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U.S. Strikes Iran Missile Sites and Mine-Laying Boats as Trump Says Talks Are Going Well

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 The U.S. military carried out strikes in southern Iran on Monday, hitting missile launch sites and boats attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz while President Donald Trump posted on social media that negotiations with Tehran were progressing well — a jarring contradiction that captured the volatile mixture of combat and diplomacy defining a war now entering its fourth month.

U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins confirmed the strikes in a statement, describing them as acts of self-defense taken “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces” while the military was “using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”

No additional details about the specific threats or the scope of damage were immediately available.

Iran’s response came through its own channels. The Tabnak news website, considered close to former Revolutionary Guard chief Mohsen Rezaei, identified four Revolutionary Guard troops it said were killed in American strikes on boats. Iranian state television separately reported explosions in and around Bandar Abbas, the city on the Strait of Hormuz that houses a major military port and a dual-use airport. Iran also said it shot down what it described as a hostile stealth drone using a newly developed air defense system, without identifying the drone’s origin.

The strikes landed as Iran’s foreign minister and top nuclear negotiator were in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on the framework for ending the war, an official briefed on the visit told Reuters. Iran’s central bank governor was also in Doha, attending discussions focused on the potential release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets that Qatar holds as part of any eventual agreement.

Negotiations and Bombs at the Same Time

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters on his plane in Jaipur, India, said Tuesday that finalizing a deal with Iran could “take a few days,” cooling expectations of an imminent end to the conflict. He described the Strait of Hormuz situation without diplomatic hedging.

“The straits have to be open, they’re going to be open one way or the other, so they need to be open,” Rubio said.

He said there was “a pretty solid thing on the table,” pointing to discussions over reopening the strait and what he called “a very real, significant, time-limited negotiation on the nuclear matter.” He told reporters in New Delhi earlier that the United States would give diplomacy every chance before considering whether to address Iran “in another way.”

Trump’s own account of where things stood was characteristically emphatic. In a lengthy Truth Social post Monday, he said talks with Iran were going “nicely” but warned he would resume full-scale attacks if diplomacy failed. “It will only be a Great Deal for all, or no Deal at all,” he wrote.

The simultaneous pursuit of military strikes and active negotiation reflects a posture the administration has maintained throughout the conflict: keeping military pressure on Tehran while leaving the diplomatic door open, calculating that the combination of pain and offramp produces faster concessions than either alone.

What Is on the Table in Doha

The Doha discussions, according to the official who briefed Reuters on the Iranian delegation’s visit, centered on two core issues that have defined the entire negotiating standoff since the April ceasefire took effect: the management of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said nuclear issues would only enter formal negotiation after a framework accord was first agreed on ending the war itself — a sequencing demand that Washington has resisted, preferring to address the nuclear question as part of the initial agreement rather than deferring it to a subsequent round of talks.

On the strait, Baghaei said the potential deal contained no specific provisions for managing traffic through the waterway. Iran would not charge tolls for passage, he said, but would impose fees for services including navigation assistance and environmental protection measures, under a protocol to be worked out with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the strait.

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper, citing a Middle East diplomatic source, said the two sides were discussing a plan that would reopen the strait approximately 30 days after a deal ending hostilities was signed.

Before the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28, between 125 and 140 vessels passed through the strait daily. Since then, the number has dropped to a few dozen. The waterway normally carries roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas. Its effective closure has driven global oil prices sharply higher and pushed up the cost of fuel, food, and fertilizer across markets far removed from the Persian Gulf.

In early Asian trading Tuesday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was slightly higher than Monday’s final price but down 5.5 percent from where it closed the previous Friday.

The Abraham Accords Complication

While the core Iran negotiations moved through Doha, Trump introduced a new element that immediately complicated the diplomatic picture. He said any agreement to end the war should include a requirement that additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, sign the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Arab states and Israel that Trump brokered during his first term.

Trump posted that after all the effort the United States had invested in pulling the negotiations together, it should be “mandatory” that the relevant countries simultaneously sign the accords alongside any Iran deal. He pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should sign “immediately.” He said he would accept one or two countries declining, but expected most to participate.

The proposal collided immediately with the political realities of the countries on his list. Saudi Arabia has for decades conditioned normalization with Israel on Israel’s withdrawal to its 1967 borders and the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Israel’s conduct in Gaza has deepened that resistance across the Gulf Arab world and the broader Muslim world. Pakistan does not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel and has consistently made recognition of a Palestinian state a precondition for any shift in its posture.

Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position on Israel had not changed as a result of Trump’s proposal. Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, noted that introducing the Abraham Accords into negotiations that had not previously included that issue added an entirely new diplomatic dimension at an already complex moment.

“The invocation of the Abraham Accords at this stage gives an altogether new dimension to the diplomatic and mediatory processes because this issue was not on the agenda,” Khan said. He added that domestic pressure on Trump to deliver a favorable deal was visible in the proposal, but that “the diplomatic track is still working, and I believe Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by regional countries.”

Pakistan has served as a key intermediary throughout the ceasefire period, with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar maintaining regular contact with both Iranian and American counterparts. Trump’s suggestion that Pakistan join a normalization framework with Israel, while simultaneously asking Islamabad to continue mediating, put the Pakistanis in a position that their government had not publicly addressed as of Tuesday.

Trump also suggested Iran itself could eventually join the accords if a final agreement is reached, a notion Iranian officials had not commented on.

Lebanon and the Broader Regional Fire

The Iran negotiations are not the only front demanding attention. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would intensify strikes against the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. The Israeli military moved quickly, announcing attacks on Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley and other areas.

Israel and Lebanon reached a ceasefire in mid-April, but Israel has continued conducting airstrikes it characterizes as defensive responses to Hezbollah activity, with Hezbollah not having been a party to the ceasefire agreement. The escalating Israeli campaign in Lebanon adds pressure to a framework in which Iran has consistently demanded a halt to Israeli military action in Lebanon as a condition of any broader agreement.

The Price of Conducting Two Wars at Once

What Monday’s American strikes in southern Iran demonstrated, perhaps more clearly than any previous episode in this conflict, is the structural instability of a ceasefire that neither side has formally ended but both sides keep shooting through.

