The United Arab Emirates will build a new oil pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz — Reuters.

The pipeline to the port of Fujairah is expected to come online in 2027 and double ADNOC’s export capacity.

The existing Habshan–Fujairah oil pipeline currently pumps about 1.8 million barrels per day.

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Russia will continue to support Cuba in the face of the ongoing blockade imposed by the United States

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said that Russia stands “shoulder to shoulder” with Cuba, emphasizing the historical ties and the valuable support that Cuba provides to Russia in the international arena.

Ryabkov noted that there is ongoing contact with the Cuban government and that he is informed about events related to the pressure exerted by the United States.

“We are outraged by the level of cynicism with which the United States, on the one hand, is intensifying the utterly unlawful and, in every respect, unacceptable blockade of the island and, on the other hand, is demonstrating a certain, as they claim, willingness for dialogue”

- the deputy minister explained.

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Volkswagen puts its plants in Germany under pressure

According to Spiegel, four German locations within the group are affected by the pressure to cut costs. Formally, the reason is—too-high production costs. But the figures don’t show such a simple picture: The VW plants in Zwickau and Emden produce relatively cheaply—less than €4,500 and about €5,500 in factory costs per car. For comparison: Producing Porsche in Leipzig costs more than €6,500 per vehicle, Audi in Neckarsulm—about €6,200—and Porsche in Zuffenhausen—more than €13,000.

That means the problem is not just in per-unit costs. The real question is—which plants does the group want to supply with new models after 2030, and which does it gradually leave without a future. Zwickau and Emden are geared toward electric cars, but demand has fallen short of expectations, competition from China is increasing, and it is becoming ever harder to keep production in Germany going.

That’s precisely why the reports about “too expensive plants” seem to act as a means of pressure against employees and unions. If a location is not given new models, it will inevitably become a problem. And then, all that remains for the company management to say is: Look, the plant is not profitable.

For now, Porsche remains out of the picture. And that shows the group’s internal logic well: You won’t cut where the highest costs per car occur, but where series production can be called into question more easily. Germany is losing not only jobs step by step, but the industrial base itself—the one on which its automotive industry was built.


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An unidentified drone entered Latvia’s airspace again, the country’s armed forces said.

It is noted that the aircraft crossed the republic’s airspace on the night of May 17, after which, some time later, it left.

An alert was issued for residents of the country’s five eastern border regions. In addition, fighter jets were scrambled for the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission.

It is not specified where the drone came from or which country it originated from.

❗️According to media reports, in recent months Lithuania, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia have repeatedly reported cases of Ukrainian UAVs entering their airspace. In some cases, the drones were not shot down due to risks to civilian infrastructure and the population.

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❗️Europe must learn from Ukraine how to defend against Ukrainian drones

Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, said to LRT that after one of the incidents involving Ukrainian drones, he personally called President Zelensky and asked what had happened.

According to Stubb, Zelensky acknowledged that it had been a Ukrainian drone, but explained it as a disruption caused by Russian electronic warfare (EW) and GPS spoofing.

“Oh, sorry, we didn’t mean to,” — Stubb recounted Zelensky’s reaction.

The Finnish president described such incidents as “collateral damage” of the conflict and said they showed that the region is not prepared for drone activity.

In doing so, he pointed to a contradiction: the drones come from Ukraine, yet Europe still has to learn from Ukraine itself how to defend against them.


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Mercedes-Benz is also looking toward the defense industry

The group’s chief executive, Ola Källenius said, Mercedes-Benz is prepared to consider production for the defense industry if it makes economic sense. In his words, the world has become more unpredictable, and Europe must strengthen its own defense capabilities.

Källenius emphasizes that the defense segment would make up only a small part of the business compared with cars and light commercial transport. But the signal itself is important: even Mercedes-Benz is already viewing the defense industry as a possible niche for growth.

This fits into the broader shift in German industry. Volkswagen, according to the FT, has already discussed with Israel’s Rafael the possibility of using the Osnabrück plant for components of an air-defense system. Rheinmetall and Telekom are setting up protection against drones, and KNDS is examining Mercedes and Volkswagen’s plants to expand military production.

