worldnews2026

The U.S. unexpectedly postponed the deployment of the 2nd Armored Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division to Poland, which was scheduled to arrive there as part of a planned troop rotation. This was reported independently on Wednesday, May 13, by online publications The Wall Street Journal and Defence News.
It’s indicated that this decision was made by the Pentagon in line with President Donald Trump's plan to reduce the U.S. military presence in Europe, however, it "caught some military officials off guard." On May 13, one of the U.S. Department of Defense employees confirmed this information but didn’t provide further details and advised to reach out for comment directly to the Pentagon, reported Defence News. Meanwhile, by the time of publication, the American defense department had not responded to journalists' inquiries.

The USA has taken out over 90% of around 8,000 naval mines from Iran through more than 700 airstrikes, reported US Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper to legislators on Thursday. The written statement didn't touch on the ongoing control Tehran has over the Strait of Hormuz.

Prime Minister Mark Carney dropped a strategy on Thursday aimed at doubling Canada's electricity production by 2050. The document lays out adjustments to the clean energy rules to provide more flexibility for generating power using natural gas.

French actress and host of the Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony, Aïda, May 12, 2026
Hollywood didn’t make it to Cannes this year. Nonetheless, the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival, the most prestigious showcase for new films globally, promises to be packed. From May 12 to 23, works by renowned directors like Andrei Zvyagintsev, Pawel Pawlikowski, Asghar Farhadi, Pedro Almodóvar, Valeska Grisebach, and others will be screened. However, during these days, there won't be a single film from major American studios that could compete with spectacular titles like last year's "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" or earlier Cannes premieres like "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Mad Max: Fury Road."

The Central Bank of Turkey raised its inflation forecast for the end of the year to 24% on Thursday, up from the previous target of 16%, citing rising energy prices as the main driver for the revision.
Regulator chief Fatih Karahan stated that by the end of the year, the indicator might hit 26%. Annual inflation in April was 32.4%.

The offshore yuan to dollar (CNH/USD) exchange rate on the international forex market rose by 0.1% on Thursday, May 14, reaching 6.7816 yuan per dollar. This is the strongest the Chinese currency has been since February 8, 2023, when it hit 6.7737.
The onshore yuan to dollar (CNY/USD) also spiked, increasing by 0.09% to 6.7851 yuan per dollar. This is the highest point since February 9, 2023, when the rate was 6.7730 yuan per dollar.

The Ministry of Transport of Latvia has drafted legislative amendments that will completely ban bus services to Russia and Belarus, including regular routes and transit lines, as reported on Wednesday, May 11, by the Delfi.lv portal.
The ban on irregular transport in both directions was introduced back on November 1, 2025. After the amendments are passed, the state Auto Transport Directorate will revoke the licenses of specific carriers on a case-by-case basis under the Administrative Procedure Law.

Cem Özdemir is the new premier of Baden-Württemberg
On May 13th, the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg, located in southwestern Germany, voted mostly in favor of the German politician from the Alliance 90/The Greens party, Cem Özdemir, as the new premier. 93 members voted 'for', 26 voted 'against', and 4 abstained. The 60-year-old politician becomes the first head of the Baden-Württemberg government with Turkish roots. He takes over from his party mate Winfried Kretschmann, who has been the state premier since 2011.

German insurer and reinsurer Talanx AG (ETR:TLXGn) announced on Wednesday a net profit for the first quarter of €774 million, which is 28% higher than the €604 million posted a year earlier and exceeds the company's consensus forecast of €673 million.
The group reported that operating profit jumped 27% to €1.61 billion for the three months ending March 31, compared to €1.27 billion a year earlier, beating the consensus forecast of €1.47 billion. Insurance revenue came in at €12.07 billion versus €12.36 billion a year prior.

In the Dutch city of Nijmegen, 12 staff members from the university medical center were sent into quarantine for breaching safety protocols while dealing with a patient infected with hantavirus, reported Reuters on Tuesday, May 12.
According to his info, the center's management put 12 healthcare workers on a preventive six-week quarantine due to failing to adhere to enhanced safety measures while handling blood and urine samples from an infected individual. The hospital stated that the risk of infection is very low, and they continue to provide medical assistance to other patients without interruption, Reuters reports.

The US government recorded a budget surplus of $215 billion in April, which is $43 billion, or 17%, less compared to the $258 billion surplus in the same month last year, the Treasury Department reported on Tuesday.
The drop is attributed to an increase in tax refunds and a rise in expenditures, including higher interest payments and military spending related to the war in Iran.

The blockage of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the key arteries of global trade in oil, gas, and some other commodities, has been ongoing for over two months. Supply disruptions are already affecting economic growth and inflation worldwide; however, their impact is not as significant as it was in 2022 when the energy shock was triggered by the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. For example, electricity prices in Europe have risen, but so far only marginally. Furthermore, experts do not rule out that they may trend downwards in the future.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been taking military hits against Iran, responding to attacks from the Islamic Republic, as reported on Monday, May 11, by the online publication The Wall Street Journal citing informed sources. It’s indicated that in this situation, the country, on whose territory the Islamic Republic has repeatedly struck, is emerging as an active player in the war.

The Israeli Parliament has passed a law in its second and third readings to establish a special military tribunal to try Hamas militants involved in the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. This law was backed by 93 out of 120 Knesset members during the vote on Monday evening, May 11, with no votes against, as reported by Israeli media.

In Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) have notified former President's Office head Andriy Yermak of suspicion of laundering funds obtained through criminal means (part 3 of article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Specifically, the case involves washing 460 million hryvnias (approximately 8.9 million euros) in elite construction projects near Kyiv, according to reports from NABU and SAP released on Telegram on Monday evening, May 11.

India, despite the energy crunch caused by the Middle Eastern conflict and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, has refused to accept Russian liquefied natural gas which falls under US sanctions. This was reported on Monday, May 11, by Reuters, citing two sources directly familiar with the situation. Indian representatives informed Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Pavel Sorokin of their refusal during his visit to New Delhi on April 30.

The Peruvian government on Monday allowed the state oil company Petroperu to secure private loans to tackle its liquidity crunch.
According to the issued emergency decree, the Ministry of Finance is allowed to take on conditional obligations to domestic or international entities amounting to up to $2 billion to support Petroperu's operations, including $500 million in the form of short-term obligations. Details were published in Peru's official bulletin a few weeks after Petroperu announced liquidity issues.

US President Donald Trump called Iran's response to Washington's latest proposal to end the war "completely unacceptable." "I just read the response from the so-called 'representatives of Iran.' I don't like it - it’s absolutely unacceptable!" - the US president posted on the social network Truth Social on Sunday, May 10.

The European Commission is conducting separate talks with American companies in the AI space — OpenAI and Anthropic. Negotiations with each of the companies are at different stages, the Commission's representative said on Monday.
OpenAI has reached out to the Commission and proposed to provide access to its new AI model, stated representative Thomas Renier at the daily press briefing. The Commission welcomed the company's initiative, and negotiations about possible next steps are ongoing.

The South Korean Kospi index hit a new all-time high of 7899.32 points during trading on May 11. Emerging market stocks are rallying as investor interest in artificial intelligence soars — concerns over stalled peace talks between the US and Iran were largely brushed off by emerging market equities on Monday, according to Bloomberg.