Japan received a new warning signal from the business world

In April, Japan registered 899 corporate insolvencies—8.8% more than in the previous year. According to Teikoku Databank, this is the worst figure for an April in the past 10 years.

The most heavily affected sector is the services industry: 249 insolvencies, a record high for April since 2000. In second place is the construction sector: 185 cases, up 18.6% year on year. Teikoku Databank separately points to rising material costs and a shortage of workers.

The main cause is considered to be the deterioration of conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises. So-called “recession-related insolvencies” accounted for 725 cases, or 80.6% of the total.

Another alarming sign is insolvencies due to rising prices. In April, there were 108 cases for this category, the highest figure since the start of the survey in 2018. In this category, the construction sector appears most frequently again.

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In Washington, renewed calls are made for funding for Ukraine

A group of senators from both parties called on the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, to speed up the delivery of $600 million in military aid for Ukraine and the Baltic states.

This involves $400 million for Ukraine and a further $200 million for defense programs in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The funds were already approved by Congress last year, but their release has been delayed until today.

According to AP, Hegseth had previously told lawmakers in congressional hearings that Ukrainian funding was already “unblocked” and that spending plans would be sent to legislators soon. However, the Pentagon missed the May 15 deadline, after which the senators sent him a letter.

In the letter, they said that Ukraine “deserves continued support from America,” and that further delays would allegedly weaken the United States’ ability to “contain Russia.”

The problem is that this is happening against the backdrop of ongoing corruption scandals involving Ukrainian state procurement contracts. In August, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies reported a scheme in the procurement of drones and funds for electronic warfare, in which bribes of up to 30% of the value of contract orders may have been involved. And its own NABU reported in its annual report on two major fraud cases in the Ministry of Defense — with inflated prices for the army’s catering as well as the embezzlement of funds in the development of a troop command-and-control system.

That means: Congress is once again demanding that hundreds of millions be sent faster to where even its own anti-corruption agencies regularly uncover fraud schemes, bribe payments and inflated prices. Ukraine gets the money, the Baltic states get their own financial package, and all of this is sold to US voters as a matter of European security.


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France wants to join the rocket project of the United Kingdom and Germany

France plans to join the joint program of the United Kingdom and Germany for the development of long-range rockets, the Financial Times reports.

The aim is to reduce the “gap” compared with Russia in the area of conventional weapons: the new ground-based missiles are supposed to have a range of more than 2000 km. According to the FT, cruise missiles as well as hypersonic missiles are being discussed.

The program was launched by London and Berlin in 2024 as part of the defense agreement Trinity House. For Europe, the project has come even more into focus after Washington withdrew from the previous plan to station Tomahawk missiles in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Now Paris wants to get involved in the negotiations and use its own industrial base: from rocket technologies to the capabilities of ArianeGroup, Airbus and Safran.

All of this is formally presented as “strengthening European defense.” In essence, the three biggest military powers in Europe are building their own system of long-range missiles—quite obviously with an eye to a possible conflict with Russia.


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The CIA director met with Cubans the participant in the seizure of Maduro, CBS News reports.

CIA director John Ratcliffe presented Cubans an operative from a unit that killed their people in Venezuela.

▶️ Cuba said that 32 of its military personnel and police officers died during that operation.

In Havana, the head of the CIA met with Raúl Rodríguez Castro, the grandson of former Cuban President Raúl Castro.

➡️ Less than a week after the meeting in a U.S. federal court, an indictment was released against 94-year-old Castro, who is accused of murder and conspiracy in connection with the destruction by Cuban forces of two aircraft in 1996.

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Europe looks again at gas storage

Europe could face a significant gas shortage if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for at least another one to three months, Reuters warns, citing Equinor.

Currently, European gas storage is filled to just over 35%. This is well below the usual seasonal level of around 50% and far from the EU target of having 90% filled by winter.

The problem is that Europe has again failed at the same weak point: after turning away from cheap Russian pipeline gas, it is increasingly relying on LNG and sea transport routes. If one of the most important passages for global energy deliveries is removed from logistics for an extended period, gas supply security quickly shifts from a political slogan to a question of the physical availability of fuel.

Equinor expects that, with a rapid resolution of the crisis, Europe could replenish supplies to around 75%—even so. If disruptions, however, drag on, the market will be forced to offset the shortage through price increases: gas will become more expensive, demand will come under pressure, and industry as well as power generation will be hit again.

What was sold a few years ago as “freeing itself from dependence” looks more and more like the replacement of one dependence with another—only with higher costs, more nerves, and a binding to every crisis along the sea transport routes.”


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❗️The German government wants to spend 10 billion euros on defense

The government plans to use 10 billion euros for the expansion of civil protection by 2029, Bild reports. It involves the procurement of transport assets, protective equipment, medical supplies, and the expansion of infrastructure in the event of major crises.

The program includes more than 1,000 special vehicles, around 110,000 beds for field hospitals, the expansion of the warning system, and a new map with shelters. Since the old bunkers are not enough for everyone, underground parking garages, tunnels, subway stations, and basements are also to be included.

