Rescue teams in Laos have suspended their search for two missing men in a cave system, citing dangerous conditions that pose significant risks to rescue personnel attempting to locate them.
Brent crude jumped close to 6% to around $97 a barrel on Monday 1 June 2026 after Iranian agency Tasnim reported the suspension of nuclear talks with the United States. The reversal reinstates a geopolitical risk premium and complicates the European Central Bank’s policy assessment ahead of its 11 June meeting.
With eurozone inflation accelerating to 3.0% in April on surging energy costs from the Middle East war, the European Central Bank approaches its June meeting under pressure to consider its first rate increase in years, after holding the deposit rate at 2% since mid-2025.
European equity markets traded mixed on Wednesday 27 May 2026 as Brent crude plunged 4-5% on news that Iranian state television had seen a draft framework deal with Washington. CAC 40 closed up 0.43% at 8,207.89, FTSE 100 finished up 0.13% at 10,505.01, while the DAX edged 0.03% lower amid divergent sector reactions.
While Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange remained closed on Monday 25 May 2026 for Memorial Day and Spring Bank Holiday respectively, the Paris Stock Exchange operated normally despite the Whit Monday public holiday in France. Brent crude fell about 5% to under $99 a barrel as President Trump described US-Iran talks as proceeding in a ‘constructive manner’.
The European Union has formally endorsed a new permanent safeguard regime for steel imports that will establish tariff-free quotas totalling 18.3 million tonnes annually, whilst imposing a 50 per cent duty on volumes exceeding that threshold. The framework, which takes effect from 1 July 2026, represents a landmark shift from temporary protection measures to a…
Industrial production across the eurozone fell by 0.8 per cent in March compared with the previous month, according to figures published by Eurostat on 22 May, marking a deepening contraction in the bloc’s manufacturing sector as energy-intensive industries grapple with surging costs triggered by geopolitical instability in the Middle East. The European statistics office confirmed…
The European Parliament has placed the question of joint EU medicines procurement at the centre of its May plenary, as pressure from Washington and Beijing on pharmaceutical supply chains reaches what liberals describe as a decisive moment for the Union’s negotiating leverage.
The European Parliament has begun a critical debate over whether Brussels should consolidate its purchasing power for essential medicines or allow Member States to continue negotiating independently with major pharmaceutical suppliers, a decision that could reshape how 450 million Europeans access vital treatments. Karin Karlsbro, the lead negotiator for the centrist Renew Europe group, opened…
European Union gas storage levels stood at 36% on 13 May 2026, the lowest mid-injection-season reading since 2018, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz tightens LNG supply. The Commission has formally relaxed the mandatory November filling target from 90% to 80% for the 2026 winter season.
