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May 27 (UPI) — Federal prosecutors are suing the University of California, alleging civil rights violations were committed in connection with pro-Palestinian campus protests, the latest lawsuit by the Trump administration, which has targeted universities over issues from antisemitism to their hiring practices.

The Trump administration has taken dozens of actions against higher education institutions, including investigations, lawsuits and funding freezes, in what critics describe as an effort to crack down on left-leaning ideology in public and private spaces.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Western District of California, focuses on the encampment erected on the University of California, Los Angeles, campus in April 2024 as pro-Palestinian protests erupted across U.S. universities against Israel’s war in Gaza as students sought to pressure their schools to divest from Israel.

Federal prosecutors allege the school failed to protect its Jewish and Israeli students through its inaction concerning the encampment, which was erected April 25, 2024, and torn down May 2, 2024, when the school permitted police to clear the campus of protesters.

“Universities have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California said in a statement.

“Universities that violate our nation’s civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism will be held accountable.”

The lawsuit is similar to the one federal prosecutors filed against UCLA in February, accusing the institution of creating a hostile work environment for Israeli and Jewish faculty and staff over its inaction with regard to the encampment.

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk on Tuesday rejected the accusations.

“Let me be direct: The suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong. Combating antisemitism is a moral imperative — one rooted, for me, in personal history that makes indifference unthinkable,” he said in a statement.

Frenk highlighted a series of actions the school has taken over the past year, from recruiting an associate vice chancellor for campus and community safety to reorganizing its civil rights office, as proof of the school’s commitment to stand against antisemitism.

The Justice Department is seeking a court declaration that UCLA unlawfully discriminated against Jewish and Israeli students, an order forcing it to institute a series of changes and a declaration that the federal government does not need to make additional grant payments to the university.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced the results of an investigation into UCLA’s medical school admissions process, saying it discriminated by race to favor Black and Hispanic applicants.

Critics have accused the Trump administration of using the Justice Department to crack down on disfavored speech and ideology.

In April 2025, more than 200 college and university leaders issued a joint statement condemning the actions of the Trump administration targeting higher education institutions as “unprecedented government overreach and political interference.”

May 26 (UPI) — Nine people remained missing Tuesday evening following an implosion at a paper manufacturing facility in Washington that killed one person and injured nine others, authorities said.

The incident at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, Wash., occurred around 7:15 a.m. PDT. Officials told reporters during a Tuesday evening press conference that a 900,000-gallon tank containing a chemical used in the production of paper in what authorities described as an implosion.

Officials believe that the tank potentially contains up to 90,000 gallons of the chemical known as white liquor — a water solution of sodium sulfide and sodium hydroxide, according to the Environmental Protection Agency — posing a threat to responders and hampering recovery efforts.

“Crews are actively assessing the structural integrity of that tank and were working on plans to stabilize that tank before additional recovery operations can safely proceed,” Scott Goldstein, chief of the Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue, said.

Battalion Chief Matt Amos of the Longview Fire Department added that the recovery efforts would resume Wednesday morning if safe.

“Due to the instability of the site, some areas remain inaccessible at this time,” he said. “All impacted families have been notified.”

The officials said 10 people injured in the incident were transported to area hospitals, including one person who died. Of the nine injured, eight were employees of the plant and one was a firefighter who has since been released.

The severity of the injuries of those taken to the hospital was not made public, but Amos said several suffered “critical injuries.” Longview Fire earlier said several suffered chemical burns. The department also said the victims were transported to hospitals in Longview and Vancouver.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she knows the public has many questions concerning about how the implosion occurred and that she will continue to apply pressure to get them answers.

“This community deserves that,” she said.

The Longview Fire Department said there was no immediate threat to the public.

Washington State Department of Ecology spokeswoman Anna Izenman told The Seattle Times that spill responders were on site evaluating any potential environmental impacts from the incident. She said white liquor cannot be collected and cleaned up in the same manner as oil; it can only “self-neutralize” with water over time.

May 26 (Asia Today) — Hyundai Motor Company and Kia are accelerating efforts to secure the No. 2 position in the U.S. hybrid vehicle market as demand for gasoline-electric models continues to rise.

The South Korean automakers are expanding local hybrid production in the United States to reduce tariff costs and increase utilization at Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, or HMGMA, in Georgia.

The U.S. auto market has seen growing consumer demand for hybrids since the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits in September 2025.

Hybrid vehicle penetration in the United States rose from 10.1% in 2024 to 13.7% in the first quarter of this year, while electric vehicle penetration fell from 7.9% to 5.6%, according to industry data.

Data from Kiwoom Securities and EV-Volumes showed Hyundai Motor’s share of the U.S. hybrid market reached 10.9% in the January-March period, up from 8.0% in 2024.

Kia’s share rose to 7.9% from 4.2% two years earlier.

Combined hybrid sales by the two companies totaled 97,627 vehicles in the first quarter, a 53.2% increase from a year earlier.