A ceasefire is a political and legal status. What has existed between the United States and Iran since April is something more ambiguous: a mutual acknowledgment that full-scale bombardment has paused, alongside continued exchanges of fire that each side characterizes as defensive or retaliatory but that in aggregate amount to ongoing armed conflict. The legal and diplomatic architecture surrounding that status is thin, which means it can absorb a certain number of strikes before it breaks entirely, but nobody knows in advance exactly where that threshold sits.

The Doha talks continuing on the same day American missiles hit Iranian boats represent either a demonstration of diplomatic resilience or a sign that both governments have concluded that combat and negotiation can coexist indefinitely without one destroying the other. The history of armed conflicts conducted alongside active negotiations is mixed on that question. Sometimes the military pressure accelerates concessions. Sometimes it hardens positions and provides domestic political ammunition to factions that oppose any deal.

Trump’s Abraham Accords addition to the negotiating demands illustrates a different kind of risk. Introducing new requirements into a negotiation that is already struggling to close on its existing agenda can signal seriousness of purpose or it can signal that the administration lacks the discipline to keep the negotiating focus narrow enough to succeed. The countries on Trump’s list have their own domestic constituencies, their own red lines on Israeli policy, and their own calculations about the costs of moving faster than their publics are prepared for. Asking Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar to simultaneously normalize with Israel as part of an Iran ceasefire deal is asking them to take actions that their governments have spent years explaining to their populations they would not take without specific Israeli concessions that are not currently on offer.

Rubio’s “take a few days” assessment may prove accurate. Or it may prove to be the kind of diplomatic optimism that gets adjusted over subsequent days of leaked frustration and resumed military action. The strait remains closed. The oil markets remain unsettled. And somewhere in the Bekaa Valley, Israeli jets are dropping bombs on a ceasefire that is supposed to be holding.

Reuters/AP

Nigeria on High Alert as Army Warns of Terror Plots by Boko Haram, ISWAP During Eid

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 The Nigerian military issued an urgent security advisory Sunday warning residents of the northeast region that Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province are planning suicide bomb and improvised explosive device attacks during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations scheduled for Wednesday, May 28, as a separate band of armed militants raided a palace in Kwara State the same night, abducting the Emir’s wives and setting the royal compound ablaze.

The twin security events unfolded on a single Sunday, illustrating the geographic breadth of Nigeria’s armed violence crisis and the specific threat profile that accompanies major public holidays in a country where militant groups have repeatedly used crowded celebrations as killing grounds.

The advisory, signed by Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba on behalf of the Headquarters Joint Task Force North East, Operation HADIN KAI, cited credible intelligence indicating that remnant elements of both Boko Haram and ISWAP were actively planning to exploit the festive period by targeting civilian gatherings.

“Credible intelligence available to the Command indicates the possibility of isolated attempts by remnant Boko Haram Terrorist and Islamic State West Africa Province elements to exploit the festive period to carry out attacks against civilian targets using suicide bombers and IEDs, particularly in areas of high population concentration,” Uba said in the advisory.

The military said troops had already been forward-deployed to critical and vulnerable locations across all sectors of the northeast theater. Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets were fully activated. Patrols had been intensified. Security forces were operating in close coordination with sister agencies, the Civilian Joint Task Force, and community vigilance groups.

“Operation HADIN KAI reassures all residents of the North East that troops are on standby, fully prepared, and firmly in control,” the statement said. “The command remains resolute in its determination to deny terrorists any freedom of action and ensure that the Eid El Kabir celebrations proceed in an atmosphere of peace, safety, and dignity for all.”

What the Military Is Asking of Residents

The advisory translated the security posture into specific behavioral guidance for residents in affected communities. People were urged to conduct Eid prayers close to their homes and avoid large open gatherings wherever possible. Vigilance was emphasized in high-traffic locations including markets, motor parks, prayer grounds, and banking halls — places where large numbers of people concentrate predictably and where a single explosive device produces maximum casualties.

The public was instructed to report suspicious persons, unattended objects, or unusual movements immediately to the nearest military checkpoint, police station, or civil-military liaison point. Traditional rulers, religious leaders, media organizations, and community stakeholders were separately called on to encourage timely intelligence sharing and support the security effort at the grassroots level.

The command also cautioned residents against the spread of unverified information that could generate panic. “Refrain from spreading unverified information or rumours capable of causing public panic. Rely only on official information from verified government and security channels,” the advisory stated.

Kwara State: Palace Burned, Emir’s Wives Seized

While the military was issuing its northeast alert, a large group of heavily armed bandits was descending on the Yashikira community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, a border district in north-central Nigeria where armed group activity has been escalating for months.

The attackers arrived late Sunday night, firing indiscriminately as they entered the community. Local vigilantes were overwhelmed. The bandits operated for several hours without organized resistance as terrified residents fled into surrounding bush.

The gunmen struck the palace of the Emir of Yashikira directly, setting parts of the royal compound on fire before forcing their way through and abducting multiple residents, among them women, children, and several of the Emir’s wives.

“Bandits invaded Yashikira in the night. They set the palace on fire and kidnapped women and children, including the Emir’s wives,” a resident told Sahara Reporters.

A second witness described the scale of the chaos. “The attackers came in large numbers with sophisticated weapons. People were running in different directions. Many residents escaped into the bush while the bandits carried away several persons,” the source said.

The exact number of abducted victims had not been confirmed as of the time the incident was first disclosed. No official statement had been issued by Kwara State authorities or the state police command. Sahara Reporters confirmed the attack through multiple residents with direct knowledge of events.

Community members in Baruten said the Yashikira raid was not an isolated incident but the latest in a pattern of attacks they had repeatedly reported to authorities without adequate response. They said porous border routes surrounding Baruten LGA had made the area a consistent entry corridor for armed groups crossing in from neighboring states, and that security agencies had failed to address repeated warnings about rising bandit activity in surrounding villages.

Holiday Attacks as a Deliberate Strategy

The military’s decision to issue a public advisory before Eid-el-Kabir rather than simply absorbing the intelligence and deploying quietly reflects a calculated judgment that the information value of community vigilance outweighs the risk of causing public anxiety. It also reflects a hard-learned lesson from years of holiday attacks in the northeast, where Boko Haram and ISWAP have used the predictable concentration of worshippers at prayer grounds to execute mass casualty bombings that became one of the defining characteristics of the insurgency’s most lethal phase.

Suicide bombings at Eid prayers, Christmas celebrations, and Friday mosque gatherings have killed hundreds of civilians in Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa states over the past decade. The pattern has been consistent enough that any year in which the military does not warn communities before major holidays would itself be notable. What the advisory cannot guarantee is that every member of every congregation in every village across the northeast’s vast geography will receive it, understand it, and be in a position to act on it.

The Kwara State attack introduces a separate but related dimension. Yashikira sits in Baruten LGA on the border with Benin Republic, an area that has seen increasing bandit incursion from nomadic armed groups that operate across porous international boundaries without respect for Nigerian state borders or the communities that live along them. The targeting of the Emir’s palace is not arbitrary — royal compounds represent authority, legitimacy, and social order in ways that make them symbolic targets for groups seeking to demonstrate their capacity to strike anywhere and humiliate the institutions that communities rely on for stability.

The abduction of the Emir’s wives carries a specific strategic message. It signals to the community that no one, regardless of status, is beyond the reach of the attackers. It generates terror and compliance far beyond the immediate circle of victims. And it puts the government in the position of having to respond visibly and quickly to an assault on a traditional institution, with the costs of failure measured not just in lives but in the erosion of whatever legitimacy the state retains in communities that have already been asking for protection and not receiving it.

Nigeria faces both threats simultaneously: organized jihadist insurgency in the northeast operating with military discipline and ideological direction, and criminal banditry in the northcentral and northwest operating with firearms and impunity that no longer requires ideological framing. Managing them with a single security architecture, stretched across one of Africa’s largest countries, is a governing challenge that Wednesday’s Sallah celebrations will test in real time.

PremuimTimes/SaharaReporters

Ebola Outbreak Intensifies in Congo as Families Storm Hospital to Retrieve Bodies

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 Armed young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients in eastern Congo on Sunday evening, forcing medical staff to scramble to evacuate infected patients as gunfire rang out outside the building — the third attack on a healthcare facility in a single week as a rapidly growing outbreak pushed the suspected death toll past 119 and potentially as high as 220, depending on which set of official figures one consults.

The assault on Mongbwalu General Hospital began after dark when the men demanded that two bodies of their relatives be released to them, Dr. Richard Lokudu, the hospital’s medical director, told the Associated Press by phone from inside the facility as the chaos unfolded.

“Mongbwalu General Hospital is on general alert,” Lokudu said. He said medics were attempting to evacuate patients and staff under fire and that he had no further details of the evolving situation. It was not immediately known whether anyone was hurt.

Bodies of Ebola victims are highly contagious. Families who prepare them for traditional burial and gather for funeral wakes risk spreading the virus through direct contact with the deceased. Congolese authorities, responding to that transmission vector, have required that burials of suspected victims be managed by official safe burial teams wherever possible — a policy that has generated intense resistance from families who regard it as a violation of their right to mourn and bury their own.

Three Attacks in One Week

Sunday’s hospital siege was the third assault on an Ebola containment facility in Ituri Province within seven days. On Saturday, residents of Mongbwalu attacked and burned a tent established by Doctors Without Borders for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases. During that attack, 18 people with suspected Ebola infections left the facility and have not been accounted for since, Lokudu had said earlier.

On Thursday, a treatment center in the town of Rwampara was burned down after authorities refused to release the body of a local man suspected to have died from Ebola to his family.

The pattern of attacks reflects the collision between two competing urgencies: the public health necessity of controlling how bodies are handled and how large gatherings are managed, and the deeply held cultural and religious practices around death, mourning, and burial that communities in Ituri have observed for generations. The Congolese government sought to address one dimension of that tension Friday, banning funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people in northeastern Congo in an effort to slow transmission.

The Numbers and the Discrepancy

The scale of the outbreak is growing faster than official figures can keep pace with. The Congolese Ministry of Communication posted on X Sunday that 904 suspected Ebola cases had been recorded, mostly in Ituri Province — a significant jump from the more than 700 previously announced. The total suspected death count the ministry cited stood at 119. But figures released separately for each affected region added up to 220 deaths. Officials could not be reached immediately to explain the gap.

As of Monday, confirmed cases had spread beyond Ituri to Goma, the rebel-held capital of neighboring North Kivu Province, as well as to the towns of Butembo and Nyakunde. One death and one suspected case had been confirmed in Uganda.

An American doctor working in Bunia tested positive for Ebola, Congolese officials confirmed Monday. Dr. Peter Stafford had been treating patients at a hospital in the provincial capital when he developed symptoms, according to Serge, the organization he works for. Three other Serge employees, including Stafford’s wife, were at the same hospital but showed no symptoms. Seven Americans, including Stafford, were being transported to Germany for monitoring, Dr. Satish Pillai of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a call with reporters.

The CDC issued travel advisories urging Americans in Congo and Uganda to avoid contact with anyone showing symptoms of fever, muscle pain, or rash. The agency announced a 30-day ban on entry to the United States of all foreign nationals who had visited Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past three weeks, along with enhanced symptom screening at ports of entry.

A Response That Started Late

How the outbreak reached this scale without earlier detection is a question that has become as important as the response itself. The first person is believed to have died from the virus on April 24 in Bunia, Congo’s health minister Samuel Roger Kamba confirmed. The body was repatriated to the Mongbwalu health zone, a densely populated mining area. “That caused the Ebola outbreak to escalate,” Kamba said.

When another person fell ill on April 26, samples were sent to Kinshasa for laboratory analysis. They were initially tested for the more common Zaire strain of Ebola. The results came back negative. The WHO was not alerted until May 5, when roughly 50 deaths had already occurred in Mongbwalu, including four healthcare workers. The first Ebola confirmation came May 14. The Bundibugyo strain was confirmed the following day — three weeks after the first known death.

“Because early tests looked for the wrong strain of Ebola, we got false negatives and lost weeks of response time,” said Matthew Kavanagh, director of the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Policy and Politics. “We are playing catch-up against a very dangerous pathogen.”

Esther Sterk of Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, acknowledged the delayed detection but noted it was not unusual given the similarity of early Ebola symptoms to other tropical diseases common in the region. “The situation is quite worrying and is evolving pretty quickly,” she told the AP. “It was detected quite late. But that is often the case with Ebola outbreaks.”

Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor at Brown University’s School of Public Health who survived Ebola after contracting it in Guinea more than a decade ago, warned that the true scale of the outbreak is almost certainly larger than current figures reflect. “I suspect that the number of cases is going to go up pretty dramatically in the coming weeks as we do better surveillance and end up finding there were a lot more cases and probably a lot more deaths than we recognized,” Spencer said.

The Bundibugyo Strain and the Vaccine Gap

The Bundibugyo virus is a rare type of Ebola. This is only the third time it has been detected in human beings since Ebola first emerged in Congo and Uganda in 1976. The first detection was during a 2007-2008 outbreak in Uganda’s Bundibugyo district that infected 149 people and killed 37. The second was a 2012 outbreak in Isiro, Congo, where 57 cases and 29 deaths were recorded.

Critically, no approved vaccine exists for the Bundibugyo strain. The vaccines that have proven effective against the Zaire strain, which drove most of Congo’s previous 17 outbreaks, do not cover Bundibugyo. Africa CDC chief Dr. Jean Kaseya told Sky News Sunday that he was in “panic mode” over the lack of available medicines and vaccines, though he said some candidate treatments were expected to arrive in the affected area within weeks.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies added a troubling detail Saturday: three of its volunteers had died from the outbreak in Mongbwalu. The organization said it believed the three healthcare workers contracted the virus on March 27 while handling dead bodies during a humanitarian mission unrelated to Ebola. If confirmed, that date would push the outbreak’s true beginning back nearly a month before the April 24 death that Congolese officials have cited as the first known case.

A Region Already at Breaking Point

Mongbwalu sits in a remote section of eastern Congo, more than 1,000 kilometers from the capital Kinshasa, accessible mainly by poor roads that limit rapid deployment of medical supplies, personnel, and equipment. Ituri Province has been living under the shadow of armed group violence for years. Dozens of people have been killed and more than 273,000 displaced within the province in the past year alone, according to the United Nations.

UN staff in Bunia were instructed to work from home and avoid physical contact and crowded spaces, a Bunia-based UN official told the AP on condition of anonymity. Rwanda closed its land border with Congo on Sunday. Ugandan authorities said they had found no evidence of domestic spread and had heightened surveillance along the Congolese border.

In the streets of Bunia, the outbreak’s weight was visible in small acts of individual preparation. Noëla Lumo, who had previously lived through Ebola outbreaks in Beni and knew their human consequences intimately, was hand-sewing protective masks for herself and her neighbors as soon as she heard the news.

“I know the consequences of Ebola, I know what it’s like,” Lumo said.

When Distrust Becomes a Vector

The three attacks on Ebola treatment facilities in one week in Ituri Province represent one of the most dangerous dimensions of this outbreak — and one of the hardest to address through conventional public health tools.

Vaccine campaigns, treatment centers, and safe burial protocols are built on a foundation of community trust. In eastern Congo, where residents have lived through years of state failure, armed group violence, and a history of external interventions that have not consistently prioritized local welfare, that foundation is thin. When a family is told they cannot touch, wash, or bury their own dead — when the body of their mother or brother is taken by people in protective suits and buried by strangers — the policy that is medically necessary can feel, from inside that experience, like another form of dispossession.

Attacking the facilities does not bring back the dead or protect the living from Ebola. But it reflects a desperation and a sense of having no recourse that public health authorities need to understand and address directly if the containment effort is to succeed. Communities that burn treatment centers cannot be contacted, traced, or vaccinated effectively. The 18 people who walked out of the MSF facility during Saturday’s attack are now somewhere in Ituri Province with suspected Ebola infections, outside any monitoring system.

Kavanagh’s criticism of the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the WHO and cuts to foreign aid surveillance capacity adds a structural layer to an already complex picture. The systems that were supposed to detect outbreaks like this one early, test for multiple strains, and mobilize international response quickly were funded in significant part through mechanisms the current administration has reduced or eliminated. Whether that directly contributed to the three-week detection delay in this specific case is a causal question the investigation will need to address. What is not in question is that the world is now playing catch-up against a rare strain of one of history’s deadliest viruses, in one of its most inaccessible and conflict-affected regions, without an approved vaccine.

AP

Messi Subbed Off With Leg Issue as Inter Miami Triumphs 6-4 in Goal-Heavy Showdown

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Lionel Messi left the pitch late in the second half after appearing to suffer a leg issue, raising fresh concern just weeks before the upcoming global tournament, but Inter Miami CF rallied to defeat Philadelphia Union 6 to 4 in a high scoring match on Sunday night.

Messi signaled to the bench after clutching the back of his leg following a set piece in the 73rd minute and was substituted shortly afterward. He walked off under his own power, though his early exit drew immediate attention given the timing so close to international competition.

Interim coach Guillermo Hoyos said after the match that the Argentine star was dealing with fatigue and that the club would evaluate his condition further. He added that there was no immediate confirmation of a serious injury, though medical staff would continue monitoring the situation.

The match itself remained tightly contested when Messi departed, but Miami surged late to secure the victory, closing out its final fixture before the league pauses for the World Cup schedule. The result capped a stretch in which Messi has been one of the most productive players in the league, contributing both goals and assists at a leading pace.

Reports from Sporting News and MLS Soccer indicated that the substitution was precautionary, with team officials opting to avoid further risk ahead of a demanding international calendar. Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano also noted the club would conduct further assessment in the coming days.

Argentina, the defending champion of the FIFA World Cup, is expected to rely heavily on Messi’s leadership as it prepares to open its campaign next month. The veteran forward is widely anticipated to captain the squad again, potentially marking his final appearance on football’s biggest stage.

Messi’s early exit, even if precautionary, underscores the delicate balance teams face when managing elite players at the end of long club seasons. With only weeks separating league play from international competition, even minor muscle fatigue can quickly escalate into a more serious setback if not handled conservatively.

For Argentina, the timing could hardly be more sensitive. Messi remains central not only to the team’s attacking structure but also to its psychological edge. His presence alone influences defensive setups and creates space for teammates. Any limitation, even temporary, would force adjustments to a system built around his movement and vision.

Inter Miami’s decision to remove him promptly reflects a broader trend in modern football, where player preservation often outweighs short term match considerations. Clubs increasingly prioritize long term fitness, especially when players are heading into major tournaments that carry both national and commercial significance.

The incident also highlights the physical toll of Messi’s recent form. Despite his age, he has maintained a high level of output, which, while impressive, raises the likelihood of fatigue related issues. Managing that workload will be critical in the weeks ahead.

While early indications suggest the issue may not be severe, uncertainty remains until medical evaluations are complete. For now, both club and country will be watching closely, aware that even a minor setback could ripple into larger consequences on the global stage.

MLSsoccer/Sportingnews

4 Colombians Arrested in Southern California Burglary Ring That Used Signal Jammers and Hidden Cameras

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Four men suspected of operating within an organized burglary network targeting homes across Southern California have been taken into custody, authorities confirmed, following an investigation that uncovered the use of advanced surveillance and electronic disruption tools.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department identified the suspects as Jesus Velez Hernandez, Sergio Paez Cuervo, Javier Pulido Ramirez, and Akksel Cadena Diaz, all citizens of Colombia.

Investigators believe the group is linked to a coordinated burglary operation that relied on concealed cameras, signal jamming devices, and other specialized equipment to monitor and disable residential security systems before carrying out break ins.

Details shared by ABC7 Los Angeles indicate that search warrants executed in Los Angeles County led to the seizure of stolen property, electronic interference devices, and surveillance equipment believed to be tied to a broader pattern of home burglaries throughout the region.

The case began after a reported break in last month in the San Antonio Heights area of Upland. Detectives expanded the inquiry, eventually identifying the suspects and linking them to additional incidents across Southern California.

Coverage by KTLA notes that the group allegedly used a combination of tactics, including fake license plates and wireless monitoring devices, to track residents’ movements and exploit vulnerabilities in home security systems.

Authorities say three of the suspects are being held in Ventura County, while the fourth was booked at a detention facility in Rancho Cucamonga and remains in custody without bail.

Law enforcement officials say they are releasing details about the methods used in the case to alert residents and assist other agencies investigating similar crimes. The use of signal jamming technology and covert surveillance marks a growing trend among organized burglary groups, particularly those targeting high value residential areas.

Officials are urging anyone with information related to the case or similar incidents to come forward as the investigation continues.

The arrests highlight a shift in residential crime, where organized groups are increasingly deploying sophisticated tools once associated with cybercrime or espionage. The use of signal jammers and hidden cameras suggests a level of planning that goes beyond opportunistic theft, pointing instead to structured operations with defined roles and technical capability.

Such tactics pose new challenges for homeowners and law enforcement alike. Traditional alarm systems may be less effective against signal interference, raising concerns about how prepared residential security infrastructure is for evolving threats.

The case also underscores the regional nature of these operations. By moving across multiple counties, organized groups can exploit jurisdictional gaps and delay coordinated responses. This has prompted calls for stronger interagency collaboration and updated policing strategies.

For residents, the incident serves as a warning that burglary is becoming more calculated and technology driven. Experts say increased awareness, layered security systems, and neighborhood vigilance will be critical in reducing vulnerability as criminal methods continue to adapt.

ABC7LA/KTLA

Angeles City Disaster: 4 Dead, 17 Missing in Philippine Hotel Collapse

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Rescuers worked through the night and into Monday morning pulling survivors from a mountain of broken concrete and twisted steel in northern Philippines, but the effort turned to grief repeatedly as workers who had been found alive beneath the rubble died before they could be freed or revived — bringing the death toll from Sunday’s hotel construction collapse to four with 17 people still missing.

The nine-story building in Angeles City, Pampanga Province collapsed before dawn Sunday during a fierce thunderstorm, trapping construction workers who had been sleeping inside on pieces of plywood on the ground floor. The building’s fall sent a cascade of debris into a neighboring budget inn, killing a Malaysian tourist staying there. Another guest at the inn was injured but managed to escape.

The scenes through the early morning hours carried the particular anguish of survival that slips away. One trapped man was reached by rescuers who fed him water and intravenous medicine in a desperate attempt to keep him alive in the scorching heat. He did not survive.

“He never made it despite all the efforts,” regional police chief Brig. Gen. Jess Mendez told the Associated Press.

A second worker suffered cardiac arrest around 3 a.m. while still pinned under concrete. Medical personnel could not reach him in time. A third body was pulled from the rubble on Monday — unidentified, and not on the list of the 17 missing, adding an unresolved complication to a death count that officials still could not close.

Regional fire bureau spokeswoman Maria Leah Sajili confirmed both worker deaths through AFP, saying the first was pulled out alive but his body gave out before doctors could resuscitate him. The second died from cardiac arrest while still trapped.

Twenty-six workers were either rescued or managed to run out as the building came down. Of the 17 still missing Monday, most were construction workers employed at the site.

A City Waiting at the Edge of the Rubble

Relatives of the missing workers gathered in makeshift sheds near the collapse site through the night and into Monday, watching as hundreds of rescuers, firefighters, and police officers picked through the debris. The mixture of grief and desperate hope that took hold in those sheds produced some of the day’s most affecting moments.

Lea Mendoza Casilao, 47, a sardine factory worker, had taken a bus to Angeles from her northern Manila home carrying a week’s supply of rice and canned goods for her boyfriend, a mason working the construction site. She did not know about the collapse when she boarded. She had been planning to meet him over the weekend.

“It’s very difficult, it is breaking my heart to wait for something uncertain,” she told AFP through tears, describing how she slept alone overnight in a local government building after arriving to find the site reduced to rubble.

Stephanie Batar and her mother Noby learned about the collapse through social media from their home in nearby Bulacan Province. Her 64-year-old father had taken a six-month contract at the site just weeks earlier.

“I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stand. It’s very painful and we did not know what to do,” she said.

Alfredo Albis, 55, had been sleeping in a workers’ barracks about five meters from the building when it collapsed. Two of his cousins were still missing Monday.

“They were working here to earn for their families,” he told AFP, “and there’s a possibility that my relatives are dead.”

Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin told the Associated Press that the search would not be reclassified as a body retrieval operation despite the mounting losses.

“My best hope is that we can rescue more people alive,” Lazatin said. “We don’t want to give the families of the trapped workers any bad news.”

