China

PRC diplomats offered the EU participation in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. The inclusion of China in the coalition may affect Russia's agreement to the presence of peacekeepers.

In 2024, Russia transported more than 60% of its seaborne oil exports thanks to a shadow fleet of tankers. Total seaborne oil exports are estimated at over €80 billion.

Donald Trump has denied media reports that Elon Musk was familiarized with a secret war plan with China. He called the NYT information false, and Musk uninformed.

Since Trump's election, European defense ministries have felt a cooling in relations with their American counterparts. They are finding it difficult to get meetings, and the American military is changing its policies.

European countries are facing a shortage of explosives due to increased demand and depleted reserves. Expanding production is complicated by dependence on raw material imports and regulatory barriers.

The foreign ministers of Japan, China and South Korea will discuss strengthening ties and addressing common problems in the countries' relations. Ahead of the meeting, China called for mutual trust.

The head of the Pentagon canceled more than $580 million in grants and contracts that are considered wasteful spending. Among the cancellations is the development of personnel software.

Elon Musk has threatened Pentagon officials with responsibility for leaking information about his access to classified data regarding US plans in the event of a conflict with China. Musk warned that those responsible would be found.

According to the NYT, the Pentagon planned to inform Elon Musk about plans for a war with China. Trump and the Pentagon leadership denied this information, calling it fake.

Donald Trump has invoked a wartime law to increase US mineral production. This is being done to reduce dependence on China and boost the domestic mining industry.

By 2050, the number of people with Parkinson's disease in the world will increase to 25. 2 million. The largest increase is expected in East Asia, and regular physical activity reduces the risk.

China advocates dialogue to resolve the crisis in Ukraine and supports any efforts aimed at achieving a ceasefire. This was stated by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning.

In 2024, 151 cases of extreme weather were recorded, leading to mass displacement of the population and deepening the food crisis. Last year was the hottest on record.

According to ISW, Putin rejected the US and Ukrainian ceasefire proposal, insisting on demands tantamount to surrender. He seeks to hold the ceasefire proposal "hostage".

46% of Americans believe the US is not doing enough to help Ukraine in the war with Russia, support has increased by 16% since December. A majority wants the US to help Ukraine regain territories.

Chinese automaker BYD has unveiled the Super Charging Platform for electric vehicles with a peak power of 1000 kW. In 5 minutes, you can charge the battery for 470 kilometers.

Turkey's largest oil refiner Tüpraş has reduced imports of Russian oil, replacing it with supplies from other countries, including Brazil. The share of Russian oil in imports fell from 50% to 19%.

The Russian Fund is considering the development of rare earth element deposits and offers the United States joint research. Russia ranks fifth in the world in terms of reserves of these metals.

Secretary of State Rubio stated that Trump is the only leader capable of ending the war in Ukraine. Ukraine has made concessions, but steps are needed from Russia.

Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia have announced their withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention due to threats from Russia and Belarus. This should provide more opportunities to defend NATO's eastern flank.

OpenAI and Google want free access to copyrighted materials to train AI. More than 400 Hollywood stars are outraged and are asking Trump to reject the proposal in order to protect creativity.

Against the background of economic tension between the US and China, Trump hinted at a meeting with Xi Jinping. The US has imposed duties on imports from China due to accusations of supplying chemicals for fentanyl.

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is considering Germany as a location for its third factory in Europe. This would avoid EU import duties on Chinese-made electric cars.

The Trump administration is firing employees of Voice of America and other US-funded media. Contractors have been notified of termination of work and access to buildings.

The Czech government is raising the issue in the EU regarding support for broadcasters Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The Czech Foreign Minister emphasizes that the closure of broadcasters would be a loss for democracy.

Japan plans to deploy missiles with a range of 1,000 km on Kyushu Island by 2026. This is being done to strengthen the security of the southwestern part of Nansei Island near Taiwan.

Chinese Baidu introduced two new artificial intelligence models: ERNIE X1, which will compete with DeepSeek R1, and ERNIE 4. 5 with multimodal understanding. New developments demonstrate the growing competition in the field of AI.

The Chairman of the PRC refused to visit the summit in Brussels, dedicated to the 50th anniversary of relations between the EU and China. The event, important for the partnership, remains in question.

President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Stephen Capus, stated that cutting funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a gift to Iran, China, and autocratic regimes, which will only strengthen their positions.

A California court has ordered Starbucks to pay Michael Garcia $50 million for burns sustained from spilled hot coffee in 2020. The company plans to appeal the verdict.