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Government: Philippine Troops Kill Southeast Asia's ISIS Chief

Philippine soldiers patrol a deserted street in Marawi. AFP file photo
Philippine soldiers patrol a deserted street in Marawi. AFP file photo
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Government: Philippine Troops Kill Southeast Asia's ISIS Chief

Philippine soldiers patrol a deserted street in Marawi. AFP file photo
Philippine soldiers patrol a deserted street in Marawi. AFP file photo

The head of ISIS in Southeast Asia, who figures on the US "most wanted terrorists" list, has been killed in the battle to reclaim Philippines’ southern Marawi city, the country's defense minister said Monday. 

Security analysts say Isnilon Hapilon has been a key figure in the terrorist group's drive to establish a so-called “caliphate” as ISIS suffers battlefield defeats in Iraq and Syria.

Hapilon's death came during a push to end the four-month siege of Marawi.

"(Our troops) were able to get Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute. They were both killed," Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters, referring to another fighter who led the attack with Hapilon on Marawi in May.

"Their bodies have been recovered by our operating units." 

The US government had offered a $5 million bounty for information leading to Hapilon's arrest.

Lorenzana said Philippine ground forces mounting a final assault on the militants in Marawi killed Hapilon and Omarkhayam Maute, one of two brothers who lead a militant group allied to Hapilon, early Monday.

DNA tests will be carried out on the two bodies because of the reward offer from the US and Philippine governments, he added.

"The implication of this development is that the Marawi incident is almost over and we may announce the termination of hostilities in a couple of days," Lorenzana said. 

"We were able to get a testimony from a hostage. She was able to confirm the presence of Isnilon and Maute in that particular building. That's the building that we assaulted,” he added.

Pro-ISIS gunmen occupied parts of Marawi on May 23 following a foiled attempt by security forces to arrest Hapilon, authorities said. 

The Philippine military says Hapilon joined forces with the Maute group to plan the rampage. Since then more than 1,000 people have been killed and 400,000 residents displaced. 

Defense chiefs last month said other Philippine militant leaders had been killed in the battle for the southern city. 

Troops were still pursuing Malaysian militant leader Mahmud Ahmad in the Marawi battle zone, Lorenzana said on Monday. 

Hapilon is believed to have been involved in 2001 kidnappings of three Americans, two of whom were later killed. 

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World

Ghana Begins Repatriating Citizens from South Africa due to Anti-immigration Tensions

A man draped in a Ghana flag stands among other Ghanaians as Ghana repatriates hundreds of its citizens from South Africa following instances of violence against migrants from other sub-Saharan African countries, amid a wave ‌of protests against illegal immigration, at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
A man draped in a Ghana flag stands among other Ghanaians as Ghana repatriates hundreds of its citizens from South Africa following instances of violence against migrants from other sub-Saharan African countries, amid a wave ‌of protests against illegal immigration, at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
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Ghana Begins Repatriating Citizens from South Africa due to Anti-immigration Tensions

A man draped in a Ghana flag stands among other Ghanaians as Ghana repatriates hundreds of its citizens from South Africa following instances of violence against migrants from other sub-Saharan African countries, amid a wave ‌of protests against illegal immigration, at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
A man draped in a Ghana flag stands among other Ghanaians as Ghana repatriates hundreds of its citizens from South Africa following instances of violence against migrants from other sub-Saharan African countries, amid a wave ‌of protests against illegal immigration, at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

The first group of around 300 Ghanaian nationals flew to their country on Wednesday as their government started a voluntary repatriation program for its citizens in response to anti-immigration tensions in South Africa.

Families and travelers gathered at the Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg with their luggage as officials and police coordinated the departure process.

The repatriation follows renewed demonstrations over illegal immigration in parts of South Africa, where frustrations over unemployment, crime and access to services have fueled tensions, The AP news reported.

Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, told reporters at the airport that more people than those on the registered list turned up to the airport.

He said their registration would be processed ahead of the next flight to Ghana, expected to depart Sunday.

Ghana recently summoned South Africa's ambassador over reported attacks on Ghanaians, before announcing it would evacuate its affected citizens.

Loren Landau, a migration expert and political analyst at the University of the Witwatersrand, said the move by the Ghanaian government was a message to South Africa about their unhappiness over recent events.

“I think in this case, it’s less about Ghana trying to protect its citizens per se, or these 300. This is a symbolic move to try to send a message to their sort of bigger counterpart, South Africa, that this is politically unacceptable,” said Landau.

Some of those repatriated had been held at the Lindela Repatriation Centre for immigration-related matters.

More than 800 Ghanaians registered with the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria for evacuation following weeks of protests and rising fears among foreign nationals.