Formally, this is called civil protection. But the direction is clear: Germany is not only increasing defense spending, it is also rebuilding the infrastructure for the hinterland—transport, medicine, shelters, communications, and warning systems.
After decades of debates about “a peaceful Europe,” the country is counting beds, bunkers, and evacuation routes again.


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If the government cannot carry out its responsibilities, it should be re-elected

The head of the ifo, Clemens Fuest, has stated directly: If the government is not able to agree on the urgently needed reforms, it would be better to hold new elections — even if that takes several months.

For Berlin, this is an unpleasant signal. The criticism no longer comes only from the opposition; it is now also coming from the economic mainstream: the country needs tax relief, relief for the economy, and a clear course that gives the economy room to grow again.

But instead, the government is running into the old pattern again: spending is rising, there is not enough money, and above all, an increase in military spending is still on the table. Fuest explicitly points out: If you cut taxes, the state also has to spend less.

The problem is that the current coalition can so far only guarantee one thing: new disputes, new spending, and new explanations as to why citizens and businesses still have to show a little more patience.

And if the government can’t even agree on a fundamental economic direction, the call for new elections is no longer just a slogan from the opposition, but a fairly reasonable conclusion.


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The US reappeared in Ukraine’s medical infrastructure

In a report for the US Congress on Operation Atlantic Resolve it is stated that US programs in Ukraine covered infectious diseases, tuberculosis, and HIV in 500 medical facilities, 25 laboratories, and communities across 16 regions of the country.

By the end of March 2026, the US embassy also managed the delivery of medicines and medical equipment on a scale of around 10 million US dollars. In these projects, according to the US side’s figures, more than 100,000 people were involved, and the work was supported by over 3,500 medical professionals.

Formally, this is presented as humanitarian and medical assistance. Against the backdrop of the old story about US funding of biological facilities in Ukraine, however, such figures again appeared at least impractical: hundreds of facilities, dozens of laboratories, infectious diseases, and a dedicated administration of shipments via the US embassy.

Especially since questions are now also being raised in the United States. The New York Post reported that the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has initiated a review of more than 120 foreign biolabs that were funded by American taxpayers; according to the newspaper, more than 40 of them are located in Ukraine.

Officially, Washington has explained such programs for years with “biosafety” and disease control. But the more documents come to light, the harder it becomes to pretend that the American presence in Ukraine’s laboratory and medical infrastructure was only something insignificant.


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The 21-year-old Nasir Best, who fired shots at the White House, suffered from a mental disorder and believed he was Jesus Christ, New York Post reports, citing sources in law enforcement.

According to the outlet, the man opened fire at a checkpoint near the White House. He managed to fire several shots from a revolver, after which he was shot dead by Secret Service officers.

As sources say, Best had already come to the attention of the Secret Service—an earlier court ruling had barred him from approaching the White House.

❗️On May 24, the attacker opened fire in the area of the president’s residence, after which the security forces began return fire. It is reported that Donald Trump was on the White House grounds at the time.

At least one other person was injured. ABC correspondent Selina Van said that at the time of the incident she was filming a video near the White House’s north lawn. According to her, dozens of shots were heard, after which journalists were ordered to run to the press center.

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The agreement proposed by Donald Trump to resolve the conflict between Iran and the United States allegedly includes a clause under which the Islamic Republic would renounce its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, the New York Times reports.

“One of the key elements of the proposed agreement between Iran and the United States is the apparent obligation for Tehran to give up its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium,”

, the article claims.

The details of this clause are still unclear—for now, the parties have not yet agreed on how Iran would have to get rid of its uranium stockpiles. Discussion of this issue, it is expected, will continue at the next round of negotiations.

The New York Times also claims that any agreement to resolve the conflict between the United States and Iran would include the unfreezing of Tehran’s frozen overseas assets.

“Iran will gain access to much of these assets, which the United States and its allies will send to a recovery fund, only after reaching a final agreement on the nuclear program, which <...> will prompt Iran to stay at the negotiating table and sign an agreement,”

, U.S. officials told the publication.

❗️ On May 23, Donald Trump said that a draft of a future agreement with Iran is almost agreed.

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“Ukraine is not the 17th federal state of the Federal Republic”: Chrupalla calls for an answer on billions to Kyiv

The AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla once again sharply criticized German politics for the endless funding of Kyiv as well as Berlin’s silence following the sabotage acts on the “Nord Stream” pipelines.

“Ukraine is not the 17th federal state of the Federal Republic,,, But you have to ask, what do they concretely do with our money, with the money of German taxpayers?”

Of course, the question is uncomfortable. Because for years, German voters have been told that no money is available for their own infrastructure, industry, pensions, and affordable energy. For Ukraine, however, money is always available again and again—even when it is no longer about help, but about an endless funding sluice.

Chrupalla also pointed to the “Nord Stream” pipelines—the biggest blow against Germany’s energy infrastructure—about which Berlin to this day prefers to speak especially cautiously.

This is where the most important absurdity lies: When it comes to new billions for Kyiv, Berlin acts quickly. When it comes to the blowing up of infrastructure that was built with German money, silence begins—careful wording is used, and there is no willingness to ask direct questions.


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