He acknowledged that the work was deliberately slow. Enormous concrete slabs were being held in place only by a tangle of aluminum scaffolding underneath, and any sudden movement risked triggering a secondary collapse that could crush both the missing workers and the rescuers trying to reach them.

Sajili confirmed that thermal scanners were being used to search for survivors. If no signs of life are detected, she said, mechanical diggers and heavy equipment would be brought in to clear the site for body recovery, though she gave no timeline for that transition.

A Construction Site With a Known Safety History

The collapse has drawn scrutiny toward a project that regional labor authorities had flagged and temporarily shut down less than a year before Sunday’s disaster.

Geraldine Panlilio, regional director of the labor department, told Manila radio station DZMM that she had ordered the project halted in September 2024 after inspectors found violations of occupational safety standards. Workers at the site lacked basic protective equipment including hardhats, safety boots, safety belts, and lifelines. Lighting was poor. Safety signage was absent.

“Our labour inspectors had monitored poor working conditions, a violation that would put our workers at risk,” Panlilio said.

Construction resumed approximately one month after the shutdown, following the contractor’s confirmation that the required corrections had been made. Whether those corrections were genuine and sustained, or whether the safety violations that prompted the September closure had quietly returned in the months that followed, is now central to the investigation.

National Police Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said his force was supporting an investigation to determine the cause of the collapse and identify possible violations of safety and building regulations.

Up to 70 workers were employed at the site, officials said, though most had gone home for the weekend. The workers who remained were the ones sleeping inside when the building came down.

Angeles City and Its Construction Boom

Angeles City sits in the shadow of the former Clark Air Base, once one of the largest U.S. Air Force installations outside American soil, approximately 80 kilometers north of Manila. The base closed in the early 1990s after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo caused catastrophic damage to the surrounding region. The former base became the Clark Freeport Zone, a bustling commercial and industrial enclave that has drawn investment and tourism for three decades.

The area around Clark has maintained the character of its base-era economy, with budget hotels, bars, and commercial accommodation forming a substantial part of the local business landscape. The collapsed building was a nine-story hotel under construction in that environment — part of a continued build-out of accommodation and commercial space in a city whose economic identity has always revolved around hospitality and mobility.

The Gap Between Inspection and Protection

The timeline of this disaster contains a detail that will dominate the official investigation and deserves direct attention. Regulators found serious safety violations at this specific site in September 2024. They shut it down. The contractor satisfied the requirements to reopen. Eight months later, the building collapsed while workers slept inside.

That sequence does not automatically mean the September violations caused Sunday’s collapse. The cause has not been established, and construction failures can stem from structural design, materials quality, foundation conditions, weather events, or a combination of factors that may or may not be related to the labor safety violations identified last year. The investigation will need to establish that connection or its absence.

What the sequence does establish is that this was not a site without a regulatory history. It was a site that had been flagged, closed, and cleared to reopen. The people sleeping in it had reason to believe it was being built to standards that someone, at some point, had verified. If the investigation finds that the conditions leading to collapse were present or developing during the period when the site was operating under its post-shutdown compliance status, the accountability question extends beyond the contractor to the inspection and certification process itself.

Pampanga Province’s broader building stock, Angeles City’s rapid commercial development, and the national pattern of construction accidents in the Philippines create context for a regulatory system under strain. The workers who went to sleep in that building on Saturday night were earning wages for their families in the one industry available to them. They had no mechanism to independently assess whether the structure above them was safe. That assessment was the responsibility of the systems that certified it.

The 17 families still waiting at the edge of that rubble deserve answers about how it failed.

AP/Euronews

Bandit Attack in Kwara, Nigeria: Locals Abducted and Feared Dead

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Armed attackers carried out a late night assault on a community in Kwara State, abducting several residents and leaving others feared dead in an incident that has intensified concerns over rising violence in the region.

The attack unfolded Saturday night in the Ikerin and Ajuba area of Ekiti Local Government, where gunmen entered the community and opened fire, creating panic among residents. Accounts shared with Sahara Reporters indicate that the assailants operated for an extended period, with no immediate resistance reported.

Local sources said the number of those kidnapped or killed remains uncertain as authorities and community leaders continue to assess the situation. Several people were also reported injured during the нападение, though official figures have yet to be confirmed.

Residents described scenes of chaos as gunfire rang out across the area, forcing families to flee their homes in the dark. One account described widespread confusion, with many unable to determine who had been taken or who may have been killed.

The latest violence adds to growing insecurity across Kwara South, where rural communities have increasingly come under attack from armed groups. Residents say the frequency of raids has increased in recent months, with kidnappings and violent confrontations disrupting daily life.

Community members are calling for stronger security measures, warning that many villages now feel exposed and vulnerable. Farming activities and local travel have been affected, as fear of further attacks continues to spread.

The нападение in Kwara State reflects a broader pattern of insecurity affecting parts of Nigeria, where armed groups have shifted focus toward less protected rural areas. Analysts note that these communities often lack sufficient security presence, making them easier targets for kidnappers seeking ransom.

The uncertainty surrounding casualty figures also highlights a recurring challenge in such incidents, where delayed information can complicate response efforts and deepen anxiety among residents. Without rapid intervention and improved intelligence, similar attacks may continue to escalate.

Beyond immediate security concerns, the impact on livelihoods is significant. As fear limits farming and movement, local economies suffer, increasing hardship in already vulnerable areas. This cycle can further weaken community resilience and deepen instability.

For authorities, the incident underscores the urgency of strengthening rural security frameworks and restoring public confidence. Without visible and sustained action, residents may increasingly feel abandoned, raising the risk of further displacement and long term social disruption.

SaharaReporters

Trump Signals Caution as Iran Deal Nears, Strait of Hormuz Reopening in Focus

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President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran are advancing but warned against rushing into a final agreement, even as officials point to growing momentum toward a deal that could end months of conflict and ease global energy pressures.

Diplomatic discussions are moving forward in what Trump described as a steady and constructive manner, with improving engagement between both sides. Speaking after a series of calls with regional leaders, he indicated that key elements of a broader agreement are largely settled, though final terms remain under review.

Insights shared with The Associated Press indicate that negotiators are working toward a framework that would halt hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and address concerns surrounding Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. However, individuals familiar with the talks cautioned that the agreement has not yet been finalized and could still face last minute setbacks.

