Latest news for 12 August 2025

CHINA

Truce extension.

As anticipated, President Trump has signed an executive order extending his trade truce with China for another 90 days. It was due to expire today (Tuesday). (BBC)

Comment: The new deadline is 10 November, shortly after Presidents Trump and Xi are set to cross paths at Korea’s APEC summit. That timing means there’s a chance Trump could visit Xi for talks in China en route to APEC, though getting to the heart of the structural China-US imbalances would require big concessions from Xi, and that seems unlikely given Xi’s continued leverage (eg, over US access to rare earths).

SUDAN

Silence.

A Guardian investigation has found the notorious ‘RSF’ paramilitary group might’ve massacred more than 1,500 ethnic African (non-Arab) civilians during an attack on Sudan’s massive Zamzam displacement camp back in April. (Guardian)

Comment: The real toll is likely much higher, given the RSF now controls the camp (plus any evidence).

ISRAEL

Hot n’ cold.

Norway’s vast sovereign wealth fund has sold its shares in 11 Israeli firms, after a local outlet reported one was servicing fighter jets used in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel’s tech sector has recorded its strongest six-month fundraising stretch in years, with broader participation from international investors. (Bloomberg)

INDIA

Cool it, neighbour.

India’s foreign ministry has decried its neighbour’s “sabre-rattling”, after Pakistan’s army chief reportedly told a Florida audience, “We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us." (India’s MFA)

Comment: It’s the same Pakistani general who made headlines back in June after scoring a lunch with President Trump at the White House.

COLOMBIA

Unity?

Miguel Uribe, the young (39) conservative opposition senator, grandson of a president, and presidential hopeful himself, has died of his wounds, two months after initially surviving a brazen assassination attempt at a rally in Bogotá. (NYT)

Comment: It’s still unclear exactly who orchestrated the assassination let alone why, but it’s united a nation in shock, while also polarising it around how to respond ahead of 2026 elections: left-leaning President Petro’s vision for ‘total peace’ seems in tatters, but calls for a hard-line approach stoke their own dark memories in Colombia.

PHILIPPINES

Oops.

A Chinese naval destroyer has collided with a China Coast Guard vessel while trying to chase a Philippine ship out of Philippine waters. China’s coast guard vessel is now severely damaged, with the fate of some of its own crew unknown. (ABC)

Comment: Manila has long been warning of the risks of China’s unprofessional behaviour at sea, though few will have expected this kind of China-on-China crash. Rather, Philippine President Marcos Jr. has increasingly warned that the death of a Philippine sailor could be an act of war against a treaty ally of the United States. So as dramatic as this incident was, it could’ve been much worse.

UNITED KINGDOM

The price of eggs.

London-listed gemstone miner Gemfields has sold its famed Fabergé luxury brand to the UK-based Russian tech investor, Sergei Mosunov. The $50M tag is way below the $142M Gemfields paid in 2013, reflecting a continued downturn in the luxury goods market. (Independent)

Comment: The struggling Gemfields started seeking buyers back in December, when unrest halted operations at its ruby mine in Mozambique.