There were less airstrikes during the war.

Yatar alone was attacked more than 24 times today

The chief of the Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan has appointed a senior officer to be responsible for finding solutions for the drone threat troops are facing in southern Lebanon.

The officer, a brigadier general and a pilot, heads the Ground Forces' Strike Division, which is normally tasked with developing doctrine for combined air, intelligence, and ground operations.

Several officers are working under the general to find solutions for first-person view (FPV) drones, especially those guided by fiber-optic cables, which are immune to electronic jamming and difficult to detect.

To counter the fiber optic FPV drones, the IDF has deployed passive physical defenses in southern Lebanon, such as netting above troops, vehicles, and outposts. According to the military, these measures have proven effective when troops "maintain operational discipline."

The IDF has also deployed mobile radars to southern Lebanon, which are adapted to identify drones flying at different ranges and alert forces, who can then attempt to shoot them down.

The military is examining and implementing several methods of shooting down the drones by ground troops, including shotguns at short ranges, special ammunition that disperses in the air, and automated turrets.

The Ground Forces is also experimenting with other technological solutions for the drones, and cooperating with international partners as part of the effort, according to the military.

Nikol Pashinyan will not attend the May 9 parade in Russia.

The Armenian prime minister said that during his April visit to Russia, he informed Vladimir Putin that he would not travel to Moscow. He cited the start of the parliamentary election campaign on June 7 as the reason.

Amid the war, Armenia is increasingly distancing itself from the Kremlin. Pashinyan has stated that the country “is not Russia’s ally on the issue of Ukraine,” is pursuing closer ties with the US and the EU, and has spoken about a possible withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

This week, Pashinyan also met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Yerevan.

An NRC investigation says a controversial porn platform featuring videos of sex with seemingly unconscious women is hosted through a Dutch company owned by Israeli businessman Simon Shlomi Elimeleh.

The report says Elimeleh had been connected to the platform for years through his own Israeli company before acquiring the Dutch hosting provider in 2018 via a Bulgarian firm.

Despite repeated complaints about illegal content — including suspected child abuse material and rape-themed videos — his companies allegedly continued providing hosting and technical services.

‼️ In April, the Russians used 705 Molniya drones only in the direction of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, — Dmytro Zaporozhets

Lieutenant Colonel added that on average last month, 5 airstrikes were recorded per day throughout the entire zone of responsibility.

💬 “80% of the drones were launched by the Russians precisely in Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, and 20% were used by the enemy along the front line. 91 “Shahed” were also shot down. That is, the number of UAVs used by the enemy is measured in tens of thousands. If we take FPV drones throughout the entire zone of responsibility, then 9300 were FPV, and another 9000 were UAVs of other types. In total, there were up to 19 thousand different lethal drones,” he noted.

🇪🇺✅ EU will not evacuate its diplomats from Kyiv after Moscow's warnings, says European Commission spokesman.

🇨🇳👀 Two former heads of the Chinese Defense Ministry, Wei Fenghe and Li Shanfu, have been found guilty of taking large bribes.

The court sentenced them to death with a two-year reprieve, stripped them of all political rights, and confiscated their property for the benefit of the state.

🇿🇦 South Africa's Kganyago says central bank must keep rate options open amid inflation threat

South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Wednesday that policymakers needed to keep their options open on interest rates as geopolitical shocks clouded the outlook and inflation expectations remained above target.

The statement signals the central bank's cautious approach to monetary policy amid elevated inflation pressures.

#SouthAfrica

🔸 Source

@africaintel

😂 Russian Roskomnadzor has filed lawsuits against Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Epic Games and other game studios for refusing to localize data of Russian players.

📍Battlefield, GTA, FIFA, SIMS, Red Dead Redemption and other popular projects have also been hit.

🇵🇭 Philippines GDP hits five-year low amid war and scandal

Philippine GDP expanded just 2.8% in Q1 2026, down sharply from 5.4% in Q1 2025 and below the prior quarter's 3%. Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan cited the Middle East conflict, a multi-billion-dollar fraudulent flood control scandal, and delayed budget approval as the primary drivers. Consumer prices hit a three-year high of 7.2% for the quarter.

The government had already revised its 2026 GDP target down to 5–6% from 6–7% in December. Manila now plans a further downward revision, with economic managers set to meet next week to review targets. Balisacan acknowledged the Philippines is trailing Vietnam, Indonesia, and China on regional growth, with global uncertainty cited as an ongoing constraint.

The flood control scandal, estimated to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars, has triggered protests and arrests across the country in 2026, compounding the external shock from elevated oil prices.

#Philippines

@asianomics