Morning Briefing — May 13, 2026

World News

Trump travels to Beijing for high-stakes summit with Xi as Iran war looms — As U.S. President Donald Trump travels to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, expectations around the highly anticipated summit between the leaders of the world's two largest economies are being tempered by the war against Iran, and as China appears to hold some key leverage. Trump says he'll have a 'long talk' about Iran but trade will be the main focus of the visit. CBC

Hantavirus cruise ship outbreak spreads to more countries — Passengers from a cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak were flown home to more than 20 countries and quarantined, including a Spaniard, a French woman and an American who tested positive. Three cruise ship passengers have died, and the WHO said there were now seven confirmed cases of the Andes strain of hantavirus. CBC

US-Iran ceasefire on 'life support' after Tehran rejects peace proposal — The US president says he 'doesn't think about Americans' financial situation' when it comes to the crippling war on Iran. Tehran's Foreign Ministry spokesman framed the conflict as one between 'a proud people' and 'professional liars who fabricated justifications for atrocity.' Al Jazeera

Budget office estimates Trump's Golden Dome will cost trillions over 20 years — The Congressional Budget Office estimates Trump's proposed Golden Dome missile defense system will carry a trillion-dollar price tag over a 20-year period. CBC

Starmer rejects calls to resign as Labour rebellion grows — Despite a fifth of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's fellow Labour Party lawmakers calling on him to step down, he says he'll 'get on with governing.' Starmer's Labour party suffered major losses in local elections held across Britain last week, but so far he has rejected calls for his resignation. NPR

Israel deploys Iron Dome batteries to UAE amid Iran war — Israel sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the Iran war, the U.S. ambassador to the country said Tuesday. NPR

Israeli Knesset passes law allowing military trials for Oct. 7 suspects — The measure passed 93-0 in the 120-seat Knesset, reflecting widespread support for punishing those found responsible for what was the deadliest attack in Israel's history. NPR

UN reports 880 civilians killed in Sudan RSF drone strikes — The United Nations reports that 880 civilians in Sudan had been killed in drone strikes by the Rapid Support Forces between January and April, mostly in Darfur and Kordofan. An RSF field commander, Ali Rizq, announced he will defect, making it the second high-profile departure from the paramilitary group in less than two months. Wikipedia/Sudan Tribune

Business

US inflation jumps to 3.8%, highest in nearly three years — Prices rose 0.6% month over month and 3.8% year over year in April, according to the latest Consumer Price Index survey. Core CPI — which excludes food and energy — rose 0.4% monthly and 2.8% yearly. The hot reading raised market expectations for a possible Fed rate hike. CNBC

Canadians filing for insolvency at rising rates as costs squeeze households — More Canadians are filing for insolvency according to the latest data from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, as rising costs stretch consumers to their limits. In some provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, the number of bankruptcies grew faster than the number of proposals. CBC

Canada loses 18,000 jobs in April as unemployment hits 6-month high — April's loss means Canada has shed jobs in three of the four months so far this year, making for 112,000 jobs lost since January. Statistics Canada data indicates continued weakness in the labour market, which has struggled in the face of U.S. tariffs and trade uncertainty. CBC

Oil settles near $98 as US-Iran talks collapse, Strait of Hormuz traffic halts — A renewed advance in oil prices sent bonds lower after the US and Iran failed to agree on terms to end their war. US crude settled around $98 amid worries about further energy disruptions. The Treasury market, which has priced out odds of Fed rate cuts this year, saw an increase in yields. Bloomberg

eBay rejects GameStop's $56B takeover bid — EBay rejected GameStop's $56 billion takeover bid, calling it 'neither credible nor attractive.' The video game retail chain GameStop had launched the $56bn takeover bid for the much bigger firm. CNBC

Keyera closes $5.3B deal for Plains' Canadian NGL business — Keyera Corp. has closed its deal to buy the Canadian natural gas liquids business of U.S. firm Plains All American Pipeline LP despite a challenge launched by the federal competition regulator. The company completed the acquisition Tuesday for $5.3 billion including closing adjustments. CBC

Chip stocks tumble as Qualcomm has worst day since 2020 — Qualcomm plummeted 13% and headed for its worst session since 2020. Intel dropped 8%, while On Semiconductor and Skyworks Solutions declined more than 6% each. The iShares Semiconductor ETF sank 5%. The declines followed a hotter-than-expected reading of a key consumer inflation measure as the war in Iran lifts oil prices. CNBC

