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Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s push for EU membership strains ties with allies
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hard push for Ukraine to swiftly join the EU is raising tensions with European capitals at a time when Washington weighs continued support for Kyiv. A refusal by EU leaders to fast-track Ukraine’s accession has fuelled frustration in Kyiv, with the increasingly Eurosceptic rhetoric from the Zelenskyy administration undermining efforts to find a compromise. Senior Ukrainian officials have used recent meetings with EU and US counterparts to criticise the European Commission’s handling of enlargement and press for a faster timetable, insisting that Brussels needs Ukraine in the bloc as much as Kyiv wants to join, according to seven officials present in those talks. “Membership is not a gift,” said one of the officials, who declined to be identified, revealing private discussions. “Maybe there’s some misunderstanding in Kyiv about that.” “They say: ‘You owe us’,” said a second. “And that’s not helpful.” “We have a real problem there,” said a third official. “Zelenskyy and his entourage have never had a real understanding of how [enlargement] works.” Financial Times, May 1

Israel rushed laser system to UAE to fend off Iran’s missiles
Israel sent sophisticated weapons systems - including an advanced laser - to the United Arab Emirates to help defend the Gulf monarchy from a ferocious onslaught of Iranian missiles and drones. The deployment was one of the first examples of major defence co-operation between the two states - which did not have formal diplomatic relations until the 2020 Abraham Accords brokered by US President Donald Trump - and was a display of “the value of being Israel’s friend”, a regional official said. According to two people familiar with the matter, Israel rushed over a lightweight surveillance system called Spectro, which helped the UAE to detect incoming drones, especially Shaheds, from as far as 20km away. It also sent a version of its Iron Beam laser defence system, according to one person familiar with the deployment and another with knowledge of the preparations to operate the system. The laser, which vaporises short-range rockets and drones, was first deployed by Israel earlier this year to defend against incoming Hizbollah projectiles from Lebanon. The Iron Beam and Spectro deployments to the UAE have not previously been reported. Financial Times, April 30

China scraps tariffs for all but one African nation
China will scrap tariffs for all African countries from Friday - except Eswatini, which maintains ties with Taiwan. As of December 2024, China had already implemented a duty-free policy for 33 least-developed African nations. The policy now covers 53 countries, and will be in place until 30 April 2028. It is unclear what will happen after that. Beijing has boasted that it is the first major economy to offer unilateral zero-tariff treatment to Africa. But analysts say that while China is seizing the chance to enhance its soft power, they point out that tariffs are rarely the main obstacle for exporters in Africa which has a huge trade deficit with China. BBC news, May 1

France: cadmium is quietly poisoning via crops and soil
A toxic metal that has long eluded scrutiny, cadmium is quietly poisoning the French population via their favourite food staples, from bread and breakfast cereals to pasta and potatoes. Nearly half of French residents are exposed to levels exceeding recommendations, the country’s health and food safety agency ANSES said in a March report, warning that women and children are most at risk. Contamination rates are three to four times higher than in most other European countries, according to the study. It cites food as the primary source of contamination, accounting for up to 98 per cent of exposure in non-smokers. ANSES called for urgent action to address a crisis long ignored by France’s government, despite the repeated warnings of scientists and health professionals alarmed by a surge in cases of pancreatic cancer and other ailments linked to the heavy metal. France 24, May 1

King Charles visit secures Trump tariff reprieve for Scottish whisky
The King and Queen have succeeded where politicians failed after President Trump agreed to scrap tariffs on British whisky exports to the US. Ministers had spent months trying to persuade the president to scrap the 10 per cent levy he placed on whisky from the UK last year, which has affected sales in the industry’s biggest export market. Despite lobbying by Sir Keir Starmer and the Scottish first minister, John Swinney, Trump refused to include whisky among the products to have tariff-free access to US markets as part of the UK’s trade agreement with the US. In a win for royal diplomacy, Trump announced he was making the concession to mark the end of the King and Queen’s state visit. “In Honor of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, who have just left the White House, soon headed back to their wonderful Country, I will be removing the Tariffs and Restrictions on Whiskey,” he wrote on Truth Social. The Times, April 30