Industry analysts said demand for hybrids could continue to grow in the second half of the year if high fuel prices persist.

Unlike the increasingly crowded electric vehicle market, where companies including Tesla, Toyota Motor Corporation, General Motors, Rivian and Ford Motor Company compete aggressively, the hybrid segment remains dominated by Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Hyundai Motor Group, which together account for about 85% of sales.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to further increase U.S. production of hybrid models.

Kia is expected to begin producing the Sportage hybrid at HMGMA later this year, while Hyundai Motor is expected to manufacture the Palisade hybrid and Tucson hybrid at the plant beginning next year.

The strategy is aimed at reducing tariff burdens estimated at about 15% while boosting production efficiency at the Georgia facility.

Analysts said the compact SUV segment will be a key battleground.

Honda’s CR-V led the segment in the United States with about 56,000 units sold in the first quarter, followed by Toyota’s RAV4 with about 37,000 units. Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage each sold about 17,000 units during the period.

“The current CR-V model was introduced in 2023 and is beginning to age,” Kiwoom Securities analyst Shin Yoon-cheol said. “Hyundai Motor Group’s new hybrid product cycle could create pressure for Honda.”

Shin added that if Hyundai and Kia capture 10% of CR-V hybrid sales in the United States, the companies’ combined market share could improve by 0.1 percentage points.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260526010007582

May 26 (UPI) — Western European countries are caught up in an extreme and early heat wave in late May, with temperatures breaking records and officials warning of health risks.

In Great Britain, London broke heat records Monday and again Tuesday, with Monday marking the hottest May day on record when it hit 94.6 degrees Fahrenheit (34.8 degrees Celsius), two whole degrees higher than the previous record, CNN reported.

Tuesday temperatures reached 95 degrees (35 degrees Celsius). The average high temperature for this time of year is about 68 degrees (20 degrees Celsius).

The country experienced a “tropical night” Monday, which is one in which the temperature doesn’t fall below 68 degrees (20 degrees Celsius).

Not many people in Great Britain have air conditioning – about 5% percent, CNN reported. The UK Climate Change Committee said in a report last week that the country was “built for a climate that no longer exists.”

France is experiencing a similar heat wave, with temperatures regularly exceeding 86 degrees (30 degrees Celsius). Monday was also the country’s hottest May day on record. Officials said about seven people have died since Saturday due to issues caused by the heat, The New York Times reported. At the French Open, organizers installed water misters to help sweltering fans.

In Spain, the trend continues. While the country is more used to hotter temperatures, they may reach 104 degrees (40 degrees Celsius) later this week, the country’s weather service said.

Australian Federal Police have not made any arrests but say inquiries are ongoing.

A group of 19 women and children with alleged links to ISIL (ISIS) has returned to Australia, with the government warning that anyone found to have engaged in criminal activity will be prosecuted.

The six women and 13 children arrived from a Syrian refugee camp on Tuesday, with one group landing in Sydney and the other in Melbourne.

It is the second cohort of Australian women and children to return from Syria this month. Responding to criticism over their arrival, the Australian government said it had not assisted them in any capacity.

“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said.

Australian women began travelling to Syria to marry members of ISIL in 2012, with some allegedly taken against their will.

At the height of its power in 2015, ISIL controlled territory across Syria and Iraq roughly equivalent in size to the United Kingdom.

Australian Federal Police did not arrest any members of the group upon their arrival but said that investigations were ongoing.

The group’s return has sparked anger in some sections of Australian society.

According to local media, a large police presence was deployed at Melbourne airport, where a scuffle reportedly broke out as the group of women and children was escorted out through a side entrance.

Australia is one of several Western countries that have shown reluctance to repatriate citizens who travelled to the Middle East to join ISIL about a decade ago.

Both France and the UK have expressed opposition to allowing former ISIL members to return.

In 2022, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said that France’s failure to repatriate children born to French nationals in Syria violated their right to life and exposed them to inhumane treatment.

Meanwhile, the UK stripped British national Shamima Begum of her citizenship in 2019 on national security grounds.

In February, the Australian government issued a temporary exclusion order against a woman in Syria, preventing her from returning home.

Her child, who was not barred from returning, chose to stay with her.

The order prevents the woman from returning to Australia until February 2028, and her family is currently challenging the decision.

Afzal Ashraf, a visiting fellow at Loughborough University specialising in international relations and security, said the risk posed by people returning from countries including Syria needs to be viewed proportionately.

“There will be some security challenges, because people like this are likely to suffer from issues such as PTSD,” Ashraf told Al Jazeera.

“The fact of the matter is that there are security challenges in Australia and other countries, but statistically speaking, the return of these nationals doesn’t increase that risk very much, while the threat to life from terrorism is far lower than the threat posed by road accidents, for example.”

“That said, these threats can be reduced by providing comprehensive mental health support for returnees and ensuring they are reintegrated into society in a positive way, with follow-up programmes to address any dangerous ideas they may have adopted,” Ashraf said.

