Russian strikes on Kyiv kill 1, wound at least 31

May 14, 2026

Summary

Russian strikes on Kyiv killed one person and wounded at least 31, Ukrainian officials said, as rescue efforts continued.

Why this matters

The attack underscored the continued intensity of Russia’s war in Ukraine after a brief ceasefire. It also highlighted the pressure on Ukraine’s partners as Kyiv seeks more international support.

Large-scale Russian strikes on Kyiv killed one person and wounded at least 31 others, city and emergency officials said Thursday, as attacks resumed after a brief ceasefire ended.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 670 attack drones and 56 missiles, with strikes focused mainly on Kyiv.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said one person was killed and 16 others were wounded in the city.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service later said 31 people, including a child, were wounded in strikes across the Kyiv region. Military authorities said six districts of the capital and six districts in the surrounding region were hit.

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Africa

ANC backs Ramaphosa legal challenge in Farmgate

Ramaphosa, who has been South Africa’s president since 2018, has denied wrongdoing in the case.

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South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee decided on Wednesday to back President Cyril Ramaphosa over the “Farmgate” scandal, public broadcaster SABC reported.

The committee also supported Ramaphosa’s decision to challenge in court an independent panel report that found evidence he may have committed misconduct, SABC political reporter Samkele Maseko said in a post on X.

The ANC’s National Executive Committee, a decision-making body that guides party members, met on Wednesday to discuss its response to the scandal.

At the start of the meeting, a senior ANC official told reporters that calls for Ramaphosa to step down were opportunistic and that there was nothing in the Constitutional Court judgment requiring his resignation.

The scandal centers on the 2020 theft of cash hidden in a sofa at Ramaphosa’s ranch. He faced calls to resign earlier this week.

The ANC blocked impeachment proceedings against Ramaphosa in 2022, but the Constitutional Court revived the process last week.
Asia

Third Everest death raises Nepal climber toll to 5

Authorities issued 492 Everest permits for the April-to-May climbing season, at $15,000 each, up from 478 in 2023.

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A Nepali Sherpa guide died after falling into a crevasse on Mount Everest, marking the third death on the mountain in two weeks and bringing Nepal’s Himalayan climbing death toll this season to five, officials said Tuesday.

Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 21, slipped on snow and fell into a crevasse near Camp III at about 7,200 meters (23,620 feet), said Nisha Thapa Rawat of Nepal’s tourism department.

Another Nepali climber, Bijay Ghimire Bishwakarma, 35, died during an acclimatization exercise in the Khumbu Icefall, while Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, 51, died on his way to base camp earlier this month, hiking officials said.

Last week, American climber Johannesen Shelley, 53, died on Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest peak at 8,463 meters (27,765 feet), while David Ronbinek of the Czech Republic died on nearby Makalu II, which is 7,678 meters (25,190 feet) high, officials said.
Middle East

Ship seized off UAE coast, headed toward Iran

There were no immediate claims of responsibility. Iran has seized several ships since the war began.

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A ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates was seized Thursday and was heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military said.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that unauthorized personnel took the vessel while it was anchored 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers, 44 miles) northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz.

The center did not identify the ship and said it was investigating.

Fujairah is a major oil export terminal and the UAE’s main port outside the Persian Gulf. It has been attacked repeatedly during the war with Iran.

Last week, the Iranian navy seized an oil tanker identified as the Ocean Koi, saying it was attempting to disrupt oil exports and Iranian interests, according to the official IRNA news agency.

IRNA said the tanker was seized in the Gulf of Oman and was carrying Iranian oil when it was boarded and taken to Iran’s southern coast.

The U.S. sanctioned the Ocean Koi in February, saying it had been part of a “shadow fleet” transporting Iranian oil.
Europe

Russian strikes on Kyiv kill 1, wound at least 31

Strikes by both Russia and Ukraine resumed after Russia ended a three-day ceasefire with Ukraine on Tuesday.