Officials involved in the discussions say the proposed arrangement would require Iran to relinquish its reserves of highly enriched uranium, a central demand from Washington. The plan under consideration includes a transition period during which portions of the material could be diluted while the remainder may be transferred to a third country.

Data from the International Atomic Energy Agency shows Iran currently holds uranium enriched to levels close to weapons grade, intensifying international concern. Iranian leaders, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, have maintained that the country’s nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking during a visit to India, pointed to meaningful progress in the talks, though he emphasized that several critical issues remain unresolved, including long term restrictions on enrichment and guarantees against nuclear weapons development.

A central pillar of the negotiations is the phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor through which a significant share of the world’s oil supply passes. The waterway has been effectively closed since the escalation of conflict in late February, when strikes by the United States and Israel triggered retaliation from Tehran.

The disruption has sent oil and gas prices sharply higher, straining economies worldwide. Analysts say even if the strait reopens soon, it could take weeks or longer for shipping flows and market stability to return.

Under the emerging framework, the United States would gradually ease restrictions on Iran’s oil exports through sanctions waivers, while also addressing access to frozen financial assets. Officials say these steps would unfold alongside continued negotiations over a defined period.

Beyond the nuclear issue, the proposed agreement also touches on broader regional tensions, including the conflict involving Hezbollah in Lebanon. Officials say the draft includes provisions aimed at ending that fighting, though clashes have continued despite a fragile ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that any final agreement must eliminate the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions, while maintaining Israel’s right to act against perceived dangers.

The cautious tone adopted by Trump reflects the complexity of a deal that extends far beyond a simple ceasefire. While negotiators appear closer than at any point in recent weeks, the repeated pattern of near agreements followed by setbacks suggests deep mistrust remains between Washington and Tehran.

The potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz carries global significance. Energy markets, already strained by geopolitical instability, are highly sensitive to developments in the region. A successful agreement could stabilize prices and restore confidence, but any collapse in talks risks triggering renewed volatility.

Equally important is the nuclear dimension. Requiring Iran to scale back its enriched uranium stockpile would mark a major diplomatic achievement for the United States, yet enforcement and verification remain critical challenges. Without clear mechanisms, skepticism is likely to persist among allies and critics alike.

Regionally, the inclusion of provisions addressing conflicts tied to Iran’s allied groups signals a broader attempt to reset security dynamics across the Middle East. However, the durability of such arrangements will depend on compliance from multiple actors, not just Tehran.

Ultimately, the negotiations highlight a delicate balance between urgency and caution. While there is clear pressure to secure a deal that ends hostilities and stabilizes global markets, the risks of a flawed or incomplete agreement could carry long term consequences.

Russia Uses Hypersonic Oreshnik Missile in One of War’s Largest Kyiv Strikes

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 Russia launched one of the most devastating aerial assaults on Kyiv since the war began early Sunday, firing a nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile alongside hundreds of drones and other ballistic weapons in an overnight bombardment that killed at least four people, wounded more than 80, damaged 50 locations across the capital, and drove residents into metro stations as explosions shook buildings from just after 1 a.m. until dawn revealed a city scarred by fire and collapsed walls.

It was only the third time Russia has deployed the Oreshnik in the war, and the first time it struck a target so close to the Ukrainian capital. The missile hit Bila Tserkva, a city of 200,000 people approximately 40 miles from Kyiv’s outskirts, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a Telegram post. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 90 missiles and 600 drones in total. Air defenses destroyed or jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles. Around 19 missiles failed to reach their targets. The ones that got through left their mark across the capital and surrounding region.

At least two people were killed and 69 wounded in Kyiv itself, Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed. Two more were killed and nine injured in strikes across the broader Kyiv region, said regional governor Mykola Kalashnyk. Eleven people were wounded in the central city of Cherkasy when a drone crashed into an apartment building, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said.

“It was a terrible night for Kyiv,” Klitschko wrote on Telegram from one of the strike sites. “Right now, rescuers are putting out fires and clearing debris. Medics are providing assistance to the victims.”

What the Oreshnik Is

The Oreshnik, whose name translates from Russian as hazelnut tree, is a multiple-warhead ballistic missile capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear payloads. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described it as immune to any existing missile defense system, citing its reported velocity of Mach 10 — ten times the speed of sound. Putin has said the weapon travels like a meteorite and is capable of destroying underground bunkers three or more floors deep, and that several Oreshniks armed with conventional warheads could produce destruction comparable to a nuclear strike.

Russia first used the Oreshnik against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in November 2024. The second deployment struck the western Lviv region in January. Sunday’s use near Kyiv represented a geographic escalation, bringing the weapon to striking distance of Ukraine’s capital for the first time and demonstrating Russia’s willingness to deploy its most advanced conventional strike capability against the country’s political and population center.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the Oreshnik was used alongside Iskander, Kinzhal, and Zircon missiles, saying the strikes targeted Ukrainian military command facilities, air bases, and military-industrial sites in retaliation for what Moscow characterized as Ukrainian strikes on civilian targets in Russia. Ukraine denies targeting civilians.

Dawn in a Damaged City

When the sun rose Sunday, black smoke drifted across Kyiv’s skyline from fires still burning in multiple districts. Firefighters worked through the morning with hoses trained on damaged residential buildings. The front facade of one five-story building had collapsed entirely. Windows were blown out in Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry. Damage was reported near Independence Square, Kyiv’s historic central plaza, and inside a metro station foyer. Police department buildings were damaged. Schools, shopping centers, supermarkets, and warehouses were hit across multiple districts.

“It was a terrible night, and there had never been anything like it in the entire war,” said Svitlana Onofryichuk, 55, who had worked at a market that burned for 22 years. “I am very sorry that I have to say goodbye to Kyiv now, I am not staying there anymore. My job is gone, everything is gone, everything has burned down.”

Yevhen Zosin, 74, grabbed his dog when the first explosion hit and was thrown backward by the shockwave from a second. “We both survived, she and I,” he said. “My apartment was blown to pieces.”

Nataliia Zvarych, 62, spent more than three hours in a metro station through the night, listening to explosions above ground. “It was terrifying, scary,” she said.

A school building was damaged by a strike while people sheltered inside, Klitschko said.