Dunkin' plans return to Canada after eight-year absence — Popular U.S. cafe chain Dunkin' is expected to make a return to Canada, after shutting hundreds of locations before leaving eight years ago. BNN Bloomberg

Technology

Amazon accelerates delivery race with 30-minute drop-offs in dozens of US cities — Amazon is accelerating its delivery race with 30-minute drop-offs in dozens of U.S. cities, expanding rapid logistics to compete with same-day rivals. CNBC

EU to crack down on TikTok and Instagram's 'addictive design' for kids — EU regulators are moving to crack down on TikTok and Instagram's 'addictive design' targeting children, as part of broader scrutiny of social media's impact on minors. CNBC

Google says it thwarted hacker group's attempt to use AI for 'mass exploitation event' — Google likely thwarted an effort by a hacker group to use AI for a 'mass exploitation event,' an attempt to weaponize generative models at scale for cyberattacks. CNBC

GM to lay off hundreds of IT workers as it pivots to AI-era skills — General Motors plans to lay off hundreds of salaried IT workers as it cuts costs and seeks employees with stronger skills in emerging technology areas. Reports say the cuts could affect roughly 500 to 600 employees. AI is changing workforce planning inside old-line industrial companies, not just Silicon Valley software firms. TechStartups/CNBC

Trump administration debates restricting Chinese-made cellular modules — The Trump administration is quietly debating whether to restrict Chinese-made cellular modules, expanding Washington's scrutiny beyond chips, drones, and routers into another layer of connected-device infrastructure. Cellular modules are embedded in everything from industrial equipment and cars to smart meters and IoT devices, and a ban could affect telecom, manufacturing, transportation and critical infrastructure. Financial Times

AI supply-chain attack hits npm packages linked to Mistral, UiPath, TanStack — A fresh software supply chain attack compromised multiple npm packages linked to widely used developer tools, including those tied to Mistral, UiPath, and TanStack. TechStartups

Nintendo plunges 8% after Switch 2 price hike and weak sales forecast — Nintendo shares plunged 8% after a Switch 2 price hike and weaker-than-expected sales forecast disappointed investors. CNBC

Guardian: AI's biggest workplace threat is surveillance, not just job loss — The Guardian argues that AI's biggest workplace threat may not be mass unemployment alone, but the rise of AI-powered surveillance and control systems. The divide is between workers who use AI to expand their skills and those managed by opaque algorithms. Productivity tools can empower workers, but monitoring tools can weaken trust and deepen labor tensions. Guardian

Blackstone and Halliburton invest $1B in VoltaGrid for AI data center power — Blackstone and Halliburton are reportedly investing $1 billion in VoltaGrid, a Houston company building gas-powered microgrids for rapid data center deployments. AI infrastructure is increasingly constrained by power availability, not just chips. For startups and hyperscalers, energy is becoming a competitive moat. Bloomberg

Texas couple sues OpenAI alleging ChatGPT helped teen son in fatal overdose — A Texas couple is filing a lawsuit accusing the AI company of guiding their teenage son in using drugs, resulting in a fatal overdose. CBS News

Renewable Energy

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

EU eyes fossil-fuel exemptions as wind and solar save UK £1.7bn — Carbon Brief's DeBriefed for 8 May 2026 covers EU fossil-fuel exemptions, an estimate that wind and solar saved the UK £1.7bn, and warnings of an Amazon 'tipping point.' Carbon Brief

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project now over 75% complete — Dominion Energy's 2.6-GW Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind park is now more than 75% complete, the company said as it presented its first-quarter results. Renewables Now

Siemens Gamesa wins 1GW South Korea offshore wind supply deal — Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy signed a capacity reservation agreement with Haesong Offshore Wind for the Haesong 1 and Haesong 3 offshore wind projects in South Korea, covering around 1GW of planned capacity. The agreement secures turbine manufacturing capacity and advances cooperation from MoU to execution. GreentechLead

Infinity Power seeks European financing for 1GW Egypt hybrid solar-storage project — Infinity Power is seeking European financing support for a major hybrid renewable energy project in Egypt that will combine 1GW of solar generation with 600MWh of battery energy storage. The Nefer Menya project would be located in Menya Governorate, with EBRD considering a senior secured non-recourse loan. GreentechLead

JinkoSolar secures 2GW module deal for Abu Dhabi 24/7 renewables megaproject — JinkoSolar signed an agreement to supply 2GW of high-efficiency solar modules to Masdar for Abu Dhabi's round-the-clock renewable energy project, which combines 5.2GWdc of solar PV with 19GWh of battery storage and is designed to provide 1GW of uninterrupted clean electricity 24 hours a day. GreentechLead

