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‘Insider trading’: Oil and stocks jolt on news of US-Iran deal as some cry ‘manipulation’

Global financial markets were roiled this week after an unconfirmed report claimed the United States and Iran were nearing a preliminary peace agreement, triggering a sharp single-day drop in crude oil prices and a broad rally in equities — while also igniting widespread accusations of coordinated insider trading and market manipulation across social media platforms.

On Wednesday, news outlet Axios published a report stating the two adversarial nations were close to finalizing a one-page memorandum of understanding that would end ongoing hostilities and establish a framework for future, more in-depth negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. The report emerged amid the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, with a fragile ceasefire currently in place along most frontlines.

Within minutes of the report going public, international benchmark Brent crude plummeted from $108 per barrel to $97, before partially recovering to settle roughly 7% lower on the day at approximately $102 per barrel. The sudden sell-off was rooted in widespread market expectations that a finalized peace deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy chokepoint that has been subject to competing blockades enforced by both Iran and the US despite the current truce. The reopening would unlock millions of barrels of Iranian crude exports onto global markets, pushing overall supply higher and pulling prices down.

Data compiled by market monitoring outlet Unusual Whales, which tracks trading activity that matches the pattern of potential insider trading, revealed that just 70 minutes before Axios published its report, market participants placed nearly $920 million in bearish short bets on crude oil. If those positions were held through the price drop, Unusual Whales estimates the holders of these short positions walked away with an estimated $125 million in profit in just a few hours.

The revelation of the extremely well-timed bet sparked fierce debate among traders, financial analysts and public figures on the social platform X, with many openly accusing well-connected insiders of manipulating markets through coordinated leaks of false or unconfirmed news. “Every major announcement in this war has been front-run by someone who knew it was coming. What kind of war is this? This is more like a trading desk with an army,” one X user wrote. Former Republican U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene echoed the outrage, writing, “When is everyone going to start realizing that the manic on again off again war/peace rhetoric is really just insider trading? And sprinkle in some murder. Only a select few in the top tax bracket are benefiting from this, and the majority of you ain’t in it.”

Alongside the oil sell-off, the unconfirmed peace report triggered a broad rally across U.S. stock indexes: the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.5%, while the S&P 500 gained more than 1% on the day. But traders remained deeply divided over whether the market move was based on legitimate progress or manufactured for private gain. Many observers noted that this pattern of leaked de-escalation reports followed by inconsistent official statements has repeated multiple times in recent weeks. “These fake timed peace deal reports by Axios with the selling and buying that accompanies them, followed by the president then doing the inverse and Iran saying it’s a lie has been happening for weeks now,” one X user wrote. “I’ve never seen such in your face insider trading. Market is a casino.”

Some critics have also pointed out a consistent pattern that links these peace deal leaks to movements in U.S. Treasury bond markets. Luke Gromen, founder of global macroeconomic research firm FFTT, LLC, pointed out on X that unconfirmed reports of a US-Iran peace deal almost always emerge shortly after 10-year U.S. Treasury yields break above the 4.4% threshold on the upside. “Actually, if I think about it, I don’t find it curious at all,” Gromen added.

Higher bond yields push up borrowing costs for the U.S. government and filter through to higher interest rates for consumer products like mortgages and auto loans. Yields have spiked repeatedly since the outbreak of hostilities between the US-allied coalition and Iran, driven by investor fears that supply-disrupted high oil prices would reignite stubborn inflation across the global economy. A peace deal that pushes oil prices lower would also ease inflation pressure, pulling bond yields back down and lifting stock valuations — creating a clear profit opportunity for well-positioned insiders.

Critics also note that Axios has a history of publishing reports aligned with the Trump administration’s diplomatic timeline. The outlet previously reported that Washington and Tehran were nearing a nuclear deal shortly before the US and Israel launched a military strike on Iran on February 28. On April 5, Axios reported that the two sides were pushing for a 45-day ceasefire, and just two days later, Iran and the US agreed to a two-week truce that was subsequently extended.

6 5 月, 2026
Slavery-related charge dropped against Angie Liaw as trial continues for husband

A Melbourne woman accused of participating in an alleged domestic slavery scheme has been cleared of all charges midway through a joint trial, while her husband remains before the court facing allegations of holding an elderly woman as a forced laborer in their home.

