Russia
EU allies drop all restrictions on types of weapons available to Ukraine
Great Britain, France, Germany and the United States have lifted restrictions on the types of weapons that can be supplied to Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on May 26.
Putin has gone "CRAZY," Trump says, as Russia rains down missiles on Ukrainian cities
Russian President Vladimir Putin has gone “crazy”, US President Donald Trump said at the weekend, after two days of intense missile and drone attacks on Ukraine.
COMMENT: Ranking the top 60 economies’ exposure to US tariffs
US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 50% tariff hike on the EU has put the cat amongst the pigeons again. If he follows through then Europe, which is highly dependent on US trade, will be amongst the most damaged economies in the world.
Czechia gets nuclear fuel delivery from Westinghouse as it moves away from Russian supplies
Prague is pushing to replace the Russian state agency Rosatom and its TVEL arm, on which Czech nuclear power plants relied for years.
Russia runs down Ukraine’s air defences with a “weekend of hell” drone and missile strikes across the country
Russia has been running down Ukraine’s air defences with a “weekend of hell” with one of the most intense drone and missile barrages since the war began three years ago that struck Kyiv and other major cities.
Kyiv hit by massive Russian airstrike hours after prisoner swap
Kyiv was struck by a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack early on May 23, just hours after Ukraine and Russia conducted their first prisoner exchange in nearly five months.
COMMENT: Can the digital ruble free Russian from the SWIFT sanctions bind?
Russia's central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble, is being positioned as a strategic tool to mitigate the impact of Western sanctions and reduce reliance on the SWIFT international payment system.
Countdown to disaster: timelines to cross temperature thresholds tabulated
The Climate Crisis is accelerating and all the main players predict that the world will warm by more than the 1.5C Paris Agreement target by next year and the 2C maximum will be broached by 2037 – far earlier than previously forecast.
Brazil dismantles Russian 'spy factory' in major counterintelligence operation, NYT reports
Brazilian federal agents have exposed a sophisticated Russian intelligence operation that used the South American country as an "assembly line for deep-cover operatives."
KYIV BLOG: How is Ukraine going to fund the rebuild and a growing trade deficit?
The money the West grants to support Ukraine’s economy and military campaign gets a lot of attention. So far, the West has sent a total of $133bn to Ukraine over the last three years, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Sunlight heating effect on earth more than doubles in the last decade
Global warming results from man-made greenhouse gas emissions that have doubled the heating effect from incoming sunlight, which is now more than the heat radiated by earth into space in the last decade, according to a research paper.
Ukraine’s two biggest EU export-earners of corn and metals falling in 2025 as tariff-free deal set to expire
The exports of two of Ukraine’s biggest export earners, corn and metal, are falling, which will squeeze the already cash strapped government and make a €20bn trade deficit with the EU worse in 2025.
Putin orders creation of buffer zone along Ukrainian border
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a buffer zone to be set up along the border with Ukraine on May 22.
Intense Ukrainian drone attacks drive civilian flights out of southern Russian skies
Ukraine has launched some of its biggest ever drone attacks on Russia, which caused disruptions to civil aviation across the country on May 22.
LONG READ: Wanderlust wins: Russia’s travel boom defies the times
Russia’s $50bn+ tourism industry has been one unexpected beneficiary of the war in Ukraine.
Turkmen labour migrants turning elsewhere as Turkey is less welcoming
Uzbekistan and Belarus new, hot destinations.
Russian authorities release Green Admire tanker after seizure near an Estonian port
The Liberian-flagged tanker Green Admire, detained by Russian authorities on May 18 after departing the Estonian port of Sillamae, has been released and is now en route to its original destination, Rotterdam.
Military tensions rising as France deploys naval ship in the Baltic Sea for first time to monitor Russian shadow tankers
For the first time, the French Navy has deployed the 101-meter-long intelligence ship Dupuy de Lôme to the Baltic Sea to monitor Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers.
COMMENT: A protracted Sino-US trade war is good news for Russia
The United States and China may have agreed to a temporary pause in their escalating tariff battle, but the underlying trade war shows no signs of abating. While markets remain wary of further shocks, one country – Russia – is the big winner.
COMMENT: How Europe can win the digital nomad race
Record levels of immigration are dominating political debate in the world’s wealthiest countries. But there is a latent trend, still bubbling under the surface, which might soon occupy the minds of Western policymakers: emigration.