China’s top UN diplomat slammed the US on Friday over its coercive behaviour, sanctioning of Chinese vessels and firms and for starting the Iran war along with Israel as Beijing assumed the rotating one-month presidency of the UN Security Council. The verbal blast came as Washington heaped more pressure on China on Friday by sanctioning a China-based petroleum terminal operator, the latest in a string of recent US moves to cut off Chinese funding to Iran under what the White House has dubbed...

US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order expanding sanctions on Cuba, authorising penalties not only against Cuban officials but also on foreign companies and financial institutions that do business with the island. The order significantly broadens Washington’s ability to exert economic pressure, allowing US authorities to target third-country actors deemed to support the Cuban government, in a move that could have implications for global firms, including those in China and...

The United States on Friday announced fresh sanctions on entities and individuals it said were involved in trading Iranian petroleum, including a China-based oil terminal operator and a Chinese national, as it ramped up pressure on Tehran to end the conflict. The State Department said the operator, Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal Co., Ltd, “imported tens of millions of barrels of sanctioned Iranian crude oil”. Also on the sanctions list are Li Xinchun, a Chinese national who is the president of a...

After being forced to check his Academy Award on a transatlantic flight, recent winner Pavel Talankin’s Oscar went missing before an airline tracked it down two days later. Talankin, who co-directed the best documentary winner Mr Nobody Against Putin, did not expect to have to check his statuette for a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport bound for Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday. But a Transportation Security Administration agent said it could not go on board. “At the airport, a TSA...

US President Donald Trump told Congress on Friday that the hostilities in Iran “have terminated” following the ceasefire starting April 7, with the deadline for a congressional authorisation of the war looming. “There has been no exchange of fire between the United States Forces and Iran since April 7, 2026. The hostilities that began on February 28, 2026, have terminated,” Trump wrote in letters sent to the House and the Senate. Trump’s claims echoed previous remarks from senior officials in...

US President Donald Trump sang the praises of King Charles after the latter’s state visit this week. He even lifted some tariffs on Scotch whisky as a favour to the British monarch. The king delivered a diplomatic masterclass on the trip, mixing praise for his host with subtle criticism. It’s unclear, though, whether it will make a major difference to a transatlantic relationship troubled by divisions over issues including the Iran war. “In the short term probably yes, in the long term probably...

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would increase the tariffs charged on cars and trucks from the European Union next week to 25 per cent, a move that could jolt the world economy at a fragile moment. Trump said in the post that the EU “is not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal”, though he did not flesh out his objections in the post. Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had agreed to the trade deal last July. It set a 15 per cent tariff on most...

A small plane crashed in Texas Hill Country, killing all five people aboard, officials said on Friday. The crash happened on Thursday night in Wimberley, a city about 40 miles (65km) southwest of Austin, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said on social media. The Federal Aviation Administration said the Cessna 421C crashed around 11.25pm with five people on board. It said the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash. The plane took off from Amarillo, Texas, about two...

The US stock market is rising towards more records on Friday after Apple, Estee Lauder and other big companies became the latest to deliver fatter profits for the start of the year than analysts expected. Modest dips for oil prices also helped to steady the relatively few stock markets open worldwide on the May Day holiday. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent and added to its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 226 points, or 0.5 per cent, as of 9.35am Eastern...

We have selected six of the most interesting and important news stories covering Latin American relations from the past few weeks. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chile exposes smuggling ring that shipped US$917m in stolen copper to China Chinese buyers were the end destination of a five-year smuggling pipeline that drained an estimated US$917 million worth of stolen copper from Chile, authorities said in April after police dismantled the network...

Japan’s relaxation of its weapons-export rules opens a path for talks that could one day lead to Tokyo supplying military equipment to help Ukraine resist Russia’s invasion, Kyiv’s ambassador to Japan said. “This allows us to talk,” Yurii Lutovinov said in an interview at Ukraine’s embassy. “Theoretically, it’s a very big step forward.” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s move last week to ease export rules – Japan’s latest shift away from a strict post-war pacifist stance – has sparked broad...

A 45-year-old man was charged on Friday with attempted murder in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain’s Jewish community. Essa Suleiman was remanded into custody after appearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face two counts of the charge related to the attack in Golders Green. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier the same day that left a man with...