🌍 State of the World
2026-06-08
A powerful earthquake in the Philippines and a sharp escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict dominated global developments today, alongside notable elections and humanitarian crises.
- Philippines: A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off Mindanao, killing at least 32 people and injuring over 130, triggering a Pacific-wide tsunami warning; agencies in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and elsewhere later lifted alerts after only small waves, and President Marcos suspended classes in affected areas.
- Iran–Israel: Iran fired missile waves at Israel for the first time since the April ceasefire, prompting Israeli retaliatory strikes on military sites in western and central Iran; explosions were reported in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, and Kermanshah.
- Lebanon & Gaza: Escalating Israeli strikes on Beirut killed dozens, with President Aoun accusing Iran of using Lebanon as a 'bargaining chip,' while strikes in Gaza killed at least 10 as Cairo talks sought to salvage a fragile truce.
- Gulf states & nuclear safety: The UAE condemned Iranian strikes on Gulf states after an attack on the Barakah nuclear plant triggered an IAEA emergency session, while Kuwait filed a second ICAO protest over strikes near its airport.
- Iraq: Baghdad closed its airspace amid the Iran-Israel exchange as militias warned US bases; the IRGC also struck Kurdish opposition sites in Sulaymaniyah.
- United States: Washington marked '100 days' of confrontation with Iran as President Trump vowed to seize Iran's enriched uranium, amid a reported US-Israel intelligence rift.
- Elections: Peru held a presidential runoff between Roberto Sánchez and Keiko Fujimori, while Armenia's PM Pashinyan declared victory in a pivotal parliamentary vote held amid arrests of pro-Russian candidates.
- Ukraine & Russia: Putin rebuffed Zelensky's open-letter ceasefire appeal as 'rude' during the SPIEF forum, as the US House advanced a Ukraine aid bill.
- Africa health & humanitarian: A WHO-declared Ebola outbreak in DR Congo surged past 480 cases with spillover risk to neighboring Congo-Brazzaville, while conflict and hunger crises persisted in Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen.