Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/7/seoul-calls-for-freeze-of-norths-nuclear-programme-chinese-mediation South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has urged China’s President Xi Jinping to act as a mediator in efforts to improve ties with North Korea and revive stalled negotiations over its nuclear programme during a state visit to Beijing. Lee proposed that Pyongyang freeze its nuclear activities — meaning no new weapons production, no transfer of… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/9/us-to-support-cambodian-thai-ceasefire-with-45m-aid-pledge The United States announced it will provide $45 million in aid to support the fragile truce between Thailand and Cambodia, brokered by former President Donald Trump. The funding is divided into $20 million for combating drug trafficking and cyberscams, $15 million for border stabilization and aid to displaced people, and $10 million for demining and unexploded… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/8/china-finds-risks-opportunities-as-trump-pushes-for-spheres-of-influence China is re-evaluating its global approach in light of the U.S. President Donald Trump’s renewed focus on spheres of influence, especially in the Western Hemisphere. Trump has revived the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine in the U.S. national security strategy to assert that the Americas should be free from “hostile” foreign powers like China, a stance underscored by… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/12/15/korea-zinc-plans-7-4bn-us-minerals-refinery-with-washingtons-backing Korea Zinc, the world’s largest zinc smelting company, has unveiled plans to build a $7.4 billion minerals refinery in the United States with substantial backing from the U.S. government. The facility, planned for Clarksville, Tennessee, will be funded largely through a strategic partnership in which the U.S. Department of Defense takes a 40 % stake and… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/14/thailand-launches-new-offensive-as-cambodia-halts-all-border-crossings Thailand’s military has launched a new offensive against Cambodia, claiming it is acting to reclaim sovereign territory along their disputed border, defying recent international mediation efforts. The move comes amid ongoing violent clashes between the two Southeast Asian neighbours over their long-running colonial-era border demarcation dispute. Thailand’s navy said its forces struck in Trat province, and… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/16/trump-urges-chinas-xi-to-free-jailed-hong-kong-media-tycoon-jimmy-lai United States President Donald Trump has appealed directly to Chinese President Xi Jinping to free Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai following Lai’s conviction under Hong Kong’s national security law. Trump said he spoke with Xi about the case and asked him to “consider his release” because Lai, who is 78, is older and in poor… Read more »
Link to Article: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/diplomatic-dispute-china-suspends-japanese-seafood-imports-amid-escalating-row-heres-why/articleshow/125431437.cms China has suspended imports of Japanese seafood amid escalating tensions between the two countries, intensifying a diplomatic dispute sparked by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks suggesting Japan could intervene militarily if Taiwan were attacked. China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, reacted sharply to these comments. Japanese media reported the suspension, and public… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgdr1vlz7ko President Donald Trump announced that he will visit Beijing in April after a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which he also invited Xi for a state visit to the U.S. next year. The two leaders had met almost a month earlier in Busan, South Korea, where they agreed to a tariff truce. Following… Read more »
Link to Article: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-criticises-japans-plan-deploy-missiles-island-near-taiwan-2025-11-24/ Yonaguni Island — only about 110 km from Taiwan — is set to receive a medium-range surface-to-air missile unit under plans by Japan Self‑Defense Forces. According to Japan’s Shinjiro Koizumi, the deployment aims to protect Japanese territory and reduce the chance of an armed attack on the island. In response, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the… Read more »
