Earlier this morning, US President Donald Trump met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea – their first face-to-face meeting of Trump’s second term.
Trump later indicated the two came to an agreement on “almost everything” – as he wrapped up his three-stop tour of Asia.
In a post on social media platform X, Petro said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was already wanted by the International Criminal Court, committed “another international crime” by ordering the kidnapping of Colombian citizens in international waters.
The Colombian activists, Luna Barreto and Manuela Bedoya, were among a group of 497 anti-genocide activists that tried to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza via the Mediterranean Sea.
(September 30, 2025)
„We had the most powerful international trade agreement with the Andean Pact. And now the political satraps come out and say that it is with the United States. When was that the case? Our industrial goods were sold to Venezuela and Ecuador. There was always food trade in the Andean Pact. Why did we abandon the Andean Pact? To prioritize a free trade agreement with the United States that hurts us.“
President Gustavo Petro
Jimmy Kimmel returns to the air and talks about all of the people who have reached out over the last six days including fellow late night talk show hosts, fans of the show, and those who don’t support what he believes but support his right to share those beliefs anyway, and he expresses that it was never his intention to make light of the murder of a young man, how important it is to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this, the Chairman of the FCC Brendan Carr telling an American company that “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Trump saying he has no talent and no ratings, being fortunate to work at a company that has allowed us to do the show we want to do for almost 23 years, not agreeing with the decision to have our show pulled off the air last Wednesday, Trump making it very clear he wants to see Jimmy and other late night hosts fired, and solidarity from the right, left and those in the middle.
The agreement states that an attack against one country will be considered an attack against both.
This landmark pact is considered a revolutionary step, solidifying the depth of the strategic partnership and defense cooperation between the two nations. Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir played a key role in the successful finalization of the agreement.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embrace each other on the day they sign a defence agreement, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 17, 2025.
Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution grants the President the power to make treaties, with the advice and consent of the Senate. This process requires a two-thirds Senate vote for a treaty to become law, ensuring that no single individual can unilaterally decide the nation‘s international commitments.
(August 31, 2025)
The issue was brought before the International Court of Justice, an agency of the UN, which ruled that the US was legally bound by the headquarters agreement. But the ICJ never issued a final ruling on the Arafat visa denial because the issue was brought to arbitration, although that process too was never brought to a definitive conclusion.
(July 14, 2025)
Global Witness contacted Israel, Egypt, the EU and the Palestinian Mission to the UK for comment on our findings. None responded.
The optics of the U.S. leader’s Middle East visit were strong, showcasing the larger-than-life opulence of the region’s richest petrostates — and how much of that wealth they are willing to spend to deepen their ties with the U.S. and advance their own economic agendas.
The numbers are historic. Qatar and the U.S. agreed on a $1.2 trillion “economic exchange”; Saudia Arabia promised to invest $600 billion in the U.S., and major projects were signed with the United Arab Emirates, after Abu Dhabi in March committed to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework in the U.S.
This announcement comes as key figures in the tech world, including Tesla‘s Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, are expected in Riyadh for a US-Saudi investment forum. The event is expected to feature a series of multibillion-dollar deals across AI, defence, and other sectors.
During an address at the event, Prince Mohammed said the Kingdom was looking at $600 billion of investment opportunities, adding that he hoped this would raise to $1 trillion.
The United States and Saudi Arabia signed an economic partnership agreement and a number of energy deals between Saudi oil giant Aramco and American companies during the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to the Kingdom on Tuesday.
The U.S. has agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, the White House announced Tuesday, as President Donald Trump kicked off his Middle East trip in Riyadh.
Future military assistance from the U.S. could count as contributions to the newly established joint investment fund, but prior aid will not.
Pre-existing projects, such as those owned by Ukraine‘s state-owned companies, will not be impacted by the minerals deal.
„Revenues from projects already launched or budgeted revenues are not included in the Fund. The agreement refers to further strategic cooperation,“ First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said.
