Morning Briefing — May 25, 2026

World News

US and Iran agree to broad principles of deal, Trump official says — A senior Trump administration official said there is broad commitment to the principles of a deal with Iran, with the administration feeling positive about the state of negotiations. The potential agreement would include Iran's commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons and to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. CBS News

Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv kill at least four — Russia hit Kyiv and surrounding areas with massive missile and drone attacks, killing four people and wounding more than 60 after Moscow threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine. Russia confirmed it had launched an Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile at Ukraine, the third time the nuclear-capable weapon has been used in the four-year war. Al Jazeera

Russia pounds Kyiv with 600 drones and 90 missiles in hours-long barrage — Ukraine's air force said Russia used 600 drones and 90 missiles in the overnight attack, including the hypersonic Oreshnik missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported damage in every district of the city, with at least 77 injured. NPR

Largest attack on Kyiv of the entire full-scale war damages every district — Russian forces launched a large-scale combined missile and drone attack overnight on May 24 that lasted several hours, marking one of the largest assaults in the last year. About 30 residential buildings were damaged or destroyed in Kyiv alone, and Poland scrambled fighter jets to protect its airspace. Kyiv Independent

Shenzhou 23 launches with three astronauts bound for China's space station — China successfully launched the Shenzhou 23 spacecraft carrying three astronauts to its space station, continuing the country's expanding human spaceflight program. CBS News

Coal mine explosion in Shanxi province under investigation — Chinese authorities are investigating an explosion at Changzhi city's Liushenyu coal mine in Shanxi province, which exposed alleged safety violations and rescue failures. NBC News

California chemical tank emergency may avoid catastrophic explosion — A potential crack in the bottom of a compromised chemical tank in Garden Grove, which prompted the evacuation of more than 50,000 people in the Los Angeles suburbs, may actually prevent a previously feared explosion. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County. Bloomberg

Business

US stock futures jump on US-Iran deal hopes ahead of holiday — US stock futures rose Monday as investors grew optimistic that the US and Iran were moving closer to an agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns over inflation and interest rate hikes. Trading activity was expected to be subdued with US markets closed for a public holiday. Trading Economics

Emerging-market assets rise as oil drops on US-Iran deal hopes — Emerging-market assets gained while oil prices fell as investors priced in growing hopes of a US-Iran agreement. Bloomberg also noted a Treasury market shift into a 'Warsh era' with bets on a 2026 rate hike, while AI rally has driven the best run in global momentum stocks on record. Bloomberg

India to send largest-ever trade delegation to Canada — Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will be in Canada from May 25 to 27 with the largest Indian trade and investment delegation ever sent to any country, spanning energy, infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and investment sectors. Prime Minister Mark Carney has called India a 'natural partner' amid Trump's tariff wars. CBC

US ambassador says Canada should not expect tariff exemption — US Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said President Trump has imposed tariffs on the whole world and Canada shouldn't expect to be an exception. The comments came amid renewed discussion of Canada's Online Streaming Act and ongoing cross-border tension. CBC

European carbon offset projects exposed as nonexistent or improperly verified — Companies in at least nine European countries bought carbon offsets from projects that appear not to exist or were verified by an auditor-turned-developer treating the two jobs as a revolving door, raising fresh concerns about voluntary carbon market integrity. Bloomberg

Pentagon walks away from historic Canada-US defence board — The US has decided to pull out of a long-standing defence board with Canada, a move that comes amid trade tensions and renewed questions about the cross-border relationship. The development was discussed on CBC's At Issue panel alongside Alberta's separatism debate. CBC

Energean slashes dividend after Israel gas shutdown cuts output — Energy producer Energean cut its dividend significantly after the Israel gas shutdown reduced its production, reflecting the broader fallout from Middle East energy supply disruptions on European-listed energy firms. Oilprice.com