Angie Yeh Ling Liaw stood trial alongside her husband, Chee Kit “Max” Chong, at Victoria’s County Court. Prosecutors alleged Liaw aided Chong in holding a 61-year-old woman in de facto slavery between February and October 2022, a case that has drawn attention over the alleged exploitative conditions the victim endured.

On Thursday morning, Judge Michael Cahill made the rare mid-trial ruling to dismiss all charges against Liaw, informing the seated jury that after a full review of the prosecution’s evidence, a legal finding of acquittal was required. “Having considered all of the evidence in the prosecution case I’ve decided as a matter of law that Ms Liaw should be acquitted of the charge against her,” Cahill told the jury. A formal not guilty verdict was immediately recorded, after which Liaw left the courtroom accompanied by her legal team.

Chong’s trial remains ongoing, with his defense barrister Diana Price confirming that her client will not testify in his own defense nor call any witness evidence to support his case. Jurors are set to receive closing arguments from both prosecutor Shaun Ginsbourg SC and Price in the coming days.

At the opening of the trial, Ginsbourg laid out the prosecution’s case against Chong, outlining allegations that the defendant intentionally held the 61-year-old woman as a slave and assaulted her on three separate occasions. According to the prosecution’s account, the victim was forced to carry out unpaid domestic work for the couple, and was denied basic living comforts: she was made to sleep on a staircase or in the couple’s garage, had access to food and rest restricted if her work did not meet Chong’s standards, and endured repeated physical abuse. Chong maintained complete control over every aspect of the victim’s life, from her ability to leave the property to access to medical care, acting as though he owned her, Ginsbourg alleged. On one occasion, Chong reportedly told the victim she could only leave if she paid him $1 million, otherwise she would be forced to remain in the home. The victim ultimately escaped in October 2022, and has since died of causes unrelated to the alleged abuse, court documents confirm.

For the defense, Price pushed back against the prosecution’s narrative, acknowledging the victim did live with Chong and assisted the household with domestic work and financial contributions, but denying all claims of assault and enslavement. Price argued that the victim may have had motive to exaggerate or fabricate her claims to police, and contended that even if the court found the victim was treated poorly, that treatment does not legally meet the definition of slavery. The trial is expected to conclude in the coming days as the jury prepares to deliberate on a verdict for Chong.

6 5 月, 2026
US court releases purported Epstein suicide note

Years after the controversial death of disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a long-sealed document allegedly written by Epstein has been made public, reigniting long-simmering questions about the circumstances of his 2019 jailhouse death. On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth Karas for the Southern District of New York ordered the release of the handwritten note, which has remained sealed since 2019 as part of unrelated criminal proceedings against Epstein’s former jail cellmate.

According to accounts from the cellmate, he discovered the note tucked inside a graphic novel after Epstein survived an attempted suicide in late July 2019, roughly three weeks before Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell. The note, scrawled on standard lined paper, pushes back against the federal investigation that ultimately brought sex trafficking charges against Epstein. “They investigated me for months — Found NOTHING!!!” the text reads. It goes on to frame death as a personal choice: “It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye.” The note ends with a defiant closing: “Watcha want me to do — Bust out cryin!! No fun — NOT WORTH IT!!”

The release of the document followed a public records request from The New York Times, but critical context remains unresolved: law enforcement officials have never formally authenticated the note as Epstein’s actual writing.

Epstein’s August 2019 death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging, but the official narrative has faced widespread skepticism from the public and independent observers for years. Multiple systemic security failures at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where Epstein was being held, coupled with the unexplained disappearance of critical CCTV footage from the cell block, have fueled persistent conspiracy theories about whether his death was actually a homicide or an assisted suicide.

The release of the purported note is the latest development in a years-long saga that has disrupted political and social circles on both sides of the Atlantic. In recent months, a wave of unsealed court documents related to the Epstein investigation has linked dozens of high-profile politicians, celebrities, and business leaders to Epstein’s sex trafficking network, keeping the case at the center of public discourse years after his death.

6 5 月, 2026
Vigils to be held across Australia for murdered 5-year-old girl

Across Australia, communities are preparing to gather Thursday for coordinated candlelit vigils to remember Kumanjayi Little Baby, a 5-year-old non-verbal Indigenous girl whose alleged murder last month has sparked national grief and fiery unrest in the central Australian outback town of Alice Springs.

