Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at Southeast Asia’s response to the Iran war, the uncertain future of Britain’s Labour Party, and allegations of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
A ‘Bare Bones’ Summit
The leaders’ summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is traditionally filled with a level of pomp and pageantry befitting regional pride. But this year, the bloc took a “bare bones” approach to its confab to reflect the dire economic straits that the Iran war has inflicted on much of the world.
“Even if the tensions de-escalate in time, the damage to critical infrastructure, to vital systems and trust in general, will continue to be felt for years to come,” said Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the host of this week’s summit, adding that the Iran war has revealed how exposed ASEAN members are to external market shocks—namely, rising fuel costs.
To combat this, the bloc’s 11 members agreed on Friday to adopt a contingency plan that calls on all ASEAN nations to expedite the ratification of an emergency fuel-sharing pact that was signed in 2009 but not enforced; such a pact would pave the way for the creation of a regional power grid and fuel stockpile.
“Our resilience must be built proactively with a clear forward-looking approach,” Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said. The group vowed on Friday to promote efforts to diversify the region’s crude sources, and it advocated for the use of electric vehicles and other green technologies while investing further research into civilian nuclear energy.
In addition, ASEAN pledged to bolster cooperation in maritime security by creating a center to monitor cases of illegal fishing, smuggling, and human trafficking in the disputed South China Sea. These efforts are to ensure that the vital maritime territory does not become embroiled in a conflict similar to the one in the Strait of Hormuz. “If such a thing would happen in the South China Sea, the inevitable consequences would be alarming just to even think about,” Marcos said.
These contingency steps are to be implemented immediately, Marcos added on Friday. Although the establishment of a regional power grid and fuel stockpile will likely take a long time, Marcos stressed that the bloc’s members “are committed to making this succeed because everyone is suffering and everyone wants to get out of this situation.”
Beyond the energy supply crisis, ASEAN also expressed concerns with the challenge of conducting large-scale evacuations from the Middle East. More than 1 million Southeast Asian citizens work and live in the region, and many ASEAN states fear that these individuals could come under threat if widespread hostilities reignite. To assuage these worries, the bloc issued a joint declaration on Friday agreeing to improve information-sharing and coordination efforts with international organizations to “ensure the safety and welfare of ASEAN nationals in affected areas.”
Still, several ASEAN members expressed doubt about the bloc’s plans, arguing that true security cannot be achieved until the United States and Iran reach a peace deal. “Until the fighting ends, until the bombings end, then it is very difficult to put together any kind of solution,” Marcos said.
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What We’re Following
Not backing down. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Friday to finish his five-year term after his Labour Party suffered a massive defeat in local elections the day before. “I am not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos,” Starmer told reporters, adding that he plans to double down on addressing the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
Experts viewed Thursday’s votes as a midterm referendum on Starmer’s leadership. The results were not optimistic. The far-right, anti-immigrant Reform UK party emerged as the biggest winners of Thursday’s elections, gaining more than 400 council seats in England as well as moving toward becoming the main opposition party in both the Scottish and Welsh parliaments. The left-wing Green Party also secured several key victories in local English elections.
Some Labour lawmakers have since called on Starmer to resign. “I don’t think Keir Starmer should survive these results,” Labour lawmaker Jonathan Brash said. “We have to be bolder, and we have to go further. And quite frankly, we need new leadership in order to achieve that.” The front-runners to replace Starmer are Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.
But the message from Downing Street remains defiant. “You don’t change the pilot during the flight,” Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said, with Defense Secretary John Healey adding that the last thing voters want is “the potential chaos of a leadership election.”
Attacks in Hormuz. U.S. forces fired on two Iran-flagged oil tankers on Friday that tried to breach the U.S. naval blockade, according to the U.S. military. The United States has maintained a blockade on all Iranian ports since Washington and Tehran failed to reach a peace deal during talks in Islamabad in April. But Friday’s attacks come at a particularly precarious time for the region, as the White House is still waiting for Iran to respond to the latest U.S. proposal to end the war.
“We should know something today,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
It is unclear whether Tehran will accept the deal, which would halt the fighting, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and lay the framework for future nuclear talks. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that the U.S.-Iran cease-fire was still in effect even after the two sides exchanged strikes that day. The U.S. military claims that three of its warships came under “unprovoked attack” when trying to cross the strait on Thursday, but Tehran has accused U.S. troops of shooting first.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates accused Iran on Friday of carrying out another round of missile and drone strikes on Emirati territory, wounding three people. Throughout the war, Iran has repeatedly targeted the UAE and other Gulf states that host U.S. military bases. However, Iran’s attacks on the UAE have escalated this past week in response to the enactment of Trump’s short-lived effort to have the U.S. military escort merchant ships through the Strait of Hormuz, dubbed “Project Freedom.” Trump paused that mission on Tuesday, less than 48 hours after it had begun.
Dueling truce demands. Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Friday of violating cease-fires that each side declared separately.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had called for a two-day truce, beginning Friday, to coincide with Moscow’s World War II Victory Day parade; the annual event is Russia’s most honored national holiday, and the Kremlin has warned that any Ukrainian attempt to disrupt the parade in Moscow’s Red Square will be met with a massive military assault on Kyiv. Already, Russia’s defense ministry has blamed Ukraine for forcing Moscow to scale back its usual display of military prowess.
However, Kyiv denied Putin’s two-day request, arguing that a cease-fire just for the holiday was inappropriate. Instead, Ukraine demanded that an indefinite truce beginning May 6 be declared. Moscow ignored this timeline.
Russia has not made “even a token attempt to cease fire on the front,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a social media post on Friday, accusing Russian forces of continuing to strike Ukrainian positions overnight. In a Telegram post early Friday, Russia’s defense ministry claimed that Ukraine had violated its truce 1,365 times, including with 887 drone strikes and 153 artillery attacks. Meanwhile, Kyiv said it had targeted a Russian oil refinery in the city of Perm as well as two major fuel-producing facilities.
What in the World?
The World Health Organization confirmed on Wednesday that three patients with suspected hantavirus infections were being evacuated from a cruise ship that originally departed from Argentina last month. How is hantavirus usually transmitted to humans?
A. Drinking untreated water
Odds and Ends
Is E.T. really trying to phone home? The U.S. Defense Department on Friday released more than 160 “never-before-seen” files detailing reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP)—aka UFOs. “These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation—and it’s time the American people see it for themselves,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. Trump directed the federal government in February to begin declassifying documents related to aliens, and more files are expected to be rolled out in the future. However, Friday’s initial salvo appears to just be a series of blurry still images that lack evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. So maybe don’t finalize your trip to Area 51 just yet.
And the Answer Is…
C. Inhaling contaminated rodent droppings
Officials said on Tuesday that Argentina had recorded 101 infections since last June, roughly twice as many as the year before, FP’s Catherine Osborn reports in Latin America Brief.
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