Energy Vault and Eskom partner on gravity-based long-duration storage in South Africa — Energy Vault and Eskom signed a strategic development agreement to deploy gravity-based long-duration energy storage systems in South Africa. The first project, at Hendrina Power Station in Mpumalanga, will deliver 25MW with four hours of storage (100MWh) using Energy Vault's EVx 2.0 technology. GreentechLead

IRENA: 24/7 renewables now cheaper than fossil fuels on firm cost basis — IRENA's report confirms that in prime solar and wind regions, hybrid solutions combined with storage deliver round-the-clock power at lower costs than fossil fuels. Firm levelised costs for solar plus storage range from USD 54–82 per MWh, compared with USD 70–85 per MWh for new coal in China and more than USD 100 per MWh for new gas globally. IRENA

Heat pump sales soar across Europe as nations race to lead transition — Heat pump sales are soaring across Europe, with countries competing to lead the race in deployment. Euronews

SoftBank to build large-scale battery cells in Osaka to power AI data centers — SoftBank Group's mobile unit will begin manufacturing large-scale battery cells at its Sakai, Osaka plant to meet surging power needs from AI services. The initiative includes AX Factory for AI data center operations and GX Factory for next-generation batteries and solar panels, with capacity potentially reaching several GWh. The effort tackles energy constraints limiting AI infrastructure growth by integrating storage with renewable tech. TechStartups

Soil Science

Soil compaction emerges as a major growing driver of global land degradation — Soil compaction is a major and growing driver of land degradation worldwide. The FAO Global Symposium on the issue will be held in Aarhus, Denmark from 21–23 September 2026, with free participation. FAO

FAO: Cropland degradation widens global yield gap, State of Food and Agriculture 2025 finds — The 2025 State of Food and Agriculture examines human-induced land degradation's implications for production and vulnerable populations. New findings show how cropland degradation contributes to the global yield gap, while the scale at which land is managed shapes both the constraints and opportunities for adopting sustainable land use practices. FAO

FAO launches 2026–2028 Emergency Response Plan for Ukraine's agrifood sector — FAO has published its Emergency and Early Recovery Response Plan for Ukraine for 2026–2028, outlining priority actions to protect agricultural livelihoods, restore productive capacity and support Ukraine's agrifood sector. FAO

Two-thirds of West Bank farming families need emergency agricultural aid — More than 72,000 farming and herding families in the West Bank — nearly two-thirds of all agricultural families — urgently require emergency agricultural assistance, according to a new FAO survey. FAO

Soil health found to dramatically reduce locust damage in Senegal trials — Locust swarms can wipe out crops across entire regions, threatening food supplies and livelihoods. Scientists working with farmers in Senegal have shown that improving soil health can dramatically reduce locust damage. ScienceDaily

Critique builds against USDA's $700M Regenerative Pilot Program as 'greenwashing' — USDA's NRCS will administer the Regenerative Pilot Program, diverting $400 million from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and $300 million from the Conservation Stewardship Program for Fiscal Year 2026. NRCS has lost almost 25 percent of its staff since January 2025. Critics call regenerative agriculture programs greenwashing because they typically allow wide use of weed killers and other petrochemical pesticides. Beyond Pesticides

Brazilian mining disaster soil contamination found in bananas, cassava and cocoa — Researchers investigating crops grown in soil contaminated by the 2015 mining disaster in Brazil discovered that toxic metals are moving from the earth into edible plants. Bananas, cassava, and cocoa were found to absorb elements like lead and other heavy metals. ScienceDaily

Atacama desert nematodes reveal hidden soil biodiversity in extreme conditions — Even in the ultra-dry Atacama Desert, tiny soil-dwelling nematodes are thriving in surprising diversity. Scientists found that biodiversity increases with moisture and altitude shapes which species survive in the most extreme zones. ScienceDaily

Chickpeas grown in simulated moon soil mark step toward lunar farming — Scientists have grown chickpeas in simulated moon soil, offering a promising step toward farming on the lunar surface. Researchers mixed moon-like regolith with worm-produced compost and helpful microbes to enable growth. ScienceDaily

EU to ban Brazilian meat imports from September — The EU will ban Brazilian meat imports from September, a major shift in agricultural trade affecting one of the world's largest beef exporters. Euronews