May 13, 2026 - Daily News Digest
On this day in 1871, with the Law of Guarantees, the Italian government attempted to settle the question of its relationship with the pope, who had been deprived of his lands during the unification of Italy.
QotD: "I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social, referring to the CEO delegation.
US/CHINA/DIPLOMACY – Trump lands in China for Xi summit with Nvidia CEO in tow.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/nvidia-ceo-joins-trumps-mission-open-up-china-2026-05-13/
President Donald Trump and an entourage that included Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Elon Musk were greeted with a lavish welcome in Beijing on Wednesday as he prepared to ask China's Xi Jinping to "open up" to U.S. business at the start of their two-day summit.
Trump is seeking to snag some economic wins on the first visit by a U.S. president to China in nearly a decade and maintain a fragile trade truce to prop up public approval ratings bruised by his war with Iran.
He was welcomed by Chinese dignitaries, a tightly choreographed formation of military honor guard and dozens of Chinese students waving U.S. and Chinese flags as he disembarked Air Force One in the waning hours of twilight on Wednesday.
Pausing midway down the red carpet as the students chanted "welcome, welcome, warm welcome" in Mandarin, he punched the air and smiled broadly before departing in his limousine.
The CEOs accompanying Trump are drawn mainly from companies seeking to resolve business issues with China, such as Nvidia, which has struggled to get regulatory permission to sell its powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips there.
Trump asked Huang at the last minute to join the trip, said a source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity, and he was spotted boarding Air Force One during a refuelling stop in Alaska en route to Beijing.
"I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic," he said in a post on Truth Social, referring to the CEO delegation.
US/ECONOMY – US producer prices post biggest gain in four years in April.
https://www.reuters.com/business/us-producer-prices-post-biggest-gain-four-years-april-2026-05-13/
U.S. producer prices increased more than expected in April, posting their biggest gain since early 2022, the latest indication that inflation was accelerating amid the war with Iran.
The Producer Price Index for final demand surged 1.4% last month after an upwardly revised 0.7% advance in March, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday. Last month's increase was the largest since March 2022, and the rise was across goods and services.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI gaining 0.5% after a previously reported 0.5% increase in March.
Producer prices have risen strongly this year, partly driven by higher energy costs, as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict is straining global supply chains, causing shortages of a wide range of goods, including fertilizers, aluminum and consumer products.
In the 12 months through April, the PPI jumped 6.0%. That was the largest increase since December 2022 and followed a 4.3% rise in March. Part of the surge in the year-on-year PPI rate reflected last year's low readings dropping out of the calculation.
PHILIPPINES/SEC – Gunfire breaks out in Philippine Senate where authorities have tried to arrest a senator.
https://apnews.com/article/philippines-gunfire-senate-dela-rosa-icc-fdaeba231d80a51f191b06ce25057f40
A burst of gunfire rang out Wednesday night in the Philippine Senate, where authorities have tried to arrest a senator who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for a charge of crime against humanity, an Associated Press journalist and other witnesses said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what set off the gunfire or if there were injuries in the Senate chamber, where Sen. Ronald dela Rosa has stayed under the protection of allied senators as Philippine authorities tried to arrest him and possibly turn him over later to the ICC.
The ICC had no immediate comment on the events in Manila.
Senate President Alan Cayetano briefly appeared before journalists in the Senate and confirmed that he has been told by the building’s security that gunshots were fired, but he didn’t provide other details and hastily left.
“The emotions are high here,” Cayetano said. “This is the Senate of the Philippines and we are allegedly under attack.”
ISRAEL/GAZA/PALESTINE/MIL – Israel steps up attacks on Gaza since Iran truce, as military says Hamas rearming.
Israel has escalated its attacks in Gaza in the five weeks since halting its joint bombing with the U.S. in Iran, redirecting its fire back on the ruined Palestinian enclave where the military believes Hamas fighters are tightening their grip.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 120 Palestinians, including eight women and 13 children, were killed in Gaza since the Iran war was paused on April 8 - 20% more than in the five weeks prior when Israel was flying sorties over Iran.
Conflict monitor ACLED, which tracks Israeli attacks in Gaza, said in a monthly report for April that Israel had carried out 35% more attacks last month than in March.
The increase in Israeli strikes on Gaza is a further sign of stalled progress under U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to halt the war there and begin reconstruction.
"The war is still ongoing," said Lafi Al-Najjar, 36, a blind Palestinian, one of whose sons was killed on April 28 in an Israeli attack.
"It stopped in the announcement, but in reality and on the ground, the war has not stopped," said Najjar, whose family have been living in a tented camp in the ruins of Khan Younis, once Gaza's second-largest city.
The Israeli military did not immediately provide comment on the reasons for its stepped-up strikes in Gaza. But four Israeli defence officials have told Reuters that the military had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in recent weeks that Hamas has been tightening its grip, rebuilding its forces and making weapons.
MORE/WEST BANK – Israeli bulldozers raze about 50 Palestinian shops ahead of settlement-linked road project.
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestine-west-bank-demolition-6fff4be41268fabcf6fa279511c0373b
Israeli bulldozers tore down dozens of Palestinian shops on the edge of a town southeast of Jerusalem this week, clearing land ahead of a settlement-linked road project in the occupied West Bank.
Israel says the demolitions are needed to make way for a road serving Palestinian communities. But Palestinian officials say the road is part of a broader plan to keep Palestinian vehicles off a new highway being built to serve nearby Israeli settlements.
That project is part of a strategic section of the West Bank known as E1, which Israel is developing with the intention of preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“The shops that were demolished are where Israel is planning to build a new road that will divert all Palestinian traffic to that road so that they can close down the whole area of E1 for Palestinians,” said Hagit Ofran, director of the antisettlement group Peace Now.
