WORLD

COMMENT | MAX VON THUN  | Europeans have long lamented the continent’s lack of globally competitive tech companies. But since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the goal of ending Europe’s reliance on US-based tech giants has taken on new urgency. With US tech oligarchs interfering in European elections and the Trump administration …

WASHINGTON | Xinhua | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “doesn’t have anything until I approve it,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in an exclusive interview with Politico on Friday, two days ahead of his meeting with Zelensky in Florida over a peace plan to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict lasting nearly four …

CAIRO | Xinhua |  As 2025 draws to a close, practical cooperation between China and Middle Eastern countries has continued to grow in both depth and scope, even as the region remains unsettled by conflict and uncertainty. Over the past year, Chinese investors have launched or expanded ventures from the …

In his Christmas Urbi et Orbi address, Pope Leo XIV renews his plea for peace, reminding the world that it is both God’s gift and humanity’s shared responsibility. VATICAN | VATICAN NEWS | As war continues to scar the world, Pope Leo XIV used his Christmas Urbi et Orbi message to renew his appeal …

  COMMENT | MICHAEL BURLEIGH | Until a few days ago, it had never crossed my mind that people across Europe – including Londoners like me – were living in a strife-afflicted hell hole, “suffocated” by regulations, stripped of political liberties, and bound for “civilizational erasure.” So, it was with …

LOS ANGELES | Xinhua | Hundreds of Chinese and Americans, including lawmakers, diplomats and world champions, gathered at Los Angeles County’s Pacific Palms Resort to commemorate the 54th anniversary of China-U.S. “Ping-Pong Diplomacy.” Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Guo Shaochun described “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” over five decades ago as “an …

Vatican | VATICAN NEWS | “I once again make this appeal to all people of good will: that, at least on the feast of the birth of the Saviour, one day of peace may be respected,” said Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday, 23 December, from Castel Gandolfo. This as he launched an …

BEIJING | Xinhua | From the server racks of a São Paulo university to the trading desks of Dubai, the hum of global innovation has changed its tune by late 2025. When engineers across the world open the “hood” of their newest artificial intelligence (AI) applications, they increasingly find an …

BEIJING | Xinhua |  When future historians look back on the once-in-a-century global transformation and trace the underlying logic of evolving international relations, they will surely recognize Sept. 1, 2025 as a pivotal moment — when Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Governance Initiative (GGI). Prior to this, Beijing …

WASHINGTON | Xinhua | U.S. President Donald Trump announced Monday that the U.S. Navy will build two new “Trump-class” warships, which he has claimed will be “the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.” At a press conference along with Defense Secretary …