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On May 17, British Columbia health officials reported on May 16 that a passenger from the cruise ship *Hundius*, who was quarantined in the province, tested positive for hantavirus in a preliminary test. British Columbia's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Bonnie Henry, said the patient developed mild symptoms such as fever and headache two days prior and was subsequently hospitalized. Her preliminary hantavirus test on May 15 was positive. The patient is currently in isolation, and her test results still require confirmation by a microbiology laboratory. Her partner tested negative. Currently, 10 Canadian citizens are under quarantine due to the *Hundius* outbreak; four are in British Columbia for a 21-day quarantine, and the other six are in Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec.

According to Israeli media reports, the massive explosion near Beit Shemesh, Israel, was a controlled industrial blast, with no casualties or property damage.

May 17th - According to a report in the British newspaper *The Sun* on Saturday evening, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Reeves plans to announce next week that she will postpone the planned fuel tax increase originally scheduled for September. The temporary fuel tax reduction measure, which began in 2022, was originally scheduled to expire this September. If the measure expires, fuel prices will rise by 5 pence (approximately 6.6 US cents) per liter. However, the British government has previously extended this tax reduction measure several times, most recently in the annual budget last November. *The Sun* reports that Reeves is preparing to extend the measure again.

On May 17, US President Trump posted an AI-generated image on social media. In the image, Trump and a general are standing on a warship, while small boats and ships flying the Iranian flag are nearby. The caption reads, "This is the calm before the storm."

Dutch Prime Minister: ASML (ASML.O) and Tata Electronics have also jointly signed a statement, which is an important step toward closer cooperation in the semiconductor field.

On May 17, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the Israeli military stated that a soldier was killed in combat operations in southern Lebanon. This soldier's death brings the total number of soldiers killed since the resumption of fighting with Hezbollah in early March to 21.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf: The world is standing at the beginning of a new order. The future belongs to the Global South.

Iran will reopen its stock market on Tuesday, May 17, according to a report by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Saturday, citing a senior official. The report stated that trading had been suspended due to conflicts with the United States and Israel. Hamid Yari, deputy supervisor of the Iranian Securities and Exchange Organization, said, "The suspension of stock market activities since the outbreak of the war was aimed at protecting shareholder assets, preventing panic trading, and creating a more transparent pricing environment." He added, "Now, with the reopening of the stock market, we will see all sectors of the capital market fully resume operation."

On May 17th, according to the Financial Times, two Federal Reserve officials nominated by US President Trump opposed allowing Jerome Powell to serve as interim chairman of the Fed "without time limit." This highlights the escalating political divisions within the central bank amid continued attacks from the White House. Powell's second term as Fed chairman ended on Friday. He was appointed interim chairman to assume the duties until his official successor, Warsh, takes office. Milan and Bowman, nominated by Trump to the Fed's board of governors, stated in a joint statement that they supported Powell's temporary appointment as interim chairman, but "could not support this action" because the arrangement was "without time limit." Milan voted against it, while Bowman abstained. Milan and Bowman stated that Powell's interim chairmanship "should be limited to a clearly defined and finite timeframe, at least one week," but they "can support a maximum period of one month."

On May 17, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) convened an emergency regional coordination meeting on May 16, local time, to discuss and deploy a new round of Ebola prevention and control efforts with relevant personnel from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, South Sudan, the World Health Organization, and the African Medical Association. The meeting focused on current priorities, including cross-border surveillance and early warning management, infection prevention and control, case management, close contact management, logistical support, and resource mobilization.

On May 17, US President Trump warned Iran that it would face a "very bad situation" if a peace agreement was not reached soon. In a telephone interview with French broadcaster BFMTV, Trump said, "They are interested in reaching an agreement." Iranian Foreign Minister Araqchi said on Friday that the Iranian government had received a message from the Trump administration indicating its willingness to engage in new negotiations, but he also warned that "distrust" of Washington's true intentions remained.

The Israeli military says it attacked 100 targets in southern Lebanon in two days.

Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company, stated that the incident posed no risk to people, facilities, or communities.

Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company, reported that the Olmeca refinery operated normally during maintenance.

On May 17th, CNN reported that multiple sources familiar with the matter revealed that U.S. officials suspect Iranian hackers may be behind a series of intrusions into fuel storage monitoring systems at gas stations in multiple states. Sources stated that the hackers exploited security vulnerabilities in the Automated Tank Measurement (ATG) systems, which are directly connected to the internet and lack password protection. This allowed hackers to gain access and, in some cases, even tamper with the data displayed on the tanks, without altering the actual fuel levels inside. There is currently no indication that these cyber intrusions caused any physical damage or personal injury. However, private security experts and U.S. officials have stated that these incidents have raised security concerns because, theoretically, gaining access to the ATG system could prevent fuel leaks from being detected in a timely manner.

According to local media reports, a fire broke out at the Olmeca oil refinery in Mexico early Saturday morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a Russian drone attacked a UN vehicle in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Thursday, accusing Moscow of a deliberate attack.

On May 17th, the Trump administration allowed a sanctions waiver that encouraged the sale of Russian crude oil to expire, despite concerns about tightening global oil supplies and rising fuel costs stemming from the Iran war. This expiration effectively ended the Trump administration's brief easing of sanctions on Russian oil. During this period, previously prohibited oil purchases were permitted. The Trump administration first issued waivers in March of this year, and then renewed them after the initial waivers expired in April. However, both waivers only applied to a portion of Russian crude oil already loaded onto tankers. These waivers have been highly controversial, particularly among the US's European allies. Europe argues that sanctions are a crucial means of cutting off Russian oil revenues and weakening Moscow's ability to finance the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, some countries, including India and Indonesia, have been lobbying the Trump administration to extend the sanctions waivers.

Israel Defense Forces: Initial reports indicate that alarms have been raised regarding enemy aircraft infiltration in the Shlomi and Hanita areas. Further details are under investigation.