A warning is issued at the outset for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: this report references a deceased individual, with images used with full family consent in line with Indigenous cultural protocols. For many First Nations communities across Australia, sharing the name, image or voice of a person who has passed away without explicit family permission violates traditional mourning customs, a rule that has been respected in this coverage.

Kumanjayi Little Baby went missing from Old Timers Camp, a government-designated Aboriginal transient camp on the outskirts of Alice Springs, in the late hours of April 25. She was last seen when she was put to bed shortly before midnight, and raised the alarm when she was discovered gone several hours later. Authorities launched a large-scale multi-agency search for the young girl, and her remains were found just five days after her disappearance, on April 30, roughly three kilometers from the camp.

Hours after the discovery of her body, 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis was taken into custody. Lewis had been assaulted by community members in the immediate aftermath of the news, and was transferred to an Alice Springs hospital for medical treatment following his arrest. The arrest triggered a violent riot outside the hospital facility, where crowds of angry and grieving community members gathered. Police ultimately arrested five people in connection with the riot, but Kumanjayi Little Baby’s family moved quickly to call for calm amid the unrest.

In a public statement, senior Warlpiri elder and family member Robin Granites urged the public to let the formal justice process proceed, and asked for respect for the family as they carry out “sorry business” — the traditional period of collective mourning observed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

In a development that underscores growing scrutiny of systemic failures surrounding the case, three child protection workers have been formally stood down as of Wednesday amid an ongoing investigation into the circumstances that led to Kumanjayi Little Baby’s disappearance and death.

Organizers have opened the Thursday vigils to all members of the public, and the girl’s family has asked attendees to wear pink — Kumanjayi Little Baby’s favorite color, as a small tribute to her short life. The main vigil in Alice Springs will kick off at 5:30 pm local time at Anzac Sports Oval, designed to create a safe, supportive space for people to process shared grief and stand with the girl’s family, Alice Springs Mayor Asta Hill explained in a social media announcement.

The tribute will not be limited to central Australia: vigils are also scheduled in every Australian state and territory capital, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Hobart, with additional gatherings planned in dozens of smaller regional towns across the country. The coordinated national events come as the tragedy has reignited national conversation about child safety, systemic support for remote Indigenous communities, and ongoing gaps in social services that have left many First Nations children vulnerable.

6 5 月, 2026
Mark Ludbrook: Wheelchair-bound killer jailed for 19 years for murder of Autumn Baker

A shocking case of drug-fueled violence has concluded in an Australian court, with a 54-year-old disabled man handed a 19-year prison term for the murder of his friend, triggered by a little-known emerging synthetic drug. The Victorian Supreme Court handed down the sentence to Mark Graham Ludbrook on Thursday morning, nearly 18 months after the fatal stabbing of 40-year-old Autumn Baker at Ludbrook’s home in Point Cook, southwest Melbourne, on August 3, 2023.

Ludbrook, who relies on a wheelchair due to transverse myelitis, a rare neurological disorder that causes chronic pain, had a long history of self-medicating with illegally obtained ketamine to manage his discomfort. On the day of the killing, he had exhausted his supply of ketamine, and turned to an alternative drug his dealer marketed as a ketamine equivalent: a new synthetic compound called PCE. Court documents confirm PCE first emerged as an illicit street drug in Australian communities in 2022, and little is publicly known about its short- and long-term effects on human behavior and cognition. On that day, Ludbrook consumed a double dose of PCE, which rapidly triggered extreme and erratic psychological changes.

Baker, a close friend of Ludbrook’s, had visited his home that afternoon to check on him after he had recently gone through a painful relationship breakup. What she encountered was unrecognizable from the man she knew: for the first time in years, Ludbrook was able to walk, but he was completely naked, muttering to himself and interacting with a daisy bush in his backyard. Earlier in the day, witnesses described his behavior as unnervingly manic: he carried money on his body, rambled about saving animals and people, and carried himself with the over-the-top energy of a game show host, completely out of touch with reality.

The situation quickly escalated from bizarre to tragic. After displaying erratic behavior for some time, Ludbrook grabbed a 13-centimeter serrated kitchen knife, retreated to his bedroom, and began stabbing himself in the abdomen. Baker and Ludbrook’s full-time carer, Amber Davidson, rushed in to stop him. When Davidson stepped out of the room to call Australia’s emergency line (triple-0), Ludbrook turned the weapon on Baker, killing her. Police later found Baker’s body in Ludbrook’s bedroom.