Technology

OpenAI adopts Google DeepMind's SynthID watermarking for AI images — OpenAI is incorporating Google DeepMind's SynthID watermarking, starting with images generated through ChatGPT, Codex, or the OpenAI API. The invisible watermarking layer complements C2PA metadata-based approaches, with the company aiming to support cross-industry verification across platforms in the coming months. OpenAI

OpenAI and Dell partner to bring Codex to enterprise environments — OpenAI announced a partnership with Dell Technologies to bring Codex to hybrid and on-premises enterprise environments. The company also rolled out a new personal finance experience in ChatGPT and continued expanding Codex capabilities including a sandbox to enable Codex on Windows. OpenAI

Google rolls out Gemini integration across Chrome ahead of I/O 2026 — Google is making a cascade of AI announcements ahead of Google I/O 2026, with Gemini now deeply integrated into Chrome enabling contextual summarization, smart form-filling and real-time translation across any webpage. The push reflects a full-stack strategy from chips to consumer apps. Tech Insight

OpenAI launches self-serve ad platform inside ChatGPT — OpenAI launched a self-serve advertising platform for ChatGPT, allowing brands to promote products directly within conversations and marking a major shift toward monetizing AI assistants. The move comes as CEO Sam Altman defends OpenAI's transition to a capped-profit structure during ongoing Elon Musk litigation. Tech Insight

SpaceX moves ahead with what could be the biggest IPO ever — Elon Musk's SpaceX is moving ahead with plans to go public in what some analysts expect could become the biggest IPO ever. The company continues to develop its mammoth Starship rocket, which is critical to NASA's plans for returning astronauts to the moon. CBS News

AI agents reshape graduating classes at top universities — A New York Times opinion piece by Stanford student Theo Baker spotlighted the impact of artificial intelligence on the 2026 graduating class at one of the world's most prestigious universities. AI tools that autonomously perform tasks for users mark a major step forward from chatbots, according to tech experts. CBS News

Farm-ng deploys AI robotics for seeding, weeding and harvesting — California startup Farm-ng is tapping AI and robotics to perform a wide range of agricultural tasks, including seeding, weeding and harvesting. Farmers facing labor shortages and environmental pressures are increasingly looking to AI to revolutionize the industry. CBS News

Renewable Energy

Wind and solar overtake gas generation globally for first time ever — Wind and solar power generation topped gas-fired power plant output for the first time ever on a monthly basis in April 2026, with renewables generating 22% of the world's electricity versus 20% for gas. The energy crunch from the Strait of Hormuz crisis has limited gas availability and made the fuel more expensive. Oilprice.com / Ember

Wind and solar combine to deliver record 531 TWh in April — Combined wind and solar generation reached a record 531 terawatt-hours in April 2026, exceeding gas-fired electricity generation of 477 TWh by 54 TWh, according to Ember. China recorded 14% year-on-year growth in wind and solar generation, the EU 13%, and the UK posted a significant 35% increase. GreentechLead

US energy storage industry posts strongest first quarter ever — The US energy storage industry installed 9.7 gigawatt-hours of new capacity in the first quarter of 2026, the strongest first quarter in the sector's history. The war in Iran is driving an upward revision of energy storage forecasts over the next five years as countries push for energy security. CleanTechnica

BloombergNEF: Solar to become world's largest electricity source by 2032 — BloombergNEF's New Energy Outlook 2026 reveals that successive energy market shocks could be a boon for the energy transition as countries decouple from imported fossil fuels. Solar will become the world's single largest source of electricity in the next six years, while battery storage is projected to jump 17-fold from 223GW in 2025 to 3.8TW by 2050. BloombergNEF

IRENA: Cost of firm renewable electricity falling rapidly worldwide — A new IRENA report introduces 'firm levelised cost of electricity' as a benchmark for the cost of delivering continuous reliable electricity from co-located solar, wind and battery storage systems. The analysis shows firm renewable electricity costs have declined rapidly across all major technologies and markets. IRENA

