The US Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to the post of head of the Federal Reserve System (FRS), who was personally nominated for this position by President Donald Trump. His candidacy was supported by 54 votes to 45, which became the smallest gap in voting for the approval of the head of the Central Bank in history, writes Bloomberg. The term of office of current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell expires this Friday, May 15. He will later retain his seat on the board of governors, CNN notes .

Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Georgia Levan Davitashvili, who resigned in 2025, became the general director of the Italian energy company Italiana Petroli after its transfer to the control of the Azerbaijani holding SOCAR. This is stated in the official press release of the company.

The cause of the derailment of an electric train in the Belgorod region on May 13 was a high-explosive bomb dropped by a Russian fighter. This was reported by MNS with reference to its own source. The information was confirmed to the Ashes Belgorod editorial office by a source in the region’s emergency services. According to MNS, an abnormal drop of a FAB-500 occurred during a combat mission of a Russian aircraft. A bomb fell on a railway track in the Yakovlevsky district.

US President Donald Trump said that Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him that Beijing will not supply weapons to Tehran. Trump said this in an interview with Fox News during a visit to China. “He said he would not supply weapons,” the American president said. According to Trump, Xi Jinping offered to help reach a deal with Iran and open the Strait of Hormuz: “If I can help in any way, I would like to help,” Trump quoted him as saying.

In today's summary: In the Konstantinovka direction, the Russian military is increasing the intensity of attacks in Konstantinovka and the surrounding area In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian reserves are accumulating in the Pokrovsko-Mirnograd agglomeration The weekly pace of territorial advancement of the RF Armed Forces decreased to 2 quarters.

Sniper with a Canadian CDX-40 SHDW rifle and a U.S.-made Nightforce scope at a tactical shooting tournament organized by the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Directorate of Combat Training, June 2025. Photo: Lazarev Tactical 2022 Telegram channel Доступно на русском Canadian intelligence officers held several meetings with executives at the Quebec-based firearms manufacturer Cadex Defence after it emerged that the Russian army had adopted the company’s rifles.

The Russian budget is approximately 20% dependent on oil and gas revenues. Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, which involves the United States, Israel, Iran and Tehran-backed factions in the region, oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have declined sharply. This led to an increase in world prices and demand for Russian oil. Bloomberg previously reported that Russia's oil tax revenues in April rose to a six-month maximum - 707 billion rubles.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán has summoned Russia’s ambassador over a Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Region. Hungarian outlet Telex reported the move, citing Prime Minister Péter Magyar at the first meeting of his new government on May 13. Evgeny Stanislavov is expected to appear before Orbán on May 14.

The former head of the Russian Environmental Operator (REO), Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Denis Butsaev is accused of multimillion-dollar theft during the “garbage reform.” According to Kommersant, the investigation intends to petition for his arrest in absentia. Fraud allegations against Butsayev became known earlier this week. According to Kommersant, a case was opened against him back in February.

Russian forces attacked Ukraine with a record number of drones from May 13 to May 14. According to statements from Ukraine’s Air Force , 753 attack drones of the Shahed, Gerbera, and Italmas types, as well as decoy drones, entered Ukrainian airspace between 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on May 13. Russian forces launched at least 675 more drones at Ukraine overnight into May 14. In total, at least 1,428 drones attacked the country over 24 hours.

In Havana on the evening of May 13, hundreds of people took to the streets due to power outages, which in some areas of the capital lasted 20–22 hours a day. Protesters blocked roads with burning garbage, banged pots and shouted: “Turn on the lights!” This is reported by Reuters, whose journalists saw protests in several areas of the city. According to the agency, this is the largest wave of protests in the Cuban capital during the current energy crisis.

The number of people held in Russian prisons and pretrial detention centers has fallen by about one-third since 2021, Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Director Arkady Gostev said in comments to the state-controlled news agency TASS. He cited “effort to recruit contract soldiers” as one reason, likely the first such acknowledgment by the penitentiary service. According to Gostev, Russia’s prison population has shrunk from 465,000 inmates at the end of 2021 to 282,000 now.

Italian visa centers in Russia VMS and AlmavivA announced that from May 12 they stopped accepting documents through intermediaries, reports the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). Applicants must now appear at visa centers in person. According to ATOR, the Italian side retained the opportunity to submit accreditation documents only for several companies, subject to booking a full tour with them (with a hotel, air tickets and insurance).

US President Donald Trump, who arrived in Beijing the day before at the head of the American delegation, met with Xi Jinping. As CNN reports with reference to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, the President of the People's Republic of China raised the topic of Taiwan during the negotiations and stated that “the Taiwan issue is the most important issue in Sino-American relations”: “If everything is handled properly, relations between the two countries will remain stable.

In some sectors, Washington is already beginning to lose its position as the region’s go-to partner. By the end of 2026, trade turnover between the Gulf countries and China is expected to exceed that with the United States and the European Union combined. Despite its role as the dominant currency for energy supply settlements, the dollar is facing increasing competition from Arab currencies and the yuan. And China is demonstrating readiness for increasingly deep cooperation. The U.S.