Ludbrook pleaded not guilty to murder at his February trial, arguing that the drug had completely stripped him of control over his actions, and that he could not be held criminally responsible for his behavior. Justice James Gorton, who presided over the case and sentencing, acknowledged in his ruling that the violent outburst was completely out of character for Ludbrook, and that his capacity to distinguish right from wrong was severely impaired by the PCE he ingested that morning. “Your bizarre and violent behaviour that day was unusual … and took place as a consequence of your ingestion of PCE,” Justice Gorton stated in court. Even so, the court imposed a 19-year prison term, with Ludbrook becoming eligible for parole after serving 14 years of his sentence. The case has drawn new attention to the risks of unregulated emerging synthetic drugs, which often carry unknown and extreme side effects for users and pose growing public safety risks across Australia.

6 5 月, 2026
Ben‑Gvir ‘dreams’ of nooses in TikTok video glorifying death penalty for Palestinians

Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has ignited fierce international condemnation after sharing a provocative TikTok video that leverages a popular viral trend to glorify the recent Knesset approval of capital punishment for Palestinian prisoners.

The clip, posted on May 4, adapts the viral “I know I should sleep, but the voices in my head go…” audio trend to feature a montage of AI-generated images of everyday objects shaped into gallows and execution nooses. In the caption of the post, written in Hebrew, Ben-Gvir wrote: “I dream of the death penalty for terrorists. What do you dream of?” The caption was paired with relevant hashtags and the trend’s official audio track.

This public glorification of execution is far from an isolated incident for the ultranationalist minister. Ben-Gvir has spent years aggressively campaigning to expand the death penalty to Palestinian detainees, a policy that secured final approval from Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, in a 62-48 vote across second and third readings on March 30. Just days before the TikTok post, Ben-Gvir faced widespread criticism for celebrating his 50th birthday with a multi-tiered birthday cake topped with a golden noose, emblazoned with the message “Congratulations Minister Ben-Gvir, sometimes dreams come true.” A smaller cake from his wife Ayala bore the same slogan, with photos from the event showing Ben-Gvir smiling alongside the controversial dessert.

Within hours of the TikTok going live, it drew intense backlash across global social media platforms, with users across X, Instagram and other platforms decrying the minister’s rhetoric as dangerous and dehumanizing. Many commentators labeled the video “sickening,” “morally rotten” and “sadistic,” warning it exposes the eliminationist core of the current Israeli government’s ideology toward Palestinians.

One post on X argued that the minister’s fixation on executing Palestinian detainees lays bare the “genocidal mindset of the Israeli occupation,” adding that Ben-Gvir is not a fringe outlier, but a representative of the current ruling majority — a reality that, the commenter noted, is already proven by the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Another Instagram user called the clip “unashamed evil,” while commentators have questioned the minister’s psychological state, with one comment bluntly labeling him a psychopath, and another comparing his ideology to Nazism.

Other critics framed the video against the backdrop of ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza and attempts by humanitarian aid flotillas to break Israel’s blockade of the enclave. One commentator flipped Ben-Gvir’s framing, arguing that the only criminals in the current context are not the starving Palestinian people, but the activists who bring food and aid to starving Gaza children, as labeled by Israeli officials.

Many social media users even raised the prospect of future international accountability for Ben-Gvir, with one comment noting: “When eventually Ben-Gvir is caught up on his war crimes and tried, don’t nobody tell me he shouldn’t get the noose.”

Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Knesset, also condemned the sequence of events, saying both Ben-Gvir and his wife “need a psychiatrist immediately.” Tibi pointed out that ordinary people celebrate birthdays with wishes for peace and prosperity, but Ben-Gvir’s circle instead “sanctify hatred and death.”

Human rights organizations have already labeled the newly passed death penalty law discriminatory and racist, warning that Ben-Gvir’s “dream” of widespread executions would formalize state-sanctioned killing of Palestinian prisoners, most of whom are already held in Israeli detention facilities under documented conditions of torture, inadequate medical care and severe food deprivation. According to Addameer, a Palestinian prisoners’ rights advocacy group, more than 9,600 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli custody as of 2024.

6 5 月, 2026
German tourist wins payout after losing sun lounger race

For millions of vacationers chasing sun and relaxation by the pool, the frustrating ritual of the ‘dawn dash’ for unreserved sun loungers is a familiar holiday headache. Now, that common travel grievance has resulted in a landmark legal ruling, after a German tourist secured a court-ordered refund of more than €980 (£850) over his ruined sunbathing access on a Greek island getaway.