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Large-scale Russian strikes on Kyiv killed one person and wounded at least 31 others, city and emergency officials said Thursday, as attacks resumed after a brief ceasefire ended.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched more than 670 attack drones and 56 missiles, with strikes focused mainly on Kyiv.

Tymur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said one person was killed and 16 others were wounded in the city.

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service later said 31 people, including a child, were wounded in strikes across the Kyiv region. Military authorities said six districts of the capital and six districts in the surrounding region were hit.
Middle East

UAE denies Netanyahu made secret visit during war

Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday he met UAE President during a “secret visit” amid the bombing campaign against Iran.

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The United Arab Emirates denied that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made what his office described as a “secret visit” to the Gulf country during the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

In a statement carried Wednesday by the state news agency WAM, the UAE said “its relations with Israel are public and were established within the framework of the well-known and publicly declared Abraham Accords. These relations are not based on secrecy or clandestine arrangements.”

“Therefore, any claims regarding undisclosed visits or arrangements are baseless unless issued by the relevant official authorities in the UAE,” the report said.

The statement came hours after Netanyahu’s office said on social media Wednesday that he met UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a “secret visit” amid the bombing campaign against Iran. The office did not disclose the date and called the meeting a “historic breakthrough” in relations.

The exchange came as cooperation between Israel and the UAE appeared to be expanding, particularly on security issues related to Iran.

Relations between Israel and the UAE have grown since the 2020 Abraham Accords, a U.S.-brokered agreement that normalized ties between Israel and several Arab states. The agreement was signed in Washington on Sept. 15, 2020, by UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Netanyahu.
Latin America

U.S. deportations to El Salvador rose nearly 98%

The U.S. deported 5,033 Salvadorans from January through March 2026, up from 2,547 in the same period in 2025.

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The number of people deported from the United States to El Salvador nearly doubled in the first three months of 2026, according to official Salvadoran figures, as President Nayib Bukele aligned himself with President Donald Trump’s push to increase deportations.

Deportation flights from the U.S. worldwide rose about 61% between 2024 and 2025, according to data compiled by the Asociación Agenda Migrante El Salvador and other organizations.

The U.S. has stopped regularly releasing deportation data, so researchers have relied on figures from receiving countries, deportation flights, and other available information.

The increase came as Bukele strengthened ties with Trump and as the U.S. sought support from governments in Latin America on deportations. Mexico and other Central American countries have accepted deportees from third countries. Bukele has publicly backed Trump’s regional immigration efforts.

In March 2025, Bukele accepted 238 Venezuelan deportees accused of belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang and placed them in a prison used for accused gang members under his anti-gang campaign. The move prompted accusations of human rights abuses.

The action followed an agreement under which El Salvador would accept what the U.S. and Salvadoran governments described as the transfer and imprisonment of foreign criminals. Under the agreement, El Salvador was to receive $6 million from the U.S.

In 2023, El Salvador imposed a $1,130 fee on travelers from dozens of countries connecting through its main airport, amid pressure from the Biden administration to help reduce migration toward the U.S. southern border.
Europe

WWII bomb near U.S. base in Germany closes roads

Unexploded World War II bombs are still regularly found in Germany, where construction and infrastructure work can lead to evacuations and controlled detonations, particularly in urban areas and former military sites.

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A World War II bomb found near a U.S. Army installation in western Germany prompted evacuations, road closures, and access limits Wednesday, highlighting the continued risks from unexploded ordnance in Europe more than 80 years after the war.

The more than 1,000-pound American aerial bomb was found Tuesday during road construction near Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden’s Erbenheim district, the city said. It was discovered near Luftbrueckenstrasse, which leads to the installation’s main gate.

German explosive ordnance technicians scheduled a controlled defusal for late Wednesday morning. Authorities ordered residents within about 750 yards to evacuate by 9 a.m., affecting dozens of people.

Roads, field paths, and rail lines in the area were closed, including sections of Autobahn 66, the B455 federal highway, and the Wiesbaden-Cologne rail line.

