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Iran attacks a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has fired on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz, damaging the vessel and complicating efforts to bring the United States and Iran together in Pakistan for talks to end the war. The Wednesday morning attack by Iran鈥檚 paramilitary Revolutionary Guard came after U.S. President Donald Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran to give Tehran time to come up with a 鈥渦nified proposal鈥� ahead of possible negotiations. Iran has offered no formal acknowledgment of the extension of the ceasefire. 鈥� The Associated Press

Virginia鈥檚 redistricting referendum passed Tuesday. The decision paves the way for a new congressional map favoring Democrats and comes as several states engage in a redistricting arms race before the 2026 midterm elections. The plan redraws the current map represented by six Democrats and five Republicans to one that would favor Democrats 10-1. The 鈥淵es鈥� campaign was ahead by 3 percentage points with 97% of the vote counted.

The pressure on Britain鈥檚 prime minister rises.聽Questions surround whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer ignored warnings to appoint Peter Mandelson, who has links to Jeffrey Epstein, ambassador to the United States. Olly Robbins, a former official key to the vetting process, testified to a parliamentary committee Tuesday that the prime minister鈥檚 office created an 鈥渁tmosphere of pressure鈥� to approve Mr. Mandelson. Polls show support for Mr. Starmer鈥檚 Labour Party has collapsed since its sweeping victory in 2024, leading to growing frustration with the current government.

A nominee to lead the Federal Reserve faced questions from Congress on Tuesday. The hearing before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee focused as much on the nominee, Kevin Warsh, as it did on pressure exerted on the central bank by President Trump and his administration over its refusal to lower interest rates. The committee is likely to deadlock over his confirmation. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis refuses to advance the nomination until the Justice Department ends an investigation of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Our coverage: Powell pushes back on Fed probe as Trump denies intimidation charge

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned from Congress amid the threat of expulsion. The House Ethics Committee last month found the Florida Democrat guilty of 25 ethics violations; she now faces criminal charges that she stole $5 million in federal relief funds to use for her campaign. She is the third member and second Democrat within two weeks to resign after facing allegations of ethical violations. Representative Cherfilus-McCormick has denied any wrongdoing, calling the ethics committee procedure a 鈥渨itch hunt.鈥�
Our coverage: With Swalwell and Gonzales out, is Congress entering a new accountability era?

Taiwan鈥檚 president cancels Africa trip, blames China for pressuring countries. President Lai Ching-te was due to visit Eswatini, the only African nation to maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. His office alleged that China pressured Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles to revoke permission for overflight permits. Taiwan had diplomatic relations with as many as 30 African countries in the past. Leveraging its economic power on the African continent, China has pressured countries to distance themselves from Taiwan.

鈥�聽Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

Economic uncertainty raised the stakes for Tuesday鈥檚 confirmation hearing for Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh. Senators also have had questions about the central bank鈥檚 independence from political pressure.

The United States says Peru could lose its 鈥渟overeignty鈥� to China if it continues to work with it as an investment partner. But, throughout its history, Peru has looked west to China as much as it has looked north to the U.S.

The reconciliation process was originally a tool to help Congress keep spending in line with revenue. But Republicans and Democrats have gotten creative with it over the years, and it鈥檚 now become a way for the majority party to sidestep the political opposition.

Glaciers in the tropics are rare聽and melting quickly, reshaping the lives聽of the people who depend on them.

Growing up in a family of loggers, Suzanne Simard always loved forests. Her boundary-pushing research reveals other, deeper layers to the forest ecosystem.

For the first time since World War II, Japanese combat troops are participating in live-fire, land-and-sea military exercises in an Asian country that was once under the harsh rule of imperial Japan.

On Monday, some 1,400 Japanese soldiers joined with the forces of a few other democracies around the Pacific to practice mock battles for 19 days in the northern Philippines 鈥� not far from China and the islands it forcibly claims in the South China Sea.

The multinational war games, which end May 8, will include the firing of a Japanese cruise missile to sink a World War II-era minesweeper 鈥� the country鈥檚 first missile use outside Japan since the war.

For Japan, this overseas training under real-world conditions marks a historic turning point for its postwar pacifist tradition and its heavy reliance on the United States for external defense. Yet, on a larger scale, it puts on display a long-term effort by many Asian democracies and their Western partners to define the meaning of shared security, preferably the kind that cannot be seen as ganging up on China.

That task has become more urgent in the face of China鈥檚 aggression against its neighbors, nuclear threats from North Korea, and recent uncertainty over America鈥檚 military deterrence in the region.

鈥淚n an increasingly severe security environment, no single country can now protect its own peace and security alone,鈥� Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wrote Tuesday on the social platform X.

In practice, the joint drills in the Philippines are a way to create 鈥渁 security environment that tolerates no attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force,鈥� Col. Takeshi聽Higuchi of Tokyo鈥檚 joint staff told Japanese media. Yet that goal of defending established borders also reflects a dedication to democratic values, such as respect for the integrity and freedom of individuals to collectively form and keep their country based on equal citizenship. Those transcendent values are what bind many alliances of democracies and compel them to cooperate.

Befitting Japan鈥檚 wealth, size, and postwar credentials as a peace-loving democracy, it is the third-largest contributor to the 17,000 troops participating in the joint exercises. The Philippines has dubbed the drills with the local idiom Balikatan, or 鈥渟houlder to shoulder.鈥�

That spirit of unity is not only about defending land borders, however. It also relies on shared adherence to democratic ideals.