World News · Wednesday, 30 September 2026

01 Briefing what happened

US troops leave their last bases in Iraq, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards ask American voters to change their government

Armed groups in Iraq that Iran backs call the US exit a victory, and a Kurdish commander says Islamic State cells are already moving. Iran's Revolutionary Guards told American voters the war ends only when the US admits defeat and leaves. Also today: Estonia blames Russia for an arson attack, Morocco gets its first woman prime minister, and Spain moves to stop evictions.

4,500

Americans killed in Iraq across more than two decades of war

the last to die, an army sergeant, was killed near Erbil in July [1]

1/3

of Iraq held by Islamic State at its height

Iraqi officers say a suspected cell was preparing suicide attacks to time with the US exit [1]

25 pages

in the Revolutionary Guards' open letter to American voters

published five weeks before the US midterm elections [2][3]

2.5 million

Iranian rials for one US dollar, a record low on Tuesday

the war has worn Iran's economy down further, AP reports [4]

The lead story — what happened

US troops are due out of their last bases in Iraq by Wednesday 30 September, under a deal agreed in 2024. [1]
About 4,500 Americans died in Iraq, in a war that began in 2003 when the US invaded and toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq's dictator. [1]
Seven of the 18 US troops listed as killed in this year's war on Iran died in Iraq. [1]
US troops left once before, at the end of 2011. They came back less than three years later to fight Islamic State, which at its height held a third of Iraq. [1]
Armed groups in Iraq that Iran backs call the exit a victory. One of their commanders told Reuters they will celebrate on 30 September. [1]
A Kurdish commander says Islamic State sleeper cells have been moving for more than two weeks, ever since the exit date was made public. [1]
On Tuesday Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a military force whose power has grown during the war, published a 25-page open letter to the American people. [2][3]
The letter comes five weeks before the US midterm elections, and it says the Trump administration 'must be changed'. [3]
The Guards' spokesman, General Hossein Mohebbi, said the war will end only when the US admits defeat and leaves. [4]
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that no infrastructure in the region will be safe if Iran's own security is not guaranteed. [5]
Iran has blockaded commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the sea lane that carried a fifth of the world's oil, since the war began. [5] It is waiting for a formal US answer to its plan to reopen it within seven days. [6]
Trump denied a report that he had offered Iran relief from sanctions, writing: 'I offered them NOTHING.' [7]

7 of 18

US troops killed in this year's war on Iran

Each figure is one of the 18 US troops listed as killed in this year's war on Iran. The seven filled in died in Iraq.

Who is involved

Iran's Revolutionary Guards

a military force in Iran whose power has grown during the war; it wrote the open letter to American voters [2]
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq

an umbrella group of armed factions in Iraq that Iran backs; it calls the US exit a victory [1]
Donald Trump

the US president, at war with Iran alongside Israel since February; he denies offering Iran sanctions relief [7]
Qatar

a small Gulf state carrying messages between Iran and the US; it says it hopes for a breakthrough [7]

How it unfolded

2003 US forces invade Iraq and topple Saddam Hussein [1]
End of 2011 US troops leave Iraq for the first time [1]
2014-2017 US troops return to help Iraq's army defeat Islamic State [1]
28 Feb 2026 the war on Iran begins [3]
Tue 29 Sept the Revolutionary Guards publish their letter to American voters [2]
Wed 30 Sept the last US troops are due out of Iraq [1]

Where this points

Watch whether Islamic State or the armed groups Iran backs move first into the space the US leaves in Iraq, and whether the US sends Iran a written answer on Hormuz before the 3 November midterms. [1][4][6]

What is pushing on the whole day

The bar and the word are our reading of how hard each one is pushing today. The arrow is where it is heading. The evidence is in the stories below.

