Latest news for 1 May 2025

UKRAINE

US and Ukraine sign minerals deal.

Kyiv and Washington signed a long-awaited natural resources deal on Wednesday, setting up a joint investment fund to share future revenues from Ukraine’s mineral reserves. (BBC)

Comment: While the deal reportedly provides Kyiv with no additional security guarantees, it might remove a source of tension between the two leaders, and could give President Trump political cover to continue some US support for Ukraine.

UNITED STATES

Is Tesla looking for a new CEO?

Tesla shares sagged 4% in overnight trading after the Wall Street Journal reported the EV-maker started searching for a new CEO last month as profits and valuations collapsed. The current status of that search is unclear, and Tesla has denied the report. (WSJ $)

Comment: This is a real dilemma for the board — Musk’s political and geopolitical role has now triggered consumer blowback, but his departure would risk market blowback given his role in Tesla’s success since 2008. Fun fact: Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm spoke on a panel at the same conference as Intrigue earlier today (of course, no comment).

JAPAN

Tokyo slashes growth forecast.

The Bank of Japan just cut its growth forecast by more than half, in a sharp downgrade from the 1.1% growth it was projecting as recently as January. The reason? Tariffs. (NYT $)

BRUSSELS

Beijing lifts EU sanctions.

China has agreed to lift sanctions on five EU parliamentarians, placed in 2021 after the lawmakers accused Beijing of human rights violations against Uyghurs. (Euractiv).

Comment: As the White House’s evolving approach to the world upends chess pieces, capitals everywhere are revisiting their take on friend and foe alike. Beijing will sense an opportunity to further split the West, and these political gestures to mend EU ties are presumably to help serve that end.

VIETNAM

China, Laos, and Cambodia join Vietnam parade.

Vietnam has hosted its 50-year anniversary celebrations marking the end of the Vietnam War, and interestingly, the parade has included 300 soldiers from China, Laos, and Cambodia for the first time. (France24)

Comment: Guess who wasn’t clapping from the VIP section? DC reportedly instructed the US ambassador not to attend, though a lower-ranked US diplomat later turned up at a related reception. That mixed US attendance reflects America’s tricky balancing act between not wanting to a) applaud a strategic rival like China, b) alienate a strategic partner like Vietnam, and c) not wanting to diss the many US veterans who’ve been personally championing US-Vietnam reconciliation over the years. You’d be stunned how much analysis goes into a single RSVP.

COLOMBIA

Security forces targeted by armed groups.

Bogota is reporting that armed groups have killed more Colombian security personnel over the last couple of weeks, in what Colombia is calling revenge attacks after troops killed several gang leaders amid collapsed peace talks. (BBC)

Comment: There’s been talk of capitals trying to replicate El Salvador’s success in crushing organised crime, but you’ve got to remember Colombia is 50 times bigger, with eight times the population, and confronting a more sophisticated and complicated series of foes all variously blending crime, ideology, and long-standing local grievances.

ALGERIA

Draft law could hand military further powers.

Amid ongoing spats with neighbours like Morocco and Mali, Algeria’s council of ministers is pushing a bill that’d expand the military’s powers, including to allow for wartime mobilisation if necessary. (AP)

Comment: This is probably intended as both a regional flex (don’t mess with us) and a domestic tool (harnessing a bit of nationalism) to deflect from its economic woes and political dissent.