Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

What We’re Watching: Trump inks trade deals in Asia, Zelensky under pressure at home, India and China make nice

​A financial data monitor in Tokyo shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average soaring more than 1,000 points to recover to the 40,000 level during morning trading on July 23, 2025, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had struck a trade deal with Japan.

A financial data monitor in Tokyo shows the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average soaring more than 1,000 points to recover to the 40,000 level during morning trading on July 23, 2025, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had struck a trade deal with Japan.

Kyodo via Reuters
Make us preferred on Google

Trump announces flurry of Asian trade deals

Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan on Tuesday, easing fears of escalating tensions with a key US ally (and the world’s fourth largest economy to boot). Under the agreement, the US will lower tariffs on Japanese cars to 15% and Japan will open its markets to more American cars, rice, and other goods, while also pumping $550 billion worth of fresh investment into the US. The president also announced similarly structured deals with the Philippines and Indonesia, though details remain spotty.


Zelensky sees first major protests against his government

Thousands Ukrainians gathered on the streets of Kyiv on Wednesday, defying martial law rules to protest president Volodymyr Zelensky’s moves to seize control of the nation’s independent anti-corruption body. It was the first time that Ukrainians have protested their government like this since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022. Zelensky’s office says the measure is needed to streamline anti-corruption probes and insulate them from external meddling. Will Ukrainians accept that?

Are India and China looking to patch things up?

India will resume issuing tourist visas to Chinese citizens tomorrow for the first time in five years, as Asia's two billion-strong powerhouses look to thaw a frosty relationship. The visas were banned amid a flurry of bilateral bans and restrictions that took hold after a military clash in 2020 over their long disputed Himalayan border. Chinese president Xi Jinping and Indian PM Narendra Modi have plans to meet in October.

More For You

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 27, 2026.​

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić gestures during a rally in Belgrade, Serbia, on June 27, 2026.

REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic
Serbia’s Vučić resigns from presidency, but not the political stageIn a surprise announcement, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said over the weekend that he will resign within the next couple of weeks. Vučić has dominated Serbian politics since his party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), took power in 2012, serving first as prime minister [...]
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo at the National Palace in Mexico City, on June 25, 2026.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo during the welcoming ceremony for Felipe VI of Spain at the National Palace in Mexico City, on June 25, 2026.

Carlos Santiago/Alto Press via ZUMA Press
Sheinbaum’s bind gets tougherAt least a dozen Mexican lawmakers – including members of President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Morena party – have reportedly offered to be informants to the United States as part of Washington’s investigations into elected officials’ alleged collusion with cartels. Sheinbaum has denounced the investigations, using them as a [...]
​People search for casualties under the rubble of a collapsed building in Caracas following earthquakes in Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

People search for casualties under the rubble of a collapsed building in the aftermath of earthquakes, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria
Will the earthquake shake Venezuela’s government?The death toll from the Venezuelan earthquakes continues to rise, nearing 600 by Friday morning. The US believes that figure could rise to a staggering 10,000 once all the dead are located under the rubble. The human and economic toll are immense. But as is often the case with natural disasters of [...]
A building damaged by earthquakes that hit the country, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

A view of the remains of a building damaged by earthquakes that hit the country, in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 25, 2026.

REUTERS/Fausto Torrealba
Deadly earthquakes hit Venezuela At least 164 people were killed and nearly 1,000 were left injured after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening. The 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes were the strongest to hit the country in nearly six decades. A number of buildings collapsed, Caracas’ international airport was damaged, and [...]