Diplomacy

Israel stands firm on troops in Lebanon, as Rubio seeks to sell Mid-East peace deal

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Trump says Iran has told US no tolls being sought for Strait of Hormuz passage

Ships have begun sailing through the Strait of Hormuz under a new scheme by the UN’s shipping agency.

News analysis

‘Pragmatists’ vs ‘hardliners’: Is Iran split over US deal?

A small faction of ultra-conservatives are opposing efforts by Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to bring an end to the US-Iran war.

Xi pressures Takaichi by throttling key China mineral exports to Japan

The throttling of goods began after
Japan PM Sanae Takaichi angered Beijing last November with comments about self-ruled Taiwan.

Zelensky to skip Ukraine recovery forum in Poland over WWII row

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy prepares to pose for a family photo before a cultural performance and concert during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 16, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

Can Pakistan's peacekeeping role in Iran war give it an economic dividend?

(From left) Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and US Vice-President J.D. Vance in the Swiss town of Buergenstock on June 21.

Forum: Schoolyard approach to global diplomacy has its limits

Vance hails ‘historic’ moment as US-Iran peace talks start in Switzerland

US Vice-President J.D. Vance speaks next to Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, as talks between the US and Iran began in Switzerland.

Iran war gives Pakistan its biggest diplomatic boost in decades

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding as mediator, after it was signed by US President Donald J. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Poland strips Ukraine’s Zelensky of top honour as WWII dispute sours ties

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish President Karol Nawrocki (left) at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, on Dec 19, 2025. The Ukrainian president caused outrage by renaming an army unit after a paramilitary group which massacred Poles in World War Two.

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MDDI (P) 046/10/2025. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No.202120748H. Copyright © 2026 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.