Today’s headlines: first fatality of 2026 in Japan following a bear attack. Two Singaporean nationals in isolation after travelling on the cruise ship MV Hondius, the epicentre of the Hantavirus outbreak. Six dead, including two children, in north-west Pakistan after a mortar shell struck a market. Beijing sentences two former defence ministers to death.

INDONESIA

Rescue workers in Indonesia are racing against time to recover at least 20 hikers missing following the sudden eruption this morning of a volcano on Mount Dukono. There are currently three confirmed fatalities (two foreigners and one local), but there are also reported to be several injured, including at least nine tourists from Singapore. It has not yet been possible to recover the bodies. According to the Volcanological Survey of Indonesia, Mount Dukono, one of the most active volcanoes in the archipelago and a popular destination for tourists and hikers, erupted at 07:41 local time, sending a 10-kilometre-high column of ash into the sky.

JAPAN

Japanese authorities today confirmed the first fatal bear attack of 2026, whilst police are also investigating two other possible cases. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the victim was a 55-year-old woman who died on 21 April in Iwate Prefecture, in the north of the country. In 2025, Japan saw a record wave of fatal bear attacks, with 13 people killed.

SINGAPORE

Two Singaporean residents aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, the epicentre of a Hantavirus outbreak that is causing concern among global health authorities with three deaths and eight infections (at least so far), have been isolated and tested for the virus. This was reported by the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA), which stated that the two individuals are at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). A 67-year-old man is said to have mild cold-like symptoms but is otherwise in good health, whilst the second person – a 65-year-old permanent resident – is asymptomatic. Both were on board when the ship left the Argentine port of Ushuaia on 1 April.

LEBANON - ISRAEL - USA

A third round of talks between Israel and Lebanon is scheduled for 14 and 15 May in Washington, in an attempt to reach a difficult peace agreement between the two countries.

This was announced yesterday by a US official, marking a new summit between nations that do not maintain diplomatic relations but have already met on two occasions recently, on 14 and 23 April, in an attempt to secure a lasting truce. Since early March, Israeli attacks in Lebanon have caused over 2,700 deaths, more than 8,200 injuries and one million displaced persons.

PAKISTAN

Six people, including two children, were killed by a mortar shell that struck a market in a tense area in north-western Pakistan. The attack took place in the Thall area, in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the border with Afghanistan, not far from the former tribal areas. The explosion also injured 13 people, three of whom are in critical condition, with the death toll likely to rise.

CHINA

Former Defence Ministers Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu have both been sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve, following a trial on corruption charges. This was reported by Xinhua, highlighting the severity of the purge within the military. Li had been suspected of receiving “huge sums of money” in bribes and of corruption, as well as failing to fulfil “his political responsibilities”. A death sentence with a suspended sentence in China is generally commuted to life imprisonment if the offender does not commit any crimes during the suspension period.

SYRIA - AUSTRALIA

Three women, Australian citizens with links to the jihadist group Islamic State, have been arrested on their return to Australia after years of detention in Syria. Police detained two of them – Kawsar Abbas, 53, and Zeinab Ahmed, 31 – on arrival in Melbourne. Janai Safar, 32, was taken into custody after landing in Sydney. A fourth woman in the group, which also includes nine children, remains at large. The issue of their return is a subject of controversy in the country, and the government has already stated that it does not intend to provide any assistance. The children – ranging in age from six to their teens – are to receive psychological support and be assessed for possible radicalisation.

RUSSIA

Customs officials in St Petersburg have seized 12 tonnes of shipments containing 28 children’s books imported from abroad, published by the British firm Usborne. The books are deemed to contain ‘extremist content’ as they deal with the human body, animals, Father Christmas, dinosaurs, Easter and Christmas, as well as collections of puzzles and story guides for children, without explaining in what way these texts might be considered extremist.