Danger at sea High↑

Somali pirates killed five crew on a hijacked tanker, which appear to be the first such killings in more than a decade. [19] Yemen's Houthi rebels have stopped Saudi tankers passing the Bab el-Mandeb, the Red Sea's southern gate. [32] Oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz this month is set to reach only about half its pre-war level. [2]

Armies killing civilians High→

A military air strike on Kyauktaw, a town in western Myanmar, has now killed 50 people. [28] Amnesty says Mali's army and Russian mercenaries killed at least 34 civilians. [29] People in Alamata, a town in Ethiopia's Tigray region, say an attack on the market killed 11. [45]

Governments sending migrants away Building↑

Malaysia sent its first 1,476 Myanmar nationals home, despite UN warnings. [36] The US Supreme Court let deportations to countries migrants are not from start again. [38] Spain drafted rules making some migrants in Ceuta, its city in North Africa, appeal from outside Spain. [39]

Elections close by Building↑

Iran's Revolutionary Guards wrote to American voters five weeks before the US midterms. [3] Israel's security agency refused to guard the opposition leader who tops the polls before its 27 October election. [46] Guinea-Bissau's ousted president plans to fly home and run in December. [34]

The rest of the day

25 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

02
Estonia says Russia ordered an arson attack

Estonia's Internal Security Service said on Tuesday that Russia's security services ordered a fire at Milrem Robotics in Tallinn, the capital, in August. [8] Milrem is a defence company that sends driverless military vehicles to Ukraine. [8] The three suspects are Latvians who had lived in Russia, and they were arrested in Latvia and handed to Estonia. [9][8] Russia called the accusation unfounded. [8] AP has counted about 200 acts of sabotage in Europe blamed on Russia since 2022. [8]

Why it matters — Estonia sits on NATO's eastern edge next to Russia, and it summoned Russia's top diplomat in the country. [10] France's president called the string of such attacks a dangerous escalation. [9]
03
Morocco gets its first woman prime minister

King Mohammed VI named Fatima Zahra El Mansouri, 50, as Morocco's prime minister on Tuesday. [13] Her party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), came first in last week's election with 97 of the 395 seats. [12] That is far short of the 198 needed to govern alone, so her first job is to build a coalition. [12] Morocco's constitution makes the king pick from the party that wins most seats, a rule protesters won in 2011. [11] She is the Arab world's second woman prime minister, after Tunisia's Najla Bouden. [11][12]

Why it matters — Most power in Morocco stays with the king. [13] But the new government will decide how billions of dollars are spent before the 2030 football World Cup, which Morocco co-hosts. [12]
04
Spain moves to stop evictions

Spain's coalition government approved a housing decree on Tuesday, after protests over the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal, 87, from her flat in Madrid. [16][17] She was carried out on a stretcher last week, and tens of thousands of people then protested across Spain. [17][15] The decree protects vulnerable tenants from eviction until 2030 and bans speculative home buying by investment funds until 2028. [17] It also rolls rental contracts over until 2028. [14] Parliament must approve it within 30 days, and Spain's government has no majority there. [14]

Why it matters — Housing has been too expensive for ordinary Spaniards for years. [15] Junts, a Catalan party whose votes Spain's government needs, says small landlords must not be treated like big funds. [14]
05
Somali pirates kill five crew on a tanker

Pirates holding the MT Honour 25, an oil tanker, killed five of its crew before Puntland's maritime police retook the ship, officials said on Tuesday. [19] Puntland is a self-governing region of Somalia. [19] Three of the dead were from Pakistan, one from Myanmar and one from India. [19] The ship was seized on 21 April, and ransom talks stalled because nobody could say clearly who owned it. [18] These appear to be the first killings by Somali pirates in more than a decade. [19]

Why it matters — At least 15 attacks have been reported off Somalia since April, and experts link the return of piracy partly to the war with Iran. [19] The last wave, from 2008 to 2014, cost the world economy billions of dollars. [20]
06
Myanmar air strike toll rises to 50

