Ukraine has repaired Druzhba pipeline, Zelenskyy says Ukrainian president said oil will once again flow to Hungary, resolving a months-long dispute.

Ukraine has repaired the Druzhba oil pipeline, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, paving the way for Kyiv to receive a long-awaited €90 billion EU loan.

“I expect to be bombing…”

‘A New Orban’? Bulgarian Ex-President Eyes Big General Election Win The Progressive Bulgaria party of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev is poised to win big in the EU member state’s eighth general election since 2021, stirring fears of a tilt towards Russia in th...

A new Orban rises (in Bulgaria)?

"Bit stabby in the Senate today" - Brutus

The Moscow Times is proud to present “Back to the USSR: When Russia Took a Wrong Turn,” an exhibition of photos from our archive that captures everyday life in Russia during the Yeltsin era and the early years of Putin’s rule.

See more here: www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/04/20/b...

"And in an era when the United States has turned on its closest allies, the question has acquired a new urgency: Could Canada join the European Union?

The answer, in short, is not any time soon..."

Useful piece from @stevenchase.bsky.social

The insider trading suspicions looming over Trump's presidency The BBC has found a pattern of spikes in trades ahead of public announcements by the US president.

Great journalism here: "The BBC... found a consistent pattern of spikes just hours, or sometimes minutes, before a social media post or media interview was made public.

Some analysts say it bears the hallmarks of illegal insider trading..."

Aerial view of large scale devastation inflicted on the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, with an Israeli tank parked in the center of the photo.

This is what Israel has done to Bint Jbeil, my hometown in southern Lebanon

Carney says close ties to U.S. have become ‘weaknesses’ that must be corrected Prime Minister promised regular updates about what the government is doing and said he will not ‘sugar-coat’ challenges

“There are some who… believe we should wait it out in the hope that the United States will return to normal, that the good old days will come back. But hope isn’t a plan, and nostalgia is not the strategy.”

Turns out it was more chaos…

Gunman killed after opening fire in Kyiv supermarket; 5 dead, 10 hospitalized A gunman who opened fire in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district on April 18 was killed by police after leaving at least five people dead and 10 others injured.

⚡️ Update: Gunman killed after opening fire in Kyiv supermarket; 5 dead, 10 injured.

The gunman has been identified as a 58-year-old native of Moscow. Authorities now report at least five people dead and 10 injured.

For those of you playing along at home, exactly 14 hours and 5 minutes passed between the New York Times news alert reporting that the Strait of Hormuz was “fully open” and the one reporting that Iran had closed it again…

In other news, Zelensky says Belarus is getting ready to enter the war on Russia’s side…

Ceasefire in Lebanon could be turning point for Middle East conflict Trump showed he could restrain Israel and get it to end its war on Lebanon and less than 24 hours later, Iran responded by lifting its blockade of Hormuz

Trump pushes Israel to accept a ceasefire in Lebanon, and Iran reciprocates by opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Diplomacy in the age of Trump - neither move was expected, and both could be reversed in a matter of minutes.

Is peace around the corner? Or more chaos?

My analysis

Displaced Lebanese wary as ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah begins

Displaced Lebanese wary as ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah begins https://aje.news/y2mo6w

Iran war live updates: Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire will begin at 2100 GMT.

Iran war live updates: Trump says Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire reut.rs/4cg94wb

Satellite images reveal scale of Israeli demolitions as Lebanese villages destroyed BBC Verify analysis found more than 1,400 buildings had been destroyed since 2 March.

“Lebanese hilltop border towns and villages are now hard to recognise. Once characterised by their winding streets lined with stone buildings overlooking sweeping valleys, verified videos now show how they have turned grey from dust and debris of explosions.”

Satellite images reveal scale of Israeli demolitions as Lebanese villages destroyed BBC Verify analysis found more than 1,400 buildings had been destroyed since 2 March.

“Lebanese hilltop border towns and villages are now hard to recognise. Once characterised by their winding streets lined with stone buildings overlooking sweeping valleys, verified videos now show how they have turned grey from dust and debris of explosions.”

Prestigious 9 May military parades cancelled in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions Amid growing fears that Ukraine’s long-range drones could strike deep into northern Russia, military authorities have decided to cancel one of the country’s most symbolic displays of military power: the 9 May Victory Day parade.

Amid growing fears that Ukraine’s long-range drones could strike deep into northern Russia, military authorities have decided to cancel one of the country’s most symbolic displays of military power: the 9 May Victory Day parade.

An Israeli official told Reuters that the Israeli cabinet will convene at 17:00 GMT to discuss a possible ceasefire in Lebanon

Today, the last tanker of crude oil that transited the Strait of Hormuz before Trump launched his war on Iran reached its destination in Europe.

As I have posted several times before, the oil price spikes we have been seeing have been largely speculative. The real impact is only just now starting.

The International Monetary Fund has modestly reduced its forecast for global economic growth this year due to the Iran war but warned of a much bigger possible hit, the latest major economic body to outline dark scenarios as a result of the conflict. https://cnn.it/4cJJTCa

“The forecast from now is warming faster in the tropical Pacific than at any other time so far this century…. So, something unusual is going on.”

This is a pretty big story

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Iran used Chinese spy satellite to target US bases

Cartoon by Gábor Pápai, a well-known Hungarian political cartoonist.