Eurozone inflation rises to 3% in April amid Middle East energy shock
Eurozone inflation rose more than expected to 3 per cent in April as the economy reeled from the energy shock unleashed by the conflict in the Middle East. Thursday’s preliminary estimate surpassed economists’ forecast of 2.9 per cent in a Reuters poll and followed a 2.6 per cent reading in March. It is the second month in a row that inflation has exceeded the European Central Bank’s medium-term target of 2 per cent. Separate data showed that Eurozone growth slowed to 0.1 per cent in the first quarter due to surging energy prices. European stocks and government bonds were under pressure on Thursday as a surging oil price intensified fears of persistent inflation. Financial Times, April 30

Israel intercepts Gaza flotilla near Crete and detains 175 activists
Pro-Palestinian activists say at least 22 boats from a flotilla carrying aid for Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters near the Greek island of Crete. The organisers of the Global Sumud Flotilla denounced it as "piracy". They said those on board the vessels had been seized unlawfully 965km (600 miles) from Gaza, which is under an Israeli naval blockade. The Israeli foreign ministry said about 175 activists from more than 20 boats had been detained and were being transported to Israel. It dismissed the flotilla as a "PR stunt". GSF's tracking data showed that most of the remaining 36 boats in the flotilla were sailing close to Crete's south-western coast. The flotilla set sail two weeks ago, with a total of 58 vessels joining from Spain, France and Italy aiming to break Israel's blockade of Gaza. On Thursday, the GSF said that, as of 04:30 GMT, at least 22 of them had been "stormed by Israeli forces in complete violation of international law". An earlier statement said Israeli naval forces had "intercepted vessels, jammed communications, including distress channels, and aggressively abducted civilians". BBC news, April 30

Global press freedom falls to lowest level in 25 years, RSF warns
Freedom of the press has fallen to its lowest level in a quarter of a century, NGO Reporters without Borders (RSF) warned on Thursday as it released its annual global ranking. The group reported a worldwide decline in media freedom, citing factors ranging from US President Donald Trump’s “systematic” attacks on the press to actions in Saudi Arabia, where a journalist was executed in 2025. The NGO's annual ranking, which was established in 2002, uses a five-point scale to assess the level of press freedom in a country, ranging from "very serious" to "good". This year's index reveals a global trend towards restricting press freedoms. "For the first time in the index’s 25-year history, more than half the world’s countries now fall into the 'difficult' or 'very serious' categories for press freedom," RSF said. The proportion of the population living in a country where the press freedom situation is "good" has plummeted, falling from 20 per cent to "less than 1 per cent", it said. France 24, April 30

Google outpaces rivals as Big Tech’s AI spending plans rise to $725bn
Google outshone its rivals in first-quarter earnings with faster cloud growth as the search giant and its Big Tech peers upped their AI infrastructure spending plans again to $725bn this year. The big four “hyperscalers”, which include Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet, are together expecting to spend 77 per cent more in capital expenditures than a record $410bn last year. While investors have expressed scepticism about the huge sums in the past, they broadly welcomed the earnings reports as demand for AI and data centres drove large jumps in revenue and profits - led by a 63 per cent increase in Google Cloud revenue. “The AI economy is healthy,” said Brent Thill, an analyst at Jefferies. Recent increases in revenue suggested the big players can shoulder the vast capex costs, he added. “The bear thesis is garbage.” Financial Times, April 30

Afghan masterminded pickpocket gang who shipped £180m of iPhones abroad
The mastermind of a pickpocketing operation organised for more than 62,000 stolen iPhones to be shipped abroad. Amir Khadikhel arranged for £181 million of handsets to be sent to China and Dubai in less than a year before he was identified after a victim traced his stolen device to a courier company. The Afghan asylum seeker was at the top of a network of hundreds of pickpockets operating across the country, but mainly in London, who were paid up to £750 for the newest iPhone models. The thieves only stole the Apple-brand handsets and are believed by police to have accounted for about 40 per cent of all mobile phones stolen in London. Police discovered some of the thefts were carried out by an all-female gang of 25 pickpockets aged between 14 and their mid-twenties operating in the West End and Soho areas. They often targeted tourists. The Times, April 29