The death toll from Monday's military air strike on Kyauktaw, a town in Myanmar's Rakhine state, rose to 50 on Tuesday as rescuers found more bodies. [28] At least 58 people were wounded, says the Arakan Army, the armed group that controls the area. [28] Women and children were among the dead. [28] It is the deadliest such attack in Rakhine since a hospital bombing in December killed at least 30. [28] A spokesperson for Myanmar's government did not reply. [28]

Why it matters — Myanmar has been at civil war since its army seized power in 2021, and about 100,000 people have been killed. [28] The Arakan Army says it will hit back at anyone involved. [28]
07
South Korea blames the North for a mine blast

South Korea's defence minister said on Tuesday that a North Korean mine caused a blast on 21 September inside the DMZ, the strip of land between the two Koreas. [26] The UN Command, the US-led force that oversees the 1953 truce, said on Wednesday it found an active North Korean mine on the southern side. [25] Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's sister, called the claim a farce. [26] South Korea's military told the North to stop building up the border at once. [27]

Why it matters — Since 2024 North Korea has laid mines and built barriers to seal the border for good. [25] South Korea says it will respond in stages, without saying how. [25]
08
Hurricane Polo hits Mexico's Baja coast

Hurricane Polo came ashore south of Las Barrancas, on Mexico's Baja California peninsula, early on Tuesday as a Category 2 storm. [21][22] Its winds reached 175 km/h, down from Category 3 strength on Monday. [21] It hit a far emptier stretch of coast than the Los Cabos resorts at the peninsula's tip. [22] Mexico sent nearly 7,000 troops to Baja California Sur state and opened 169 shelters there. [24] Tropical Storm Rachel is also moving along Mexico's coast. [21]

Why it matters — Forecasters warned of floods in 10 US states, including Arizona and Texas, as the storm's rain moves north. [23][24] US forecasters say this Pacific season has been busier than normal, as in El Nino years, when the Pacific warms and weather shifts worldwide. [21][24]
09
UN envoy meets Yemen's Houthis

The UN's envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said on Tuesday that he met the Houthis' chief negotiator in Muscat, Oman's capital, at the weekend. [32] The Houthis, an armed movement backed by Iran, took the Red Sea port city of Mokha and several islands earlier in September. [32] That ended a 2022 ceasefire in Yemen's 12-year civil war. [32] The fighting since has killed at least 838 people and driven more than 145,000 from their homes, UN agencies say. [32]

Why it matters — The Houthis now reach the Bab el-Mandeb strait, at the mouth of the Red Sea, and have stopped Saudi tankers going through. [32] About 12% of world trade passes that strait. [32]
10
Putin makes Russia's army bigger again

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree adding 15,500 soldiers to Russia's army, his fourth such order since March. [33] It sets the army's size at 1,550,500 military personnel, and the four orders together add 47,860. [33] Putin gave no reason. [33] Russian advances in Ukraine have slowed this year, because drones make it hard to move large units. [33] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has already begun a new call-up. [33]

Why it matters — Many Russians fear being sent to the front, and some analysts expect a new call-up this autumn. [33] Putin has called those rumours 'utter nonsense'. [33]
11
US Senate blocks a West Bank report

The US Senate voted 51 to 47 on Tuesday against a resolution on Israel and the West Bank. [30] It would have made the US State Department report on nine Americans killed there since 2022 by Israeli settlers or security forces. [30] Every Republican voted no except Rand Paul, and every Democrat voted yes except John Fetterman. [30] Chris Van Hollen, the Democrat who led it, said it was 'long past time' to look. [30]

For the report47 votes
Against51 votes
How the 100-seat US Senate voted on the West Bank report. It failed by four votes.