“It’s worth remembering that ISIL has killed far more Muslims than Westerners.”

Earlier this month, four women and 13 children arrived in Australia from Syria. Three of the women were arrested upon arrival.

May 26 (UPI) — South Carolina’s state Senate adjourned Tuesday without acting on a new congressional map that would have redrawn voting districts in favor of Republicans.

President Donald Trump has called on states to redraw their voting maps to favor Republicans, especially after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that badly weakened a part of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 that helped protect minority voting power.

However, as voters started heading to the polls Tuesday for the first in-person voting in primaries, state senators said it was just too late. If the state Senate pushed the map through Tuesday, the state would have had to throw out tens of thousands of ballots that had already been cast that day and schedule a new primary.

“Neither my conscience nor my common sense would allow me to stop an election that is already underway,” Republican state Sen. Richard Cash said during the vote, The BBC reported.

The new congressional map pitched for South Carolina would do away with the state’s only majority Black district, which is represented by Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat. Clyburn is seeking his 18th term in office this year.

Republicans have a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Trump and other conservatives are calling for district changes to hold on to that majority during the midterm elections in November. Other states, including Tennessee, have already redrawn and approved new maps eliminating majority Black districts.

CNN reported that Trump called Republican state Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey at least twice about the plan, and the president has posted regularly on social media about the matter as well.

“South Carolina Republicans: BE BOLD AND COURAGEOUS, just like the Republicans of the Great State of Tennessee were last week!” the president wrote in a post earlier this month.

South Carolina state senators will likely pick up the matter again after the primary voting ends June 9. State Sen. Brad Hutto, a Democrat, said his party members worked all weekend to make voters headed out to the polls today, The New York Times reported.

“The people in South Carolina were sending us a message that their vote mattered,” he said. “It was important, and they didn’t want us to cancel their vote.”

Democrats had another win in the redistricting wars on Tuesday, with a federal court temporarily blocking Alabama from using its newly redrawn congressional map, which includes only one Black majority district out of seven. The population of Alabama is about 27% Black.

The South Carolina map in question, meanwhile, would have resulted in no Black majority districts out of the state’s seven. The state is about 26% Black, based on 2025 U.S. Census numbers.

May 26 (Asia Today) — The South Korean government said Tuesday it aims to launch its first nuclear-powered submarine by the mid-2030s and deploy the vessel to the Navy in the late 2030s.

The plan was presented during the first meeting of the Future Defense Strategy Committee in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, attended by President Lee Jae-myung.

According to the government, South Korea plans to domestically develop and build the submarines to strengthen the independence and stability of its military procurement, maintenance and operational systems.

The submarines are expected to use low-enriched uranium fuel enriched below 20%, allowing for long operational cycles without frequent refueling.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back briefed Lee on the government’s basic plan for developing nuclear-powered submarines.

The announcement came seven months after Lee said he received support from President Donald Trump during a bilateral summit in October for South Korea’s submarine program.

“Based on the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance, the nuclear-powered submarines we will build symbolize our determination to take responsibility for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula ourselves,” Lee said.

He added that the project would also contribute significantly to strengthening South Korea’s defense industry capabilities.

Lee also emphasized the importance of regaining wartime operational control, known as OPCON, from the United States.

“The recovery of wartime operational control is a core element of self-reliant national defense,” Lee said. “It will serve as an opportunity for South Korea to more clearly establish itself as the main actor in defending the Korean Peninsula.”

He said Seoul and Washington would continue close consultations to finalize a roadmap for the transfer, including the timing of the transition.

Lee also called for integrating advanced science and technology into national defense to build what he described as a “smart military” capable of dominating future warfare.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260527010007660

The minibus, carrying nine people, drove through closed crossing barriers during the morning rush hour near the town of Buggenhout.

At least four people have been killed, including two children, after a train travelling at high speed hit a minibus carrying special needs children crossing a railway in Belgium.

According to Belgian authorities on Tuesday, the minibus, carrying nine people, drove through the closed crossing barriers during the morning rush hour near the town of Buggenhout, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of the capital, Brussels.

Moreover, a spokesperson for the Belgian rail operator Infra-Bel told the RTBF public broadcaster that the train was travelling at an estimated 120 kph (75 mph) as it approached the crossing and had “no time to brake”.

“The impact was extremely violent,” Frederic Sacre said.

Spokesperson for the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office, Lisa De Wilde, said the bus driver, 49, and an escort, 27, were killed along with two children aged 12 and 15.

Five children were injured and were hospitalised in a serious condition, she said, adding that the cause of the crash had not yet been established.

“What we do know is that the barrier was closed and the red light was on,” she said.

Federal Police spokesperson An Berger also said that the minibus driver appeared to have ploughed through the barrier.