Ukraine and the United States will establish a U.S.-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund to attract global investments into the country. The relevant agreement was signed on Wednesday in Washington by First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
„The Fund will be financed exclusively through revenue from NEW licenses – specifically, 50% of the proceeds from new licenses for critical materials and oil and gas projects that will flow into the budget after the Fund‘s creation. Revenues from already launched projects or budgeted income will not be included in the Fund,“ Svyrydenko wrote in a Facebook post.
The US Treasury Department on Wednesday announced that both countries signed the agreement. “As the President has said, the United States is committed to helping facilitate the end of this cruel and senseless war,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“This agreement signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term,” Bessent said. “And to be clear, no state or person who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be allowed to benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will visit Washington during the week starting April 21, 2025, to meet with Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury Scott Bessent and provide high-level support for the completion of technical discussions on the terms of the agreement on the creation of a Reconstruction Investment Fund.
„We‘re going to meet with them (Russia) later on today and tomorrow, and hopefully, we‘ll be able to (work) out a deal. I think the ceasefire is very important,“ Trump said.
When asked if Zelensky would be invited back to the White House, the U.S. president responded, „Sure, absolutely.“
(today)
The Kremlin does not exclude that the issue of a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump may come up in the wake of the US-Ukrainian negotiations and could be organized quickly, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
„We also do not rule out that the topic of a call at the highest level may arise. If such a need emerges, it will be organized very quickly. The existing channels of dialogue with the Americans make it possible to do this in a relatively short time,“ he said.
(March 11, 2025)
The Kremlin has no information about Tuesday’s talks between the US and Ukraine that could be used as part of the efforts to settle the Ukrainian conflict, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
„No, not yet,“ he said in an interview with Izvestia in response to a question on the subject.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope on March 11 that Russia would accept the proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Ukraine.
„The ball is in their court,“ Rubio said during a press conference following the talks with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia.
At the talks in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine proposed ceasefire in the skies, at sea, and is ready to establish a complete ceasefire for 30 days; if Russia agrees, the ceasefire will work, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The deal is a major breakthrough that would bring most of Syria under the control of the government, which is led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that led the ouster of President Bashar Assad in December.
The deal was signed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Trump said in his address to Congress that he received that same message in a letter from Zelensky. He read Zelensky‘s statement aloud, apparently presenting the message as a sign of successful U.S. pressure on Kyiv. Trump added that his team had held discussions with Russia and received „strong signals“ that Moscow is ready to make peace.
„Wouldn‘t that be beautiful?“ he said.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Stubb suggested that to patch things up, Zelensky and Trump should act “Finnish” and “take a deep breath, take a cold bath, a sauna, breathe and come back to the negotiating table.”
The Finnish president said the way forward is for the two leaders to resume talks and finalize the minerals deal, as this would likely become the “tipping point for a bigger deal towards a ceasefire and then towards peace negotiations.”
The Ukrainian leader said he was ready to release Russian prisoners of war, stop long-range drone and missile strikes aimed at Russian targets, and declare a truce at sea immediately — moves that he said would help establish a pathway to peace.
Only, however, “if Russia will do the same,” he added.
He explained that, in his opinion, the most important thing is not the public statements, such as President Zelenskyy saying he was committed to peace or apologizing to the president. He emphasized that what matters more is what the Ukrainians do to get meaningfully involved in what a peaceful settlement would look like. He stated that they need Ukrainians to come to them privately and say what they need, what they want, and how they will participate in the process of ending the conflict. He concluded that this lack of private participation is what concerns them the most.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Capitol Hill that Ukraine must “come to the table and start negotiating” in order for aid to be restored and that President Donald Trump is still committed to a rare minerals deal.
Trump called it „the worst statement that could have been made“ and accused Zelensky of not wanting peace „as long as he has America‘s backing.“
Zelensky countered that Ukraine needs real peace and that no one wants it more than Ukrainians, as the war continues to devastate cities and claim lives.
„Peace is needed as soon as possible,“ he said.
According to the president, Ukraine continues to work with partners and is preparing for other steps in the near future.
“It is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible. We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns. We lose our people,” Zelenskyy noted.
He stressed that the war must be stopped and security guaranteed.