Why it matters — If the Trump administration had failed to deliver the report, US aid to Israel could have been limited. [30] The vote came weeks before US midterm elections that polls say the Republicans could lose. [30]
12
Settlers stop a family going home

More than 100 Israeli settlers clashed with soldiers who were escorting Mahmoud Tubasi, a Palestinian, back to his house in Jalud, a West Bank village, overnight into Tuesday. [4] The settlers threw rocks, blocked roads and set Palestinian property on fire. [4] Three officers were hurt, and the army said the mission 'was not completed'. [4] Police arrested three settlers, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the riot. [4] Tubasi told AP that settlers have besieged his house for two months. [4]

Why it matters — Rights groups accuse Israel's army of working with the settlers. [4] Violence by settlers against Palestinians has risen sharply this year. [30]
13
Israel kills a Hamas commander in Gaza

An Israeli strike on a Gaza City flat killed Izz al-Din al-Beik, a Hamas commander Israel says planned attacks, and one other person. [31] Hamas confirmed his death. [31] Israel says it has killed at least 20 Hamas figures this month, and accuses Hamas of rearming in breach of the ceasefire. [31] Hamas denies it. [31] More than 1,400 Palestinians have been killed since that ceasefire began nearly a year ago, Gaza's health ministry says. [4]

Why it matters — The same day in Nuseirat, a camp in central Gaza, families buried the recovered remains of 41 people killed in one day early in the war. [31]
14
Amnesty accuses Mali's army and Wagner

Amnesty International said on Tuesday that Mali's army and Russia's Wagner mercenaries killed at least 34 civilians in seven incidents between June 2023 and December 2025. [29] Most victims were herders, attacked for their ethnic group and for living where jihadist groups were active, it said. [29] Victims were shot, had their throats cut or were burned alive. [29] Mali's military government denies killing civilians. [29] Wagner left Mali in 2025, but the Africa Corps, made up of many former Wagner fighters, still operates there. [29]

Why it matters — Mali's army has ruled since coups in 2020 and 2021, and it fights jihadist groups alongside Russian fighters. [29] Amnesty says it sent its findings to Mali's government in August and got no answer. [29]
15
US court lets 'third country' deportations restart

The US Supreme Court let the Trump administration restart deporting migrants to countries that are not their own, while the case waits for a hearing in December. [38] A judge in Boston had ruled the policy unlawful. [38] Rights groups count more than 25,000 people sent to 29 countries under it, most to Mexico. [38] Others went to South Sudan, Uganda, Liberia and the Central African Republic. [38] The court's three liberal judges disagreed. [38]

Why it matters — A lawyer for the migrants says the ruling lets the US government send people to countries where they face persecution or torture. [38]
16
Malaysia starts sending Myanmar refugees home

Malaysia began sending 1,476 Myanmar nationals home on Tuesday, the first of 5,000 to go in stages. [36] Malaysia's government says two Myanmar navy warships and a hospital ship are carrying them. [36] It held 10,388 Myanmar nationals in immigration detention in mid-August. [36] The UN refugee agency warned that parts of Myanmar are still dangerous. [36] Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says Malaysia cannot host refugees forever. [36]

Held in detention, mid-August10,388 people
To be sent home5,000 people
Left on Tuesday1,476 people
Myanmar nationals in Malaysia's detention centres, and how many are being sent back.

Why it matters — Malaysia hosts about 215,600 registered refugees, including 126,000 Rohingya, a Muslim minority Myanmar has long refused citizenship. [36] It has not signed the UN Refugee Convention. [36]
17
South Africa orders an emergency response

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national emergency response on Tuesday, after the bodies of 12 women were found east of Johannesburg in two months. [37] He ordered every town to find places where women are unsafe, such as broken streetlights and abandoned buildings. [37] Four people have been arrested, but police have found no evidence that one person killed them all. [37] He admitted the country has 'not done enough' to protect women. [37]

Why it matters — The country's Human Rights Commission says 569 women were killed in South Africa between April and June alone. [37]
18
Spain drafts tougher asylum rules for Ceuta

