The Russian ruble has become the leader in strengthening against the dollar among world currencies in the current quarter.
Bank holding Goldman Sachs forecast gold prices to rise to $5,400 per troy ounce by the end of 2026. The main driver is the increasing demand from central banks, which turned out to be much higher than previous estimates.
Athens International Airport S.A. reported a failed first quarter of 2026: Greece’s largest airport is growing traffic but losing revenue due to massive discounts for airlines.
Despite outbreaks of hantavirus and norovirus on cruise ships, the global market for sea travel continues to grow. The Cruise Lines International Association forecasts that 38.3 million people will cruise in 2026 – up 4% from last year’s record of 37.2 million passengers.
The spread of smartphones and mobile Internet has become one of the reasons for the sharp decline in birth rates in many countries of the world. This is the conclusion reached by American researchers.
The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern.
While the world is buying up chips for artificial intelligence, Samsung Electronics is trying to avoid a crisis within the company. On Monday, management and the memory maker’s largest labor union will sit down at the bargaining table again, three days before a possible large-scale strike.
Malta will become the first country where the authorities will distribute OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus subscription free of charge to residents. All citizens of the country will have access to the service for a year, but after completing an AI course.
There are 22 films competing for the Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival. However, this year the festival is held without the main usual element – big Hollywood studio blockbusters.
Travel is increasingly shifting from geography to emotion. The main question travelers are asking themselves in 2026 is not the destination, but the meaning of the trip. This is according to a new global report on travel trends by Hilton, based on a survey of more than 14,000 travelers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and other countries.
Spanish national police, with the support of Italian law enforcers and Europol, detained in Naples 12 people suspected of a series of audacious robberies of tourists in Spain. The criminals targeted expensive watches.
Starbucks is betting on India while continuing its austerity drive. The coffee giant will open its first technology office in the country. The company wants to bring some of its IT development under its own control and refuse the services of external contractors.
Finland remains the undisputed favorite of the contest. According to the estimates of major bookmakers, its probability of victory is around 40-45%, and in some aggregators it reaches about 42%. In practice, this means that almost every second betting scenario now assigns the victory to Finland.
New York City’s rail service has been paralyzed as about 3,500 Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) employees went on strike after negotiations over pay raises failed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree simplifying the acquisition of Russian citizenship for residents of Transnistria. The document was published on the official legal information portal of the Russian Federation.
Retail turnover in Ukraine in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 11.2% compared to the same period of 2025. In March, the growth accelerated to 12.8 percent in annual terms, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine said.
Global wine consumption in 2025 has fallen to its lowest level since 1957.
This question has been worrying investors since the events of February. After several years of rapid growth, Dubai’s real estate market has begun to slow down. Homeowners are increasingly going for discounts, and sales are sagging, especially in the segment of properties under construction.
China has become the largest supplier of cars to Moldova, taking 18% of the import market in 2025. This was reported by IDIS Viitorul expert Veaceslav Ionita.
South Korean Samsung Electronics is facing the threat of a large-scale strike: up to 50 thousand workers may stop working as early as May 21.
