5 April 2026 • 5 min read
ZYMP Global News — 5 April 2026
Missing US F-15 Crew Member Rescued in Daring Iran Operation
MIDDLE EAST
President Donald Trump confirmed early on Saturday that the second crew member from a US F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran has been rescued in what he described as a “daring” operation. The airman had been missing since the aircraft was downed earlier in the week amid escalating hostilities between Washington and Tehran. “We got him,” Trump told reporters, adding that “dozens of aircraft” were deployed to recover the crew member. The BBC understands there was engagement between US and Iranian forces during the rescue mission.
The incident has intensified an already volatile situation in the Middle East. Trump has warned Iran of further strikes on bridges and electric power plants if its leaders do not agree to his terms to end the conflict. Meanwhile, a French-owned commercial ship became the first vessel from a major European firm to pass through the Strait of Hormuz since the conflict began, a tentative sign that vital shipping lanes may be reopening.
US Arrests Relatives of Slain Iranian General Soleimani
UNITED STATES
US authorities have arrested the niece and grand-niece of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander killed in a 2020 American airstrike, the State Department confirmed on Saturday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had personally revoked the lawful permanent resident status of Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, describing them as “green card holders living lavishly in the United States” who were now in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody pending removal.
The Department of Homeland Security said Soleimani Afshar entered the US on a tourist visa in 2015, was granted asylum in 2019, and received a green card in 2021. However, a 2025 naturalisation application revealed she had visited Iran four times since obtaining permanent residency, which the DHS characterised as evidence that her original asylum claim was “fraudulent.” The State Department also accused her of promoting “Iranian regime propaganda” on social media.
Soleimani’s daughter, Narjes Soleimani, denied the family connection, calling the claims “false” and accusing the US of “fabricating lies against a great figure.” The BBC contacted the State Department for further comment but was told it had “nothing to add.”
Russian Drone Strike Kills Five at Ukrainian Market
EUROPE
A Russian drone struck a busy market in the southern Ukrainian town of Nikopol on Saturday morning, killing five people and wounding 21 others, including a 14-year-old girl, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office. The attack occurred at approximately 09:50 local time, smashing market kiosks and scattering debris across the area. Two men were injured in a second strike on the same location minutes later, and the attacks are being investigated as a war crime.
The overnight barrage formed part of a wider assault in which Russia launched almost 300 drones against Ukrainian targets, with casualties also reported in the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the northern Sumy region. Ukraine responded with strikes of its own, targeting a synthetic rubber plant in Togliatti and the Alchevsk metallurgical facility in Russian-occupied Luhansk, which Ukraine’s Security Service said had halted production. President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered Russia a truce for the Easter holidays, but Moscow has so far not responded.
Germany Requires Military Approval for Young Men Travelling Abroad
GERMANY
German males aged between 17 and 45 may now need to seek military approval for stays abroad lasting longer than three months, under changes introduced as part of the Military Service Modernisation Act that came into force on 1 January. The requirement, which went largely unnoticed until reported by the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper on Friday, is intended to ensure a reliable military registration system in the event of an emergency, according to the defence ministry.
The legislation forms part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s broader push to expand Germany’s armed forces from 180,000 to 260,000 personnel by 2035 in response to the threat posed by Russia. From January, all 18-year-olds have been sent questionnaires asking about their interest in military service, and from July 2027 they must undergo fitness assessments to determine eligibility. The regulation echoes Cold War-era provisions and has drawn criticism from young people, with one protest organiser writing: “We don’t want to spend half a year of our lives locked up in barracks.”
Europe Revisits Nuclear Power Amid New Energy Shock
EUROPE
Soaring energy prices triggered by Iran’s stranglehold on exports through the Strait of Hormuz have reignited debate across Europe about reviving nuclear power. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the recent European Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris that the continent’s broad turn away from nuclear had been a “strategic mistake,” noting that Europe’s share of nuclear-generated electricity had fallen from around a third in 1990 to just 15 per cent today, leaving it “completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports” of fossil fuels.
The impact is uneven across the continent. Germany, which phased out nuclear after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, now faces electricity prices five times those of France — which generates roughly 65 per cent of its power from nuclear — according to future contract prices. Berlin’s top economic research institutes have more than halved their 2026 growth forecasts to 0.6 per cent of GDP. Italy is preparing legislation to repeal its longstanding ban on nuclear power, while Belgium is revising its own nuclear strategy. The European Commission has urged citizens to work from home and reduce travel as petrol prices spiral.
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