Myanmar’s newly installed president, Min Aung Hlaing, approved a broad amnesty on April 17, 2026, ordering the release or sentence reductions for 4,335 prisoners and the deportation of 179 foreign nationals, state media reported. The decree commuted all death sentences to life terms, cut life sentences to 40 years and reduced shorter terms by one-sixth. Among those pardoned was former president Win Myint, who had been jailed since the 2021 coup; Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi had her 27-year sentence reduced by one-sixth but remained in detention with her precise status unclear. The move comes a week after Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as president following a junta-organised election widely criticised as neither free nor fair. Rights groups say the bulk of political detainees remain behind bars: more than 30,000 people have been detained on political charges since the coup, and think tanks estimate only a small share of amnesty releases have been political prisoners. The announcement was framed by the junta as a reconciliation step timed to the Thingyan New Year holiday, and families gathered outside prisons hoping loved ones would be among those freed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on May 9 he believed the war in Ukraine was "coming to an end" after presiding over a markedly scaled-down Victory Day parade in Moscow. The Red Square event — stripped of tanks and heavy hardware for the first time in nearly two decades and shortened amid heightened security — coincided with a U.S.-brokered three-day ceasefire from May 9-11 that President Donald Trump helped publicise. Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of violations during the pause, though both sides confirmed an agreed swap of 1,000 prisoners each. Putin said he would be willing to sign a final peace deal with Ukraine only after terms were settled and suggested he could negotiate new European security arrangements — naming former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as a preferred interlocutor. The parade featured foreign contingents from close allies, including North Korean troops; mobile internet restrictions and other security measures were imposed across Moscow. Analysts and Western officials have voiced scepticism about how durable any pause or Putin's overtures might be given ongoing strikes, frontline clashes and strained diplomacy.

Between May 8-11, Tehran formally sent a response to a U.S. memorandum aimed at ending more than two months of fighting, delivering it to mediators in Pakistan, while Washington said the offer was “totally unacceptable.” Iran’s reply, reported by state and semi-official outlets, called for an immediate end to hostilities, lifting of sanctions and guarantees over control of the Strait of Hormuz; U.S. officials say their proposal would first restore free transit and curb Iran’s nuclear enrichment. The exchange came amid renewed clashes in and around the strait, drone incidents over Gulf states and a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. A Qatari LNG tanker, Al Kharaitiyat, made a rare transit through the strait on May 9 under arrangements involving Qatar, Pakistan and Iran, offering limited relief to Pakistan’s gas shortage. Markets reacted: Brent crude jumped above $104 a barrel and U.S. crude near $98 on signs diplomacy was faltering. U.S. sanctions were also widened this week, and Britain and France are preparing a possible maritime security effort to protect shipping once hostilities ease.

C. Joseph Vijay was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on May 10, 2026, at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, marking the first time a party outside the DMK-AIADMK duopoly has led the state since 1967. His Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single-largest party with 108 seats and secured a working majority through support from the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), VCK and IUML. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar administered the oath; nine ministers were appointed including N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna and KA Sengottaiyan. Vijay immediately approved 200 units of free electricity for domestic consumers and set up task forces on women’s safety and drugs, and pledged to publish a white paper on the state’s finances amid his claim of heavy debts. The swearing-in drew political leaders and film personalities, with large public celebrations; assembly oath-taking of MLAs followed on May 11. The new government faces an early floor test and scrutiny over coalition durability and fiscal plans.

Philippine lawmakers on May 11 voted overwhelmingly to impeach Vice‑President Sara Duterte, sending charges to the Senate and setting up a trial that could end her bid for the 2028 presidency. The House backed the complaint by 257 members, surpassing the one‑third threshold required to transmit the case. The impeachment complaints allege misuse of public funds, accumulation of unexplained wealth, bribery and public threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and a former House speaker — accusations Duterte denies. If the Senate convicts her by the required two‑thirds majority of its 24 members, she would be removed from office and barred from holding public office. The process follows a 2025 impeachment that was voided by the Supreme Court on a technicality; protesters gathered outside Congress on Monday. The move comes amid a bitter political rift between Duterte and Marcos, and after a shift in Senate leadership that installed Alan Peter Cayetano — a known Duterte ally — as Senate president, who would preside if the trial proceeds. The proceedings add to scrutiny of the influential Duterte political dynasty while her father remains at the International Criminal Court.

President Donald Trump on May 10-11 dismissed Iran’s response to a U.S. peace proposal as “totally unacceptable,” deepening a diplomatic deadlock that has kept the Strait of Hormuz largely closed and pushed global oil prices sharply higher. Tehran sent its reply via Pakistani mediators, demanding an immediate end to fighting on all fronts, lifting of U.S. sanctions and the naval blockade, compensation for war damage, recognition of Iranian control over the strait and release of frozen assets. Within hours Trump posted his rejection on social media. The stalemate and continued disruptions to shipping pushed Brent above $104-$105 a barrel and U.S. crude near $99-$100, with traders citing a rising geopolitical risk premium and tankers transiting with trackers switched off. The 10-week conflict, which began Feb. 28, has already paralyzed much traffic through Hormuz — a chokepoint that normally handles about one-fifth of the world’s oil and LNG — and has prompted limited allied moves such as a planned UK security deployment. Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, with hopes he will press Beijing to influence Tehran.