In travel and aviation

Spirit Airlines says it has started an orderly wind-down of operations and is canceling all flights after running out of cash, with higher fuel costs and a stalled rescue effort helping push it over the edge. Meanwhile, an EasyJet flight from Gatwick to Turkey was diverted to Kosovo after two drunk passengers caused onboard chaos, and the pair were removed by police before the plane continued. Aviation, as always, remains a compelling argument for seatbelts and patience.

In international affairs

China’s UN envoy says keeping the ceasefire in place and reopening the Strait of Hormuz are urgent priorities, and that the waterway’s closure will be a major issue in talks between Trump and Xi. Separately, China is urging that UN peacekeepers stay in Lebanon as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies, with UNIFIL also reporting growing casualties.

In U.S. politics

Trump appeared to hint at a possible military operation in Cuba after, in his words, the U.S. “finishes the job” in Iran, while Washington announced new sanctions on the island. Havana condemned the measures as collective punishment.

In culture, heritage, and science

Nepal has brought a 13th-century Buddha statue back from New York and restored it to its original temple in Kathmandu, after the piece was stolen in the 1980s. In science, NASA says it has tested a new lithium-plasma electric propulsion system at 120 kilowatts, a record for the U.S. and a step toward future Mars missions, if not exactly a weekend commute.