“The van came from Kerkhofstraat, a road running parallel to the railway line, and turned left toward Vierhuizen, crossing the railway at a point that was closed at the time. The van was hit by an oncoming train,” Berger said.

Prime Minister Bart De Wever said on X that he was “deeply moved by the horrific accident in Buggenhout”.

“My thoughts go out to the affected families,” De Wever added.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said she was “heartbroken” about the “tragic accident”.

“My deepest condolences go out to the victims’ families and their loved ones,” von der Leyen wrote on X.

It is believed that about 100 passengers were aboard the train and that none were hurt. Rail traffic in the area was also stopped.

May 26 (UPI) — An implosion at a manufacturing facility in Washington killed multiple people and injured 10 others, including a firefighter, local authorities said Tuesday.

The implosion at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, Wash., happened around 7:20 a.m. The facility is a pulp and paper mill, and the implosion involved a vat of a chemical used in paper treatment called white liquor.

White liquor is made of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and disodium carbonate, Cowlitz County fire chief Scott Goldstein told NBC News.

The Longview Fire Department said there was no immediate threat to the public, but the implosion killed multiple people and caused chemical burns and other injuries to others. Officials transported multiple people — including one firefighter — to hospitals in Longview and Vancouver.

Officials haven’t specified how many were among the dead. The Seattle Times reported that emergency responders were also searching for potentially missing people.

Goldstein said some of the injuries were minor while others were more critical.

Washington State Department of Ecology spokeswoman Anna Izenman told The Times that spill responders were on site evaluating any potential environmental impacts from the incident. She said white liquor can’t be collected and cleaned up in the same manner as oil; it can only “self-neutralize” with water over time.

May 26 (UPI) — Vice President JD Vance hosted a meeting Tuesday afternoon with state attorneys general as part of his task force on fraud.

The event was largely attended by only Republican officials, however, because the task force invited attorneys general from the Democratic party with less notice than their Republican peers, Politico reported.

The Democratic attorneys general were invited to the meeting Friday, with a deadline to respond by Saturday. Republicans were invited about a week earlier. The 24 Democrats affected by this wrote Vance a letter declining the invite, CNBC reported.

“While we would appreciate the opportunity to engage in serious discussions, the invitation was provided with less than one business day’s notice with no agenda,” the letter said. “This short notice does not match the spirit of collaboration that has long defined our joint efforts with federal partners. Accordingly, we respectfully decline to attend at this time.”

When President Donald Trump announced Vance’s role as “fraud czar” in April, he said the investigations would center on Democrat-run states.

Vance on Tuesday said that in two months, the task force has “exposed billions of dollars in benefits that had been stolen from the American people.”

“We referred over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans back to the Treasury for collection,” he said. “We deferred more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements that were coming from various states, particularly California. We put a six-month hold on enrollments for new hospice and home health care providers, because so many of the newer hospice providers were not actually providing hospice services but were just focused on fraud.”

About 15 Republican attorneys general attended, as did Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson and White House adviser Stephen Miller.

In a press release, the White House said Trump and Vance are “unleashing an unrelenting, full-scale assault on the fraudsters, scammers and corrupt operators who have looted billions from American taxpayers.” The release included a list of alleged fraud cases and actions, including many instances focused on Minnesota and California. No Republican-led states were cited.

PM Nikol Pashinyan, who deepened ties with US, faces challenge from pro-Russia parties in upcoming parliamentary polls.

Armenia has signed a strategic partnership agreement bolstering ties with the United States, as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan faces a challenge from pro-Russia parties in the country’s upcoming election in June.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also signed a framework on critical minerals and cooperation on a transit corridor in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Tuesday.

“This agreement marks the biggest step to date on making this historic route a reality, on advancing peace, and on increasing prosperity in Armenia and frankly in the region,” Rubio said at a signing ceremony at the Yerevan airport.

The 43-km (27-mile) corridor, dubbed the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), would traverse southern Armenia and provide Azerbaijan with a direct route to the exclave of Nakhchivan and into Turkiye, a close ally of Baku.

Pashinyan has sought closer ties with the US and Europe, drawing the ire of longtime ally Russia. Moscow has said that it could raise the price of gas Armenia receives from Russia if it continues to pursue greater integration with Western countries.

Armenia had historically been a close security and economic partner of Russia, but Yerevan started to turn towards the West for alliances after the 2023 conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

Russia, which is fighting its own war in Ukraine, did not intervene militarily when Azerbaijan launched a major military offensive Nagorno-Karabakh, which had a large Armenian population and had been de facto independent since the 1990s.

Last year, the US and Armenia held joint military drills for the first time.

“I wish to reaffirm that the comprehensive strategic relations between our two nations are stronger than ever,” Mirzoyan said of relations with the US on Tuesday.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, for its part, has cast its relationship with Yerevan in largely economic terms and sought concessions in areas such as critical minerals.