Spain plans tougher asylum rules for the more than 10,000 migrants still in Ceuta, its small city on Morocco's coast, a draft decree seen by Reuters shows. [39] More than 70,000 people crossed into Ceuta from Morocco in late July. [39] Under the draft, a migrant from a country the EU calls safe, such as Morocco, must appeal a rejected claim from outside Spain. [39] It would apply to everyone who arrived since 30 July. [39]

Why it matters — Spain's left-wing government has long welcomed migrants, so the draft would be a big change. [39] Legal experts and aid groups say it breaks migrants' rights, and Spain's interior ministry would not comment. [39]
19
Tigray residents say a market was attacked

Residents of Alamata, a town in the south of Ethiopia's Tigray region, told DW that an attack on the town's Saturday market killed 11 people and wounded 15. [45] DW could not check the claims, and Ethiopia's army did not reply. [45] Pro-government media say federal troops took Alamata on 27 September, and a source told DW they are pushing towards Mekelle, Tigray's capital. [45] The fighting grew on 23 September, when Tigrayan forces seized the airports at Mekelle, Aksum and Shire. [45]

Why it matters — Between 162,000 and 600,000 people died in the 2020-22 war over Tigray, depending on who counts. [45] The Red Cross has managed to get only about 160 people out. [45]
20
US keeps a camp for Afghans open

The Trump administration was set on Tuesday to keep Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar open for nine more months, two US officials told AP. [40] The camp holds 1,039 Afghans who worked with the US military, or are relatives of US troops. [40] It was due to close on Wednesday, the end of the US budget year. [40] The US is still looking for other countries to take them, and has considered war-torn Congo. [40]

7 of 10
people in the camp who are women and children
About seven in every ten of the 1,039 Afghans in the Qatar camp are women and children, by the count of #AfghanEvac, a group that campaigns for them.

Why it matters — They have waited since US forces left Afghanistan in 2021 and the Taliban took back control. [40] More than 70% of them are women and children. [40]
21
No bombs found in the Fairford inquiry

British counter-terrorism police said on Tuesday they found no explosive devices near RAF Fairford, a British base used by US forces to strike Iran. [43] They did find petrol when they searched vehicles at the scene. [43] The five men arrested on Sunday, all Britons in their 20s, are on bail and still under investigation. [43][44] US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the case 'clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor', but gave no evidence. [44] Iran denies any role. [44]

Why it matters — Police say they are looking at whether anyone was working for a foreign state, knowingly or not. [44]
22
Ousted Guinea-Bissau leader plans a comeback

Umaro Sissoco Embalo, Guinea-Bissau's president until a military coup last November, plans to fly home on 4 October to run in December's election, a source told Reuters. [34] The coup came just before results of an earlier vote were due. [34] The army then named a general as president for a transition and set new elections for 6 December. [34] A new constitution, approved in August, says candidates must have lived in the country for the last five years. [34]

Why it matters — Embalo has lived abroad since the coup, and it is not clear whether that rule will stop him. [34] Guinea-Bissau, a small West African country, has had many coups and is a stop for cocaine on its way to Europe. [34]
23
A journalist becomes a king in Uganda

A prince who worked as a TV journalist was due to be crowned king of Tooro, a traditional kingdom in western Uganda, on Tuesday, taking the name Edward Rukidi Nyabongo. [35] Clan elders chose him after King Oyo died of cancer in August, aged 34, with no publicly known heir. [35] Oyo's mother says he left a young son, and that his written will was not followed. [35] Uganda's kingdoms were banned in the 1960s and restored in 1993. [35]

Why it matters — Uganda's traditional kings have no formal power and must stay out of party politics. [35] But they carry great authority among their people. [35]
24
128 delegations raise AI at the UN

The UN General Assembly's yearly debate ended on Tuesday, and 128 delegations had raised artificial intelligence in it, against five four years ago. [41] Bangladesh's foreign minister, Khalilur Rahman, who chaired the debate, gave that count. [41] At a UN Security Council session on AI, Congo's foreign minister said poorer countries must not be only users of technology designed elsewhere. [41] The heads of OpenAI and Anthropic, two leading AI labs, spoke at the same session. [41]

Four years ago5 delegations
This year128 delegations
How many delegations raised AI in their speeches at the UN's yearly debate, as counted by the debate's chair.

