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US to help ships stranded in Strait of Hormuz as tanker hit by projectiles
A tanker reported being hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime security organisation said on Monday, shortly after President Donald Trump said the US would start helping free ships stranded in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on Iran. Trump provided few details about the plan, which he said would start on Monday to aid ships and their crews that have been "locked up" in the vital waterway and are running low on food and other supplies. "We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site. Hundreds of ships and as many as 20,000 seafarers have been unable to transit the strait during the conflict, according to the International Maritime Organization. US Central Command said it would support the effort with 15,000 US military personnel, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft along with warships and drones. The operation aims to "restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping" through the strait, CENTCOM said in a statement. France 24, May 4

Airlines slash flights as fuel shortage fears mount
Global airlines have cut 2mn seats from their May schedules within the past two weeks, as concerns about fuel availability in the coming weeks intensify. Thousands of flights have been cancelled and several services have switched to smaller or more fuel-efficient aircraft to conserve fuel as they brace for supply disruption, according to data from analytics company Cirium. Since the start of the Iran war in late February, the cost of jet fuel has doubled, forcing airlines to raise ticket prices, while the closure of Gulf airports that connected a third of European journeys to Asia has thrown global travel into disarray. Gulf carriers including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar - whose flights are still recovering after halting in the early weeks of the conflict - have redrawn their May schedules, including cancelling flights, Cirium data shows. The total number of seats available on all airlines during May has fallen from 132mn to 130mn between mid and late April, according to the figures. Financial Times, May 4

UK and EU to start formal talks on Ukraine loan scheme
Britain will begin formal talks on participating in an EU-led €90bn loan scheme to Ukraine on Monday, as London and Brussels seek closer alignment on defence in the face of US President Donald Trump’s security threats. Sir Keir Starmer and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will discuss the loan to Kyiv, steel industry co-operation, youth mobility and a start-up financing initiative in Yerevan, said people briefed on the preparations. The UK prime minister said ahead of the meeting, to be held on the sidelines of a meeting of the European Political Community in Armenia, that when London and Brussels worked together “we all reap the benefits”. In volatile times “we need to go further and faster on defence to keep people safe”, he said, adding that the talks on the loan initiative would aim “to ensure Ukraine gets the equipment it needs to defend its freedom, while driving opportunities for British industry to play its full part”. Financial Times, May 3

Brussels tells Keir Starmer to pay £1bn for closer ties to Europe
Brussels has told Sir Keir Starmer that Britain will have to make annual payments into European budgets for the first time since Brexit, as part of the prime minister’s reset with the bloc. European negotiators have made it clear that paying the cash, expected to amount to about £1 billion a year, is a condition of further access to the EU’s single market. They want Starmer to make the concession in principle at a summit between the prime minister and European leaders this summer before detailed negotiations on more integration. “If the UK wants further integration they must ‘pay to play’,” one European diplomat said. “That is not unusual.” Starmer will hold talks with EU leaders on Monday at the European Political Community summit in Armenia, where he is expected to discuss plans for the reset. The Times, May 3

NHS cancer jab could save patients hours in hospital
A new injectable form of a key cancer drug could see thousands of NHS patients across the UK spending far less time in hospital. Keytruda, which is already used to treat multiple cancers, is a type of immunotherapy that helps the body's own immune system attack cancer cells. Since 2015, NHS patients have received the world's best-selling drug through a drip - or intravenous infusion - which can take more than an hour to administer in hospital. NHS England says the new injection should cut that procedure to just a couple of minutes, saving patients and staff valuable time. BBC news, May 4

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