“We are laying the groundwork for the sort of economic engagement that allows Armenians to make money and find prosperity and Americans to do the same and to do it together, which is one of the strongest ways to bind nations with one another,” Rubio said on Tuesday.

A US State Department framework for the transportation corridor, part of a peace agreement signed by Armenia and Azerbaijan last August, also grants the US a 74 percent share in the “TRIPP Development Company”, with an explicit pledge to benefit US companies.

Ghana’s Thomas Partey, who joined Villareal from Arsenal in 2025, has pleaded not guilty to seven rape charges in the UK.

Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey has been named in Ghana’s preliminary 28-man squad for next month’s World Cup.

The 32-year-old is due to stand trial next year in the United Kingdom, where he has pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault.

The charges related to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022.

Partey currently plays for Villarreal in Spain’s La Liga, where he moved in 2025, following five seasons with Arsenal.

He was initially charged last July, just days after his Arsenal contract expired. Villarreal signed him in August, two days after he was granted bail.

Partey played a full part in World Cup qualifying games for Ghana, for whom he has made 58 appearances.

Kudus misses out for Ghana at World Cup 2026

Tottenham Hotspur forward Mohammed ⁠Kudus ⁠will miss next month’s World Cup due to injury.

Kudus, who has scored 13 times in 46 international appearances, suffered a quad injury in January and was ‌expected to return in March. However, the 25-year-old forward suffered a setback in his recovery and has not played a game since Thomas Frank was coaching Tottenham.

Kudus, who ⁠joined from West Ham ⁠United last summer, made 19 Premier League appearances for Spurs this season, ⁠scoring twice.

Veteran coach Carlos Queiroz, who announced the latest squad list on Tuesday, will rely on Manchester ⁠City’s Antoine Semenyo and ⁠Athletic Club forward Inaki Williams, while PAOK’s former Chelsea defender Abdul Rahman Baba has been ‌recalled for the first time since 2023.

Ghana have been drawn in Group ‌L ‌alongside Croatia, England and Panama.

Ghana preliminary World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Benjamin Asare (Accra Hearts of Oak SC), Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St Gallen), Joseph Anang (St Patrick’s Athletic), Solomon Agbasi (Accra Hearts of Oak SC), Paul Reverson (Ajax).

Defenders: Baba Abdul Rahman (PAOK), Gideon Mensah (Auxerre), Marvin Senaya (Auxerre), Alidu Seidu (Rennes), Abdul Mumin (Rayo Vallecano), Jerome Opoku (Istanbul Basaksehir), Jonas Adjetey (Wolfsburg), Kojo Peprah Oppong (Nice), Alexander Djiku (Spartak Moscow), Elisha Owusu (Auxerre).

Midfielders: Thomas Partey (Villarreal), Kwasi Sibo (Real Oviedo), Augustine Boakye (Saint-Etienne), Caleb Yirenkyi (Nordsjaelland), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Leicester City).

Forwards: Kamaldeen Sulemana (Atalanta), Christopher Bonsu Baah (Al Qadsiah), Ernest Nuamah (Lyon), Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City), Brandon Thomas-Asante (Coventry City), Prince Kwabena Adu (Viktoria Plzen), Inaki Williams (Athletic Bilbao), Jordan Ayew (Leicester City).

Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto brings you the latest from southern Lebanon amidst increasing Israeli attacks.

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At 17, Moise Kouame becomes the youngest winner of a Grand Slam match with French Open win against Marin Cilic.

French teenager Moise Kouame announced himself on the Grand Slam stage in emphatic fashion, ⁠beating former US Open champion Marin Cilic 7-6(4) 6-2 6-1 at the French Open to become the youngest man to win a major main-draw match in 17 years.

Handed a wildcard by organisers, the 17-year-old French teen ⁠looked entirely unfazed on Court Simonne Mathieu in the first-round match on Tuesday as he made his Grand Slam debut against a player 20 years his senior and a former world number three.

Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion and a Roland Garros semifinalist in 2022, arrived in Paris ranked 46th in the world but was outplayed by the ‌fearless teenager, whose speed in defence and deft drop shots repeatedly drew applause from the crowd.

Ranked 318th, Kouame edged a tense opening set in a tiebreak after saving two set points before taking control of the match.

“It wasn’t easy. I always try to stay in the present moment and not think too much about the score. Today I managed to do that really well,” Kouame said on court.

Kouame did not concede a break of serve throughout the contest as he sealed victory in straight ⁠sets.

At 17 years and two months old, Kouame became the youngest player ⁠to win a Grand Slam match since Australia’s Bernard Tomic reached the 2009 Australian Open second round at the age of 16.

He is also the youngest player to advance past the first round at Roland Garros since Romania’s Dinu Pescariu achieved the feat ⁠in 1991 at 17 years and one month old.

“It’s a lot of emotion, it’s exceptional,” Kouame said. “Coming into this tournament, I didn’t really know what to ⁠expect. The team and I worked hard to be as ready ⁠as possible.”

