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Pakistan Foreign Minister Dar to visit Washington on Friday, meet Rubio

KARACHI, May 28 (Reuters) - Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will visit Washington on Friday where he will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The visit comes as Islamabad is attempting to negotiate a peace pact to permanently end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Dar will meet Rubio "to review bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest", the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar attends a Security Council meeting at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, U.S., May 26, 2026. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Spurning just war, Pope Leo ends Catholic 'permission slip' for conflicts

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY, May 28 (Reuters) - Pope Leo this week repudiated a major teaching used by the Catholic Church since at least the fifth century to evaluate when countries might be justified in waging wars, in a move experts said could have long-reaching impact for global powers.

The disavowal of the doctrine came in the pope's first major document, issued on Monday, which also urged global regulation of AI systems and made the clearest apology yet for the Catholic Church's historic role in supporting transatlantic slavery.

Pope Leo XIV leaves following the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, May 27, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

Three tankers reportedly attacked by drones in Black Sea, shipping agency says

ISTANBUL, May 28 (Reuters) - Drone attacks were reported on three tankers in the Black Sea on Thursday near Turkey's northern coast, shipping agency Tribeca said.

The tanker James II, sailing under the Palau flag and in ballast, was some 50 miles (80 km) north of the Turkeli Area in the Black Sea when the incident occurred, the agency said.

The tankers Altura and Velora, sailing under the Sierra Leone flag and in ballast, were reportedly attacked in a nearby area while doing a ship-to-ship operation, the agency also said.

FILE PHOTO: Sierra Leone-flagged crude oil tanker Altura transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, March 16, 2026. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo

How Israel has emptied southern Lebanon far beyond the front lines

By Alexander Dziadosz, Nazih Osseiran and Catherine Cartier

SIDON/BEIRUT, May 28 (Reuters) - The ceasefire agreed in Lebanon last month has brought little respite for civilians, who are being driven from a steadily expanding swathe of the country by a relentless Israeli campaign of evacuations and air strikes.

The U.S.-brokered truce announced on April 16, after about six weeks of fighting, has failed to halt the violence between Israel and Hezbollah. Both are carrying out near-daily attacks while accusing the other of violating the pact.

Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following Israeli strikes, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon May 28, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Israel launches deadly strike near Beirut, widening Lebanon offensive

Israel pounded south Lebanon with deadly strikes and widened its offensive with the first raid near Beirut in weeks where authorities said a woman and two children were killed despite a ceasefire.

The attack near the capital came after heavy strikes on south Lebanon that authorities said had killed at least 14 people, including three children.

The escalation comes as Lebanon and Israel prepare for talks between military delegations at the Pentagon on Friday, and for US-brokered talks early next week -- the fourth round since the latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict erupted.

A fireball erupts from a building following an Israeli strike in Tyre

US, Iran accuse each other of violating truce after attacks

The United States and Iran accused each other of violating an ongoing truce on Thursday following an exchange of fire, three months after the Middle East war began with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic.

The latest exchange was the most serious since the ceasefire started in April, rattling ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the war and drawing in US ally Kuwait, which accused Iran of a "dangerous escalation".

US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum (L), US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd L) and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) listen to US President Donald Trump (C) weigh options on Iran in a cabinet meeting

Iran and US trade air strikes after Trump dismisses report of Hormuz deal

By Jana Choukeir, Enas Alashray and Phil Stewart

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) - Iran's Revolutionary Guard said on Thursday it targeted a U.S. airbase after the U.S. military carried out what a Washington official said were strikes targeting an Iranian drone operation near the Strait of Hormuz, hours after President Donald Trump rejected a report he was close to a compromise deal with Tehran.

People ride past an anti-U.S. billboard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and the Strait of Hormuz, in Tehran, Iran, May 25, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Austrian trial over foiled attack on Taylor Swift concert enters final day

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA, May 28 (Reuters) - The trial of a 21-year-old man over a foiled Islamist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024 enters its final day on Thursday, with the defendant, Beran A, having already pleaded guilty to the main charges including terrorism-related offences.

Beran A, whose last name has not been made public in accordance with Austrian privacy rules, was arrested on August 7, 2024, the day before the first of three planned concerts by the U.S. pop star in the Austrian capital.

The courthouse where a 21-year-old Austrian suspected of being an Islamic State (IS) supporter who was planning an attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert in 2024 will go on trial, in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, April 28, 2026. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger

Temperatures likely to remain at record levels in 2026-2030: UN

Global average temperatures are likely to continue at or near record levels this year and for the next four years afterwards, the United Nations warned Thursday.

The 11 hottest individual years ever recorded all happened from 2015 onwards and the UN's weather and climate agency said the trend was set to continue, with a new hottest-ever year "likely" before 2031.

There is a 75 percent chance that the 2026-2030 five-year mean temperature will surpass the key threshold of 1.5C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average, the World Meteorological Organization said.

Global temperatures are set to stay at or around record highs, says the WMO