Author: Verified News Online

Advertisement2026 Trump-Xi summitChinaDiplomacyAs Iran talks go nowhere, will Donald Trump still go to Beijing?With peace negotiations postponed, it is unclear if the US president will be ready to look at stabilising ties between the two top economies
2-MIN READ2-MIN4 ListenLaura ZhouPublished: 11:00pm, 22 Apr 2026Updated: 11:37pm, 22 Apr 2026The on-again, off-again US-Iran peace talks are casting doubt on whether Donald Trump will make his planned visit to Beijing in a few weeks, though the war could raise the diplomatic stakes of the trip if it does go ahead, Chinese observers say.Hours before a two-week ceasefire was set to end, the US president announced on Tuesday that he was prolonging the fragile truce with Iran.That came after Vice-President J.D. Vance’s trip to Pakistan for a second round of peace negotiations was first paused and then postponed.AdvertisementThe last-minute flip-flop underscores the deep mistrust between the foes and raises the question of whether Trump is rea..

AdvertisementThe PhilippinesThis Week in AsiaPoliticsICC chamber rules case against Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs killings to proceedDuterte’s lawyers argue that the crimes against humanity case targeting him should not proceed as the Philippines is not an ICC member
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenRaissa RoblesPublished: 10:37pm, 22 Apr 2026Families of victims of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs hailed as a “vindication” on Wednesday the International Criminal Court Appeals Chamber’s refusal to throw out the crimes against humanity case against him.Duterte has been held by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague since March 2025 over killings linked to his anti-drugs campaign while he was in office.
His lawyers argued that the court had no authority to try him because the Philippines officially withdrew from the ICC’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, in 2019.AdvertisementBut the judges said the court could still hear the case because its inquiry began be..

Mexican president says she was not aware of any joint operation with US officials after two US men were killed in a car crash in Chihuahua

After two US officials were killed in a crash in Chihuahua, the largest state in Mexico, president Claudia Sheinbaum said she had no idea what operation they were involved in as she was not informed. According to reports, it was a covert operation in northern Chihuahua to destroy a clandestine drug lab and Mexican officials were also part of it. But neither did the US government identify the two killed in the crash, nor did the Mexican government offer any details. Instead, Sheinbaum denied any knowledge of any joint operation.”It was not an operation that the security cabinet was aware of,” Sheinbaum told journalists. “We were not informed; it was a decision by the Chihuahua government.”Sheinbaum said her government would investigate the incident to ensure no laws were broken after the deaths on Sunday, adding that state governments must have aut..

. President Donald Trump said the US seized a ship on Monday “that had some things on it” that were not “very nice,” calling it a “gift from China.”He did not say where the ship was seized, whether it was Chinese flagged, or what its cargo was.“I was a little surprised, but because I have a very good relationship, and I thought I had an understanding with President Xi, but that’s alright, that’s the way war goes, right?” Trump said in an interview on CNBC aired earlier today.Trump brought up the incident while discussing tensions involving Iran, saying his threat to bomb Iran’s bridges would affect the country’s military operations as it moves missiles. He also said Iran had likely done “a little bit of restocking” during a ceasefire that expires tomorrow.CNN reported last week that US intelligence indicated China was preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran within the next few weeks. Trump has previously warned China against supplying weapons to Iran. “If China does that, ..

AdvertisementUS-China relationsUSPoliticsTrump’s military push confronts US lawmakers and China’s shipbuilding edgeCongressional resistance, war costs and industrial limits could constrain ambitions, even as Beijing expands its naval capacity
6-MIN READ6-MIN1 ListenYuanyue Dangin WashingtonPublished: 11:00pm, 21 Apr 2026US President Donald Trump’s long-standing obsession with sea power was underscored by his pledge to rebuild the US Navy into what he called a “Golden Fleet” as he returned to the White House.His financial year 2027 budget released on April 3 puts a price tag on the ambition: US$65.8 billion for 34 warships, including initial funding for a next-generation battleship he wants to name after himself, part of the largest US$1.5 trillion defence-spending request in history.But analysts say the record budget blueprint must first survive a sceptical Congress focused on voter affordability in a midterm election year – and, even if it does, the money alone cannot rescue an Americ..

AdvertisementEducation in Hong KongHong KongEducationNumber of Hong Kong school leavers seeking education elsewhere hits 14-year lowOnly 2,671 of 40,948 Form Six graduates pursuing full-time courses chose to study outside Hong Kong last year, the lowest level since 2012
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenWilliam YiuPublished: 10:22pm, 21 Apr 2026The number of Hong Kong secondary school leavers pursuing higher studies outside the city fell to a 14-year low in 2025, with an expert attributing the trend to a surge in mainland Chinese students targeting local universities.
Only 2,671 students, or 6.5 per cent of 40,948 Form Six graduates pursuing full-time courses, chose to study outside Hong Kong last year, a survey by the Education Bureau showed. The number was a 13 per cent drop from the 2024 figure of 3,061 and the lowest since 2012.
Compared with the previous peak in 2020, the number of Form Six students leaving the city plunged by 56 per cent in six years, with Taiwan and Canada down by more than..