Why it matters — The World Bank says AI could give poorer countries a century of development in a decade, if they fix gaps in power, internet and skills. [41]
25
Indonesia opens 480 free-meal kitchens

Indonesia will open 480 new kitchens for its free school meals scheme in October, most of them in remote areas. [42] Of those, 269 will be in 16 eastern provinces where many children are stunted, which means too short for their age because of poor food. [42] The scheme was a key promise in President Prabowo Subianto's election campaign, and aims to feed 83 million children and pregnant women. [42] It has been hit by corruption claims and more than 50,000 cases of food poisoning. [42]

This year, first plan335 trillion rupiah
This year, after the cut229 trillion rupiah
Next year240 trillion rupiah
The budget for Indonesia's free meals scheme, in trillions of rupiah.

Why it matters — This year's budget was cut from 335 trillion rupiah to 229 trillion, about $12.8bn, so the agency is putting remote areas first. [42]
26
Israel's security agency won't guard Eisenkot

Israel's Shin Bet security agency told Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday that it will not give him state bodyguards before the 27 October election. [46] Eisenkot, a former army chief, leads the Yashar party, which is ahead in most polls. [46] His campaign says threats against him are growing, and an official committee had recommended protection. [46] The same day, Israel's attorney general asked its Supreme Court to bar Sami Abu Shehadeh, leader of Balad, an Arab party. [47] He wrote a column that appeared to back armed struggle against Israel. [47]

Why it matters — The Shin Bet will let Eisenkot's private guards carry guns instead. [46] Other Arab parties barred from the election last week are expected to be let back in by the court. [47]

02 Lesson why it matters

When an army leaves, the best-organised group nearby moves in

A foreign army holds its rivals back just by being there, so when it goes, whoever is armed and ready nearby takes the space first.

The twist

Announcing the day you will leave tells your rivals when to be ready. In Iraq, a Kurdish commander says Islamic State cells have been moving for more than two weeks, ever since the date was made public.

The picture

US troops in Iraq, 2003-20118 · 35%
Gone, 2011-20143 · 13%
Back to fight Islamic State, 2014-202612 · 52%

The 23 years since the US invaded Iraq in 2003, counted in years. After leaving at the end of 2011, US troops were gone for less than three years before they came back to fight Islamic State.

How it works

A foreign army holds its rivals back just by being there
A date is set for it to leave
Armed groups nearby get ready for that date
The army goes, and nobody has yet taken its place
The group that prepared best moves in first

The same force, elsewhere today

Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

The camp for Afghans in Qatar

US forces left Afghanistan in 2021, and the Taliban took back control. The 1,039 Afghans who had worked with the US are still waiting in Qatar for a country to take them.
Amnesty's report on Mali

Wagner's fighters left Mali in 2025. The Africa Corps, made up of many former Wagner fighters, is still operating there.
Uganda's new Tooro king

King Oyo died with no publicly known heir, and the clan elders, the group organised to act, chose a new king. The queen mother says Oyo left a young son, but the boy has not been shown.

Where you've seen this

A classroom

when the teacher steps out, the group of friends who already sit together decides what happens next

A high street

when a big shop closes, the chain that already has a store nearby usually takes its customers

An office

when a manager quits suddenly, the colleague who already knows the job is the one who gets it

The catch

It does not always happen. Sometimes the local government is the best-prepared group and takes the space itself, and Iraq's government says it is trying to rein in the armed groups Iran backs.

And the whole of it

The people who live with a departure are the ones who stay: a tribal leader in Falluja, Afghans waiting in a camp in Qatar, herders in Mali. The dates the armies left were set by governments far away. Anyone who has watched a teacher or a boss leave has seen, on a small scale, who steps in first.

