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.
3,087 total articles
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te arrived in Eswatini after a diplomatic trip he planned two weeks earlier was postponed when several Indian Ocean states revoked flight permits. Taipei attributed that earlier cancellation to pressure from Beijing. The African kingdom is one of a small group of countries that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan,…
Narges Mohammadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate imprisoned in Iran for her human rights activism, was transferred from prison to hospital after experiencing severe health deterioration including loss of consciousness and a serious cardiac crisis. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has appealed to Iranian authorities to release her to a dedicated medical …
Philippine and U.S. forces deployed the NMESIS coastal anti-ship missile system to Batanes during the annual Balikatan exercises on May 2. The system, flown in by U.S. C-130 and positioned in Basco, was used for rehearsal and simulation support only and will be withdrawn after drills. The deployment forms part of maneuvers that include over 17,000 …
More than two months into a war that has produced military attrition but no decisive victory, President Donald Trump confronts a standoff with Iran that could linger and worsen the economic and political pain for the United States. With negotiations at an impasse, control of the Strait of Hormuz a central bargaining chip, and core U.S. objectives u…
President Donald Trump said the United States would begin assisting ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz, as a maritime authority reported a tanker was struck by unknown projectiles. The U.S. Central Command described a broad support operation combining military assets and diplomacy to restore commercial navigation, while Iran and Washington conti…
Three passengers have died and three others are sick after a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the Netherlands-operated polar expedition ship MV Hondius. The vessel, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions and carrying about 150 passengers, was off Cape Verde when the incident unfolded. International and local health authorities, including the World Healt…
A United Airlines Boeing 767, operating as Flight 169 from Venice, struck a light pole on the New Jersey Turnpike while on final approach to Newark Liberty International Airport on May 3. The aircraft landed safely with only minor damage reported; no injuries were reported among passengers or crew. A nearby tractor trailer was damaged and its drive…
Japan's recent relaxation of weapons-export rules has opened a diplomatic opening that Kyiv hopes could evolve into concrete military cooperation. Ukraine's ambassador to Japan says the change - a marked shift from Tokyo's strict postwar stance - allows talks that might eventually lead to Japan supplying equipment or funding for systems that would …
Poland's defence minister has indicated there is no evidence Patriot air defence systems will be delayed, despite reports that U.S. weapons stockpiles drawn down by the Iran conflict could lead to extended delivery times for some European allies. Officials warn that other equipment could face hold-ups, but not at a scale expected to trigger major c…
President Donald Trump announced 'Project Freedom,' a U.S.-led initiative to assist neutral commercial vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz. The operation, framed as a humanitarian effort and set to begin Monday morning, Middle East time, aims to escort ships facing shortages and to reduce disruptions to global trade. The announcement reference…
The United Arab Emirates has formally exited the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), following its April 28 decision to withdraw from OPEC and OPEC+. The move aligns with the UAE's stated plan to prioritize increasing its own oil output. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said it will award 200 billion dirhams ($55 billi…
Chancellor Friedrich Merz told public broadcaster ARD that although he and President Donald Trump disagree on key issues, those differences are not connected to Washington’s decision to cut about 5,000 troops from the U.S. presence in Germany. Merz rejected suggestions that his public criticism of U.S. handling of Iran prompted the announcement, re…
Iran announced it had received a U.S. response, transmitted via Pakistan, to its 14-point proposal for ending the war and resolving a Gulf shipping standoff. Tehran is reviewing the reply even as Washington has not publicly confirmed receiving the proposal. Key issues include whether nuclear talks will be deferred until after a ceasefire and how th…
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reaffirmed that the United States remains Germany's most important ally within the North Atlantic Alliance, while downplaying any link between planned U.S. troop reductions in Germany and disagreements with the U.S. president over Iran policy. Speaking in an interview with public broadcaster ARD set to air Sunday, M…
Jailed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi was reported in critical condition in a cardiac care unit in northwestern Iran after being moved from prison following a severe decline in health. Her family foundation said treatment has been limited to stabilisation with oxygen therapy and called for her transfer to medical specialists in Tehran.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is traveling to Italy this week for a Thursday meeting with Pope Leo. The encounter, described by a senior source familiar with the pope's plans, would be the first in-person meeting between the pontiff and a U.S. cabinet-level official in almost a year. The visit comes against a backdrop of public criticism from…
An Israeli court has prolonged the detention of two activists seized aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted in international waters near Greece. The two men, a Spanish national and a Brazilian, were taken to Israel after the vessels were stopped; more than 100 other participants were brought to Crete. Israeli authorities have sought an extension …
The Asian Development Bank unveiled a $70 billion programme intended to build cross-border electricity links and expand digital connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region by 2035. The plan allocates $50 billion to a Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative and $20 billion to the Asia-Pacific Digital Highway, with stated targets for renewable integration, tr…
In a May 3 Sunday address in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Leo observed World Press Freedom Day by condemning ongoing breaches of media freedom and paying tribute to journalists who have been killed while reporting from war-torn areas. He highlighted both visible and covert infringements on the right to free press and urged the faithful to remember re…
Hezbollah’s decision to engage in the March 2 fighting with Israel has inflicted severe human, territorial and political costs. Internal casualty estimates point to heavy fighter losses, while Israel has entrenched forces and displaced large numbers of Lebanon’s Shi’ite community. Domestically, opposition to Hezbollah as an armed faction has harden…
Clarence Thomas is set to become the second-longest-serving justice in U.S. Supreme Court history this week. Appointed in 1991, Thomas has been a persistent conservative voice whose opinions and dissents have shaped recent landmark rulings on gun rights, abortion, affirmative action and presidential authority. While he has not prevailed on every co…
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to the Vatican and Italy this week for a series of diplomatic meetings, Italian newspapers reported. The visit follows public criticism by President Donald Trump of Pope Leo and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and comes as U.S.-Europe ties face strain from a troop drawdown in Germany…
Northern Territory police charged 47-year-old Jefferson Lewis with the murder of a 5-year-old Indigenous girl known as Kumanjayi Little Baby, after her body was found in bushland near Alice Springs. The killing and the suspect's capture, during which he was found beaten unconscious by local residents, ignited demonstrations that turned violent. Aut…
President Lai Ching-te traveled to Eswatini for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession, asserting Taiwan's sovereign right to engage internationally. Taipei said Beijing had tried to block the visit by forcing three Indian Ocean states to revoke overflight permissions. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office condemned the trip with harsh languag…
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met delegates to the ruling party’s youth league congress in Pyongyang as the government highlighted the role of young people in domestic mobilisation and in deployments tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Eleventh Congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League wrapped up with mass rallies and cultural events, whi…
