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US President Donald Trump during a news conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday. Photo: EPA

Diplomacy

Trump warns Venezuela’s interim leader to cooperate, or else

US President Donald Trump said Delcy Rodríguez could pay ‘a very big price’ if she defies Washington.

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US scrambles geopolitics with stark attack on Venezuela

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China is likely to thread the needle after US attack on Venezuela

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Russia & Central Asia

Trump says Ukraine did not target Putin residence, disputing Russia’s claim

US president says no evidence Novgorod estate was targeted, even as Russia reports an uptick in drone interceptions in the Moscow region.

Wreckage of a drone that was shot down allegedly during an attempted strike on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residence in the northwestern Novgorod region. Russian Defence Ministry via EPA
Wreckage of a drone that was shot down allegedly during an attempted strike on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s official residence in the northwestern Novgorod region. Russian Defence Ministry via EPA

World

AI scientist leaves US for China; domestic helpers in Asia: 5 weekend reads

From China’s reaction to Maduro’s capture to another AI scientist leaving the US, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

Europe

Swiss grieve as all 40 bar fire victims identified - many of them under 18

Hundreds march in silence to honour victims of the New Year’s Swiss bar fire who were as young as 14.

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Companies

Insilico signs US$888 million AI drug deal days after Hong Kong IPO

Multi-year partnership with France’s Servier will use Insilico’s AI platform to explore novel cancer drugs.

The deal further validates Insilico’s AI-driven drug discovery platform, which the company claims can slash drug-development timelines to 12 to 18 months from the average of 4.5 years. Photo: Shutterstock
The deal further validates Insilico’s AI-driven drug discovery platform, which the company claims can slash drug-development timelines to 12 to 18 months from the average of 4.5 years. Photo: Shutterstock

Europe

Loot in German bank vault heist could exceed US$117 million

Hundreds of safe deposit box holders report losses from last month’s heist far exceeding insurance limits.

Middle East

At least 16 dead in Iran during week of protests: rights groups

Rights groups report rising fatalities and hundreds of arrests in the biggest Iran protests in three years.

Russia & Central Asia

Russia’s Medvedev floats kidnapping scenario involving Germany’s Merz

Following the US raid in Venezuela, Russia’s ex-president said the kidnapping of Friedrich Merz would be an ‘excellent twist’.

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Berlin in December. Photo: dpa

Europe

Berlin mayor denounces attack on German capital’s power grid as ‘terrorism’

Mayor demands a federal manhunt for those who plunged 45,000 homes into darkness as the alleged perpetrators claim responsibility.

A man uses a torch in his flat during a blackout that left thousands of homes without electricity. Photo: Reuters
A man uses a torch in his flat during a blackout that left thousands of homes without electricity. Photo: Reuters

Europe

Mobile seizure powers launch in UK crackdown on people smugglers

New UK laws allow officers to seize SIM cards and mobiles to gather intelligence on smuggling operators.

Europe

Anne Frank’s stepsister, Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, dies at 96

Schloss co-founded the Anne Frank Trust UK foundation in 1990 to pass on the memory of the Holocaust to young people and combat prejudice.

Europe

UK’s Starmer says ousting him would lead to chaos, far-right government

Instability ‘would gift Nigel Farage’, the PM said, referring to the right-wing Reform UK leader who currently tops opinion polls.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer during an interview with the BBC on Saturday. Photo: AFP

China Economy

Maduro capture: is the US trying to grab control of the global oil market?

Removal of Venezuelan leader could be part of US effort to regain global pricing power as petrodollar system comes under strain: analysts.

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In a photo released by the White House, US President Donald Trump monitors American military strikes on Venezuela from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on June 3. Photo: AP
In a photo released by the White House, US President Donald Trump monitors American military strikes on Venezuela from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on June 3. Photo: AP

Africa

War in Sudan: drone strikes cut power supply in oil-rich south

Over the past week, some 15,000 people have been displaced from the region, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

Europe

Portugal’s 11 presidential candidates debate migration, instability

A government package of labour reforms, a major strike, and a law permitting euthanasia and doctor-assisted suicide will also land on the president’s desk.

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Politics

The China-US face-off: a visual guide to Xi and Trump’s key people

Discover the power players in Xi and Trump’s teams; the key people setting the agenda on diplomacy, the military, the economy, security and science.

The China-US face-off: a visual guide to Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s inner circles

United States & Canada

Power players: a visual guide to Trump’s team and their views on China

Discover who is in Donald Trump’s inner circle, their backgrounds, stances on China and the roles they will play in shaping the future of the US.

United States & Canada

Trump blames bruised hand on aspirin, denies falling asleep in meetings

The US president says his hand was ‘whacked’ from a high five, and his previously reported MRI was actually a CAT scan.

Diplomacy

‘No worries’: Trump plays down Beijing’s military drills around Taiwan

Trump dismisses ‘routine’ drills in Taiwan Strait even as US arms sales hit record high and Pentagon repeats 2027 timeline.

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US President Donald Trump spoke about China’s military drills around Taiwan during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Monday. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
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Open Questions series

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

US-China rivalry doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game: Jessica Chen Weiss

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Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

Liu Qian on Chinese innovation, the US rivalry and women holding up half the sky

7
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez Garcia

Fuchsia Dunlop tells how she fell for China’s cuisine and names her perfect dish

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5
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

80 years on from WWII, China’s interests lie in peaceful Asia-Pacific: Mitter

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18
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

‘Delusional’: Jeffrey Sachs on why Western hegemony has ended

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93
Illustration: Henry Wong

Scholar Jing Qian on right-sizing China’s economy in the age of Trump

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40
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

US-China rivalry doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game: Jessica Chen Weiss

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29
Illustration: Victor Sanjinez
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MULTIMEDIA
Video

Trump pledges to keep oil flowing to China after Maduro capture

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro captured by US military
03:31
Video

Pakistan brewery exporting after near 50-year ban

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03:04
Video

As bear attacks rise in Japan, diners bite back

Hunter Katsuo Harada, 84, holds the skull of the bear that attacked him more than 20 years ago, during an interview with Reuters at his home in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan October 15, 2024. (Reuters/Sakura Murakami)
06:28
Video

Claw machines take over arcades in Japan

In this picture taken on November 22, 2025, stuffed toys are seen inside claw crane game machines inside a shop at Tokyo’s Shinjuku district. As school and work wraps up, crowds gradually fill Tokyo’s many bustling arcade halls —- not to battle it out in fighting games, but to snag plush toys from claw machines. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP) / TO GO WITH ‘JAPAN-ANIMATION-GAME-ARCADE, FOCUS’ BY MATHIAS CENA
02:53
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