“There is no emergency,” the city said, adding that the bomb “has been secured and is under guard.”

The operation also affected U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden at Clay Kaserne. The installation’s main gate was closed to all traffic during the disposal work. Only inbound traffic was allowed through an alternate gate, and no outbound traffic was permitted.

Base shuttle service was paused, and military police were deployed to enforce safety measures, according to a community notice posted by the garrison on social media. Emergency services secured the site and maintained a perimeter during the operation.

In March 2026, about 18,000 residents and tourists were evacuated in Dresden after workers rebuilding a collapsed bridge found a 500-pound British bomb near the Elbe River. In January, a 1,000-pound World War II-era U.S. bomb was safely defused in Kaiserslautern’s Stadtwald area, part of the Kaiserslautern Military Community, the Pentagon’s largest outside the United States.
World

Families seek U.S. releases at Trump-Xi summit

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Dawn Michelle Hunt, 53, and Nelson Wells Jr., 52, were arrested in China in 2014 on drug-related charges. Advocates said both were seeking humanitarian release based on worsening health.

Wells Jr., from New Orleans, was sentenced to life in prison after his May 2014 arrest. His sentence was reduced in 2019 to 22 years, and he is scheduled for release in 2041. His parents said his physical and mental health had deteriorated.

Hunt is being held at Guangdong Women’s Prison after her 2014 arrest on a smuggling charge that her brother, Tim Hunt, said she denied. He said she was arrested after being given a purse during a contest-sponsored trip to Hong Kong and later sentenced to death. He said she had uterine fibroids, had received blood transfusions, and feared ovarian cancer.

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Personal Finance

U.S. household debt hit record $18.8T in Q1, Fed says

About 70% of household debt was mortgage debt.

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Americans’ household debt rose to a record $18.8 trillion in the first quarter, according to the New York Fed’s quarterly report released Tuesday.

Total household debt increased by $18 billion, or 0.1%, in the quarter. Mortgage balances, auto loans, and home equity lines of credit all rose. Student loan and credit card balances fell.

Ted Rossman, a principal analyst at Bankrate, said the debt-to-income ratio remained “pretty low in the historical context.”

Rossman said the mortgage delinquency rate was 1%. Delinquency rates for credit cards and student loans were 13% and 10%, respectively.

Past Bankrate research found that about half of credit card users carry interest-accruing debt from month to month.

Rossman said the average credit card balance was about $6,700. At an average interest rate of about 19.4%, he said, making minimum payments would keep a borrower in debt for 18 years and result in more interest paid than the original charges.

Mortgage balances have risen for 12 straight quarters and now stand at just over $13 trillion.

Rossman said recent increases in gas prices could affect household finances in the coming months, though much of the first-quarter debt data did not reflect those changes. He also said consumer spending remained strong despite weak consumer sentiment, though some households were taking on debt or using savings to cover basic expenses.
Finance & Markets

S&P 500, Nasdaq hit records as oil prices ease

Oil prices retreated as traders assessed whether the talks could help ease the U.S.-Iran war.

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Wall Street stocks ended mixed Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing at record highs as investors looked past stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data and focused on artificial intelligence shares and a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 49,693.20. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 7,444.25, and the Nasdaq gained 1.2%, led by technology stocks including Alphabet and Nvidia.

Investors were watching the Trump-Xi summit, where the two leaders were expected to discuss extending a one-year tariff truce reached during their last meeting in South Korea in October. China’s controls on rare-earth and agricultural exports were also expected to be discussed.

Markets advanced despite a U.S. wholesale inflation report that exceeded expectations, following Tuesday’s rise in the consumer price index. Producer prices rose 6% in the 12 months ending in April, according to U.S. Department of Labor data. Monthly increases were the highest since March 2022.

The average price of a gallon of diesel in the United States has risen about 50% since the start of the war, according to AAA. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said countries were drawing down oil inventories and strategic reserves at a “record pace,” raising the risk of further price swings.