Indonesia plans 100 GW of solar-plus-storage capacity — Indonesia unveiled plans to develop 100 gigawatts of solar-plus-storage capacity while South Korea aims to triple its renewables to 100 GW by 2030. The Philippines, Thailand and the UK are also accelerating project approvals to boost energy security amid the Middle East crisis. GreentechLead

DeBriefed: UN adopts landmark climate resolution as Trump targets RCP8.5 — Carbon Brief's weekly DeBriefed newsletter highlighted the UN adopting a landmark climate resolution, the Trump administration's moves on the RCP8.5 emissions scenario, and growing climate migration concerns. Carbon Brief's Cropped 20 May edition covered a new deforestation roadmap and the Melanesian Ocean Summit. Carbon Brief

Wind and solar beat fossil fuels in Great Britain for 15 months in a row — Wind and solar have now beaten fossil fuels in Great Britain for a record 15 consecutive months. A decade ago fossil fuels generated four times more than wind and solar; since the Iran war began, wind and solar have generated twice as much as fossil fuels. Carbon Brief

Soil Science

Multi-agent AI systems could accelerate soil science and climate adaptation — A new Frontiers in Science paper details how AI tools can help adapt soils—and the systems they nurture—to a changing climate by creating digital soil twins, enhancing microbiome monitoring and trialing adaptation strategies in computer models. Lead author Prof Budiman Minasny of the University of Sydney said improved soil understanding could help land managers detect nutrient loss, water stress, compaction and erosion earlier. Frontiers / Phys.org

Frontiers in Science: AI could help secure soil as a vital global resource — Researchers assessed multi-agent AI systems' ability to perform perceptual processing, strategic planning and scientific reasoning for soil science applications. Co-author Dr Mercedes Román Dobarco of NEIKER cautioned that AI cannot replace contextual judgment, creativity and critical interpretation that human scientists bring, and should be treated as an augmentative tool. Frontiers

Soil science reimagined: from farmland to the final frontier — A new perspective in Pedosphere by Prof Gan-Lin Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences calls for reimagining the discipline as 'nontraditional soil science' encompassing urban engineering, forensic analysis and planetary exploration. The paper highlights soils as key actors in global carbon cycles, infrastructure safety and even cultural preservation. EurekAlert / Pedosphere

Global assessment maps where regenerative farming could increase yields — A new global assessment using a Random Forest model finds regenerative practices could increase yields across 5–45% of global cropland. Cover crops showed the greatest potential at 45% of cropland, followed by agroforestry at 41%, no-tillage at 37%, and organic farming at 5%. npj Sustainable Agriculture (Nature)

FAO warns Strait of Hormuz disruption risks global food catastrophe — FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero warned that a prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could result in a global food catastrophe, with 20–45% of key agrifood inputs reliant on sea passage through the strait. Fertilizer prices have surged, with World Bank data showing urea prices rising nearly 46% month-on-month amid the conflict. FAO / Al Jazeera

Biochar emerges as sustainable strategy for microplastic-contaminated soils — A new comprehensive review in the Soil Science Society of America Journal evaluates biochar as a promising, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable strategy for remediating microplastic-contaminated soils. The journal highlights knowledge gaps remaining around the microscopic interactions between biochar and microplastics and field-scale application. Soil Science Society of America Journal

USDA Regenerative Pilot Program begins funding farmers in 2026 — USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service is administering a $700 million Regenerative Pilot Program, with $400 million through EQIP and $300 million through the Conservation Stewardship Program. Reactions are mixed: industry advocates welcome the investment, while critics argue the initiative falls short on phasing out synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. AgFunderNews / USDA

World Bank: 87 million face hunger in East and Southern Africa — More than 87 million people are facing hunger in East and Southern Africa, with 52 million projected to be acutely food insecure in West and Central Africa by mid-2026. Conflict and climate shocks remain the primary drivers, with wheat, maize and rice prices rising and the World Food Program estimating the Middle East conflict could push 45 million more people into acute hunger. World Bank

Cover photo by Michał Lis on Unsplash.