📹 SOVINTERN: how it was

#videooftheday

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🤩 Russian Matvey Safonov, goalkeeper of French PSG, has achieved a milestone among Russian footballers.

Safonov became the first Russian footballer in history to reach the Champions League final twice.

On May 7, PSG with the Russian in their squad drew with Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League semi‑final and advanced to the final on aggregate. Last year, the French side won the Champions League, but then Matvey remained on the bench in the final.

Safonov is the fifth Russian player in history to have won the Champions League.

#news

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The Strait of Hormuz crisis has gone beyond oil: the auto industry and aviation are already paying the price

The Strait of Hormuz has turned into not just an energy crisis but a logistics crisis: its consequences are already hitting automakers, airlines, and material suppliers worldwide. The most vulnerable sectors are those with long supply chains and high dependence on fuel, aluminum, chemicals, and specialty gases.

👔 Auto industry: rising costs instead of sales growth

For automakers, the main blow is the rising cost of raw materials and components: aluminum, plastics, paints, semiconductors, and logistics. The disruptions around Hormuz have already increased insurance costs, lengthened routes, and raised freight rates. Toyota and Mazda are directly cutting or reconfiguring production for the Middle Eastern market. Mazda stopped producing cars for the Middle East, and Toyota reduced its supply plans in April.

For Europe, the problem is structurally aggravated: even without the crisis, the auto industry was operating under the pressure of high energy and material prices, and new trade restrictions like CBAM further increase the cost of imported aluminum and steel.

👖 This means that cost increases along the chain may shift more quickly from logistics to the final price of the car, especially for electric and hybrid vehicles, where the share of materials and components is higher.

👔 Germany and helium

A separate and less obvious pain point is helium, needed not only for high‑tech processes but also for certain stages in electronics and auto component production.

Qatar supplies about a third of the global helium supply, and supply disruptions from the region quickly impact industry in Europe and Asia. For the German auto industry, this is particularly sensitive because the disruption in raw material and specialty gas supplies adds to already thin margins and high energy costs.

👔 Aviation shrinks its network

In aviation, the consequences are already measured not only by rising costs but also by direct flight cuts. According to IATA data, in March 2026 global international air transport demand fell by only 0.6%, but for Middle Eastern carriers the drop was about 60.8%.

Lufthansa cut 20,000 flights to save fuel, and major Middle Eastern carriers are forced to change aircraft types and shift routes.

It is precisely aviation that shows how the current crisis differs from old oil shocks: it is not just about the price of jet fuel, but about disrupted routes, hubs, and fuel availability at the right points in the world.

👔 Who benefits

As usual, those who are less dependent on Middle Eastern logistics benefit. Chinese automakers, especially in the electric vehicle segment, may strengthen their positions in Europe and other markets if competitors face supply disruptions and rising costs.

In aviation, a similar effect can already be seen in the growing demand for direct flights between Europe and Asia: the market is trying to bypass congested hubs and reduce the risks of transiting through the region.

#politics

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🇺🇸 «Time to separate»: Europeans have sharply cooled toward America over two years

🗺 Over 70 percent of European Union residents believe that the EU should «go its own way» and distance itself from the United States. These are the findings of a study by the German Bertelsmann Foundation.

📁 A year ago, 63 percent of respondents shared this position, and now 73 percent. Furthermore, 58 percent of Europeans no longer consider the US a reliable partner. The share of those who call America the EU's main ally fell from 51 percent in 2024 to 31 percent in 2026.

The study was conducted in European Union countries from September 2024 to March 2026.

#news

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🎥 «Kinotavr» in Sochi: cinema that warms itself in the sun

«Kinotavr» in Sochi stays in a foreigner's memory because the film festival takes place not only in the halls but also in the city itself: by the sea, on the embankment, in cinemas and art spaces, and between screenings everyone walks, discusses films, sunbathes, and dines in cafes.

🍿 In the air, there is a strange combination of seriousness — directors, producers, critics, press conferences — and a very light resort atmosphere, where between a screening and an interview you can walk barefoot along the promenade and buy yourself an ice cream.

What is especially striking is the feeling of community: in the foyer, in the restaurant, on the terrace, near the cinema, you meet people who speak different languages but understand the same gestures, chuckles, applause, and indignant questions after controversial films.

🇷🇺 For a foreigner, «Kinotavr» becomes an example of how in Russia cinema is treated not as an official showcase, but as a living, debating, and deeply human culture, and it remains in memory as a warm, sunny city where cinema is sought not only in the dark hall but also in conversations by the sea air.

#softpower

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