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U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to meet in Beijing this week in a high-stakes diplomatic summit that carries significant implications for the global technology industry, as both leaders navigate mounting tensions over the war in Iran and unresolved disputes over trade, semiconductors, and technology access.
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have cooled significantly on the prospect of US-led peace negotiations, with Moscow and Kyiv reportedly losing confidence in Donald Trump's diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine — a development that threatens to further stall already fragile ceasefire discussions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a successful test launch of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday, describing the nuclear-capable weapon as the most powerful missile in the world and stating it will enter active combat service before the end of 2026.
Kuwait's interior ministry has accused Iran of attempting to infiltrate its territory after a group of armed Iranians allegedly arrived at Bubiyan Island in the Persian Gulf aboard a rented fishing boat on May 1, exchanging fire with Kuwaiti soldiers in what officials described as a deliberate incursion.
Classified U.S. intelligence assessments conclude that Iran retains operational control of 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, a finding that directly contradicts President Trump's public assertions that Iran's military capabilities have been substantially degraded, according to a report by The New York Times published Monday.
An upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing has reignited debate among diplomats and analysts about whether the world's two largest economies could establish a formal 'Group of Two' framework — a concept that envisions the United States and China as co-managers of global affairs.
The United Arab Emirates covertly launched a major attack on Iran during the recent conflict, according to reports, raising fears that Gulf states could be drawn into a direct war with Tehran — particularly if the fragile US-Iran ceasefire collapses.
Israel has sent Iron Dome anti-missile defence batteries and military personnel to the United Arab Emirates, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee confirmed on May 12, 2026 — a significant development in Israel-Gulf security cooperation as tensions between Israel and Iran continue to escalate.
The faltering ceasefire between the United States and Iran is emerging as a major economic and strategic variable for Western nations, with Australia's federal budget explicitly flagging the conflict as a key downside risk and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth preparing to face Congressional scrutiny over the administration's Iran strategy and troop withdrawals from Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signalled this week that the war in Ukraine may be nearing its end, but analysts and observers note his comments came without any indication he is prepared to soften the sweeping demands that have repeatedly blocked peace negotiations.
As negotiations between the United States and Iran over a lasting peace deal remain deadlocked, merchant seafarers working in the Persian Gulf have found themselves on the front lines of a dangerous and unprecedented naval conflict, with workers sending distress calls home to their families while diplomats struggle to find common ground.
The United States is engaged in closely-guarded talks to open three new military bases in southern Greenland, according to multiple officials familiar with the discussions, a development that underscores Washington's intensifying focus on Arctic security amid renewed geopolitical competition over the strategically vital island.
US President Donald Trump is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this week in a high-stakes summit expected to cover artificial intelligence competition, US arms sales to Taiwan, and the broader contest for global technological supremacy — a meeting observers say could reshape the trajectory of one of the world's most consequential rivalries.
Violence between Israel and Hezbollah has surged in Lebanon, raising serious questions about the durability of the ceasefire agreement that halted their 2024 war, with both sides escalating attacks even as the formal truce remains nominally in place.
US President Donald Trump is set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping for high-stakes trade and diplomatic talks, with analysts suggesting Beijing holds the stronger hand in negotiations and may use the summit to extract concessions while offering little of substance in return.
A potential summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is drawing intense scrutiny from foreign policy analysts, with former senior U.S. official Kurt M. Campbell arguing in Foreign Affairs that the meeting could fundamentally alter the trajectory of the world's most consequential geopolitical relationship.
As President Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, Asian middle powers are expressing mounting anxiety that the summit could result in the United States trading away longstanding security commitments in the region in exchange for more favourable economic terms with Beijing.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched a new maritime body — the Persian Gulf Strait Authority — claiming jurisdiction over ship passage through the Strait of Hormuz and requiring vessels to submit email applications before transiting one of the world's most critical shipping lanes. The development comes as a fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran holds, and has drawn international attention after ABC News journalists submitted a passage request and received a response.
US President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that Washington will not permit Iran to acquire enriched uranium capable of producing a nuclear weapon, stating that American intelligence has Iran's nuclear material under surveillance and threatening to destroy anyone who attempts to access it.
The United States military has struck two empty Iranian-flagged oil tankers and disabled a third vessel, US Central Command confirmed on Thursday, prompting Iran's government to condemn the strikes as a 'reckless military adventure' in what marks a significant escalation between the two countries.
Iran has transmitted a response to a US peace proposal aimed at ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, forwarding the reply through Pakistani mediators on Saturday, even as Tehran's foreign minister accused Washington of undermining diplomatic progress with ongoing military strikes.
A large Chinese-sponsored telescope in the foothills of the Argentine Andes remains dismantled and non-operational, caught in a web of geopolitical tension as U.S. officials raise concerns about whether the installation poses a national security risk — a dispute that illustrates the growing friction over Chinese-funded infrastructure projects across Latin America.
A cargo ship caught fire in the Gulf on Sunday after being struck by an unknown projectile off the coast of Qatar, the British military reported, raising fresh concerns about maritime security in the region at a time when a ceasefire with Iran remains fragile.
Germany is making a fresh attempt to purchase American-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, with the country's defence minister planning a visit to Washington after Chancellor Friedrich Merz's reported falling-out with US President Donald Trump complicated earlier acquisition efforts.
US President Donald Trump is set to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, marking the first visit by a sitting American president to China since Trump's own trip during his first term in 2017 — a meeting freighted with expectations on trade disputes, tensions over Taiwan, and the ongoing situation in Iran.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to strike US sites if its oil tankers come under attack, as Washington awaits Tehran's response to its latest nuclear negotiating position. Simultaneously, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 39 people according to Lebanese authorities, despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced last month — raising fears of a broader regional conflagration.
