A question is gaining traction in Canada: will there be a referendum on Alberta’s independence this coming October? For decades, such a vote was associated solely with the French-speaking province of Quebec; however, secessionist sentiment is now emerging from another part of the country. This is none other than the wealthiest province in Canada. In 2025, Alberta’s per-capita GDP was around 72,000 Canadian dollars (approximately 53,000 US dollars). The source of this prosperity lies underground: Alberta has abundant oil reserves. Furthermore, conservative ideology is a defining characteristic among the majority of its residents.

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Moulay Hassan bin Mohammed al-Alawite, Crown Prince of Morocco, is intensifying his training for the throne following the convalescence of King Mohammed VI, who underwent shoulder surgery in late 2024 and suffered from a lower back ailment earlier this year. The monarch has appointed his eldest son, who turned 23 on Friday, to one of the highest military posts in the North African country, while also encouraging the young man to represent him with increasing frequency at important official events.

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NATO countries most exposed to the Russian threat are watching with concern as the guarantor of Europe’s security pulls away. U.S. President Donald Trump’s disdain for America’s allies — most recently seen by his withdrawal of 5,000 troops from Germany — is setting off alarm bells in the countries along the Alliance’s eastern flank. They fear that the crisis in transatlantic ties could undermine the core principle of mutual defense and send a message of weakness that Moscow will be quick to exploit.

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Bobby Pulido, 52, is a Tejano music star and two-time Latin Grammy winner. His songs are a staple at quinceañera celebrations, especially in South Texas. Now he’s entered politics: as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, he’s one of the Democratic Party’s top contenders to win at the November midterm elections and wrest control of at least one chamber of Congress from the Republicans. This would allow them to block President Donald Trump’s policies or even impeach him. And it would serve as a springboard to the ultimate prize: winning the White House in 2028.

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As evening falls, an ordinary square in Beijing turns into a hive of activity. After dinner — which in China usually takes place around 6 p.m. — people head out to get some air, stroll a bit, and move around: a popular saying advises taking 100 steps after eating to live 99 years.

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After a 40-day voyage, and amid great international attention, the MV Hondius entered the port of Granadilla de Abona, on the Spanish island of Tenerife, at 6:00 a.m. this Sunday. On board the cruise ship were the 152 people who had endured an outbreak of the Andes variant of the hantavirus, the only known strain that can spread from human to human.

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As World Health Organization (WHO) negotiators left Geneva on May 1 without managing to finalize the key annex meant to activate the global pandemic treaty approved in 2025 — the mechanism designed to prevent a repeat of the inequities seen during COVID‑19 — a hantavirus outbreak was beginning to trigger international alarm. The next day, health authorities reported several confirmed and suspected cases aboard the Arctic cruise ship MV Hondius, which had departed from Argentina. The sequence — diplomatic failure one day and a health alert the next — underscores how the international community is still debating the rules for confronting the next pandemic while pathogens continue to spread without waiting for political consensus.

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Three years and four months after Alejandro Oro and Romina Simondi resigned from their well‑paid jobs as accounting experts in Argentina and moved to Spain to boost their son’s chess career, Faustino Oro has inscribed his name in a very special chapter of chess history. He has earned the grandmaster title — more demanding than a black belt in judo — at 12 years, six months, and 26 days. He is the second‑youngest of all time, surpassed only by the U.S. player of Indian descent Abhimanyu Mishra, who set the record by two months.

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Watching her travel the world to meet with leaders in Europe, with businesspeople in California, or give interviews on YouTube, many may conclude that María Corina Machado, 58, is a leader in limbo, trapped in a situation that prevents her from returning to Venezuela. There, the mission she set for herself still awaits: carrying through the task of removing the Chavista regime from power. According to that view, every day she spends abroad is a gain for the siblings Delcy and Jorge Rodríguez, Venezuelan president and speaker of the National Assembly, respectively, and for strongman Diosdado Cabello —and rising pressure from the millions of Venezuelans waiting for her. But that is not the impression she conveys in person.

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