03 Truth what's really going on

What is really going on

US troops are leaving Iraq on a date agreed in 2024, in the middle of a US war with Iran. [1] Iran says its aim is to push US forces out of the whole Middle East, and on Tuesday its Revolutionary Guards told American voters the war ends only when the US admits defeat and leaves. [1][4]

Why it works on us — The letter tells Americans that they and Iranians are both victims of the same leaders, which makes a demand to change the US government sound like sympathy. [3]

Who gains

Armed groups in Iraq that Iran backs — The last US bases close, and analysts expect them to push for more say over Iraq's security and politics. [1]
Maricarmen Abascal, 87 — The fund that owns her Madrid flat agreed she can return, paying no more than the 500 euros a month she paid before. [17]
Fatima Zahra El Mansouri's party, PAM — Coming first gave it the right to lead Morocco's government, and with it the choices on billions of dollars of World Cup spending. [11][12]
The US Department of Homeland Security — The Supreme Court let it restart deportations to third countries while the case waits until December. [38]
Malaysia's government — It starts cutting a detention population of 10,388 Myanmar nationals by sending 5,000 home in stages. [36]

Who pays

Iraqis who fear a gap in security — A Sunni tribal leader in Falluja says Iraq is not ready to take over its own security, and that a sudden exit leaves a vacuum. [1]
People in Iran — Their currency fell to a record low of more than 2.5 million rials to the dollar on Tuesday. [4]
The crew of the Honour 25 — Five were killed before the rescue: three from Pakistan, one from Myanmar and one from India. [19]
Small landlords in Spain — Junts says the decree puts people who put their savings into one flat in the same basket as big investment funds. [14]
Myanmar nationals sent home from Malaysia — They return to a country at civil war, and the UN refugee agency says they could face serious risks. [36][28]
Civilians in Kyauktaw, Myanmar — A military air strike on the town killed 50 people and wounded at least 58, the Arakan Army says. [28]

What nobody knows yet

Open questions from across today’s stories — ours included.

01

Whether Islamic State can come back in Iraq.

A Kurdish commander says its sleeper cells are moving, and Iraqi security officers say a suspected cell was preparing suicide attacks. Nobody has said how many fighters are left. [1]
02

What the US will answer on Iran's plan to reopen Hormuz.

Iran says it is waiting for a formal reply through Qatar. Trump has dismissed the plan in public, and no written answer has been published. [6][5]
03

Whether Spain's eviction ban covers every tenant.

The full text is not out. The Hindu reports a ban on evictions until 2030, while AP says the protection is for vulnerable tenants. [15][17]
04

Whether the decree survives Spain's parliament.

The government has 30 days and no majority, and Junts, whose votes it needs, says it is still far from agreeing. [14]
05

How many people were hurt by the mine in the DMZ.

France 24 reports three South Korean officers badly injured, one losing a foot. Reuters says two personnel were wounded. [25][26]
06

How many crew the Honour 25 carried, and who owns it.

Dawn counts 19 crew and Reuters 17. Nobody has clearly established who owned the ship, which is why ransom talks stalled for five months. [18][20]
07

Whether anyone directed the plan at RAF Fairford.

Rubio says a foreign actor is clearly involved but gave no evidence, Iran denies it, and police found petrol but no bombs. [44][43]
08

How many people Russia really plans to call up.

Putin's four decrees add 47,860 soldiers since March. Ukraine's intelligence says Russia plans up to 300,000 this year, and Putin calls talk of a new call-up nonsense. [33]

04 Hope carry this

Maricarmen Abascal, 87, who was carried out of her Madrid flat on a stretcher last week, is going home. The fund that owns the flat agreed she can return, paying no more than the rent she paid before.

Also true today

Morocco has its first woman prime minister, Fatima Zahra El Mansouri. In 2009 she also became the first woman to be mayor of Marrakesh.