7 h. ago Before Maduro’s capture in Venezuela, US spoke with minister who is his loyal ally

Trump administration officials had been in discussions with Venezuela’s hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello months before the US operation to seize the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and have been in communication with him since then, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The officials warned Cabello, 62, against using the security services or militant ruling-party supporters overseen by him to target the country’s opposition, four sources said. That security...

Politics

8 h. ago How US actions in Venezuela and beyond could spell opportunity for China

America’s military action in Venezuela and President Donald Trump’s talk of owning Greenland are stoking concerns that the United States is dismantling the rules-based global order. But this could also be a diplomatic opening for China as it tries to portray itself, in contrast, as a more responsible and stabilising power. Analysts said while this aligned with Beijing’s push to strengthen ties with its neighbours – a strategic move as its rivalry with Washington has intensified – concrete...

Politics

50 h. ago Washington completes first sale of Venezuelan oil in US$500 million deal, says US official

The United States has finalised a sale of Venezuelan oil – the first since Washington took control of the sector following the toppling of Nicolas Maduro, a US official told Agence France-Presse on Thursday. According to the official, who did not identify the buyer, the deal is worth US$500 million, and additional sales could take place in the coming days or weeks. “President Trump brokered a historic energy deal with Venezuela, immediately following the arrest of narcoterrorist Nicolas Maduro,...

Economics

3 d. ago Assessing China's Response to the U.S. Capture of Venezuela's Maduro

Assessing China's Response to the U.S. Capture of Venezuela's Maduro  Stratfor

Politics

4 d. ago How Maduro’s Removal Could Help China in Venezuela and Latin America

How Maduro’s Removal Could Help China in Venezuela and Latin America  Bloomberg.com

Politics

4 d. ago Taiwan and the US launch joint production of 155mm artillery shells amid blockade fears

Taiwan has begun co-producing 155mm (6.1-inch) artillery shells with the US, as the island moves to strengthen wartime ammunition resilience amid Beijing’s escalating military pressure and concern over supply disruptions in a high-intensity conflict. Taiwan’s defence ministry on Monday said Taipei and Washington had launched early-stage joint production of a new type of 155mm howitzer ammunition. Lieutenant General Lin Wen-hsiang, head of Taiwan’s Armaments Bureau, testified during a legislative...

Politics

5 d. ago Cuba’s Diaz say ‘no conversations’ with US after Trump threats amid Venezuela tensions

Cuba’s leader said on Monday there were “no conversations” with the United States, after US President Donald Trump urged the communist-ruled island to “make a deal” or pay the price. “There are no conversations with the US government except for technical contacts in the area of migration,” Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on social media after Trump said the nations were in talks following the US military toppling of Havana’s leftist ally Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. Díaz-Canel wrote that for “relations...

Events

5 d. ago Cuba’s Diaz says ‘no conversations’ with US after Trump threats amid Venezuela tensions

Cuba’s leader said on Monday there were “no conversations” with the United States, after US President Donald Trump urged the communist-ruled island to “make a deal” or pay the price. “There are no conversations with the US government except for technical contacts in the area of migration,” Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote on social media after Trump said the nations were in talks following the US military toppling of Havana’s leftist ally Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela. Díaz-Canel wrote that for “relations...

Events

5 d. ago Greater China Financial Moves to Resolve Beijing Unit Dispute as It Seeks Trading Resumption

Greater China Financial Moves to Resolve Beijing Unit Dispute as It Seeks Trading Resumption  TipRanks

Politics

6 d. ago Maduro's capture was also a message to China as US moves to push Beijing out of the Americas

Maduro's capture was also a message to China as US moves to push Beijing out of the Americas  Telegraph India

Politics

7 d. ago How the US raid in Venezuela has triggered Brazilian fury and a Chinese opening

Last weekend, following the US military operation in Venezuela abducting its leader, Nicolas Maduro, Brazil’s president denounced the attack as a “flagrant violation of international law” and having “crossed an unacceptable line”. “These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on social media. Lula, who said attacking countries was “the first step towards a...

Politics

7 d. ago China's strategic partnership with Venezuela uncertain after U.S. operation to capture Maduro

China's strategic partnership with Venezuela uncertain after U.S. operation to capture Maduro  NBC News

Politics

8 d. ago Hu Anyan's account of working as a delivery driver in Beijing moved readers

Hu Anyan's account of working as a delivery driver in Beijing moved readers  IslanderNews.com

Economics

8 d. ago Greenland. Greenland. Greenland. Why is Trump so fixed on the US having it?

US President Donald Trump has revived his ambition to take control of Greenland, whether by buying it or through military action, arguing that it would be in the interests of his nation’s security. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of US Nato ally Denmark and the idea of buying it was widely dismissed as absurd when Trump first suggested it in 2019. This time, in the aftermath of the weekend abduction of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, the proposition sent shock waves across Europe and...

Politics

8 d. ago It's up to Xi: Trump Says China's move on Taiwan is Beijing's call

It's up to Xi: Trump Says China's move on Taiwan is Beijing's call  India Today

Politics

8 d. ago Beijing moves to cut losses in Venezuela after Maduro’s capture

Beijing moves to cut losses in Venezuela after Maduro’s capture  Asia Times

Politics

9 d. ago Maduro’s fate in Venezuela hardens North Korea’s nuclear resolve

The US removal of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro from power has reverberated far beyond Latin America. In Pyongyang, where regime survival is the paramount concern and every US action is scrutinised for hostile intent, the deposing of a sitting head of state sends an unmistakable message: dialogue with Washington is a dangerous gamble, and only nuclear weapons guarantee survival. The Venezuela operation may have killed the prospects for meaningful US-North Korea diplomacy in 2026 before they even...

Events

9 d. ago Macron slams US for ‘breaking free’ from global rules after Maduro raid, Greenland threat

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that the United States was “breaking free from international rules”, and “gradually turning away” from some of its allies. Macron delivered his annual speech to French ambassadors at the Elysee Palace as European powers are scrambling to come up with a coordinated response to US assertive foreign policy in the western hemisphere following Washington’s capture of Venezuela’s leader Nicolas Maduro and Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland. “The...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump wants US$1.5 trillion for ‘dream military’. Will China boost spending in response?

US President Donald Trump’s proposal to boost next year’s military budget to US$1.5 trillion aims to blunt China’s global influence, a move analysts said could push Beijing to speed up its own military build-up with “greater urgency”. On Wednesday, Trump wrote on social media that the US military budget for the 2027 financial year should be raised in the face of “very troubled and dangerous times”. “This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more...

Events

9 d. ago Trump wants US$1.5 trillion for ‘dream US military’. Will China boost spending too?

US President Donald Trump’s proposal to boost next year’s military budget to US$1.5 trillion aims to blunt China’s global influence, a move analysts said could push Beijing to speed up its own military build-up with “greater urgency”. On Wednesday, Trump wrote on social media that the US military budget for the 2027 financial year should be raised in the face of “very troubled and dangerous times”. “This will allow us to build the ‘Dream Military’ that we have long been entitled to and, more...

Events