The unnamed tourist traveled to the popular Aegean island of Kos with his wife and two children on a package holiday in 2024, paying a total of €7,186 (£6,211) for the trip. What should have been a relaxing family break quickly turned into a daily battle for poolside space, he told the court. Even when the family rose as early as 6 a.m. to claim a spot, all usable sun loungers were already blocked off by other guests who reserved them with towels, leaving the tourist to spend 20 minutes every day hunting for free space. His children were even forced to lie on the hard ground when no loungers could be found, he added.

Frustrated by the unaddressed issue, the tourist launched a legal case against his tour operator, arguing the company failed to uphold its obligations to guests. In his claim, he emphasized that the resort already had an official ban on towel-based sunbed reservations, but the tour operator did nothing to enforce the rule or intervene to stop guests from misappropriating loungers.

After hearing the case, judges at the Hanover District Court ruled in the tourist’s favor, finding the package holiday experience was legally ‘defective’ and the family was owed a larger compensation payout. The tour operator had already issued a partial refund of €350 (£302) before the trial, but the court ordered an additional payout, bringing the total refund to €986.70 (£852.89).

In their ruling, the judges acknowledged that the travel company did not directly manage the hotel’s facilities and could not guarantee every guest access to a sunbed at any time of day. Even so, they confirmed the operator had a clear contractual obligation to ensure a reasonable organizational system was in place to maintain a fair ratio of sunbeds to registered guests, a requirement the company failed to meet.

The ‘sunbed wars’ phenomenon is far from an isolated issue at Mediterranean resorts, with thousands of tourists sharing their frustrations about the practice every year. In 2023, viral social media videos showed extreme measures taken by holidaymakers in Tenerife, where some guests slept overnight on sun loungers to hold onto their poolside spots for the following day.

Faced with widespread frustration over the issue, travel and hospitality operators have trialed different solutions to curb unauthorized reservations. Major tour operator Thomas Cook, for example, now offers guests the option to pre-book poolside sun loungers for an extra fee to eliminate informal last-minute scrambling. In some regions of Spain, local authorities have introduced strict penalties, threatening tourists with fines of up to €250 if they reserve a lounger with a towel then leave the spot unused for hours at a time.

6 5 月, 2026
Israeli court rejects flotilla activists’ appeal challenging detention

In a decision that has drawn sharp condemnation from human rights groups and global authorities, an Israeli district court rejected an appeal Wednesday challenging the continued detention of two foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a humanitarian flotilla heading to blockaded Gaza.

The two detainees — Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian descent, and Thiago Avila, a Brazilian citizen — were among more than 30 activists traveling on an international flotilla that was intercepted last week in international waters off the coast of Greece. While all other activists on board were diverted to the Greek island of Crete and released shortly after the interception, Israeli commandos seized Abu Keshek and Avila, transferring them to Israeli territory for interrogation.

Earlier this week, a lower Israeli court granted authorities an extension of the pair’s detention through Sunday to allow additional questioning. Defense lawyers immediately appealed that ruling to the Beersheva District Court, but the court on Wednesday ruled in full favor of the prosecution, leaving the original detention extension in place. “Today, the district court of Beersheva denied our appeal and basically accepted all of the arguments that the state or the police have represented before the court, keeping the previous decision in place,” lead defense attorney Hadeel Abu Salih told reporters.

An AFP journalist present at the court hearing observed that the two activists, who launched a hunger strike shortly after their arrest, appeared in court with their ankles shackled. Abu Keshek, who has stopped consuming both food and water according to his legal team, appeared visibly exhausted throughout the proceeding, while Avila remained calm.

Abu Salih and the legal team have decried the entire detention as a violation of international law, arguing that the Israeli operation was carried out without any legitimate authority in international waters. “This was an illegal arrest that took place in international waters where the activists were kidnapped by the Israeli navy,” Abu Salih said, adding that the court ruling effectively gives Israeli forces “a free hand… to do it again and again.”

Adalah, the leading Israeli human rights organization representing the two activists, issued a statement calling Wednesday’s ruling “unlawful and unreasonable.” The group emphasized that the flotilla vessel sailed under an Italian flag, placing all people on board under exclusive Italian jurisdiction, making the Israeli abduction a violation of maritime law. Adalah also leveled allegations of mistreatment in detention, saying that Avila has been held in a consistently cold cell, and that both men are subjected to extended interrogations lasting most of the day about the flotilla and its organizers.

