35 h. ago South Africa Eyes Confrontation With Trump Over Growing Ties to China, Russia, Iran

South Africa Eyes Confrontation With Trump Over Growing Ties to China, Russia, Iran  Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Politics

47 h. ago Mark Carney and Xi Jinping meet to mend ties as Donald Trump disrupts global order

Mark Carney and Xi Jinping meet to mend ties as Donald Trump disrupts global order  Financial Times

Politics

61 h. ago US seizes sixth sanctioned tanker as it tightens grip on Venezuela’s oil

US forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader US effort to take control of the South American country’s oil. The US Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of US President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of...

Events

63 h. ago Carney Pays China a Visit Amid Canada’s Frayed Ties With Trump

Carney Pays China a Visit Amid Canada’s Frayed Ties With Trump  Bloomberg.com

Politics

4 d. ago China, Canada poised to reset trade ties after Trump’s tariffs force rethink

Canada and China appear ready to kick-start trade talks after years of strained relations, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing this week coinciding with both countries questioning their once stronger ties with the United States, analysts said. Carney travelled to Beijing on Tuesday for his first official visit to the country, where he will discuss trade, agriculture and energy with officials from Canada’s second-largest single-country trading partner. Liang Yan, a...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump says countries that trade with Iran will face 25 per cent tariffs from US

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. Effective immediately, the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that “does business” with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The president characterised the order as “final and conclusive”. While the order is global, it is expected to hit major economies, specifically China and India, the hardest, given their...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump says China and countries that trade with Iran will face 25 per cent tariffs from US

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. Effective immediately, the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that “does business” with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The president characterised the order as “final and conclusive”. While the order is global, it is expected to hit major economies, specifically China and India, the hardest, given their...

Politics

5 d. ago Trump says China and other countries trading with Iran to face additional 25% tariffs

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. Effective immediately, the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that “does business” with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The president characterised the order as “final and conclusive”. “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all...

Politics

5 d. ago China’s US embassy decries ‘coercion’ after Trump slaps 25% tariffs on Iran trade partners

US President Donald Trump on Monday announced sweeping new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. Effective immediately, the US will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all goods and services imported from any country that “does business” with Iran, Trump said in a social media post. The president characterised the order as “final and conclusive”. “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all...

Politics

8 d. ago Trump says Colombia’s Petro to visit US, in abrupt switch from threats to diplomacy

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Colombian President Gustavo Petro, a leftist his administration has long belittled, will visit the White House next month as he voiced optimism for ties. Trump just days ago had threatened Petro in the wake of the US attack that removed Venezuela’s leader, but Trump appeared to have a change of heart after the two spoke by telephone on Wednesday. “I look forward to having a meeting with Gustavo Petro, the President of Colombia, in the White House,...

Politics

8 d. ago Why lawsuits won’t cure pandemic’s financial ills between US states and Chinese government

In 2025, even as US President Donald Trump sought to stabilise trade ties with Beijing, two Republican-led states were moving in the opposite direction, securing nearly US$50 billion in federal lawsuits for what they say was economic damage caused by China’s deliberate stripping of US hospitals and businesses of essential Covid-19 supplies. Using a new reading of the “commercial activity” exception to a 50-year-old US law that generally blocks lawsuits against foreign governments, a federal...

Politics

8 d. ago US seizes fifth tanker as Trump escalates bid to control Venezuela’s oil

The US took control of its fifth oil vessel in recent weeks on Friday in the latest move tied to the Donald Trump administration’s effort to control Venezuelan oil exports. In an early morning operation, a joint US Coast Guard and Navy team launched from the carrier USS Gerald R Ford apprehended the tanker Olina in the Caribbean Sea “without incident”, according to a social media post from the US Southern Command. “The Department of War’s Operation Southern Spear is unwavering in its mission to...

Politics

8 d. ago US seizes fifth tanker as Washington escalates bid to control Venezuela’s oil

The US took control of its fifth oil vessel in recent weeks on Friday in the latest move tied to the Donald Trump administration’s effort to control Venezuelan oil exports. Friday’s operation came ahead of a meeting between Trump and American oil executives where the US president sought to convince them to commit to an investment pledge in Venezuela. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” he said on social media...

Events

9 d. ago Watch Xi Tests Japan’s Ties With Trump | The China Show 1/8/2026

Watch Xi Tests Japan’s Ties With Trump | The China Show 1/8/2026  Bloomberg.com

Politics

1 week ago Canada’s Carney to visit China, as Trump tariffs hurt US ties

Prime Minister Mark Carney will make an official visit to China next week as his government tries to rebuild relations with the Asian superpower and reduce Canada’s economic reliance on the US. Carney is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit and will have discussions on trade, energy, agriculture and international security, his office said Wednesday. It will be the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade, after a diplomatic row was sparked by...

Politics

1 week ago Canada’s Carney to meet Xi in China, as Trump tariffs hurt US ties

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will make an official visit to China next week as his government tries to rebuild relations with the Asian superpower and reduce Canada’s economic reliance on the US. Carney is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the visit and will have discussions on trade, energy, agriculture and international security, his office said Wednesday. It will be the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister in nearly a decade, after a diplomatic row was...

Politics

1 week ago Venezuela crisis: how Trump’s ‘Donroe’ doctrine could challenge China’s Latin America ties

China’s influence in Latin America may be significantly tested by the US revival of the Monroe Doctrine, as Washington’s attack on Venezuela is set to have a chilling effect on the region’s engagement with Beijing, analysts warn. In a surprise precision operation on Saturday, the US military struck Venezuela, captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and placed them in detention in New York. Without giving a timetable for elections, US President Donald Trump said the US would run...

Politics

2 w. ago Japan says Trump has invited its leader to the US. It comes as ties with China are strained

Japan says Trump has invited its leader to the US. It comes as ties with China are strained  WTOP

Politics