live U.S. launches strikes on Iran over Hormuz commercial vessel attack
The UN's International Maritime Organization has paused escort operations through the Strait of Hormuz after a cargo ship was reportedly attacked near...
Russian president Vladmir Putin is expected to land in Beijing on 20 May, just days after Trump's departure, for a one-day visit with Chinese Presdient Xi Jinping.
Sources familiar with the trip described it as part of Moscow's routine dealings with Beijing, with little expectation of elaborate ceremonies, Chinese officials, after all, have just spent a week managing one of the most choreographed diplomatic events in recent memory. This will be the first time China has hosted the leaders of both the United States and Russia in the same month outside of a multilateral setting.
Putin has indicated that energy will be the centrepiece of the agenda, describing the visit as an opportunity to take what he called a serious and very substantial step in oil and gas cooperation with China. For Moscow, which has grown increasingly dependent on Beijing as Western sanctions have tightened, the visit is a chance to reaffirm a partnership that Russia needs more than China does. For Beijing, the optics are the point as much as the substance: hosting America's president one week and Russia's the next sends a message about where China sits in a world that is rapidly reorganising itself.
That message lands with particular weight given what Trump and Xi agreed to just days earlier. The Beijing summit, which ran across Thursday and Friday, produced what both sides described as a new framework for the relationship. The two leaders agreed to build what Xi called a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability, language that signals both governments want to move away from the cycle of tariffs, restrictions, and escalation that has defined recent years toward something more manageable and predictable.
The specific outcomes of the summit reflected the range of issues on the table. Both sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and demilitarised, a reference to the ongoing war in Iran that shadowed the entire visit and that Iran must never be permitted to develop a nuclear weapon. China expressed interest in buying more American oil. Xi warned clearly on Taiwan, calling it the most important issue in U.S.-China relations and saying that mishandling it could push the relationship toward collision or conflict. The White House readout made no mention of the island.
The tone was warmer than the history between the two countries might have suggested. A lavish state banquet, a joint visit to the Temple of Heaven, and a delegation of more than a dozen American business leaders (among them Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Jensen Huang) all contributed to an atmosphere that both sides seemed intent on sustaining. Trump called it the biggest summit the world was watching. Xi said the two countries should be partners, not rivals.
Whether that framing survives contact with the harder questions like trade terms, technology controls, Taiwan, China's continued support for Russia in Ukraine remains to be seen. Putin's arrival next week is a quiet but unmistakable reminder that China is not choosing between Washington and Moscow. It is, for now, choosing both and making sure everyone notices.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck Japan's northeast coast on Thursday, but no tsunami warning was issued, no injuries were immediately reported and no irregularities were found at nuclear facilities, the authorities said.
As Western Europe battles a deadly heatwave that has shattered temperature records, disrupted transport and power supplies, and forced the closure of schools and cultural landmarks, attention is turning to whether El Niño is playing a role in the extreme conditions.
The U.S. Senate rejected a resolution on Wednesday that would have directed President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran unless Congress formally authorised military action.
The Kremlin has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming Moscow is pressuring Belarus to support an expanded Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
Tens of thousands of people are still unaccounted for after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela. At least 589 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds are believed to be trapped under rubble, as emergency crews and international rescue teams race to respond.
The United Nations' top human rights official has called for independent investigations into deaths in U.S. immigration detention facilities, citing a rise in fatalities among people held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
An aircraft roughly the size of a car crashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper on Friday evening, triggering a major emergency response and a heavy police presence as authorities sealed off the area and gave no immediate explanation for the incident.
Montenegrin police, working alongside the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation, have arrested an Iranian national accused of carrying out a series of cyberattacks that allegedly caused an estimated $3.4 billion in damage to U.S. infrastructure.
South Korea is set to dramatically expand its unmanned warfare capabilities, with plans to integrate drones across all branches of its military as tensions with North Korea continue to shape the country's defence strategy.
Fertiliser shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have begun to recover following an interim U.S.–Iran agreement aimed at stabilising the waterway after months of disruption during conflict, industry data shows.
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