Global events and international developments affecting markets.
Reporting on international affairs, geopolitical developments, and global economic trends. This category connects world events to their potential impact on financial markets, trade flows, and investor risk perception.
3,427 total articles
The U.S. Treasury on Friday placed sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, accusing the firm of purchasing billions of dollars of Iranian crude. The parent company denies the allegations and is contesting the measures. The designation targets a 400,000 barrel-per-day refinery complex in Dalian and follows recent U.S. warnings and a lap…
President Donald Trump urged Iran to rapidly accept a negotiated settlement as a media report said U.S. officials have been directed to prepare for an extended blockade of Iranian ports. The move comes amid stalled talks, mounting economic pressure on Tehran, assertions from Iranian officials that alternative routes are mitigating effects of the bl…
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in New York to attend a remembrance ceremony at the 9/11 memorial as part of a four-day state visit to the United States. The visit comes after a packed day in Washington in which the king addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress, held private talks with President Donald Trump and met with technology ind…
As U.S. President Donald Trump plans a trip to Beijing next month, Taiwan has emerged as the central topic expected to dominate talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Taipei and Washington are closely monitoring whether any change in U.S. language or policy toward Taiwan could follow, amid diplomatic signals, military posturing and intensified commu…
As leaders from Washington and Beijing prepare to meet, the question of 'Taiwan independence' is expected to figure prominently. This article explains the historical roots of Taiwan’s current status, its international standing, how its government views sovereignty, the constitutional hurdles to a formal name change, President Lai’s statements on in…
Sixteen women were killed and 91 people, mostly women, were injured when two trains collided near Jakarta, with all fatalities occurring in a carriage reserved for female passengers. The victims included a 30-year-old mother of two who supported her family financially. The accident has underscored the heavy dependence of female workers and commuter…
Ukraine has begun deploying private air defence companies under a government pilot to protect businesses and vital infrastructure from frequent Russian drone attacks. Twenty firms have registered under the programme; two are already operating and coordinate with the Ukrainian air force’s command system. Companies employ layered protections - from i…
Ukrainian authorities say overnight drone strikes by Russian forces damaged port facilities in the southern Odesa region, destroyed the admissions department of a regional hospital and sparked fires in residential districts and a protected Danube nature reserve. Two people were reported wounded in the Odesa-area residential fires. Kyiv’s air force …
Taiwan's Ocean Affairs Council minister, Kuan Bi-ling, traveled to Itu Aba and the nearby uninhabited Zhongzhou Reef in the Spratly Islands, conducting a beach cleanup and observing Coast Guard duties. Vietnam registered a complaint over the visit, but Kuan said the protest was not unusually forceful and that the exercises, described as environment…
China reiterated that Taiwan would gain significant economic advantages if it agreed to reunification, while Taipei rejected the proposal and warned that Chinese military and grey-zone tactics threaten regional stability. Beijing emphasized access to its vast market and Taiwan’s technological strengths; Taiwan pointed to robust economic performance…
In northeastern Ukraine a small team of interceptor-drone crews operate from the back of a van, trying to stop low-cost Iranian-designed Shahed drones that Moscow has used in mass. Ukrainian officials, manufacturers and military personnel describe a rapidly evolving campaign that has raised interception rates but faces technical and operational lim…
Indonesian military prosecutors have charged four intelligence officers with serious premeditated assault for an acid attack on Andrie Yunus, a deputy coordinator at rights group KontraS. The March 12 attack left Andrie with burns to about 20% of his face and body, permanent scarring and severe damage to his right eye. Prosecutors say the officers …
A new report shows the world lost 4.3 million hectares of primary tropical forest last year, a 36% decline from 2024 largely attributed to Brazil’s strengthened anti-deforestation measures. Despite the improvement, experts warn that nations remain far off track to meet a 2030 commitment to halt and reverse forest loss, and that climate-driven fires…
The White House has rejected criticism of President Donald Trump receiving FIFA’s first Peace Prize, calling him the most deserving recipient. The award, presented at the World Cup draw in December for promoting global peace and unity, drew condemnation from human rights advocates, players and national federations. The administration pointed to rec…
President Donald Trump greeted King Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House during a formal welcome that included a handshake and shared laughter between the two leaders. The White House posted a photo of the encounter with the caption "TWO KINGS." The visit featured remarks from King Charles on constitutional restraints and followed a narrowl…
Two Iraqi oil officials said Iraq does not intend to leave OPEC or OPEC+ and reiterated support for a strong, cohesive organization to help keep oil prices stable. Their comments come after the United Arab Emirates announced it was leaving both OPEC and OPEC+, a move described as a significant blow to the oil-exporting groups and to Saudi Arabia, w…
The United States has attached a series of conditions to the disbursement of billions it owes the United Nations, demanding quick cost-saving reforms and measures to curb Chinese influence within the world body, according to a Devex report. The U.S. proposals, circulated in two diplomatic notes, outline nine "quick-hit" reforms including pension ov…
U.S. intelligence agencies are conducting a focused assessment of how Iranian leaders would react if President Donald Trump were to declare a unilateral U.S. victory and reduce American forces in the region. The review, requested by senior administration officials, aims to clarify the geopolitical and domestic political consequences of a rapid de-e…
A federal appeals panel in New York concluded that the Trump administration misapplied a decades-old immigration statute by treating most noncitizens arrested in interior enforcement operations as "applicants for admission" subject to mandatory detention without bond. The Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court order that led to t…
Federal law enforcement carried out searches at more than 20 locations across Minnesota on April 28 as part of an investigation into alleged fraud tied to social-welfare programs. The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations executed 22 search warrants, primarily at business locations, officials said. The operation was described as unrelated to imm…
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, publicly praised soldiers who committed suicide while fighting alongside Russian forces in Russia's Kursk region, according to a transcript released by state media. Pyongyang is reported to have deployed roughly 14,000 troops to the area and suffered heavy casualties, with South Korean, Ukrainian and Western offic…
Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party publicly criticised the government for moving too slowly on implementing steps toward peace after a jailed PKK leader urged fighters to lay down arms. DEM co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari told party MPs the government was 'failing to match the momentum' created by Abdullah Ocalan's February 2025 call. The PKK has halted a…
Two months into a war with the United States and Israel, Iran’s political architecture has shifted from the long-standing primacy of a single clerical arbiter to a wartime leadership dominated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the conflict’s ope…
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has used Ukraine’s recent advances in drone warfare as a bargaining chip to secure defence and security agreements across Europe and the Middle East. Those deals have expanded Kyiv’s diplomatic reach, but Ukraine faces internal export controls, limited export licences, reliance on skilled human operators, and the need …
President Donald Trump posted that Iran has informed U.S. officials it is in a 'state of collapse' and has asked the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as it addresses a leadership situation. The method of that communication was not specified and Iran had not immediately responded. A U.S. official said Trump is unhappy with Tehran's most …
