World
Who could lead Ukraine if Zelenskyy resigns?
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s future as president of Ukraine was cast into doubt by longtime supporter Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, and others after the embattled leader got into a nationally televised spat with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office Friday.
Graham’s call wasn’t the first time key Republicans have suggested Zelenskyy might need to step down, or at least stand for re-election. Trump pushed the idea earlier this month following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump first said Ukraine should hold elections after falsely claiming he only enjoyed a 4% approval rating, though under Ukraine’s constitution the country cannot hold elections when Martial Law is in effect during a time of war.
President Donald Trump, right, meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office at the White House, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mystyslav Chernov)
WORLD LEADERS BACK ZELENSKYY FOLLOWING TRUMP, VANCE OVAL OFFICE SPAT
Zelenskyy, whose approval rating is closer to 63% according to a Reuters report, on Friday once again reiterated he would resign if Kyiv was granted NATO membership.
Ultimately, he emphasized during an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, that just like in the U.S. where “Americans vote for American president,” just as “each European country vote for their president,” the same sovereign right is held in Ukraine – suggesting it is not a negotiating tactic he will allow Trump to use to appeal to Putin.
But who may be in the running should Zelenskyy ever decide to step down?
Vitali Klitschko
Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko at the site of a missile hitting a high-rise residential building on June 24, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Oleksandr Gusev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
The former boxer-turned politician who has served as the mayor of Kyiv since 2014 with strong support among those living in the capital city, has also proven himself on the international stage.
In a trip to Brussels earlier this month, Klitschko stressed the need to stand behind Zelenskyy as he fielded verbal attacks from the Trump administration while also trying to counter Putin’s war.
The voice of support for the Ukrainian leaders was particularly noticeable given his previous criticism of Zelenskyy.
During his trip last week, Klitschko reportedly emphasized that an election could “destroy the country from within” while it faces existential threats from the north and on its eastern flank.
ZELENSKYY SPEAKS OUT AFTER PUBLIC SPAT WITH TRUMP, VANCE, SAYS DUSTUP ‘BAD FOR BOTH SIDES’
Ruslan Stefanchuk
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk (L) shakes hands with Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Malyuk (R) during the ‘Ukraine. Year 2025’ forum on February 23, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Forum ‘Ukraine. Year 2025’ is dedicated to the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It discusses the most important issues of the country’s development. (Photo by Ivan Antypenko/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC UA:PBC/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Stefanchuk, the chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament, has also reportedly been floated as a potential future contender for the top role in Ukraine.
Though Stefanchuk is said to be a top ally of Zelenskyy, he has ardently rejected the recent international suggestions that Ukraine hold elections.
In a Facebook post earlier this month he argued that “If there is anyone who needs to be forced into real, free and fair elections, it is [Putin].”
He noted that Ukraine needs “bullets, not ballots,” according to a report by Newsweek.
Kyrylo Budanov
Chief of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov gives an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, Budanov, could be another who may be a contender for the top job in Kyiv given.
Budanov, who has not expressed a desire to seek high office according to a Newsweek report, happens to have an even higher trust rating than Zelenskyy among Ukrainians.
The military intelligence head earlier this month apparently voiced his confidence that Ukraine may finally be able to reach a peace deal after three years of war.
“I think it is going to happen. There are most of the components for it to happen,” Budanov reportedly said during a YouTube interview. “How long it will be, how effective it will be – [is] another question.”
General Valery Zaluzhny
Valery Zaluzhny, Former Commander-in-Chief-of-the-Armed-Forces-of-Ukraine. (@CinC_AFU)
The former Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Zaluzhny, and presently his country’s ambassador to the U.K. is seen as a popular and credible successor to Zelenskyy if the president were to step aside.
Zaluzhny and Zelenskyy have had their differences, resulting in the general being dismissed from his military post in 2024. Carnegie Politika blog recently reported that his popularity is strong, with 80% of Ukranians saying they trust him. The publication also noted that a hypothetical second-round runoff between the two resulted in a statistical tie.
Zaluzhny has not said if he would challenge Zelenskyy or if he was even interested in running for the president.
World
Stocks fall and oil prices gain after Trump warns the Iran ‘clock is ticking’
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks mostly retreated and oil prices jumped on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran that the “clock is ticking” as U.S.-Iran negotiations over a permanent end to the war stall.
U.S. futures fell and markets in Japan and South Korea pulled further back from their records. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1% to 60,815.95, a decline led by technology-related stocks. It reached all-time intraday high levels last week above 63,000.
The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond surged to as high as 2.8%, its highest level since the late 1990s, part of a shift toward higher yields as the Bank of Japan gradually raises interest rates and higher energy costs raise expectations of rising inflation. That’s up from around 2.55% just one week ago.
Seoul’s Kospi climbed 0.3% to 7,516.04 after trading lower earlier in the day. It crossed the 8,000 mark for the first time on Friday, supported by buying of technology shares driven by the boom in artificial intelligence, but later declined partly on profit-taking by investors.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4% to 25,596.68. The Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower to 4,131.53, after China reported weaker-than-expected retail data for April.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined 1.5% to 8,505.30.
Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 0.7%, while India’s Sensex fell 0.1%.
Oil prices rose after Trump warned Iran in a social media post that “the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them” following a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump has set deadlines for Iran and then backed off, so investors have remained cautious about the situation in the Strait of Hormuz and how it is impacting global energy flows, including oil and gas. The strait is still mostly closed, and the U.S. has also imposed its own sea blockade on Iranian ports since last month.
A drone strike over the weekend on a United Arab Emirates’ nuclear power plant added to worries over a potential escalation in the conflict.
