“The Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh’s nomination to a 14-year term on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors on Tuesday, teeing up a final vote to make the ally of President Donald Trump the central bank’s next chair. The 51-45 vote was largely along party lines, with Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania the only Democrat to vote in favor of Warsh, a former Fed governor and Wall Street banker. Warsh’s nomination to be the central bank’s chair for a four-year term requires a separate Senate vote, which is expected as soon as Wednesday.” (05/11/26)
“Yoweri Museveni has been sworn in as Uganda’s president for a seventh term at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala, extending a rule that began in 1986 to at least 2031. The inauguration, themed ‘Protecting the Gains: Making a Qualitative Leap into High Middle-Income Status,’ came after Museveni secured 71.65 per cent of the vote in the January 15 general elections. His main challenger, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu of the National Unity Platform, garnered about 24 to 25 per cent and rejected the results, citing electoral irregularities, intimidation and restrictions during the campaign period.” (05/12/26)
“Japan’s top maker of snacks has landed on a creative solution to conserve oil-derived input materials: it will switch its brightly coloured packaging to black and white. In an eye-catching move, Tokyo-based Calbee on Tuesday said it would temporarily use only two ink colours on 14 of its products including its Potato Chips, Kappa Ebisen snacks and the Frugra breakfast cereal. Products with the revised packaging will hit store shelves from May 25, it said. … Japanese companies have lately sought to minimise the impact of rising costs and input material shortages even as the government seeks to reassure the public and businesses over supplies. Printing ink requires naphtha, an oil derivative for which Japan relies on imports from the Middle East for about 40% of its consumption.” (05/11/26)
“The US has been holding regular negotiations with Denmark to expand its military presence in Greenland, according to multiple officials familiar with the discussions, with talks between both sides progressing in recent months. US officials are seeking to open three new bases in the south of the territory, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, as they work to resolve a diplomatic crisis sparked by President Donald Trump when he threatened to seize Greenland by force. Trump said in January that the US should ‘own’ Greenland to prevent Russia or China from taking it. He said this could happen ‘the easy way or the hard way.’ The White House confirmed the administration was engaged in high-level talks with Greenland and Denmark, but declined to comment on details of the negotiations.” (05/12/26)
“British Prime Minister Keir Starmer defied calls to resign on Tuesday, telling ministers he would ‘get on with governing’ despite a ‘destabilizing’ 48 hours of growing calls to set out a timetable for his departure after an election drubbing. At a meeting of his cabinet team of ministers, Starmer, in the top job for less than two years, repeated that while he took responsibility for one of his Labour Party’s worst election defeats, there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest. … Starmer’s defiance was in marked contrast to the feelings of many in his Labour Party. On Tuesday, a junior minister resigned after a handful of ministerial aides also left the government. Housing, communities and local government minister Miatta Fahnbulleh stepped down and urged Starmer ‘to do the right thing for the country.'” (05/11/26)
“A leading people smuggler, whose network is believed to be responsible for the majority of illegal cross-Channel journeys in recent years, has been unmasked by a BBC investigation. The 28-year-old Iraqi Kurd has evaded arrest for several years by operating under the alias ‘Kardo Ranya.’ He has kept his real name a closely guarded secret, which has frustrated law enforcement agencies in their efforts to issue an international warrant for his arrest. … using contacts in the smuggling world, my colleague Rob Lawrie and I were able to follow a trail from migrant camps on the northern French coast, all the way to Iraqi Kurdistan, obtaining Kardo Ranya’s real identity and details, and ultimately confronting him.” (05/12/26)
“eBay on Tuesday rejected GameStop’s $56 billion takeover proposal, calling the unsolicited bid ‘neither credible nor attractive.’ GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen last week unveiled an audacious bid for eBay, offering to acquire the online marketplace for $125 per share in a cash-and-stock deal. eBay is much larger than the video game retailer, with a market cap of just over $48 billion, while GameStop’s is roughly $10.3 billion. … Many Wall Street analysts threw cold water on the deal, citing a lack of meaningful synergies between the two companies. ” (05/11/26)
“Kuwait accused Iran of launching a failed attack earlier this month on an island where China is helping build a port in the Middle East nation. The accusation brought Tuesday came just before U.S. President Donald Trump was to depart for Beijing where he’ll meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a high-stakes visit over the war and other issues. Iran didn’t immediately acknowledge the allegation by Kuwait, which came under attack by Iran in the war and during the shaky ceasefire still holding in the region. But that allegation and ongoing attacks throughout the region have threatened to reignite open warfare. The narrow Strait of Hormuz remains in Iran’s chokehold, the U.S. is maintaining a blockade against Iran and negotiations between the two countries appear at a standstill.” (05/12/26)
“A bomb rigged to a rickshaw exploded in a bazaar in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least nine people and wounding more than two dozen others, police said, in the latest sign of escalating violence in the region bordering Afghanistan. The attack took place in Lakki Marwat, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police chief Azmat Ullah said. He said that two traffic police officers and a woman were among those killed. Ullah provided no further details but said traffic police officers were apparently the target of the attack. The bombing also damaged nearby shops. Most of the dead and wounded were passersby, he said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.” (05/11/26)
“There is ‘no sign’ of a larger hantavirus outbreak after the evacuation of the last passengers from a disease-stricken cruise ship, the head of the UN health agency has said. But the World Health Organization’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned ‘the situation could change’ and there could still be more confirmed virus cases. The MV Hondius left Spain’s Tenerife island on Monday and is sailing to the Dutch port of Rotterdam. Two flights with the final group of 28 passengers landed in nearby Eindhoven on Tuesday. Three people have died after travelling on the ship. An American and a French national who previously returned home have tested positive. Overall, seven cases have been confirmed.” (05/12/26)