The teenager, coached by former French player Richard Gasquet, claimed only the second main-tour win of his career after earning his first at the Miami Masters in March.

He will next face Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, who advanced after 20th seed Cameron Norrie retired ‌injured.

Kouame’s breakthrough run caps a rapid rise this season.

The Frenchman has won three ITF titles – the third tier of professional tennis – and received several wildcards on the main circuit, including at the Miami and Monte-Carlo ‌Masters.

“All ‌the experience I gained in Miami and Monte-Carlo probably helped me a little,” Kouame told reporters. “Technically, I felt pretty calm. I knew I was ready and I felt good mentally and physically.”

Russia has urged foreigners to leave in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, and warned of more strikes on the city, suggesting a major escalation in its more-than-four-year-long war on Ukraine.

In a statement issued on Monday, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it planned to target “decision-making centres and command posts” and drone manufacturing facilities in the Ukrainian city in a series of strikes.

Due to these facilities being allegedly “scattered throughout Kyiv”, Moscow told “foreign citizens, including personnel of diplomatic missions and international organisations, to leave the city as soon as possible”, the statement read.

The ministry’s statement also urged Kyiv residents to avoid all military and administrative infrastructure facilities in the capital, which could be potential targets.

A later statement said that Russian Foreign Minister ⁠Sergey Lavrov had ⁠advised US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of the plan and urged him to evacuate his embassy staff from Kyiv.

Moscow said these planned strikes were in response to a drone strike on a student dormitory in Starobilsk, in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region of Ukraine, which killed at least 18 people.

The threats come just days after Russian drone and rocket strikes on Kyiv on Saturday night killed at least four people and injured about 100 others.

What is behind Russia’s latest threats, and how significant are the threats to foreigners in Kyiv?

Here’s what we know:

Why is Russia threatening to attack Kyiv?

Ukraine has greatly improved its drone warfare capabilities in recent months, leading to more successful targeting of Russian military and energy infrastructure.

Most of these drones are homegrown interceptors, which have been designed to pursue attack enemy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) before they hit their targets.

They can also carry a wider range of payloads and do not self-destruct, unlike one-way drones, so they can be used again in future missions.

On May 17, at least five people were killed after Ukraine launched what Russian officials described as one of the largest drone barrages of the war, with waves of UAVs dispatched to Moscow and several other regions overnight.  The Indian embassy in Russia said one Indian worker was killed and three others injured in drone strikes in the Moscow region.

Moscow region’s Governor Andrei Vorobyov added that a woman was killed after a drone slammed into a house in Khimki, north of Moscow. Vorobyov added that apartment buildings and infrastructure sites were damaged in the attacks.

The Russian foreign ministry statement on Monday labelled the Staroblisk attack as a “flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law”, and “yet another blatant demonstration of the Nazi and terrorist nature of the Kyiv regime”.

What has Ukraine said?

Ukraine’s ⁠military has denied responsibility for the strike on the student dorm, saying it had struck ‌an elite drone command unit.

Since then, Russia has also heavily targeted Kyiv and its surrounding areas with massive missile and drone attacks. resulting in at least four people killed and more than 60 injured overnight Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Monday, Ukrainian officials also reported that strikes killed several people in the eastern Kharkiv and Donetsk regions.

So how significant are Russia’s latest threats?

While both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly launched attacks on one another’s cities, this was the first time Moscow had issued a direct warning to foreigners in Ukraine.

Commenting on this threat, Ukraine’s Foreign ⁠Minister Andrii Sybiha urged allies not to give in to “‌Russian blackmail”.

French Ambassador Gael Veyssiere noted that people in Kyiv were going about their daily lives on Monday, after the weekend’s strikes.

“It’s ⁠a way to demonstrate resilience, and I think it’s extremely important that we, around the world, we would ⁠support that,” Veyssiere told the Reuters news agency.

According to Philip Bednarczyk, the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Warsaw office director, Russia’s latest threat comes after “its attempts to break Ukraine’s will to fight over the course of the coldest winter during this war failed”.

“It is becoming clear that their war aims are not being met on the front lines, and conversely, Ukraine has taken an upper hand. Russia needs to change tactics and the narrative somehow, and this warning is an attempt to do so,” he told Al Jazeera.

What is the status of diplomacy in peace talks?

Russia and Ukraine have been holding peace talks since the war began in February 2022, but with little or no concrete outcomes.

When Donald Trump became the president of the US for the second time in January 2025, he promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.

He has since met both Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in separate meetings to discuss ending the war, but so far these efforts have not borne fruit.

The truce talks have largely stalled due to Russia’s insistence on keeping territory it has seized from Ukraine.

On May 22, US State Secretary Marco Rubio said that while trilateral talks had been unsuccessful, the United States was ready to organise a new round of peace talks.

But Washington has also been occupied with its war on Iran, which broke out on February 28, and analysts say EU nations might have to play a bigger part in peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.