Tuesday’s demolitions took place in the town of al-Eizariya, less than a week after some owners received notices to evacuate shops built without permits. Attorneys appealed, up to Israel’s Supreme Court, but the demolitions went ahead.
EU/AFGHANISTAN/MIGRANTION – EU invites Taliban members to discuss Afghan migrant returns.
https://www.dw.com/en/eu-invites-taliban-members-to-discuss-afghan-migrant-returns/a-77134268
The European Commission has invited representatives of the Taliban to Brussels for talks on deporting Afghan nationals who have been refused permission to stay in the European Union.
The invitation follows a preliminary meeting for "technical talks" that took place this January in Afghanistan, European Commission spokesman Markus Lammert said on Tuesday, classifying the planned Brussels discussions as a "follow-up."
He said the invitation to Brussels "does not by any means constitute a recognition" of the Taliban as the Afghan government.
The EU does not formally recognize the Taliban's leadership, after its sudden return to power amid the NATO withdrawal just over five years ago in early 2021.
Commission spokesman Lammert said that 20 EU members and Schengen countries originally requested the consultations last year.
The countries launching the petition complained that of Afghans issued return orders by EU countries in 2024, only 2% were actually sent back.
Lammert said most had either been convicted of crimes or been deemed a security threat, or both.
"We're speaking here about persons who pose a security threat. These are the persons that member states want to return," Lammert said.
A letter was sent on Tuesday morning seeking to set a date for talks, after cooperation between Commission officials and Sweden.
Sweden and Germany had been among the countries pushing for movement on the issue, in Germany's case after a high-profile knife attack by an Afghan national who had previously been ordered to leave the country featured heavily in the news in the closing weeks of the 2025 federal election cycle.
IRAN/UAE/ENERGY/LEAK – UAE-owned tanker leaks some fuel off Oman following Iranian strike.
A unit of state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said on Wednesday that one of its tankers struck by Iranian drones last week has leaked a small amount of fuel off the coast of Oman, underscoring the ecological risks stemming from the Iran war.
Tehran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has made navigating the vital shipping corridor a precarious task. Hundreds of vessels remain trapped in the Gulf.
"The ADNOC Logistics & Services vessel Barakah remains at anchor off the coast of Oman after being impacted by two Iranian drones on May 4," a company spokesperson said. "A small amount of what is understood to be bunker fuel was unfortunately released as a result of the incident."
The spokesperson did not say how much fuel was believed to have leaked.
RUS/UKR/MIL – Russia launches vast drone attack on Ukraine, killing three, officials say.
Russia unleashed a daytime drone attack on Ukraine on Wednesday, targeting critical infrastructure, killing at least three people in the west and prompting NATO-member Poland to scramble fighter jets, officials said.
Ukraine's HUR military intelligence said the drone assault was designed to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences, warning of subsequent missile strikes. It said the attack could be prolonged.
"Russia continues its strikes and is doing so brazenly – deliberately targeting our railway infrastructure and civilian sites in our cities," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app.
"It is important to repel every attack with resilience. It is important to support Ukraine and not remain silent about Russia's war."
It was the first such major attack after a short-lived U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia which ended on Monday.
Poland scrambled fighter jets as a preventative measure due to the Russian air strikes on Ukraine, the Polish army said.
At the start of the attack, Zelenskiy said that more than 100 Russian drones had entered Ukrainian airspace. But there was no data immediately available on the full scale of the strike.
RUS/MIL/TECH – Putin hails Russia’s test launch of a new ballistic missile.
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/13/g-s1-121801/russias-new-ballistic-missile
Russia on Tuesday test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile as part of efforts to modernize the country's nuclear forces, a launch hailed by President Vladimir Putin just days after his claim that the fighting in Ukraine is nearing an end.
Putin said that the nuclear-armed Sarmat missile would enter combat service at the end of the year. It was built to replace the aging Soviet-built Voyevoda.
"This is the most powerful missile in the world," Putin declared, adding that the combined power of the Sarmat's individually targeted warheads is more than four times higher than that of any Western counterpart.
The Russian leader has repeatedly brandished the nuclear sword after sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022 to try to deter the West from ramping up support for Ukraine.
After overseeing a military parade on Red Square on Saturday commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, which for the first time in nearly two decades didn't include heavy weapons, Putin declared the conflict in Ukraine is coming to an end.
NIGERIA/MIL/SEC – Nigeria airstrike kills 100 at market, Amnesty says.
https://www.dw.com/en/nigeria-airstrike-kills-100-at-market-amnesty-says/a-77135993
According to Amnesty International, at least 100 civilians have been killed in a Nigerian military airstrike on a crowded market in the country's northwest.
The rights group's Nigerian office said the attack hit Tumfa market in Zamfara State on Sunday and is calling for an immediate investigation.
"The authorities must investigate these deadly strikes, and put an end to reckless attacks on civilians," Amnesty said on social media.
The Red Cross also confirmed the strike.
A spokesman for Nigeria's military, Major General Michael Onoja, told the AFP news agency reports of civilian deaths in Zamfara were "not true."
In a separate statement to the Associated Press, the military said, there was "no verifiable evidence of civilian casualties as being suggested in the media has been established."
Dozens of injured people are being treated in nearby hospitals, and many of the dead are reported to be women and girls, according to community leaders in the area.
"Everybody, residents and bandits, goes to the market,"Garba Ibrahim Mashema said. "People are at the mercy of the bandits. There is nothing they can do."
A Red Cross official in the state, Ibrahim Bello Garba, told the Associated Press "multiple civilians" were killed.
Comments (1)
IMO Taiwan is a misdirection (See Sun Tsu writings) and the real target is North Manchuria inside of Russia.