Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Europe

Hard Numbers: Chipmaking under lockdown, UN veto power questioned, Russian oil for India, crypto CAR

Hard Numbers: Chipmaking under lockdown, UN veto power questioned, Russian oil for India, crypto CAR
Gabriella Turrisi

2/3: Two-thirds of workers at a major semiconductor company in Shanghai haven't gone home since China's largest city locked down a month ago. Xi Jinping won’t let zero-COVID stop Chinese factories from churning out chips to sustain the country's supply while the world is still running low.


5: The tiny European principality of Liechtenstein punched way above its diplomatic weight on Tuesday by getting the UN General Assembly to pass its resolution obliging the five permanent members of the Security Council — China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US — to justify their vetoes. China and Russia were not amused.

26: India has bought some 26 million barrels of Russian oil since the war in Ukraine began — more than it did in all of last year. Why? The Indians, who remain ambivalent on Russia's invasion, are getting it at a steep discount.

2: After El Salvador, the Central African Republic became on Wednesday the world’s second country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender. Crypto bros must be excited, but it’s certainly a strange move in a country where only a tenth of the population is online.

More For You

​US President Donald Trump in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on April 21, 2026.

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks to NCAA Collegiate National Champions in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., USA, on April 21, 2026.

REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
US extends ceasefire, but also blockadePresident Donald Trump announced on social media on Tuesday that he was extending the ceasefire with Iran until their leaders “can come up with a unified proposal.” He did not provide a deadline, though, and it remains unclear how and when this impasse over ending the war will end. The US leader added that [...]
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the National Diet in Tokyo on April 17, 2026.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives at Lower House's cabinet committee session to discuss about the bill to establish National Intelligence Coiuncil at the National Diet in Tokyo on April 17, 2026.

Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO
Pacifists no more? Japan lifts arms-sales limitsTokyo announced on Tuesday that it will remove restrictions on arms exports to countries with which it already has defense agreements, including the US, the United Kingdom, other NATO members, and the Philippines. Japan’s arms exports had previously been restricted to defense-only equipment, but now [...]
Graphic Truth: Spain’s unique path on immigration
Eileen Zhang
While most European countries have tightened their border policies in recent years, Spain is embarking on one of the continent’s most daring immigration initiatives in recent memory: a sweeping program that could grant legal status to half a million undocumented migrants already living within its borders. [...]
Armed security personnel stand guard near the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 19, 2026.

Armed security personnel stand guard near the Serena Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 19, 2026. Heightened security measures were implemented around the venue ahead of the scheduled second round of technical-level talks between U.S. and Iranian delegations, aimed at reaching a negotiated settlement to the weeks-long conflict that has disrupted global energy supplies.

Middle East Images via Reuters Connect
Strait of Hormuz feud escalates, jeopardizing further US-Iran talksThe US Navy this weekend seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship seeking to break Washington’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran vowed to retaliate, and sent mixed signals on whether it would join further talks with the US in Pakistan this week. Hormuz traffic is now, once again, [...]