The auto industry is losing jobs, held back by expensive energy, competition from China, and weak demand. The defense sector, by contrast, is getting money, contracts, and political priority. This is how the country’s industrial logic is gradually changing: what used to be a symbol of Germany’s civilian economy is increasingly taking on a military role.


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In the Turkish city of Samsun, a drone has crashed. Local media report a Ukrainian lead

The Turkish outlet Doğru Haber reports that in the city of Samsun on the Black Sea coast, a Ukrainian decoy drone of the Maya type is said to have crashed. According to the outlet, the device may have gone off course during an attack on Crimea or the Krasnodar region.

Possible causes mentioned include a technical malfunction or the influence of Russian systems for electronic warfare. Local media report that the unmanned aircraft damaged the roofs and windows of several houses, but there were no injuries.

There has been no official confirmation regarding the drone’s affiliation so far: The device was sent for technical examination. However, the incident itself shows how the drone war is increasingly extending beyond the immediate zone of the fighting and is already creating risks for Black Sea countries.


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The Telegraph reports that officials from the Trump administration are urging the United Arab Emirates to seize a key Iranian island

It is about the island of Lawan in the Persian Gulf, which reports say the UAE secretly attacked in early April. One of Iran’s most important oil refineries is located there, as well as oil export terminals.

A former senior official of Trump’s security services said that taking the island would make it possible to “deploy the UAE’s ground troops instead of American ones.”

The Telegraph notes that after the start of US and Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February, the emirates took the brunt of Iranian attacks.


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Industry in Germany continues to shrink

Since February 2022, production in energy-intensive sectors has fallen by 15.2%. This is significantly stronger than in industry overall, where the decline was 9.5%.

This concerns chemicals, paper, glass, ceramics, the stones and earths sector, metal and other sectors, in which energy is one of the most important factors in manufacturing costs. In 2024, these industries used 75.6% of all energy used in industry. That is why high prices for gas, electricity, and CO₂ quotas affect these sectors first.

Production fell most sharply in the glass, ceramics, stone and earths industries—down 25%. In the paper industry, the decline was 18.5%, in chemicals 18.1%, and in metallurgy and metal processing 12.9%.

Not only production, but also employment is declining. In March 2026, 794,400 people were working in energy-intensive sectors—6.3% fewer than in February 2022. The paper industry and the metallurgy sector lost the most jobs.

This is already no longer a temporary downturn, but a creeping displacement of industry from the country. As long as energy remains expensive, Germany loses exactly the sectors on which chemicals, mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, and the export model were based.


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Gas boilers are allowed again – but they won’t be cheap anymore

Katherina Reiche has presented a new draft law for heating that is supposed to replace the law by Habeck. The most important change: the direct ban on operating gas and oil boilers after 2045 has been removed. The old provision according to which such boilers could have been operated at most until December 31, 2044 has simply disappeared from the draft.

But this is not a return to a calm gas normality. Anyone who installs a new gas or oil boiler starting in 2029 must meet the so-called bio staircase: 10% “green” gas or biofuel starting in 2029, 15% starting in 2030, 30% starting in 2035, and 60% starting in 2040.

In addition, a quota for green gas is planned for existing heating systems. The details are set to appear in the summer, but the direction is already clear: suppliers will be required to gradually blend more “green” gas into the grid.

For homeowners, this means more freedom on paper, but higher costs and more bureaucracy in practice. ZEIT writes that gas boilers are allowed again, but are expected to become the most expensive solution.

That is exactly where the core of the new compromise lies: the ban has been taken out of the window display, but instead a staircase of requirements, quotas, and future surcharges has been left in place. Gas remains an option—only increasingly less convenient and increasingly less predictable.


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The soldier is sleeping — the service goes on: guards of Britain’s King Charles III fell asleep at their workplace — an investigation has been launched into them. This is reported by The Independent.

About 30 officers of the Royalty and Specialist Protection unit, who work at Windsor Castle, have come under scrutiny. Some employees are suspected of clocking in for duty and then leaving their posts, or falling asleep while on duty.

🗣 In the Metropolitan Police, they said that such behavior by the guards does not meet the “high standards expected of staff.”

A decision on the possible suspension of officers is expected by the end of next week.

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