“Unfortunately, US attention from this administration was not able to bring peace, and it looks that attention has gone towards other parts of the world, like Iran,” Bednarczyk said.

“Europe will have to take up that role, and I believe is capable of doing so, but it is extremely important to have American backing.”

But he was also sceptical about how serious Russia is right now about peace. “After all, this is their war of choice,” he said.

May 26 (UPI) — President Donald Trump‘s endorsements loom large over Tuesday’s primary election runoffs in Texas with longtime Sen. John Cornyn facing Trump-pick Ken Paxton.

Cornyn, the Republican who has held a Texas Senate seat since 2002, edged Paxton by a percentage point in the March 3 primary. Neither candidate reached 50% of the vote, necessitating Tuesday’s runoff.

Paxton, Texas’ attorney general, frequently challenged Biden administration policies and was given Trump’s endorsement about one week before the primary election. Trump has called Paxton a “True MAGA warrior.”

The president has also been critical of Cornyn for being on the fence about Trump during his 2016 campaign and saying Trump’s “time has passed him by” in 2024.

The winner of the primary will be set to face Rep. James Talarico, D-Texas, in November.

“It is now time for Texas Republican voters to decide if they want a strong nominee to help our GOP candidates down ballot and defeat Talarico in November, or a weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about,” Cornyn said.

As Paxton runs for Cornyn’s Senate seat, the role of attorney general is up for grabs between Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and state Sen. Mayes Middleton. Paxton has held the office of the attorney general since 2014.

Trump has not weighed in on the race between Roy and Middleton. Roy has often backed Trump policies but has broken from the president in key moments, including after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Roy alleged that Trump had committed “clearly impeachable conduct.” He did not vote to impeach Trump for a second time though.

Longtime Democratic Rep. Al Green is being challenged in a runoff election by 38-year-old Christian Menefee on Tuesday. Green, 78, has represented the Houston-area 9th Congressional District since 2005.

Cryptocurrency has become a key issue in the race between Green and Menefee. An industry-aligned super PAC has spent about $5 million in support of Menefee.

Pilgrims gather on the Day of Arafah, the spiritual peak of Hajj, retracing the Prophet Muhammad’s final sermon, braving intense heat. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris meets worshippers reflecting on faith, equality and their journeys to Mecca.

Real’s absence from Spain’s World Cup squad, while Barca dominate picks, explained by coach as ‘united nation’ first.

Luis de la Fuente has stressed that Spain’s badge outranks any club crest after naming a World Cup squad with a distinctly Barcelona hue ⁠and, for the first time, no Real Madrid player in sight.

The European champions head into next month’s tournament among the favourites, with coach De la Fuente’s 26-man squad built around eight Barcelona players and none from the Spanish capital’s biggest club, bringing ⁠the fierce El Clasico rivalry into the national team’s debate.

Defenders Dean Huijsen and Dani Carvajal were among the Real Madrid names to miss out on a team chasing Spain’s second World Cup title after their 2010 triumph in South Africa.

De la Fuente on Tuesday dismissed the idea that the decision could cost him support among Real Madrid fans.

“For me, the greatest team there is – the very ‌greatest – is the Spanish national team,” De la Fuente said during a breakfast with media representatives organised by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE.

“I don’t look at where players come from or their background. What matters are Spanish players who are proud to represent their country’s national team and to be part of a united nation.”

Yamal raring to go for Spain at World Cup after injury

Barcelona’s contingent comprises Joan Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Eric Garcia, Gavi, Pedri, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, while seven players called up are based in the Premier League.

The manager said sporting considerations ⁠alone guided his selection, even if squad decisions inevitably carried a subjective element.

“The day I ⁠make a mistake, fail to make the right choice, or act in a way that might be beneficial just to get a result, I’m putting my job on the line,” he said. Spain open Group H against Cape Verde before facing Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, but De la Fuente ⁠may yet take a cautious approach with Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Mikel Merino, who are all recovering from fitness concerns.

“We’re in contact with all the clubs,” he said. “We know that ⁠these players are in good physical shape; each one is making good ⁠progress in their recovery process. I’m very optimistic; I think they’ll be available for the first match.”

Still, De la Fuente said Spain’s view stretched beyond the opener.

“If we have to take a risk, mate, we’ll take it in a World Cup,” he said. “But… our view goes beyond the first match and ‌also the second. So, if we have to wait a little longer, we’ll wait.”

On Yamal, the 18-year-old Barcelona winger expected to carry much of Spain’s attacking threat, De la Fuente said youth had not dimmed his sense of occasion.

“Yamal is absolutely ‌thrilled ‌and raring to go,” he said. “He’s a very young lad, just 18, but he has a remarkable sense of maturity and knows that this is his moment.

“You have to seize the moment. And he knows this is his moment.”

May 26 (UPI) — Authorities in Laos were in a race against time and the weather Tuesday as day 7 of an operation to rescue seven people trapped in a flooded cave in a mineral-rich region north of the capital, Vientiane, came to a close.

