Iran–US Conflict & Middle East
Trump rejects Iran’s peace proposal response as ‘totally unacceptable’ President Trump condemned Iran’s response to a US peace proposal, raising the likelihood of renewed conflict after weeks of negotiations. Iran’s conditions reportedly include US war reparations, recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and an end to American sanctions. Tehran warned it would retaliate against any new US strikes and would not permit foreign warships in the Strait of Hormuz. — France 24 · NYT · NPR · Guardian
Former Qatar PM: Netanyahu using Iran war to reshape Middle East Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim warned that the Strait of Hormuz crisis is the most dangerous fallout of the war on Iran and called for a “Gulf NATO.” — Al Jazeera
Russia, China and Iran: What do Beijing and Moscow want to gain from the conflict? Western observers say Russia and China are providing crucial support to Tehran to help keep it in the fight, even as both publicly call for de-escalation. — France 24
Iran Nobel winner Narges Mohammadi released on bail for medical treatment Iranian authorities released Nobel peace prize winner Narges Mohammadi on bail following growing alarm over her health. Supporters had warned she was at risk of dying in prison after suffering two suspected heart attacks in Zanjan. — France 24
US–China Summit
Trump heads to China this week to meet Xi amid Iran war and trade disputes It will be the first time a US president has visited China in nearly a decade, with the last visit being Trump in 2017. The ongoing war with Iran casts a shadow over the state visit. — Guardian · NPR
Ukraine–Russia & Europe
EU’s Kallas criticises Putin’s ‘very cynical’ ceasefire calls; rejects Schröder as mediator The EU’s foreign policy chief dismissed Putin’s suggestion that former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could coordinate peace talks. The EU also imposed sanctions on 16 individuals and seven entities in Russia for the systematic unlawful deportation of an estimated 20,500 Ukrainian children. — Guardian · Al Jazeera
Hantavirus Outbreak
US and French nationals test positive for hantavirus after leaving cruise ship An American citizen has arrived in Nebraska while a French woman is isolating in Paris after both tested positive following evacuation from the MV Hondius, currently moored in the Canary Islands. Three passengers have died and several others fell ill. Nearly two dozen countries are working to repatriate their citizens. A suspected case also triggered an emergency paratrooper deployment to one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands in the South Atlantic. — BBC · France 24 · NYT · France 24 (island deployment)
UK Politics
Starmer fights to save premiership after Labour’s dire election results PM Keir Starmer delivered a speech billed as his “last chance,” saying he takes responsibility for Labour’s poor performance but vowed to put matters right. Labour MP Catherine West, who had announced a leadership challenge, backed down but urged Starmer to set a departure timetable by September. Gilt yields rose amid the political uncertainty. — NYT · Guardian · DW · Al Jazeera · CNBC
Asia-Pacific
Sara Duterte, Philippine Vice President, impeached again The prosecution of Sara Duterte, who has become the archrival to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is likely to fail again in the Senate. — NYT
Canada
Alberta voter data breach raises fears for electoral integrity The illegal use of voter information by rightwing separatists in Alberta has prompted warnings of a “truly terrifying” new threat to Canadian elections. The breach is one of the largest in Canadian history. — Guardian
Environment
Norway puts UN environment programme funding on hold, threatening plastics treaty talks Norway, the largest donor to UNEP, paused funding ahead of a revised budget on May 12, raising uncertainty for already troubled global plastics treaty negotiations. — Guardian
Markets & Energy
Brent oil tops $103 after Trump dismisses Iran’s peace proposal response Oil prices jumped on Monday after Trump called Iran’s latest offer “totally unacceptable.” U.S. stock futures drifted lower while Brent crude climbed more than 2%. — CNBC · Quartz
Hantavirus cases spark surge in pharma and biotech stocks The outbreak has led to biotech and pharmaceutical stocks surging on reports of firms developing vaccines. Moderna stock surged as the company confirmed early-stage hantavirus research alongside new flu vaccine trial data. — CNBC · Quartz
BP winning back stock analysts as buy ratings double A year ago BP shares were tumbling; now buy ratings are starting to pile up. — Bloomberg
AI plays in emerging markets offer more upside than in the U.S., says JPMorgan Asian tech stocks offer superior exposure to the US AI boom at better valuations. Renewed dollar weakness could boost returns further. — MarketWatch
Chinese smart cars set to control 20% of western European market by 2028: JPMorgan Chinese carmakers from BYD to Leapmotor are expected to deliver 2.5 million cars to customers in western Europe by 2028, according to a JPMorgan forecast. — SCMP
Tech & Crypto
Cerebras boosts AI chip IPO price target to raise up to $4.8 billion The company is also marketing 30 million shares instead of 28 million, as investor orders exceed 20 times the available supply. — Quartz
Circle raises $222M from BlackRock, Apollo, and a16z for new blockchain The USDC issuer valued its new institutional blockchain (Arc) at $3 billion in fully diluted network value. Q1 revenue reached $694M and USDC market cap hit $77B. — The Block · Quartz
S&P 500 payments firm Corpay adds stablecoin wallets via BVNK Corpay partnered with BVNK to add stablecoin wallets and 24/7 settlement across its 800,000-client global payments network. — The Block
OpenAI to give EU access to new cyber model; Anthropic still holding out on Mythos OpenAI announced it was granting preview access to its latest cyber model to vetted cybersecurity teams. — CNBC