The United States has renewed a $100 million aid offer to Cuba as the island faces worsening blackouts and a deepening economic crisis, intensifying pressure on Havana amid growing tensions over sanctions, fuel shortages and political reform.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2gez04807o

Apparently, according to other versions of this story, one fell in, and the other went to rescue him. Both are said to have drowned.

That canal is so shallow the water is at your waist when you stand up in it.

Nobody find that suspicious as hell?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country has started preparations for a military drone deal with Canada.

In a post on social media, he says 20 countries are already working with Ukraine on similar deals.

Global News and The Canadian Press has reached out to National Defence Minister David McGuinty, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and their respective ministries for comment.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said last August that the defence departments in Canada and Ukraine had signed a letter of intent “to co-produce defence materials in both countries,” but did not refer specifically to drones.

Israel is running a widespread and deeply embedded, covert influence operation in Canada, and the government has refused to treat it as interference by a foreign actor, a new report by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) has said.

The group is now calling on Ottawa to designate Israel as a "key threat actor" alongside the likes of China and India, expel Israeli diplomats, and ban Israeli spyware, among other recommendations published on Wednesday.

"The pattern of deception and disinformation outlined in this report demonstrates the malicious role of the Israeli state in interfering in Canadian public affairs, undermining the rights and safety of Canadians," CJPME said.

Five examples are provided in the document, all of which are designed to shape Canadian public opinion, government regulations, and media narratives via local intermediaries, as CJPME described.

The citations rely on reporting from the Canadian investigative outfit, The Breach, the left-leaning news site, Press Progress, and papers such as The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Haaretz, and The New York Times.

The first example is of "secretly" funded polling in the aftermath of the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, "which used biased language to sway results in support of Israel’s genocidal actions in Gaza [and] was conducted by Toronto public relations firm Aurora Strategies Global without disclosing that it was on behalf of the Israeli consulate", the report said.

Pacific island Nauru said it will hold a referendum to change its official name, described as a colonial relic from a time when “foreign tongues” mangled the native language.

Nauru would change its name to “Naoero” to “more faithfully honour our nation’s heritage, our language, and our identity”, President David Adeang said in a statement Tuesday evening.

The tiny nation’s native language is “Dorerin Naoero”, which is spoken by the vast majority of its approximately 10,000 inhabitants.

“Nauru emerged because Naoero could not be properly pronounced by foreign tongues, and was changed not by our choice, but for convenience,” the government said in a statement explaining the change.

“This name change will be reflected across the country, from the renaming of the national aircraft and ships, to official identity regionally and internationally, including at the United Nations, and across national official records and symbols.”

The government must hold a referendum because the name change requires altering the country’s constitution.

“I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody. I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s all.”

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Gunshots were reportedly heard at the Senate on Wednesday evening, May 13, 2026, as tensions rose following developments related to Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa’s arrest.

Various media outlets reported the alleged gunshots as authorities, members of the media, and supporters gathered in the area.

The incident happened amid heightened tension at the Senate after dela Rosa earlier claimed that operatives were set to arrest him in connection with the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.

Foreign investors have pulled $21 billion out of Indian stocks in the last two months, putting 2026 on track to be the worst year for outflows since the markets opened to overseas investment in 1993.

Investors are instead looking to South Korea and Taiwan, where stocks are booming on the back of AI chip demand.

The bulk of the president's social media posts don't make news. But taken together they show what's on his mind as he leads the nation through war and domestic turmoil.

India's travel industry fears that an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to avoid unnecessary foreign travel will squeeze new bookings after inflationary pressure knocked down summer overseas inquiries by as much as 15%, industry and analysts say.

U.S. government claims of unfair trade practices for bypassing traditional credit networks like Visa and Mastercard.

No credible nonproliferation policy begins by pretending not to see the bombs your ally already has.