LEBANON — Children are victims when there can’t be diplomacy or peace: Ali Salman, 12, injured in an Israeli airstrike, lies on a bed at Jabal Amel hospital in the southern port city of Tyre, Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
On Tuesday, Israel expanded its ground operations beyond the so-called Yellow Line, a militarized buffer zone in southern Lebanon, amid intensified airstrikes and renewed clashes with Hezbollah. Multiple casualties were reported across the south, including civilians and children.
Since Israel’s ceasefire with Lebanon effectively broke down on May 2, at least 200 children have been killed, according to a Reuters report from May 21. Save the Children also reported that roughly four Lebanese children are injured or killed daily since the start of the ceasefire in April.
PARIS — She remains the drama queen of tennis, but still the queen: Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts as she plays against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain during their first round women’s singles tennis match at the French Open tennis tournament, Tuesday.
Sabalenka prevailed in two sets and will meet French player Elsa Jaquemot in the second round.
The French Open, which began May 24 and runs through June 7, is also known as the Roland Garros tournament, named in memory of someone who did not play tennis. Garros was an aviation pioneer and French fighter pilot who helped develop early forward-firing machine guns on combat aircraft in World War I. He was shot down and killed a day before his 30th birthday, in October 1918, and a month before the Armistice was signed.
WASHINGTON — Even the preliminary words are probably too hard for us to print here: Koen Harvey, 14, of Tsaile, Ariz., spells his word during the preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at DAR Constitution Hall, Tuesday.
The Spelling Bee was first sponsored by another newspaper 101 years ago, when it started. The E.W. Scripps Company began sponsoring the Bee in 1941. The event has since expanded to Bee Week, which brings the student contestants, drawn from winners of regional bees, into Washington for excursions, educational programs and other events from May 26-29.
Viewers can catch the two-night finals on May 27-28 on ION TV.
WEST BANK — All kids love to fly when their parents provide solid wing support: Israeli settler parents travel with their baby on camels in the northern Judean Desert near the settlement of Kochav Hashachar, Monday, May. 25, 2026.
Kochav Hashachar is a religious Israeli settlement in the Binyamin region of the occupied West Bank, an area associated in biblical tradition with the Tribe of Benjamin, one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob and one of two sons born to Rachel, according to the Hebrew Bible.
ENGLAND — Caveats — don’t turn your ankle and watch out for ‘pasture pies’: Participants compete in the men’s downhill race category of the traditional annual Cheese Rolling contest at Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth, Gloucestershire, Monday, May 25, 2026.
Contestants race down one of Gloucestershire’s steepest hills in pursuit of a wheel of Double Gloucester cheese, which can reach speeds of up to 80 mph. The first to reach the bottom wins the cheese. Double Gloucester is a rich, buttery cheese with a nutty flavor that melts well.
The tradition is presumed to date back at least six centuries, although the first written record is from 1826.
ENGLAND — Origins of the umbrella are unclear, but certainly trace back at least 5,000 years: People visit Bournemouth beach, south England, on Monday.
The UK is experiencing an early-season heatwave, bringing temperatures close to or above the long-standing May record of about 91 degrees Fahrenheit set in 1944. The Met Office has described the conditions as unprecedented for the time of year. Nighttime temperatures have also remained unusually high in parts of London, with some areas recording or approaching tropical-night thresholds.
Health authorities have issued heat-health warnings for older adults and other vulnerable groups.
ARLINGTON — Reminder, this universally beloved song was written by an immigrant in a sanctuary city in 1918:
Grammy Award-winning country music artist Gretchen Wilson sings God Bless America during the Freedom 250 National Memorial Day Observance: An Evening of Stories and Service at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, in Virginia.
Part of Freedom250, the event included presentations from veterans, historians, family members and national security leaders to honor fallen heroes and support the military community.
SAUDI ARABIA — Who invented the first umbrella? The first was a tree, so it had to be God: Muslim pilgrims hold umbrellas as they leave after offering noon prayers at Namirah mosque during the annual Hajj pilgrimage, near the holy city of Mecca, Tuesday.
The Day of Arafat, observed on Tuesday, is considered the holiest part of the Hajj pilgrimage, and is a time of prayer, repentance and personal reflection.
Many Muslims believe the Plain of Arafat is the spot where Prophet Mohammed delivered his final sermon more than 1,400 years ago, in which he urged the people to exercise justice, mercy and unity.
