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Smoke rises following an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on April 26, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Deadly blast hits Iranian port, Tragedy strikes Filipino festival in Vancouver, PLO’s Abbas names successor, Liberals take the lead in Oz, Houthis say US strike killed dozens
28: Twenty-eight people are dead following a powerful explosion at Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port in the central southern city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday. The blast, which is believed to be linked to containers of hazardous chemicals, injured more than 1,000 others and caused extensive damage to buildings several kilometers away from the port. Reports suggest that sodium perchlorate — used in missile fuel — may have been to blame, but Tehran denies any military connection to the blast.
9: A celebration of Filipino heritage in South Vancouver, Canada, turned tragic late Saturday when a man drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival, killing nine people and injuring more than 20 others. A 30-year-old man was arrested at the scene, and while an investigation is underway, authorities have said they are “confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism.” PM Mark Carney offered his condolences and delayed final-day campaigning ahead of Monday’s federal election in the wake of the tragedy — and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his sympathy and support for the victims.
170: Late last week, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s leadership created a vice presidency, with 170 of its 172 Central Council members voting in favor of a post that would open the path to a successor for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. On Saturday, Abbas, 89, nominated his close confidante, 64-year-old Hussein al-Sheikh, as VP, and the PLO’s executive committee approved it.
52: Australia’s ruling Labor Party looks set to claim victory in the May 3 election, with recent polling showing it ahead of the Liberal-National Coalition opposition, 52% to 48%, according to a Newspoll survey. The latest figures were revealed after PM Anthony Albanese shone in the final leaders’ debate on Sunday.
68: Houthi rebels in Yemen say a US airstrike on a detention center in the northwestern Saada province Sunday night killed at least 68 people, and injured another 47. The US military has not yet commented, but the news came hours after US Central Command said its forces had hit hundreds of targets following President Donald Trump’s order to ramp up the air campaign against the Houthis on March 15. The rebel group says targeting the civilian facility constitutes a “war crime.”
A Philippine flag flutters from BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that has been aground since 1999 and became a Philippine military detachment on the disputed Second Thomas shoal in the South China Sea.
Rough waters in the South China Sea
Philippine officials say a Chinese coast guard ship and an accompanying vessel rammed a Philippine coast guard ship and a military supply boat in the South China Sea on Sunday. The incidents took place near the Second Thomas, or Ayungin, shoal in the Spratly Island chain near a Philippine naval outpost in an area Beijing claims as its territorial waters.
The outpost was built atop a World War II-era warship that was purposefully grounded in 1999 to serve as a bulwark against China’s expansionism in the area. Situated 200 kilometers off the Philippine coast, its personnel rely on regular resupply deliveries from the mainland. The Chinese coast guard claimed the Philippine vessels “trespassed” “without authorization” despite several radio warnings and blamed the Philippines for the collisions. In response, MaryKay Carlson, US ambassador to Manila, posted to X that “the United States condemns the PRC’s latest disruption of a legal Philippine resupply mission to Ayungin shoal, putting the lives of Filipino service members at risk.”
The confrontations follow a near-miss earlier this month when a Chinese coast guard vessel came within three feet of colliding with a Philippine coast guard ship. In the past few months, Chinese vessels have also reportedly sailed dangerously close to Philippine government ships at which they fired water cannons and deployed “military-grade lasers."
China has long attempted to enforce the “nine-dash line” by which it claims ownership of 90% of the South China Sea. Analysts believe Beijing’s increased belligerence is designed to test the limits of the US-Philippine defense treaty, by using “gray zone” tactics just below the threshold that would trigger US engagement. Should China overstep either by accident or design, however, America could be drawn into yet another armed conflict – when it is already supporting allies on two other fronts, in Ukraine and Israel.