Brent crude, the international standard, gained 0.7% to $110.02 per barrel. It was trading at roughly $70 a barrel in late February before the start of the Iran war. Benchmark U.S. crude was trading 0.8% higher to $106.31 per barrel.
“Re-escalation risks are increasing,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a research note. While there has also been a pick up on shipping activities over the past week around the strait, they said, “this can change quickly.”
The pair also noted that the oil market was reacting to the lack of tangible results on the Iran war after last week’s widely-watched summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, even as the White House said both the U.S. and China had agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open.
U.S. officials had hoped that Beijing could use its influence, given its economic ties with Iran, to help broker a peace agreement and reopen the strait. Trump said last week in an interview that Xi told him China “would like to be of help” in negotiating an end to the war. So far it’s been unclear how Beijing might do that.
The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury was at around 4.60%, up from 4.47% last Thursday and sharply higher than the nearly 4% level it was holding at before the Iran war.
On Friday, the benchmark S&P 500 dropped 1.2% from the record it set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1% and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 1.5%.
In other dealings early Monday, the U.S. dollar rose to 158.86 Japanese yen from 158.62 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1635, up from $1.1622.
World
Canada confirms hantavirus case linked to cruise ship outbreak that has killed three passengers
Hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship sparks concern as passengers return to US
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses the Hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, where three deaths occurred. Siegel explains that while human-to-human spread is rare, it’s not impossible. The segment highlights the return of passengers to the U.S. from locations like Tenerife and Praia, raising new public health concerns and emphasizing the need for containment.
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Canadian health officials on Sunday confirmed that one of four Canadians who returned from the MV Hondius cruise ship, the subject of an international Andes hantavirus outbreak, tested positive for hantavirus. Three people connected to the outbreak have died.
The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the positive test after British Columbia’s top public health officer previously described the case as a “presumptive positive.”
“One individual’s sample was confirmed positive for hantavirus,” the agency said in a statement.
Officials said additional testing will be conducted at a national laboratory. It was not immediately clear whether that testing was for confirmation, strain characterization or another purpose.
CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER DESCRIBES UNCERTAINTY AFTER 3 DEATHS AMID HANTAVIRUS PROBE
Experts say cruise outbreaks get more attention due to public reporting rules, but many travelers still plan to sail as booked. (Myloupe/Universal Images Group)
The development comes as global health officials continue monitoring the rare hantavirus outbreak tied to the MV Hondius, which has sickened multiple passengers.
As of May 13, the World Health Organization said 11 cases had been identified in connection with the cruise outbreak, including eight confirmed cases, two probable cases and one inconclusive case. Those figures included three deaths. The Associated Press later reported that the Canadian confirmation brought the number of people from the ship who had tested positive to 10.
Canadian health officials said four Canadians returned home from the MV Hondius, though only one has tested positive for the virus.
RARE HANTAVIRUS HUMAN-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION SUSPECTED ON LUXURY CRUISE SHIP WHERE 3 HAVE DIED
The rare Andes virus, which was linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak, is the only known hantavirus strain that has the capability to spread from person to person, usually through prolonged close contact. (Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu)
The confirmed patient and a traveling companion — identified as a Yukon couple in their 70s — returned from the cruise together. The companion later tested negative, officials said.
A third person in their 70s from Vancouver Island remains in isolation, along with a British Columbia resident in their 50s.
So far, no confirmed U.S. cases tied to the cruise ship have been reported, though WHO said as of May 13 that one U.S.-repatriated passenger had inconclusive laboratory results and was undergoing retesting.
HANTAVIRUS DEATHS ON CRUISE SHIP HIGHLIGHT DANGERS OF RODENT-BORNE DISEASE
Pictured is the MV Hondius, the cruise ship tied to a hantavirus outbreak after a stop in Argentina that left three passengers dead. (Europa Press Canarias via Getty Images)
Last week, however, health officials in Ontario County, New York, announced they were investigating a suspected locally acquired hantavirus case unrelated to the cruise ship.
The Ontario County Public Health Department said there was no risk to the general public. Officials also said the strain typically seen in the United States is not known to spread from person to person.
The outbreak linked to the MV Hondius began after the Dutch cruise ship, carrying 147 passengers and crew members, departed Argentina on April 1 for a South Atlantic voyage.
TRAPPED CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER SHARES UPDATE ON CLEANLINESS OF SHIP AMID DEADLY HANTAVIRUS OUTBREAK
The outbreak has prompted heightened precautions internationally, including in the Netherlands, where Radboud University Medical Center quarantined 12 staff members after officials said a hantavirus patient’s blood and urine were not handled under the strictest protocols recommended for the virus strain.
The outbreak has also sparked comparisons to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel previously told Fox News Digital there is “no comparison.”
He noted hantavirus is difficult to spread.
Passengers evacuated from the hantavirus-stricken Hondius cruise ship walk with their belongings after disembarking at Eindhoven Air Base, Netherlands, on May 12. (Piroschka van de Wouw)
“It’s not airborne … in terms of respiratory droplets hanging in the air,” he said. “It’s very difficult to transmit.”
While coronavirus “moved in the direction of humans in a significant way,” hantavirus has not, except for “very rare” cases of human-to-human transmission, he added.
The World Health Organization has assessed the risk to the global population as low, while noting that current evidence suggests subsequent human-to-human transmission may have occurred on board. Andes virus is the only hantavirus known to have documented person-to-person transmission, though such spread is considered rare.
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Siegel also noted hantavirus cases have been reported in the United States for decades, though they remain “very rare.”
Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller and Angelica Stabile, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
World
Moment of collision between two Navy jets at Idaho air show
Two US Navy jets collided during an air show at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, sending both aircraft crashing to the ground in front of spectators. All four crew members ejected safely before impact.
Published On 18 May 2026
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