Marco Rubio

Zelensky says only US can persuade Russia to end Ukraine war

The president says Washington proposed first face-to-face talks between Kyiv and Moscow, but he expressed scepticism that this would help.

21 Dec 2025 - 2:52PM

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Kyiv on Saturday. Photo: EPA

US-China relations

Rubio swaps hawk for diplomat in year-end pivot on China

Top US envoy eschews ‘pacing threat’ label, stressing cooperation and Western hemisphere priorities for 2026.

20 Dec 2025 - 6:53AMvideocam

Accidents and disasters in China

Rubio says won’t force deal on Ukraine as Europeans join Miami talks

Trump envoys are meeting officials from Kyiv and Moscow, but the question of ceding territory remains a stumbling block in negotiations.

20 Dec 2025 - 11:11AM

How will Jimmy Lai’s conviction affect China-UK ties, Starmer’s planned visit?

Outcome of ex-media tycoon’s Hong Kong trial poses stern test for Labour government’s balancing act with Beijing, observers say.

17 Dec 2025 - 11:17PMvideocam

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to visit Beijing and Shanghai in late January. Photo: EPA

China-Latin America relations

Opinion | For Trump, the only communists to really dislike are those at home

The limited discussion of China in the new US national security document indicates that the US president’s focus is on domestic challenges to his authority.

17 Dec 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Chile’s sharp shift to the right puts it at the centre of China-US rivalry

Election of Jose Antonio Kast in Latin American country adds to Donald Trump’s vocal allies but analysts expect China ties to stay stable.

17 Dec 2025 - 6:06AMvideocam

US military boat strikes kill 8, adding to drug war death toll

The US military said it targeted ‘designated terrorist organisations’, and posted video of an operation in the eastern Pacific.

16 Dec 2025 - 4:42PM

One of the three boats hit by the latest US strikes in the eastern Pacific. Photo: US Southern Command via X

Jimmy Lai trial

‘Despicable’: Hong Kong slams Western ‘smears’ as US calls for Jimmy Lai release

‘These biased statements and malicious smears from external forces precisely reflect that the national security risks we face are real,’ government says.

16 Dec 2025 - 10:35PMvideocam

A Correctional Services Department vehicle carrying Jimmy Lai is escorted by police officers to West Kowloon Court. Photo: Karma Lo

Australia

World leaders express horror at Bondi Beach attack as vigils held for victims

Israel’s Herzog condemned the ‘cruel attack on Jews’ by ‘terrorists’; Trump branded the shooting that killed 15 people ‘purely antisemitic’.

15 Dec 2025 - 6:28AM

US-China relations

Senior Democrat urges Rubio to fill Arctic post and halt rise of China, Russia

In a letter, Raja Krishnamoorthi asks US Secretary of State to restore key US role in ‘one of the world’s most strategically vital regions’.

12 Dec 2025 - 11:50PMvideocam

China-Latin America relations

Explainer | US-Venezuela tensions: how far will Trump go?

As tensions escalate in the Caribbean, the world waits for Washington’s next move.

11 Dec 2025 - 2:06PMvideocam

US Marines wade ashore from a landing craft during amphibious operations in Arroyo, Puerto Rico, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

China pledges aid to Latin America, Caribbean with no ‘political conditions’

Third strategy paper of its kind released as Beijing seeks to expand its influence in a region Washington actively courts.

11 Dec 2025 - 12:07AMvideocam

A container ship arrives at the Port of Balboa in Panama City, Panama, on October 27. Latin America has emerged as a focal point in the competition between Washington and Beijing. Photo: EPA

Forget the war on drugs. The US has gone to war on a font

The US State Department is ditching Calibri font, to restore ‘decorum and professionalism’.

10 Dec 2025 - 2:46PM

Thailand

Trump to call Thailand, Cambodia leaders and ‘stop war’ along border

More than half a million people have fled the border region since the renewed clashes erupted over the weekend.

10 Dec 2025 - 1:54PMvideocam

Britain

UK sanctions Russian and Chinese firms, warns of cyber threats, hybrid warfare

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says dangers range from disinformation campaigns to physical attacks and sabotage.

10 Dec 2025 - 7:05AM

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks at an event marking the 100th anniversary of the Locarno Treaties in London on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Rubio and Hegseth discuss Indo-Pacific security with Australian counterparts

At the talks, Rubio hailed cooperation between the US and Canberra on critical minerals, defence production and troop deployments.

9 Dec 2025 - 4:23AM

EU’s US$140 million fine on X riles Rubio’s deputy, stoking tensions

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said the bloc’s regulatory stance could hurt shared security and values.

7 Dec 2025 - 12:50PM

Hegseth’s Signal use posed risk to US forces, Pentagon review finds

White House ‘stands by’ Pentagon chief Hegseth, who is also under intensifying scrutiny over US strikes in the Caribbean.

4 Dec 2025 - 6:37PMvideocam

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth uses a phone at the White House in February. Photo: Reuters

US sees progress after latest Ukraine talks as Trump envoy heads to Russia

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expresses optimism despite ‘delicate’ negotiations, with special envoy Steve Witkoff set to travel to Moscow.

1 Dec 2025 - 6:12PM

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at the Florida talks. Photo: Reuters

Venezuela airspace should be considered ‘closed in its entirety’, Trump says

The South American nation slammed the US president’s ‘colonialist threat’, and said his comments were incompatible with international law.

30 Nov 2025 - 1:57PM

US halts asylum cases after troop killing as Trump steps up migrant crackdown

A US official says the immigration agency will ensure ‘every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible’.

29 Nov 2025 - 11:20AM

Trump spoke with Venezuela’s Maduro, discussed meeting in US, report says

The US has deployed the world’s largest aircraft to the Caribbean, sparking fears that it is seeking regime change in Caracas.

29 Nov 2025 - 5:46AM

The report about the call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (right) comes a day after US President Donald Trump said efforts to halt Venezuelan drug trafficking by land were imminent Photos: AFP

US-backed peace plan for Ukraine drew from Russian document: sources

Russian ‘non-paper’ was key input for the 28-point plan, which has since been revised following talks between US and Ukrainian officials.

26 Nov 2025 - 8:14PM

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) meets with US Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll in Kyiv on November 20. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/AFP

Is the US preparing to invade Venezuela, or sabre-rattling to make a deal?

Largest Caribbean military build-up since the Cuban Missile Crisis leaves observers guessing if the US show of force is a prelude to action or a threat.

26 Nov 2025 - 4:10PM