Ukraine’s Air Defense Gap

The scale of the attack and the number of strikes that reached their targets laid bare a chronic vulnerability in Ukraine’s defensive position. Kyiv relies heavily on U.S. Patriot air defense systems to intercept ballistic missiles, but interceptor stocks are critically depleted and represent one of Ukraine’s most urgent and consistent requests to Western partners. By saturating the capital with 90 missiles and 600 drones simultaneously, Russia appears to be pursuing a deliberate strategy of forcing Ukraine to exhaust its limited interceptor inventory ahead of what Kyiv’s military planners fear could be a more intense summer campaign.

Zelensky said not all ballistic missiles were intercepted and that Kyiv was the primary target of the night’s assault. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has identified the development of a domestically produced air defense interceptor as a top priority, but the timeline and funding required make that a medium-term solution at best.

A man carries a box from a burning trade center after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

The Starobilsk Dormitory and Russia’s Justification

Russia framed Sunday’s attack as retaliation for a Ukrainian drone strike on a college dormitory in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine on May 22. Putin had publicly ordered the Russian military to prepare retaliatory proposals after the Starobilsk strike, which Moscow said killed 21 people and wounded 42. The Kremlin-installed authorities of the Luhansk region declared two days of mourning.

At a United Nations Security Council emergency meeting convened at Russia’s request to discuss the Starobilsk strike, Ukrainian Ambassador Andrii Melnyk rejected Russian accusations of war crimes, calling them a “pure propaganda show” and insisting that the May 22 operations exclusively targeted Russian military assets.

Zelensky, for his part, said Russia had also specifically targeted Kyiv’s water supply infrastructure Sunday, attempting to damage it before summer increases demand on the system.

Zelensky’s Call for Consequences

The Ukrainian president used Sunday’s assault to press Western governments for a stronger response to Russia’s use of its most powerful conventional weapons against civilian-populated areas.

“It’s important that this does not remain without consequences for Russia,” Zelensky said on Telegram. “Decisions are needed — from the United States, from Europe and others.”

He had warned as early as Saturday that intelligence from Ukraine, the United States, and European partners indicated Russia was planning an Oreshnik strike. The warning did not prevent the attack. It did give Kyiv residents slightly more time to reach shelter before the first explosions.

The Oreshnik as Strategic Signal

The decision to fire an Oreshnik in the vicinity of Kyiv, for only the third time in the war and the first time at this proximity to the capital, carries a message that extends beyond the immediate damage assessment. Russia is demonstrating that it retains the will and the capability to escalate the technical sophistication of its attacks even as diplomatic pressure for a ceasefire builds and as the U.S. and European partners debate the scope of further military assistance to Ukraine.

The Oreshnik’s use near Kyiv is a specific signal directed at multiple audiences simultaneously. For Ukrainian civilians, it is a reminder that no location is beyond Moscow’s reach. For Western governments, it is a demonstration that Russia is not conserving its most advanced weapons in anticipation of negotiations — it is using them, and it has more. For the NATO alliance’s eastern members, it is a data point about Russian operational doctrine and escalation tolerance that their own defense planners are already incorporating into threat assessments.

Putin’s claim that the Oreshnik is immune to any existing defense system has not been independently verified, and Ukraine’s air defense forces have demonstrated throughout the war a capacity to adapt and improve interception rates against weapons Russia once described as unstoppable. But the fundamental equation of a hypersonic, multi-warhead ballistic missile against air defense interceptor stocks that are already running critically low creates a structural vulnerability that no amount of operational ingenuity fully resolves without more hardware.

The 55 residents of Kyiv who were wounded Sunday morning going about their lives in a capital that has endured nearly four years of bombardment are not abstractions in a strategic calculation. They are the population that the Oreshnik’s designers, the Russian military planners, and every Western government that has so far withheld certain weapons from Ukraine have been factoring into decisions whose consequences arrive at street level every time the sirens sound.

Svitlana Onofryichuk is leaving Kyiv. She is not alone.

Reuters/AP

Nigerian Man Arrested in LA for Identity Theft and Fraud Scheme, ICE Says

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Federal immigration authorities have taken a Nigerian national into custody in California in connection with alleged financial crimes, including identity theft and bank fraud, as removal proceedings move forward.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that officers in Los Angeles detained 49 year old Etinosa Osahon on May 21. The agency said the arrest followed a review of his criminal history, which includes allegations of mail theft, possession of stolen mail, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Officials indicated that Osahon remains in federal custody while immigration authorities determine the next steps regarding his removal from the United States.

Details released by the agency show that the case is being handled within the broader immigration enforcement framework, with proceedings underway to decide whether deportation will be carried out.

Accounts from Sahara Reporters and Punch Nigeria cited statements from immigration officials confirming both the arrest and the charges tied to the suspect’s record.

The arrest comes amid continued national debate over the role and reach of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which operates under the Department of Homeland Security and is responsible for enforcing immigration laws and investigating cross border crimes.

Over the years, the agency has drawn criticism from civil rights advocates and immigration groups over its detention practices and enforcement operations. Concerns have focused on workplace raids, family separations, and allegations of excessive force during arrests.

At the same time, supporters of the agency argue that its work remains critical to national security and the integrity of the immigration system, particularly in cases involving financial crimes and identity theft.

The case involving Osahon reflects a wider pattern in which immigration enforcement intersects with financial crime investigations. Authorities often prioritize cases that involve identity theft and fraud because of their impact on financial institutions and individuals whose identities may be compromised.

Legal analysts note that such arrests can strengthen the government’s position in removal proceedings, as criminal allegations tied to fraud offenses are frequently treated as serious violations under immigration law. However, they also point out that due process remains essential, as individuals in immigration custody still retain legal rights during proceedings.

The arrest also highlights the continued focus on major urban centers like Los Angeles, where federal agents concentrate resources due to higher population density and reported financial crime activity.

More broadly, the case underscores the ongoing tension between enforcement priorities and civil liberties concerns. As immigration authorities expand operations tied to criminal investigations, scrutiny is likely to intensify over how those powers are exercised and whether safeguards are sufficient.

For policymakers, the situation adds another layer to an already complex national conversation about immigration, law enforcement authority, and the balance between public safety and individual rights.

Punchng/SaharaReporters

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