The group, all locals, became trapped by landslides triggered by heavy rains on Wednesday after entering the remote cave, which is accessible only on foot, in the central province of Xaysomboun on a hunting and gold prospecting mission.

The landslides blocked the cave entrance and caused it to flood with muddy water.

The group have not been heard from since, but one person who managed to reach safety reported at least one area of the cave was not underwater and specialist cave rescue divers from neighboring Thailand who had joined the operation said they had found pockets of air.

“I’m confident that they are still alive because there is still air in the cave,” said Metta Tham Rescue head of operations Kengkard Bongkawong.

He said that with water levels still rising after torrential rain forced rescuers to retreat Sunday night, they were pumping water out 24 hours a day and placing fixed ropes inside for rescuers to follow.

“The route is not complicated but the problem is the space. It’s so narrow that we have to crawl and tilt to pass through; also the rocks are really sharp,” said Kengkard.

Kengkard took part in the dive operation in 2018 to rescue 12 members of a youth football team and their coach after they had been trapped for more than two weeks in a flooded cave in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province.

The Metta Tham Rescue team was joined at the site Monday by Finnish diver Mikko Paasi, and Thai cave diver Norrased Palasing, also both veterans of the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018.

The rescue turned into a huge international operation involving 10,000 specialists, from cave rescue and medical experts to Elon Musk, who had his engineers develop a mini rescue. submersible.

The mini sub was never used but two divers, both former Thai Navy SEALS, were killed in the operation.

An eyewitness captured the moment a car fell into a river as a bridge collapsed in China. Local media says the vehicle had broken down and couldn’t reverse, and the occupants got out before floodwaters swept it away.

Dozens of ICE agents clashed with protesters using pepper spray to disperse crowds outside a detention centre in New Jersey. Demonstrations were held on the fourth day of a detainee’s hunger strike.

New York Knicks are heading to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years after sweeping Cleveland Cavaliers in East finals.

As the clock wound down, few Cleveland Cavaliers ‌fans could be found. The New York Knicks left them with no reason to stick around.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored ⁠19 points and grabbed ⁠14 rebounds as the Knicks advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, routing the Cavaliers 130-93 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night.

The Knicks extended their franchise ⁠playoff-record winning streak to 11 games – matching the third-longest run in a single postseason in league history – and their long-suffering supporters took over Cleveland’s arena.

“Growing up in the (New York) area, I feel like the word hope has been gone for a ⁠long while, so to restore that is special,” Towns said. “There is nowhere better in the world than when (Madison Square) Garden has hope.”

OG Anunoby contributed 17 points and Landry Shamet scored 16 off the bench on 4-for-4 3-point shooting for New York, which built a 29-point lead in the second quarter and went up 123-78 in the fourth.

Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges finished with 15 points ‌apiece, and Josh Hart added six points, 11 rebounds and six assists. The former Villanova championship teammates relished the opportunity to win the East together.

“It’s something that is surreal,” Hart said. “We already share a bond and a brotherhood for life, and we’re going to keep adding memories for that.”

Brunson was named the series Most Valuable Player (MVP) for averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 assists. The Knicks have outscored their opponents by 262 points during their win streak, the most dominant span in league history, playoffs or regular season.

‘They’re on a heater’

Donovan Mitchell logged 31 points and Evan Mobley posted 15 points and seven rebounds for ⁠Cleveland, which reached the East finals for the first time since 2018. James Harden had ⁠12 points and five turnovers while missing all six of his 3-point tries.

“Sometimes you’ve got to ultimately give the other team credit,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They played great basketball and they’re on a heater.”

The Knicks’ Mike Brown is off to the NBA Finals for the second time as a head coach, ⁠having led the Cavaliers to their first East crown in 2007.

The 37-point defeat was the Cavaliers’ largest ever in a playoff home game.

“We have unfinished business,” Mitchell said. “I have ⁠no doubt this group can get there.”

New York dominated the rebounding battle 60-33, ⁠with backup centre Mitchell Robinson grabbing 10 boards in 18 minutes.

The road team delivered the knockout blow early, with a 20-0 run over a span of 4:39 from late in the first quarter into the second. A dunk by Towns punctuated the surge, making the score 50-26.

The Knicks eventually built a 61-32 lead ‌on Shamet’s third 3-pointer of the half.

Mitchell scored 10 points, and Mobley had seven in the first six minutes, putting the Cavaliers up 17-14. A 9-0 run then put New York on top for good. Robinson entered for New York and made ‌an ‌impact with six points and four rebounds, prompting a 24-9 run to end the quarter.

Cleveland backup point guard Dennis Schroder was a late scratch with an illness.

Among the Knicks’ celebrity fans seated courtside were comedian Tracy Morgan, filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Timothee Chalamet.

New York will play either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals. The teams are currently tied at 2-2 in the Western Conference finals.