Israeli authorities have denied all claims of abuse, but have not yet filed any formal criminal charges against the pair. Israeli officials have stated the pair face accusations of “assisting the enemy during wartime” and “membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization.” Israeli authorities link the two activists to the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), an organization that the United States has accused of secretly operating on behalf of Hamas, the de facto governing authority of Gaza.

The detention has already sparked international pushback: the governments of Spain and Brazil, as well as the United Nations, have publicly called for the immediate and unconditional release of the two men. “It is not a crime to show solidarity and attempt to bring humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in Gaza, who are in dire need of it,” UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan said in an official statement.

The flotilla, which departed from ports in France, Spain and Italy, was organized with the explicit goal of challenging Israel’s 16-year blockade of the Gaza Strip and delivering badly needed humanitarian supplies to the territory, which has been devastated by months of ongoing military conflict. Israel has enforced a complete land, air and sea blockade of Gaza since 2007, controlling all access points into the enclave and severely restricting the flow of food, medicine, fuel and other essential goods.

6 5 月, 2026
Protests as Venice Biennale opens in turmoil over Russian presence

The 2024 Venice Biennale, one of the world’s most prestigious and longest-running contemporary art events, kicked off its press preview period this week mired in geopolitical controversy, sparked by the controversial inclusion of Russia in the festival for the first time since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. What was meant to be a global celebration of artistic vision has instead become a flashpoint for international tensions, drawing mass protests, institutional resignations, funding threats, and boycott calls that have thrown the entire event into turmoil.

The most high-profile demonstration took place outside the Russian pavilion on Wednesday, when bare-breasted activists from two iconic protest groups—Ukrainian feminist collective Femen and Russian opposition punk band Pussy Riot—took united action against Russia’s participation. Dressed in matching pink balaclavas, the activists set off pink smoke bombs to draw attention to their cause, as they denounced the presence of a Russian national pavilion amid the ongoing full-scale war.

“We are here to remind that the only Russian culture, the only Russian art today is blood,” Femen leader Inna Shevchenko told assembled reporters. “This pavilion stands on Ukrainian mass graves.” This marked the first time the two groups have collaborated on a public protest, a sign of the widespread anger the decision has sparked across both Ukrainian and anti-war Russian circles.

The controversy over Russia’s inclusion has rippled across the entire event, triggering cascading consequences that have forced major changes to the 2024 Biennale’s structure. Last week, the entire international jury resigned in protest, announcing they would refuse to award prizes to nations led by officials facing arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court—a designation that covers both Russia and Israel. In response to the unrest, organizers have postponed the Biennale’s traditional opening awards ceremony from May 9, the festival’s first public day, all the way to November 22, the final day of the six-month run. Organizers have instead restructured awards to allow public voting, extending eligibility to all national participants including Russia, a move they framed as upholding “the principle of inclusion and equal treatment.”

The decision to allow Russia’s participation this year came despite the fact that Russia was not extended an official invitation, and despite widespread opposition from European and Italian political leaders. The European Union has threatened to cut 2 million euros ($2.3 million) in core grant funding for the Biennale over the decision, arguing that European taxpayer money should not support events that include Russian participation amid the ongoing war. A European Commission spokesman emphasized that cultural events backed by the bloc must uphold democratic values, freedom of expression, and inclusive dialogue—values the bloc says are not respected in modern Russia. The EU has also requested formal clarification from the Italian government over whether hosting the Russian delegation violates existing European sanctions against Moscow.

Italy’s national government has also openly opposed Russia’s inclusion, with Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli confirming he will boycott the event entirely in protest of the decision.

In a compromise reached amid escalating pressure, the Russian pavilion will not be open to the general public for the entire run of the Biennale, which is open to visitors from May 9 through November 22. Instead of in-person public exhibits or live performances, the Russian pavilion’s show, titled “the tree is rooted in the sky,” will only be recorded during this week’s press previews, with footage later projected on large outdoor screens for public viewing. Russia’s ambassador to Italy, Aleksei Paramonov, confirmed that restrictions tied to European sanctions bar any live public performances by Russian artists beyond the press preview period, and condemned the restrictions as unreasonable.

