Section
Foreign Affairs
Putin heads to Beijing after Trump as Xi balances ties
Russia said Vladimir Putin will visit Beijing on May 19-20, days after Donald Trump's China trip, in a new test of how Xi Jinping manages ties with Washington and Moscow.
Putin eases Russian citizenship rules for Transnistria residents
The decree widens a Kremlin pressure tactic in Moldova's breakaway enclave and prompts Maia Sandu to link the move to the war in Ukraine.
Putin discusses Iran war with UAE president as Russia seeks diplomatic role
Putin discussed the Iran conflict with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a phone call on May 16, as Moscow sought a visible diplomatic role in the crisis and Gulf states calibrated their positions amid Washington's war diplomacy.
Trump-Xi talks yield no progress on Jimmy Lai
Congress unanimously urged Donald Trump to press Xi Jinping on Jimmy Lai and other political prisoners, but the summit produced no visible breakthrough.
Trump invites Xi to US for September state visit
Trump said Xi Jinping would visit the White House on Sept. 24, extending summit diplomacy even as disputes over Taiwan, technology and Iran remain unresolved.
Israel and Lebanon extend truce as strikes continue
Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire by 45 days after U.S.-backed talks, but Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon continued, leaving the truce in place on paper even as violence persisted on the ground.
Raúl Castro indictment could reopen a U.S.-Cuba rupture
Raúl Castro indictment plans would reopen the 1996 shootdown case and turn a legal action into Washington's next pressure point on Cuba.
Trump 'seriously considering' making Venezuela 51st US state
President Donald Trump said he is 'seriously considering' statehood for Venezuela, extending US citizenship to 32 million Venezuelans and making it the second-most populous US state. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez rejected the proposal while calibrating a restrained response.
Trump puts Taiwan arms sales on table ahead of Beijing summit with Xi
President Donald Trump said he will discuss U.S. arms sales to Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their summit in Beijing this week, raising the stakes for a $14 billion weapons package that has sat in limbo for months.
China presses Iran to reopen Hormuz, hold fire before Trump-Xi summit
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted Iran's top diplomat in Beijing eight days before Trump's summit with Xi, signaling Beijing's bid to mediate a conflict that has throttled oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz and raised the stakes for every major power in the Gulf.
Why Xi Jinping stopped traveling and let the world come to Beijing
Ten foreign leaders have visited Beijing so far in 2026. Xi Jinping has made zero trips abroad — a deliberate recalibration of Chinese diplomacy that reflects both growing confidence and a structural opening created by Washington's fraying alliances.
Trump to Meet Xi as Iran Ceasefire Falters, Hormuz Remains Blocked
President Trump heads to Beijing for a three-day summit with Xi Jinping as the Iran ceasefire teeters and the Strait of Hormuz stays blocked, pushing oil above $104.
Pakistan Scrambles to Salvage US-Iran Ceasefire as Trump Declares Talks Near Collapse
Pakistan denied sheltering Iranian military aircraft after President Trump rejected Tehran's peace proposal as 'totally unacceptable.' The month-old ceasefire brokered by Islamabad now faces imminent collapse, with the diplomatic track Pakistan constructed over weeks in serious doubt.
China and US set Seoul trade talks before Trump's Beijing summit
China and the United States confirmed that Vice-Premier He Lifeng and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet in Seoul for two days of trade negotiations, the final preparatory round before President Donald Trump's state visit to Beijing for a summit with Xi Jinping.
Iran warns of attack on US bases after tanker strikes test ceasefire
Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy threatened a heavy assault on US bases if its oil tankers are attacked again, as a fragile month-old ceasefire in the Strait of Hormuz appeared to hold. The warning followed a US strike on two Iranian vessels on Friday.
US awaits Iran ceasefire response as Rubio meets Qatari mediators
The United States was waiting for Iran to deliver a formal ceasefire proposal on Saturday as Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in Miami. A Qatari LNG tanker crossed the Strait of Hormuz in a confidence-building test.
Lee and Takaichi set for Andong summit on May 19
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi are set to hold their third summit in Andong on May 19, continuing a shuttle diplomacy arrangement built around hometown visits. The meeting follows closely on the Trump-Xi talks in Beijing.
KMT chairwoman finalises June US trip as Trump-Xi summit looms
KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun is finalising a US trip for early June, planning meetings with congressional members, think tanks and Taiwanese diaspora groups across New York, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles, the party's US representative confirmed on Sunday. The visit follows her historic April meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Taiwan officials press Trump for reassurance ahead of Xi summit
Senior Taiwanese officials have pressed the Trump administration for reassurances ahead of his state visit to Beijing this week. Their concern is not declared U.S. policy but an off-script remark to Xi Jinping that Beijing could read as a rhetorical concession on the island.
Trump eyes Italy and Spain for next round of NATO troop cuts
President Trump is weighing further US troop withdrawals from Europe, with Italy and Spain in the frame after 5,000 service members were pulled from Germany. Allied capitals are bracing for the announcement and coordinating contingency plans as Madrid faces particular pressure.
One Nation wins Farrer, taking first lower-house seat in Coalition rout
David Farley took 57.3 per cent of the two-candidate-preferred vote in the southwestern New South Wales seat, ending a Coalition hold that had stood since the late 1940s and giving Pauline Hanson's One Nation its first directly elected House of Representatives seat.
China holds rare earths and Hormuz cards as Trump heads to Beijing
President Donald Trump is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on May 14 for a state summit with Xi Jinping. Analysts and Taiwan officials say critical-minerals leverage, the Middle East energy fallout, and a contested Taiwan policy stack the meeting on Beijing's side.
Trump rejects Iran ceasefire response as totally unacceptable
President Donald Trump rejected Iran's ceasefire response on Sunday as 'totally unacceptable,' hours after Tehran demanded war reparations and sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. The breakdown raises the prospect of renewed U.S. military operations to reopen the key oil shipping lane.
Iran war pushes tariff and rare earth talks down Trump-Xi summit agenda
The May 14-15 Beijing summit was meant to lock in tariff and rare-earth deliverables. The Iran war has rewritten the agenda. Hormuz, not soybeans, will dominate leader-level time as Trump becomes the first US president back in China since 2017.
Putin holds stripped-back Victory Day parade as Ukrainian drones loom
President Vladimir Putin marked the 81st anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on Friday without the tank columns and missile launchers that defined past Red Square parades. The Kremlin tightened anti-drone defences over Moscow as a Trump-brokered three-day ceasefire formally began with no signal of de-escalation.
