In a ramping up of pressure by the Trump administration against Cuba, the US has charged its former president Raul Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals. This relates to Castro's time as armed forces minister when, in 1996, Cuban military jets shot down two civilian search-and-rescue planes operated by exiles from the country, killing three US citizens and one Cuban. The charges are "devoid of legal foundation", Cuba's current president said in response. Meanwhile, tension in the skies over Cuba is ongoing: US military jets and drones are being tracked near the island.

Two Russian jets "repeatedly and dangerously" intercepted an unarmed RAF spy plane over the Black Sea last month, the Ministry of Defence has said. In one case, a fighter jet came within six metres of the plane, which was flying along Nato's eastern flank. The MoD says this is the most dangerous manoeuvre of its sort since 2022, when a Russian pilot fired two missiles at an RAF plane, after what was described as a "technical malfunction". But this comes amid increased Russian aggression - three of its submarines conducted a "covert" operation over cables and pipelines in waters north of the UK.