“There is truly something painful and unreasonable about the European Union’s obsession with targeting Russian culture and art with sanctions and restrictions of all kinds,” Paramonov said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, who has repeatedly defended the decision to include Russia, argued that the festival has always served as a space for global dialogue even amid geopolitical division. “If the Biennale were to start selecting not works but affiliations, not visions but passports, it would cease to be what it has always been: the place where the world comes together, and all the more so when the world is torn apart,” Buttafuoco told reporters Wednesday.

Controversy is not limited to the Russian pavilion, however. Pro-Palestinian activists also staged a large demonstration outside the Israeli pavilion Wednesday, drawing roughly 100 participants who carried banners reading “No artwashing genocide” amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza. Just as with Russia, the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a key reason the Biennale jury resigned last week. Iran, which was originally scheduled to participate in the 2024 Biennale, withdrew entirely after Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in late February.

This year’s controversy marks a sharp shift from the 2022 Venice Biennale, held shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At that event, Russian artists and curators voluntarily withdrew from the pavilion in protest of the war, and Biennale organizers banned all Russian government officials from attending the event.

6 5 月, 2026
Hantavirus ship passenger: ‘They didn’t take it seriously enough’

A deadly hantavirus outbreak on a polar expedition cruise ship has sparked sharp criticism from a passenger who says crew leadership downplayed the risk of infection and allowed normal operations to continue even after the first death was recorded.

Turkish travel vlogger Ruhi Cenet, 35, joined the 88-passenger MV Hondius in Ushuaia, Argentina on April 1 to document a stop at Tristan da Cunha, the remote South Atlantic archipelago. The voyage began as a comfortable, idyllic journey: the ship carried 59 crew members to cater to guests, most of whom were senior amateur birdwatchers aged 60 and older. The calm routine shattered on the morning of April 12, when the captain announced over the ship’s intercom that a 70-year-old Dutch passenger had died the previous day.

In video footage Cenet recorded on board, the captain told passengers that the ship’s doctor had confirmed there was no risk of infection, and attributed the death to natural causes. At the time, leadership did not even consider that a highly contagious pathogen could be spreading through the vessel – a decision Cenet calls deeply reckless, even as the ship’s own British doctor would later develop severe symptoms consistent with hantavirus infection.

“What shocked me most was that life went on completely as usual after the announcement,” Cenet told AFP in a remote interview. Videos he shared show elderly passengers continuing to gather for buffet meals with no social distancing or face coverings. Out of an abundance of caution, Cenet and his cameraman began self-isolating in their cabin immediately, despite having no confirmed information about a virus outbreak.

Three people on the MV Hondius have now died from the virus: the initial Dutch victim, his wife, and a German female passenger. The World Health Organization has confirmed that at least five additional passengers have definite or probable cases of hantavirus, a rare zoonotic disease that causes severe respiratory illness and can be fatal in untreated cases.

Cenet says he remains deeply troubled by the ship’s scheduled stop at Tristan da Cunha days after the first death, when all passengers were allowed to disembark and interact with the island’s small local population. “It’s the most remote inhabited island on Earth, with almost no hospital infrastructure and barely any doctors,” he explained. “That’s my biggest regret – we shouldn’t have landed there after the first fatality. It could have turned into a worst-case scenario for the islanders.”

Cenet and around 20 other passengers disembarked at the British overseas territory of Saint Helena on April 24. The next day, he boarded a repatriation flight to South Africa – alongside the first victim’s wife, who was already showing severe symptoms. She died less than 24 hours after boarding the flight. After clearing processing in South Africa, Cenet returned to his home in Istanbul, where Turkish health authorities told he did not need mandatory quarantine as long as he showed no symptoms. He has continued voluntary self-isolation out of caution.

The MV Hondius spent weeks quarantined in waters off Cape Verde, and on Wednesday departed for Spain’s Canary Islands. An acquaintance still on board told Cenet that passengers are now required to isolate in their cabins and wear face coverings when in shared spaces. Looking back, Cenet argues that expedition cruise lines operating in remote regions lack basic emergency infrastructure to handle disease outbreaks. Passengers paid roughly $10,000 each for the voyage, he noted, and the ship relied on just one physician to handle all medical needs.

“I think these kinds of ships should have on-site labs and all the necessary emergency equipment to handle outbreaks when you’re thousands of miles from the nearest major hospital,” Cenet said. “One doctor simply isn’t enough.”

6 5 月, 2026