Latest news for 26 March 2026

CHINA

Are you free in May?

The White House has announced President Trump’s long-awaited meeting with Xi Jinping is now confirmed for May, after the Iran War forced the US to reschedule. Trump says he’ll return the favour and host China’s leader later this year. (CNBC)

NORTH KOREA

Emily in Pyongyang.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has arrived in North Korea for a two-day official visit at Kim's invitation. (Al Jazeera)

Comment: Both Putin allies, the visit is classic pariah diplomacy to signal solidarity and explore options to dodge sanctions — but we wonder whether it'll all prompt a rethink of recent US carrots to entice Lukashenko out of Putin's orbit.

ESTONIA

Watch out.

Stray Ukrainian drones entered Estonian and Latvian airspace yesterday (Wednesday), with one crashing into an Estonian power plant. The drones were seemingly part of Ukraine’s attack on Russia’s Baltic oil facilities. (France24)

VIETNAM

Going nuclear.

Russia has signed a deal to build Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant, though actual costs and construction timelines are still TBC. (WNN)

Comment: Vietnam killed this idea back in 2016 after project costs nearly doubled, but it’s now reviving the plan amid a manufacturing-driven energy crunch back home and fuel chaos abroad. As for Moscow, its nuclear prowess (controlling 90% of the build-to-order market, spanning a dozen countries) helps blunt Western isolation.

CHILE

Withdraw support.

Chile’s conservative new president (Kast) has withdrawn his country’s support for left-leaning former leader Michelle Bachelet in the race to become the next UN Secretary General. (El Pais)

Comment: It’s not the end of the UN road for Bachelet, who enjoys early support from Mexico and Brazil. The bigger hurdles might be China (which disliked her UN-era Uyghur scrutiny) and the US (which has bristled at her Israel criticism).

SENEGAL

No secrets here.

Senegal has denied allegations the country secretly borrowed ~$750M to avoid a default, insisting everything was above board. (AfricaNews)

Comment: The risk is this (again) just erodes trust with the IMF, investors, and ratings agencies, making future financing more costly.