Portal:Current events/2026 May 27

May 27, 2026 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Middle Eastern crisis
- 2026 Iran war
  - 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis
    - United States sanctions against Iran
      - The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control announces under Executive Order 13224 that it has imposed sanctions against Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the newly-created body used for managing the Strait of Hormuz. (Reuters)
    - Iran–South Korea relations
      - South Korea summons Iranian ambassador Saeed Koozechi after the government concludes that it was likely that Iranian-made anti-ship missiles struck the Panama-flagged cargo vessel HMM Namu near the Strait of Hormuz earlier this month. (Korea JoongAng Daily) (Yonhap)
    - Tasnim News Agency reports that the IRGC Navy has forced a U.S. oil tanker to turn back as it attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz. (Iran International)
  - Canada and the 2026 Iran war, Canada–United States relations
    - Global Affairs Canada confirms a report from Semafor that Canadian officials in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, helped American citizens escape the region during the early stages of the war. (Global News) (Semafor)
  - May 2026 United States strikes on Iran
    - Reuters and Axios reports that the U.S. military has launched new defensive strikes against a military site at the Strait of Hormuz that officials say posed a threat to American forces and commercial traffic. (Axios) (CBS News) (Wall Street Journal) (Reuters)
    - The U.S. military says that it intercepted four Iranian drones and struck an Iranian drone station in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan province. However, the U.S says that the ceasefire remains in place despite the strikes. (The Hill) (Air and Space Forces)
- Gaza war
  - Both Hamas and Israeli defense minister Israel Katz confirm that Al-Qassam Brigades commander and leader in the Gaza Strip Mohammed Odeh was killed by an Israeli airstrike on May 26 near Gaza City along with his wife and three children. (AFP via ABS-CBN News) (Middle East Eye)
Syrian civil war
- Syrian chemical weapons program, Use of chemical weapons in the Syrian civil war
  - The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons says that several chemical weapons from the Assad regime have been found in Syria over the past weeks. (AP)

Business and economy

2024–present global memory supply shortage, AI boom
- Trade union members at Samsung Electronics in South Korea approve a long-term bonus agreement tied to semiconductor profits, averting a planned strike amid increased global demand for artificial intelligence-related memory chips. (AFP via France 24) (DW)

Disasters and accidents

Three Latvian climbers are killed and another is critically injured after a fall on Denali in Alaska, U.S., while rescue and recovery operations continue. (Reuters)
Rescuers locate five of seven villagers alive after they become trapped for a week in a flooded cave in Xaisomboun province, Laos, while search operations continue for the remaining two people. (AFP via CNA)

Health and environment

2026 Ebola epidemic
- World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warns that the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could worsen the outbreak in the country. (AFP via The Guardian)
- Uganda temporarily closes its border with the DRC and imposes quarantine and health screening measures following the spread of Ebola cases in central Africa linked to the outbreak in the DRC. (AFP via Al-Ahram)
MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak
- The World Health Organization reports that the number of cases of hantavirus linked to MV Hondius has increased to 13. (Reuters)
The American Cancer Society adds the FDA-approved Guardant Health Shield blood test to its recommended colorectal cancer screening options in the United States amidst a rise in colon cancer cases in young adults. (Reuters) (Medical News Today)

International relations

South Africa–United States relations
- The South African foreign ministry denies United States president Donald Trump's assertions that Afrikaners face a humanitarian emergency in South Africa. The statement comes as the U.S. increased the number of permits for Afrikaner refugees. (AP) (Euronews)

Law and crime

Corruption in Spain
- Following an order from the National Court of Spain, the ruling PSOE party's headquarters are raided by the Civil Guard. The party’s manager, two former senior officials, and a businessman are charged as part of an investigation into possible illegal funding of a possible operation to target the judicial police, judges, and prosecutors investigating corruption cases involving the party itself. (HuffPost in Spanish) (Politico)
Scam centers in Cambodia
- A Cambodian court sentences six Chinese nationals to life imprisonment for kidnapping, torturing, and murdering a South Korean student linked to a transnational fraud network operating in Cambodia. (AFP via South China Morning Post) (Reuters)
Trial of Jeffrey Donaldson
- The trial of former Northern Irish MP Jeffrey Donaldson for sexual offences begins at the Newry Crown Court. Two women allege Donaldson abused them as children. His wife Eleanor is facing a separate trial of the facts because she has been found to be unfit to stand trial because of mental health issues. (Reuters) (RTÉ)