Geopolitics

Geopolitics: wars, alliances, sanctions, trade and the decisions between governments that shape the world.

1266 articles · page 18 of 27

Geopolitics

Xi Trade Truce Extension Falls Short of Beijing's Hopes

Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington has yielded a two-month extension of the US-China trade truce, far short of the year-long pause Beijing had sought, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday. The limited extension – from November to January – underscores continued friction over tariffs, technology access and Taiwan as Xi began a three-day US visit marked by an elaborate military flyover and red-carpet welcome.

·2 min·7 sources
Geopolitics

Xi Calls for Cooperation to Avoid US-China Military Conflict as Summit Begins

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for extensive cooperation with Washington to avoid what he termed the 'Thucydides trap' – the historical pattern of a rising power threatening an established one – as his summit with US President Donald Trump began at the White House on Thursday. The meeting covers artificial intelligence, trade, the Iran war and Taiwan, but experts say little in the way of grand bargains is expected.

·2 min·7 sources
Geopolitics

UK has used ground-based system to jam hostile state's satellite communications, defence source reveals

The head of Britain's Royal Air Force has warned of an unprecedented threat in space, as a defence source confirmed to the BBC that the UK has already used a ground-based system to jam or block the satellite communications of a hostile state. The revelation underscores a rapidly escalating arms race in orbit, with satellites essential for communication, internet, banking, and satnav increasingly at risk.

·1 min
Geopolitics

Trump's Board of Peace Unveils $2.45bn Gaza Recovery Plan, But Funding Gap Persists

US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace has announced a $2.45bn Gaza recovery plan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, outlining 66 programmes over six months focused on housing, diesel generation, and waste removal. However, the board acknowledged a significant funding shortfall, with $18bn pledged but only $280m delivered so far, and the full reconstruction cost estimated at $71bn over the next decade.

·2 min·4 sources
Geopolitics

Russian strikes kill 14 in Ukraine as Zelenskyy and Trump discuss energy ceasefire

Russian attacks across Ukraine have killed at least 14 people in recent days, even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with former US President Donald Trump to discuss a potential bilateral ceasefire on energy-related targets, and US and Russian officials held urgent talks at the United Nations General Assembly aimed at limiting the conflict's impact on global energy supplies.

·2 min·3 sources
Geopolitics

Is US ‘Strategic Ambiguity’ Over Taiwan on Its Last Legs? Analysts Divided

The decades-old US policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ toward Taiwan is under unprecedented strain as a growing chorus of analysts argue that President Donald Trump’s repeated statements have shattered the credibility of possible American military intervention. Polling suggests Taiwanese confidence in a US defence guarantee has fallen since 2025. Yet proponents insist the policy is not dead—only evolving.

·2 min
Geopolitics

Iran's president tells UN 'we will never bow our head' as US delegation walks out

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has delivered an unyielding address to the UN General Assembly, declaring Iran will never "bend the knee" to US and Israeli pressure, a day after President Donald Trump threatened to "annihilate" the Islamic Republic. In what reports describe as the first time in UN history a leader at war with the host country has addressed the body, the US delegation walked out as Pezeshkian spoke.

·3 min·10 sources
Geopolitics

Poland accuses Russia of airspace violation as Mi-8 helicopter briefly crosses from Kaliningrad

Poland said a Russian military Mi-8 helicopter violated its airspace on Wednesday morning, crossing from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to a depth of about 300 metres and remaining inside Polish territory for 42 seconds north of Braniewo. Warsaw scrambled fighter jets and kept ground forces on alert, with the military stating the incident indicates Russia is "once again testing the readiness of our air defence."

·2 min·2 sources
Geopolitics

Russia’s parliamentary election delivers predictable win for United Russia amid wartime strain

Russia’s parliamentary election has yielded the widely expected outcome, with the Kremlin-backed United Russia party set to retain its constitutional majority in the State Duma, according to preliminary results published on 21 September 2026. The vote took place after more than four-and-a-half years of war in Ukraine, which has brought heavy military losses, economic difficulties and petrol shortages from Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil facilities.

·1 min
Geopolitics

Lithuania airport hit by 'hybrid attack' as PM vows fightback against Russian threats

Lithuania's main airport in Vilnius was forced to halt flights late Monday night in what officials called a 'hybrid attack carried out by Belarus,' as Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius told the BBC the country has evacuation plans but will 'fight back' if Russia attacks. Separately, President Gitanas Nausėda confirmed a new US troop rotation is on its way to the Baltic state.

·2 min·2 sources
Geopolitics

Europe Braces for Russian 'Shadow War' as Sabotage Intensifies, Intelligence Warns

Intelligence chiefs have warned that Russia's appetite for risk is growing as a wave of sabotage and covert attacks against European states supporting Ukraine intensifies. The operations form part of a deliberate hybrid or 'shadow war' designed to disrupt support for Kyiv while remaining below the threshold for a military response from NATO, according to a briefing released as the UN General Assembly convenes in New York.

·2 min
Geopolitics

US torpedo test-fired from British sea drone in AUKUS first

Britain and the United States have test-fired a torpedo from an uncrewed undersea vessel for the first time, a move the British government hailed as a major advance for submarine technology under the AUKUS alliance with Australia. The launch took place in UK waters last week from the 12-metre drone XV Excalibur, with the vessel remotely controlled from an operating centre in Australia more than 16,000 kilometres away.

·2 min
Geopolitics

Up to 169 killed in Yemen as Houthis fight for strategic heights on Red Sea coast

As many as 169 people have been killed in three days of intense fighting in Yemen as Houthi fighters battle Saudi-backed government forces for control of strategic heights along the Red Sea coast, displacing thousands of civilians. The clashes come after US President Donald Trump reportedly called off planned American airstrikes on the Houthis at the last minute on Sunday, as bombs were being loaded onto aircraft, according to reports.

·2 min·4 sources
Geopolitics

US and China agree to formal AI dialogue, propose incident notification system ahead of Trump-Xi summit

The US and China have agreed to establish a formal AI dialogue and are proposing a notification mechanism for artificial intelligence incidents that could affect national security, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, following talks in New York that he described as a 'very successful engagement' ahead of President Trump's summit with President Xi Jinping later this week.

·2 min·7 sources
Geopolitics

Macron and Carney pledge closer France-Canada ties amid Trump tensions

French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met in the French overseas territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's Atlantic coast on Sunday, pledging deeper cooperation on geopolitical tensions, climate change and democratic values. The meeting comes as Ottawa seeks stronger ties with the European Union while embroiled in a trade war with the United States under Donald Trump.

·1 min
Geopolitics

Baltic spy chiefs warn Russia could test NATO within months

European intelligence officials have warned that Russia could launch a test of NATO within months, potentially involving a drone or missile attack on alliance territory, according to an exclusive report by The Guardian. The warning follows a statement by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk that intelligence assessments suggest Moscow is preparing such an action to prove that Article 5—NATO’s collective defence clause—is more theoretical than practical.

·2 min
Geopolitics

UK's Burnham Welcomes Greenland Security Deal Ahead of Expected First Trump Meeting

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has welcomed the U.S.-Denmark deal on Greenland's security, Downing Street said Sunday, as he prepares to meet President Donald Trump for the first time at the United Nations General Assembly this week. The agreement, which Nato says will help stabilise the region, resolves a diplomatic crisis sparked by Trump's months-long threats to seize the semiautonomous Danish territory by force.

·2 min·4 sources