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.
4,503 total articles
Cuba and the United States are engaged in bilateral discussions at a tense moment, with U.S. pressure including what Havana describes as a de facto oil blockade. Leaks to the media suggest Washington may be seeking a change in leadership in Havana in exchange for easing sanctions, a claim attributed in reports to U.S. sources. This article profiles…
The disarmament blueprint presented by the U.S. President's "Board of Peace" outlines a staged, eight-month timeline in which Hamas and other armed factions in Gaza would surrender weaponry and permit the destruction of tunnels and military infrastructure. The proposal assigns initial security authority to a committee of Palestinian technocrats, es…
Satellite imagery examined in a February report identifies retired supersonic J-6 fighters, converted into attack drones, positioned at six air bases in southeast China close to the Taiwan Strait. Analysts say hundreds of these jets-turned-drones could be used en masse in the opening hours of an assault to overwhelm air defenses and strike high-val…
Mexico’s navy activated a search-and-rescue operation after two sailboats transporting humanitarian supplies to Cuba failed to arrive in Havana on schedule and stopped communicating. The vessels left Isla Mujeres on March 20 with nine crew members of various nationalities and were expected between March 24 and 25. The boats are part of a grassroots…
China's commerce minister told a U.S. trade official that economic and trade ties should be the driving force of bilateral relations and called for strengthened cooperation while urging proper handling of competition. The remarks, delivered during a meeting at a World Trade Organization gathering in Cameroon, also included Beijing's expressed conce…
Russian defence officials reported the capture of Sheviakivka in Kharkiv region as part of a measured advance, while a Ukrainian airborne unit said it had retaken Berezove in Dnipropetrovsk region. Independent confirmation of either claim was not available. Both sides continue to position for wider operations amid stalled peace talks and concerns a…
The U.S. Census Bureau reported a deceleration in population growth across metropolitan areas for the 12 months ending July 1, 2025, with the average metro increase falling to 0.6% from 1.1% the previous year. Overall U.S. population rose by 1.8 million in the same period. The steepest metro slowdowns occurred in Laredo, Texas; Yuma, Arizona; and E…
President Donald Trump announced a 10-day halt to U.S. attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure at Tehran’s request and described negotiations as progressing well, while Iranian officials called a U.S. peace proposal unfair. The conflict has caused thousands of deaths, disrupted global energy and shipping markets, and prompted continued strikes acr…
Comedian Bill Maher will be presented with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at Washington's Kennedy Center on June 28, the venue announced. The ceremony, scheduled just before the center closes for a two-year renovation, will be streamed on Netflix at a later date to be disclosed. Maher, known for hosting HBO's Real Time since 2003 and for h…
The United Nations will choose a new secretary-general this year to take office on January 1, 2027. The formal nomination period opened after a joint letter from the Security Council president and the General Assembly president. A small slate of formally nominated candidates has emerged, and U.N. bodies will follow a multistage process of nominatio…
Senior figures and state-affiliated media in Iran have amplified calls for the country to abandon the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and consider developing a nuclear weapon. The debate has become more overt after the reported deaths of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior official Ali Larijani, the growing dominance of the Revo…
Argentina has declared the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) a terrorist organization, the presidential office announced, enabling sanctions and operational restrictions aimed at curbing the cartel's activities in Argentina. The decision echoes a U.S. designation last year and follows the recent killing of CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera, known as …
The World Health Organization has begun sending emergency medical consignments from its Dubai hub on prolonged overland journeys to reach crisis zones such as Lebanon after air, sea and land links were disrupted by the Iran conflict. The UAE is funding trucking and some charter flights, but higher fuel costs and logistical bottlenecks are increasin…
Admiral Richard Correll, nominated to lead U.S. Strategic Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he supports the latest Energy Department and Pentagon finding that the U.S. nuclear arsenal is safe and reliable and that there is no current requirement to resume nuclear warhead tests. His remarks come as officials consider how to impl…
At a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Vaux-de-Cernay, France, Canada pressed fellow Western democracies to join plans for a Defence and Resilience Bank (DSRB). Ottawa is leading efforts to create a multilateral institution, hosted in Montreal if selected, to channel financing toward small and medium-sized defence suppliers that face difficulty acces…
On March 26, the United States, Israel and Iran outlined uncompromising positions for halting a conflict that has expanded across the Middle East and raised concerns about disruptions to Gulf energy flows. Washington relayed a confidential 15-point proposal to Tehran through Pakistan, but has not published the text. Iran says it is reviewing the pr…
A prominent German actor has accused her former husband of posting AI-generated sexually explicit images and videos impersonating her, igniting nationwide protests and renewed pressure on the government to close legal gaps on digital violence. Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig has proposed criminalising the creation of pornographic deepfakes and voye…
France will welcome leaders from India, South Korea, Brazil and Kenya to the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains on June 15-17 as part of an effort to build broader support for addressing global economic imbalances. Beijing will be absent; Paris says it sought to engage China through separate channels. The meeting’s long-term agenda - urging China to lift…
Israel has ordered residents south of Lebanon’s Litani River to evacuate and has moved to fortify and partially control the area, saying it is establishing a buffer zone to prevent attacks by Hezbollah. The measures - including destruction of bridges, house demolitions and the deployment of thousands of troops - have renewed Lebanese fears of occup…
A Cambodian man deported from the United States to Eswatini following completion of a 15-year attempted murder sentence has been released from prison and is being repatriated to Cambodia, his lawyer said. The release is the second confirmed of at least 19 third-country deportees the U.S. sent to Eswatini under a recent arrangement.
Cuban physicians report mounting burnout and material shortages as a worsening economic crisis and an intensified U.S. oil blockade shrink the capacity of a once-touted universal public health system. Longtime government doctors describe working amid routine blackouts, water cut-offs and critical shortfalls of medicines and equipment while surgery …
A delegation of Russian lawmakers has traveled to the United States for meetings with members of Congress and U.S. officials, the first such visit since relations deteriorated after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russian state media identify Vyacheslav Nikonov among the visitors and report a special flight landed in Washington. Moscow character…
Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is set to appear in a U.S. court on narcoterrorism and related criminal charges that hinge on proving a knowing nexus between drug trafficking and groups the U.S. classifies as terrorist organizations. The 2006 narcoterrorism statute has produced few durable convictions at trial, and several earlier wins w…
Iranic officials say they have received and are reviewing a U.S. ceasefire proposal relayed through intermediaries, yet deny engaging in direct negotiations to end nearly four weeks of fighting. U.S. President Donald Trump said Iranian leaders want a deal but are constrained by internal and external threats. The conflict has widened economic and hu…
Taiwan's defence minister said the island received a letter of guarantee from Washington indicating the next U.S. arms sale is proceeding, while a separate, large arms package worth about $14 billion awaits U.S. approval and could be finalised following a planned presidential visit to China in mid-May.