Ghanaian authorities said the repatriation effort was being carried out in coordination with South African officials after concerns over the safety and well-being of migrants.

South African authorities have condemned violence against foreign nationals while acknowledging concerns about illegal immigration.

Nigeria also voiced its disapproval at the treatment of some of its citizens and said it was also considering evacuating some of its citizens.

World

Iran Could Open Strait of Hormuz within a Month if Terms Agreed

Ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, May 25, 2026 (Reuters)
Ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, May 25, 2026 (Reuters)
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Iran Could Open Strait of Hormuz within a Month if Terms Agreed

Ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, May 25, 2026 (Reuters)
Ships anchored in the Strait of Hormuz, May 25, 2026 (Reuters)

Tehran would restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month in a framework deal with the US to also include withdrawing US forces from Iran's vicinity, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday. The report said the US would end a naval blockade of Iranian shipping, citing a memorandum of understanding being negotiated between the two sides to end the war which has choked global energy supplies through the strategic waterway.

Iranian state TV said it had obtained an unofficial draft of the MOU though it was not final and may not be agreed. The US denied the report, saying it was "complete fabrication" in a White House statement on social media.

Iran's government did not comment. The issue of US troops in the region also needs further discussion, the TV report said without being more specific.

There was no mention of Iran's nuclear program which the US wants disbanded.

The state TV report was the latest signal of possible progress towards a deal, although publicly Tehran and Washington have outlined positions starkly at odds and the potential terms outlined by the broadcaster did not appease all US demands.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday it may take a few more days, after President Donald Trump had raised hopes over the weekend for an imminent end to the war.

Key sticking points have included reopening and management of the waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flowed before the conflict and the dismantling of Iran's nuclear capacity.

Oil prices fell more than 5% on Wednesday after the Iranian TV report.

It was not immediately clear what a US military pullback as described by Iranian state television would look like.

US naval vessels, some with thousands of sailors and Marines aboard, regularly transit the region, stopping in ports including in Oman.

World

Starmer Cites Russian Threat as UK, Poland Seal Defense Pact

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits a children’s activity center in Essex, Britain, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits a children’s activity center in Essex, Britain, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS
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Starmer Cites Russian Threat as UK, Poland Seal Defense Pact

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits a children’s activity center in Essex, Britain, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits a children’s activity center in Essex, Britain, Thursday, May 21, 2026. Kin Cheung/Pool via REUTERS

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed Wednesday a defense pact with Poland, arguing the European allies faced "no greater challenge" than "Russian aggression" as he welcomed Polish counterpart Donald Tusk to Britain.

The new security treaty signed by the NATO allies aims to allow the two countries to combine their armed forces' expertise and industrial capability, including developing and manufacturing "next-generation complex weapons", according to the UK government.

It paves the way for large?scale joint exercises by land forces and for London and Warsaw to boost the use of uncrewed systems to reinforce NATO's eastern flank, it said.

The agreement's security elements will also bolster information-sharing and other cooperation to tackle organised crime and aid joint work on cyber, migration and health security.

It follows Britain signing similar defense pacts with Germany and France in recent years.

Poland -- an EU and NATO member that shares its eastern border with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine -- also recently inked a deal in Paris to ramp up joint defense ties.

"There's no greater challenge for either of our countries than the challenge of Russian aggression," Starmer, flanking Tusk, said after signing the treaty at a World War II-era bunker on a former military base in northwest London.

"And we see that not just in Ukraine itself, but beyond Ukraine, impacting on our own countries," he added, calling the treaty "a generational uplift" in the allies' security and defense relationship.

Tusk thanked Starmer for his commitment to defending "shared values" like the rule of law, democracy and human rights, saying they were "important for us and for our nations".

"That is the foundation of the treaty," he noted, speaking through an interpreter.

The pair had earlier held bilateral talks at the Royal Air Force's nearby base at Northolt.

They were expected to discuss the uptick in allegedly Russian-ordered arson attacks in London and elsewhere across Europe, as well as other malign threats, Starmer's office said in advance.

The signing came on the same day as the head of the UK's top-secret electronic eavesdropping agency GCHQ accused Russia of "relentlessly" targeting critical infrastructure, democratic processes, supply chains and public trust in Britain and Europe.

Delivering an inaugural annual lecture, Anne Keast-Butler detailed how Moscow has been increasing its hybrid activity against some European countries, as she urged the public and businesses to make cyber security "10 times more urgent".

Keast-Butler -- appointed GCHQ's first woman chief in 2023 -- noted her agency's work focused on "disrupting Russia's efforts to smuggle western tech, fending off cyber attacks, and countering reckless sabotage and assassination attempts".