Latest news for 22 May 2025

SOUTH AFRICA

Ramaphosa and Trump face off at the White House.

Hoping to smooth over ties (and even bringing two golf stars along to help), South Africa’s president instead watched as President Trump unveiled a video featuring a South African opposition lawmaker calling for violence against white farmers. (CNN)

ISRAEL

Two Israeli embassy staff shot dead in DC.

The detained suspect, identified as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, reportedly shouted “free Palestine” after shooting the engaged embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC on Wednesday evening. (BBC)

UNITED STATES

Stocks slip on budget bill worries.

The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq have all slid 1% after a spike in 30-year Treasury bond yields, suggesting investors are worried Trump’s budget bill could worsen the country’s deficit. We wrote about the latest US credit downgrade here.

UKRAINE

Former presidential aide shot dead in Spain.

Someone has assassinated a US-sanctioned senior aide to Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly ex-president (Yanukovych) in broad daylight outside a Madrid school. (Sky)

Comment: The string of suspicious deaths of Kremlin critics abroad has given way to more assassinations of pro-Kremlin voices lately. We wonder whether, as the US steps back its support for Ukraine, that’s also removing any US leverage over Ukraine’s intelligence services, who now seem unleashed after years of Biden’s caution.

MALAYSIA

Minister announces then walks back Huawei AI system.

Malaysia’s deputy communications minister has announced Malaysia’s first nationwide AI system powered by China’s Huawei chips, only for her office to then quietly walk back that announcement a day later. (Bloomberg)

Comment: This looks to us like an example of the tightrope countries in Southeast Asia have to walk between wanting to tout progress to a domestic audience, while avoiding antagonising the US or China, particularly when it comes to emerging technologies. We touched on this complex balance earlier this week. White House advisors have cited this Malaysia story as vindication for Trump’s decision to ditch Biden’s AI diffusion rules, arguing they just opened gaps for US rivals.

DR Congo

Former PM sentenced to hard labour.

A court has sentenced Augustin Matata Ponyo, the Congo’s former prime minister (2012-2016), to a decade of hard labour for embezzling a cool quarter of a billion in public funds. He insists the charges are politically motivated. (BBC)

Venezuela

Maduro suspends flights from Colombia ahead of election.

Venezuela has suspended all flights from neighbouring Colombia after allegedly detaining dozens of folks plotting to destabilise Venezuela ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections. (Al Jazeera)

Comment: Call us crazy, but wouldn’t a crack team of mercenaries just add an extra leg to their itinerary and enter Venezuela via a third country? 🤔