Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is heading to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for what the Pentagon described as an effort to “engage with troops,” placing fresh attention on a US base that sits at the center of one of Washington’s most fraught relationships. The trip, disclosed in a single-sentence Pentagon statement, comes as the United States intensifies pressure on Cuba through sanctions and a punishing oil blockade. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly indicated he wants to bring down Cuba’s communist government, tying that…

With a flourish of warm rhetoric and hard-edged diplomacy, China's President Xi Jinping set off for North Korea praising what he called an "invincible friendship" with Pyongyang, embarking on his first trip abroad this year after hosting successive summits in Beijing. For decades, China — Washington's principal geopolitical rival — has remained by far North Korea's biggest trading partner, as well as a crucial source of diplomatic and economic backing for the sanctions-hit nation of about 26 million people. The visit marks…

A visit rich in both diplomacy and family history is on the horizon, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney set to travel to Ireland next week. Mr Carney will begin in Dublin, where he is due to meet Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the first bilateral visit to Ireland by a Canadian Prime Minister in nearly a decade. He will then travel west to Co Mayo, where he is scheduled to meet President Catherine Connolly. The trip also carries a personal dimension for Mr Carney: two of his grandparents left Aughagower, near Westport, for…

Four days after US President Donald Trump departed Beijing, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived — a swift diplomatic handover that underscored China’s central place in an increasingly unsettled global order. Beijing’s ties with Washington and Moscow differ sharply, of course: one relationship is defined by strategic rivalry, the other by strategic partnership. Yet as China welcomes a steady procession of global leaders, each high-profile visit helps reinforce the sense that Beijing is becoming a pivotal stage for world…

Against a backdrop of mounting geopolitical strain, Britain’s King Charles arrives in the United States today for a state visit overshadowed by the Iran war and by a shooting at a dinner attended by US President Donald Trump just two days ago. The four-day journey by Charles and Queen Camilla is meant to celebrate the long-standing relationship between Britain and the United States as America commemorates its 250th anniversary, the British government said. During the visit, Charles is set to become the first British monarch…

A last-minute diplomatic tussle has grounded Taiwan President Lai Ching-te’s planned trip to Eswatini, with Taipei accusing Beijing of leaning on other nations to deny overflight permissions—an action it condemned as a breach of international norms and a risk to aviation safety. Taiwan said Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar withdrew Lai’s flight clearances under “intense pressure” and economic coercion from China. Beijing rejected the coercion claim and instead lauded the three Indian Ocean countries, saying it held…

On a visit to Cameroon's troubled northwest, Pope Leo XIV delivered a forceful rebuke to foreign profiteers, accusing them of siphoning Africa’s wealth and deepening the continent’s hardships. Speaking in Bamenda, the epicentre of the country’s long-running Anglophone separatist crisis, he urged Cameroon’s government to confront corruption so that peace can take root. The pontiff said domestic failings are being compounded by outside actors who, “in the name of profit,” continue to seize Africa’s resources to “exploit and…

US Vice President JD Vance touched down in Budapest this morning for a two-day trip officially framed as an effort to strengthen ties between Washington and Budapest. Yet the political stakes are far sharper: his visit is widely seen as an attempt to lift Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose Fidesz party trails the main centre-right opposition by nine percentage points in the polls ahead of Sunday's parliamentary election. The contest marks the most serious electoral test of Fidesz’s rule so far, after four straight…

Israel accredits first North Western State of Somalia ambassador, deepening ties after recognition JERUSALEM — Israel has granted diplomatic accreditation to Dr. Mohamed Omar Haaji Mohamud, the first ambassador of North Western State of Somalia to Israel, formalizing a new phase in relations less than two months after Israel became the first country to recognize the self-declared republic. Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday that the appointment follows the establishment of diplomatic relations on Dec. 26, 2025,…

Ethiopia asks Türkiye for diplomatic backing in push for sea access as Erdogan visits Addis Ababa Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Tuesday he asked Türkiye for diplomatic support in Addis Ababa’s effort to secure access to the sea, making the issue a central focus of talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a rare high-level visit to the Ethiopian capital. At a joint news conference, Abiy said he discussed Ethiopia’s “quest for sea access” with Erdogan and welcomed what he described as strong and…