The Washington Times stories: Worlden-usWed, 06 May 2026 18:01:00 -0400Congo's president warned on Wednesday that the African nation will not be able to organize and hold elections after his term ends in two years unless the conflict that has gripped the country's east is resolved and stability returns. Jean-Yves Kamale and Saleh MwanamilongoWed, 06 May 2026 18:01:00 -0400China plans to support lethal military action with a strategy that uses laws and lawsuits against adversaries to shock, deter and create the "coercive force to achieve victory," according to a newly translated document. Bill GertzWed, 06 May 2026 17:58:37 -0400Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will discuss cooperation on the fight against organized crime and tariffs with U.S. President Donald Trump, Brazil's finance minister Dario Durigan said Wednesday, one day ahead of the scheduled meeting between the pair. Eléonore HughesWed, 06 May 2026 16:46:02 -0400Iranian officials are considering a new proposal from the U.S. that could jump-start peace negotiations as President Trump threatens to resume a devastating bombing campaign if Tehran does not agree. Vaughn Cockayne, Mike Glenn and Tom Howell Jr.Wed, 06 May 2026 15:49:00 -0400Pope Leo XIV surprised 13 priests from southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, by joining a video call from Rome on Wednesday, telling them they were in his prayers and that he hoped peace would soon prevail along the tense frontier. Bassem MroueWed, 06 May 2026 15:43:42 -0400The Trump administration's approach to the Iran war over the past 24 hours has pinballed from declarations that a tenuous ceasefire was holding and military operations were over to new threats of bombing the Islamic Republic. Ben Finley, Matthew Lee and Farnoush AmiriWed, 06 May 2026 15:19:28 -0400With hundreds of vessels still stuck in the Persian Gulf and costs piling up, shipping companies are being whipsawed by uncertainty over how and when the Strait of Hormuz might reopen more than two months into the Iran war. Mae Anderson and David McHughWed, 06 May 2026 14:57:05 -0400France's aircraft carrier strike group is moving south of the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea in preparation for a potential French-British mission in the Strait of Hormuz, French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday. Thomas AdamsonWed, 06 May 2026 14:56:46 -0400The U.S. Navy fired on an Iranian-flagged oil tanker that was attempting to breach the U.S. maritime blockade of Iran and sail to a port on the Gulf of Oman, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Mike GlennWed, 06 May 2026 14:25:21 -0400President Trump said Wednesday he is waiting to see if Iran can make a "satisfactory" deal and warned he would make Tehran agree to his terms, one way or another, if they don't strike an agreement now. Tom Howell Jr.Wed, 06 May 2026 13:21:07 -0400British voters will cast ballots Thursday in elections that could hasten the end of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's troubled term and confirm that an increasingly fractured United Kingdom has entered an era of messy multiparty politics. Jill LawlessWed, 06 May 2026 11:46:44 -0400Vienna police are bracing for protests against Israel's participation at the annual Eurovision international music contest next week, multiple news outlets report. Juliet La SalaWed, 06 May 2026 11:44:23 -0400Three patients with suspected hantavirus infections were being evacuated from a cruise ship to the Netherlands on Wednesday, the U.N. health agency said. The vessel at the center of a deadly outbreak remained off Cape Verde with nearly 150 people on board waiting to head to Spain's Canary Islands. Annie Risemberg, Misper Apawu, Jamey Keaten and Isabel DebreWed, 06 May 2026 11:37:36 -0400Pope Leo XIV will inaugurate the soaring central tower of Barcelona's famed Sagrada Familia basilica when he visits Spain next month in a weeklong trip that will also take him to a migrant reception center in the Canary Islands, the Vatican said Wednesday. Nicole Winfield, Suman Naishadham and Renata BritoWed, 06 May 2026 11:11:50 -0400European auditors said Wednesday that they're unable to clearly trace the way that billions of euros are being spent out of a massive fund helping European Union countries rebuild their economies from damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Lorne CookWed, 06 May 2026 11:04:14 -0400Imprisoned Nobel Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was being examined by Iranian government-appointed medical experts Wednesday for the second time since she was hospitalized last week, a move her brother said he hopes would lead to her transfer to a hospital in Tehran. Sarah El DeebWed, 06 May 2026 10:50:07 -0400Sweden is investigating a tanker that is suspected of being part of the sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet," according to the Scandinavian country's civil defense minister. Associated PressWed, 06 May 2026 10:19:30 -0400Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight. Hanna ArhirovaWed, 06 May 2026 10:11:37 -0400A man with multiple aliases used the name of the famed Astor family to dupe a Mexican billionaire out of around $450 million in a bogus stock-backed loan scheme, according to a newly unsealed U.S. indictment and other court records. Dave CollinsWed, 06 May 2026 09:38:58 -0400U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Bill White is criticizing Belgian prosecutors for filing criminal charges this week against three Jewish men for performing ritual circumcisions, calling it a "shameful stain" on the country that many would deem antisemitic. Mike GlennWed, 06 May 2026 09:18:36 -0400