🇵🇭 PHILIPPINES
China Dumped Cyanide?
Philippine Navy spokesman, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, discussing the seized yellow bottles that contained cyanide.
The Philippines say Chinese fishermen dumped cyanide near Second Thomas Shoal in South China Sea.
It claims that their goal was to kill fish and squeeze Philippine troops.
Philippine troops said they seized 10 bottles from Chinese-linked fishing boats in February, July, and October 2025. They also said they spotted another Chinese crew poisoning waters last month.
China called it a "farce" and said the charge wasn't worth refuting.
📌 Context. The South China Sea has overlapping claims from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei, and a 2016 international tribunal said China’s claim had “no legal basis.”
🇮🇱 ISRAEL
Garbage Truck
Smuggling Bust
Israeli police stopped a garbage truck on Route 5.
Inside were more than 60 illegal Palestinians packed into a garbage truck.
They were reportedly on their way to various cities inside the country, originating from the West Bank.
The driver, a man in his 30s from Kfar Qasim, was arrested. He wasn’t even licensed to drive that kind of vehicle.
Some see this as a potential warm-up for another October 7-style attack; others say it was simply illegal entrants with no clear, unified motive.
🇨🇳 CHINA
Tanker Calls the Bluff
The white arrowed line shows Rich Starry’s transit path through the Strait of Hormuz.
Even with the US naval blockade in place, a sanctioned tanker linked to China, Rich Starry, pushed through Hormuz anyway.
It turned back once, then tried again a few hours later, and made it.
Before Monday, reports said the US would block ships entering and leaving Iranian ports. This would make the tanker’s transit a “neutral transit passage”—outside the blockade’s scope.
That said, this is getting traction because Rich Starry is a US-sanctioned, Chinese-owned tanker and the first sanctioned tanker to make it through the strait and exit the Gulf since the blockade began on Monday.
📌 Context. The US blacklisted the tanker in 2023 for helping Tehran dodge energy sanctions. Right now, no one really knows what it is carrying or where it has actually been stopping.
🇮🇷 IRAN
Iran Wants Reparations (?)
Iran's ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, Iran is now demanding reparations from Gulf states, claiming that they "broke international law."
These are the same countries it hit in retaliation for the US-Israeli attack on Iran.
Reason? It says Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Jordan let the US and Israel use their territory to attack Iran.
It also rejected a UN resolution condemning Iran's own attacks.
🇮🇷 IRAN
Nuclear Freeze Still Stalled
Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi (left), and US Vice President, JD Vance (right).
US-Iran talks in Islamabad over the weekend reportedly stalled over how long Iran should pause enrichment.
The US wanted 20 years vs Iran’s 5 years.
As of now, US officials said contact is still going and a second face to face round is being discussed.
However, critics say Iran is playing for time—stretching this out until Trump is either out of office or starts losing support at home for not delivering a quick win.
