many relatives of suspected fighters were detained in Syrian camps.

In January, the United States began moving detained ISIS members out of Syria after the collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which had been guarding around a dozen facilities holding fighters and affiliated civilians, including foreigners.

The Australian government repatriated four women and 13 children from Syrian camps in 2022. About 21 Australians remain in al-Roj camp, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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By Jasper Ward and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, May 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of State has started a review of the more than 50 Mexican consulates operating in the United States, a State Department official said on Thursday.

The move, which comes amid tense relations between Mexico and the U.S., could result in the closure of some diplomatic offices, the official said.

“Department of State is constantly reviewing all aspects of American foreign relations to ensure they are in line with the president’s America First foreign policy agenda and advance American interests,” Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said when reached for comment.

The news of the review was first reported by CBS News.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mexican immigrants have the largest immigrant population in the United States with at least 37 million people of Mexican origin living in the U.S. in 2021, according to Pew Research Center analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

As a result, Mexico – with whom the U.S. shares a southern border – has an expansive foreign consular network in the United States with its offices providing an array of services for residents, including legal services.

A host country’s closure of consulates can reflect strained diplomatic relations with a home country. In 2020, the State Department ordered the closure of China’s consulate in Houston, Texas, after accusing Beijing of espionage activities. 

U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum have had a somewhat tense relationship since he returned to the White House last year.

Tensions peaked last month after two U.S. officials were killed in a car crash. Those Americans were officers of the Central Intelligence Agency, sources said.

Sheinbaum has also been outspoken about the rights of Mexicans in the U.S., after several Mexican nationals have been killed in anti-immigration operations in the United States. 

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Additional reporting by Laura Gottesdiener in Monterrey, Mexico; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Salvadoran investigative outlet El Faro announced Thursday that two of its members’ assets, including a bank account and property, were frozen, in what it denounced as an escalation of political persecution for its work exposing corruption in the government of President Nayib Bukele.

“It’s another level of attack against us with a clear purpose,” El Faro Director Carlos Dada said in a news conference Thursday. “These are not fiscal measures. They are political measures trying to silence us.”

El Faro has publicly sparred with Bukele over its investigations into corruption during his administration, including revelations that his administration negotiated with gangs. The latest move comes shortly after the outlet released a documentary with PBS Frontline about the gang negotiations.

Bukele, who rose to power on an anti-corruption platform in 2019 as the region’s youngest leader, has faced increasing criticism from human rights groups for his crackdown on dissent and abuses under a four-year state of exception that has imprisoned more than 91,000 people.

Bukele’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he has called the outlet’s reporting “fake news” in the past.

The outlet learned of the freezing of assets through the bank and property registry, according to Dada, rather than through formal notification from the government.

The outlet has been subject to ongoing audits by Salvadoran authorities since 2020, in which the government alleges it has evaded $200,000 in taxes, which Dada denied.

El Faro journalists have been the target of spyware attacks, and Pegasus was detected on more than 20 of its journalists’ iPhones in 2022. Its journalists sued NSO Group in United States federal court later that year.

In 2023, the outlet moved its headquarters to Costa Rica because of the country’s repressive climate and all its members currently live in exile outside of El Salvador.

Bukele’s crackdown intensified in 2025 with the arrest of prominent human rights activist Ruth López, who is in prison a year later without a trial and limited access to family and legal counsel. Shortly after, in July 2025, the country’s leading human rights organization where she worked, Cristosal, announced it was leaving El Salvador because of mounting harassment and legal threats.

The practice of launching audits and confiscating assets has been weaponized in other parts of the region to intimidate critics, most notably in Nicaragua under President Daniel Ortega.

Claudia Paz y Paz, the director of Costa Rican-based Center for Justice and International Law, which is representing El Faro in its case before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, said in the Thursday news conference that the measure is “retaliation” for El Faro’s work and that it seeks to “silence the voices of journalists.”

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Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

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BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese military court gave suspended death sentences Thursday to two former defense ministers who were accused of bribery, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The court said Wei Fenghe was guilty of accepting bribes and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. It said Li Shangfu was guilty of accepting and offering bribes, and handed him the same sentence.

Suspended death sentences are often commuted to life in prison in China.

The sentences are the latest in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s campaign of purging senior officials. Xi started an anti-corruption drive more than a decade ago and his drive has continued unabated, culminating in the removal of China’s highest ranking general and military leadership in January. China’s powerful Central Military Commission, which in years past had 11 members, now has just one member aside from Xi himself.

While the drive targets corruption, Xi has also used anti-corruption as a way to consolidate political loyalty and control among the political elite.

It is unclear whether either men had policy or political disagreements with Xi.

Wei served as defense minister from 2018 until 2023. Li succeeded him but served for just months before disappearing from public view. He was removed from office in October 2023.

Li spent most of his career as a specialist in the missile and procurement branches of China’s People’s Liberation Army, and had faced travel and financial sanctions from the U.S. over the purchase of Russian military hardware.

The Communist Party expelled both men from its ranks in 2024, sealing their fate.

Li’s replacement, Dong Jun, continues to serve as defense minister. However, experts note that he was not appointed to the once powerful Central Military Commission, which oversees the military and is a standard appointment for someone in that role.

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