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday in a call lasting more than 90 minutes, during which the two leaders discussed the ongoing war in Iran and floated the prospect of a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine — though significant obstacles remain to both initiatives.
A little-known mutual defence clause embedded in the European Union's founding treaties has moved from legal obscurity to the centre of European security debates, as US President Donald Trump's repeated questioning of America's commitment to NATO has forced European leaders to consider what collective defence might look like without Washington's backing.
Britain has agreed to establish a unified naval force with nine European countries to deter future Russian aggression in the North Atlantic, the head of the Royal Navy announced on Tuesday, describing the initiative as a complement to existing NATO structures rather than a replacement.
The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday that it will leave OPEC, citing tensions with Saudi Arabia and the turbulence caused by the ongoing Iran war — a move that could reshape global oil markets and signal deepening fractures within the decades-old petroleum alliance.
A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, now 12 days old, has failed to halt active fighting in Lebanon, raising serious questions about the durability of the agreement and the prospects for lasting peace in the region.
Oil prices surged toward $120 per barrel on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump signalled he intends to maintain a naval blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, driving Brent crude to its eighth consecutive daily gain and stoking fears of a sustained disruption to global energy supplies.
The US Treasury Department issued a fresh round of sanctions on Monday targeting Iran's oil export network, with particular focus on the shadow banking infrastructure that facilitates transactions and the Chinese entities that have continued purchasing Iranian crude despite existing restrictions.
The United Arab Emirates will formally end its 59-year membership in OPEC on May 1, 2026, a landmark departure that will allow the Gulf state to raise oil output unconstrained by cartel quotas — a move analysts say will reduce OPEC's influence over global energy markets and help offset supply losses caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
US Marines boarded and seized a vessel in the Arabian Sea on Monday after authorities suspected the ship was bound for Iran, in what appears to be the latest in a series of American interdiction operations targeting suspected contraband flows in the strategically vital waterway.
Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council gathered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for their first high-level summit since the outbreak of war involving Iran, with Qatar's emir describing the meeting as embodying a 'unified Gulf stance' toward the conflict.
The United Arab Emirates has announced its withdrawal from both OPEC and the broader OPEC+ alliance, according to reports from Al Jazeera on April 28, 2026, in a move that signals a major realignment in global oil production politics and could have far-reaching consequences for energy markets.
The United Arab Emirates announced on Monday it is leaving OPEC, delivering a significant blow to the oil producers' cartel and its de facto leader Saudi Arabia at a moment when global energy markets are already under pressure from the ongoing Iran war. The departure of a longstanding member underscores deepening divisions within the group and raises serious questions about OPEC's future influence over global oil prices.
A wave of militant attacks across Mali, including the seizure of several towns and the killing of the country's defence minister, has cast serious doubt on Russia's capacity to protect the military junta it has backed with some 2,000 troops — underscoring the limits of Moscow's growing but still fragile influence across the Sahel region.
Saudi Arabia's flagship economic diversification project, the futuristic NEOM megacity development valued at $2.2 trillion, has been significantly wound back as the kingdom grapples with a combination of financial headwinds and regional instability stemming from the conflict with Iran, according to reporting by the ABC's Matthew Doran.
The United States and Iran have settled into an uneasy standoff that analysts describe as a 'no war, no peace' limbo, with each side wagering it can outlast the other in a contest of wills that has so far produced neither a breakthrough nor an open conflict.
Ethnic Tuareg fighters and allied Islamist groups have taken control of Kidal, a strategically significant city in northern Mali, after co-ordinated attacks over the weekend forced Russian forces and the Mali military junta to withdraw, multiple sources confirmed on Monday.
China recorded an $83 billion trade surplus with the European Union in the first quarter of 2026, according to new data, as a surge in Chinese electric vehicle exports to Europe drove the imbalance to historic levels — raising fresh concerns in Brussels about the structural vulnerability of European industry.
The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to establish a US-backed paramilitary guard force to protect its mineral mines, as Washington moves to secure access to critical raw materials amid ongoing instability caused by armed rebel groups competing for control of resource-rich areas in the country's east.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a stark warning on Sunday that Iran had 'humiliated' the United States in its recent conflict, cautioning that Washington risks becoming mired in a prolonged military engagement similar to the costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, justified in part by concerns over Tehran's nuclear weapons ambitions, are generating significant debate among arms control experts and international observers about whether the attacks are eroding confidence in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty — the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
Nuclear diplomacy between the United States and Iran hit a fresh obstacle this week after Washington abruptly cancelled a planned trip by its two senior negotiators to Pakistan, even as an Iranian negotiator returned to Islamabad on Sunday, signalling Tehran's continued willingness to engage.
Chinese regulators have ordered Meta to reverse its approximately $2 billion acquisition of Manus, a Chinese artificial intelligence start-up, in a ruling that could have significant implications for future partnerships between Chinese tech founders and foreign companies.
Russia and North Korea have moved to cement their military partnership, opening a memorial museum in Pyongyang for North Korean soldiers killed fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, while pledging further long-term cooperation — developments that coincided with fresh Russian strikes on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and duelling accusations over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Sunday.
China is advancing a broad range of military space capabilities — from technologies capable of seizing rival satellites to systems that could strike targets on Earth from orbit — as competition between Beijing and Washington for dominance in space enters a more aggressive phase.