Latest news for 4 May 2026

ESWATINI

Defiant detour.

Taiwan’s President Lai has made a surprise visit to Eswatini, Africa’s only nation still recognising Taiwan rather than mainland China. He seems to have arrived on a royal Eswatini jet after China pressured three small African nations to deny overflight permission for last week’s delayed visit. Taiwan and Eswatini are insisting they’ll decide their own diplomatic relationships, while China has described the visit as the actions of a “rat who skulked his way there.” (Asahi)

CANADA

Drawing a line.

Ottawa has now formally labelled Canada-based Khalistani extremists (those pushing violent extremism to carve a Sikh state out of India) as a national security threat in Canada’s latest intelligence assessment. (Canada Security Intelligence Service)

Comment: It’s probably an olive branch to stabilise Canada’s fraught ties with India, which has always accused Canada of harbouring terrorists among the world’s largest Sikh diaspora.

NORTH KOREA

Let’s make it official.

Word is Russia and North Korea are about to sign a five-year defence cooperation plan covering tech transfers, training, and arms shipments. (Korea Herald)

Comment: This looks like an incremental step beyond the big pact these two pariahs signed in 2024: any fanfare will likely be about projecting unity amid Western sanctions, and distracting folks from their woes back home (Putin’s central bank chief again just sounded the alarm on labour shortages and inflation). Meanwhile, China’s Xi can’t be too happy about these two junior partners still pursuing a direct bromance.

GERMANY

5,000 down.

President Trump is making good on his threat to remove US troops from Germany, after Chancellor Merz warned Iran was “humiliating” the US. (Independent)

Comment: With ~30,000 US troops still there, it’s more symbolic than anything, but as two of Trump’s own party senators have noted, it’ll still benefit one country: Russia. Meanwhile, the leaders of the 48-strong European Political Community + Canada have travelled to Armenia to discuss strategies to ‘derisk’ away from a volatile US.

VIETNAM

Good to have options.

Japan’s leader (Takaichi) has just wrapped her first visit to Southeast Asia (Vietnam) since becoming prime minister last year — she’s now in Australia. (Nippon)

Comment: Takaichi’s Vietnam trip pledged Tokyo’s help on oil and critical minerals, suggesting she’s pitching Japan as a regional counterweight to China. There’s already a similar emphasis out of Australia, but with an added security dimension (Australia just committed to buy Japanese frigates in Tokyo’s biggest arms sale in history). Japan also needs Australia’s LNG and gas.

CUBA

More sanctions.

The US has imposed sweeping new sanctions on Cuba, allowing DC to go after non-US citizens and entities with business ties to the island. (Guardian)

Comment: This is a massive US escalation, as it implicates those foreign companies who’ve kept doing business with Cuba after decades of the US embargo. It suggests US-Cuba talks still haven’t made the progress Trump wants.

NIGERIA

Tense times.

Abuja has summoned South Africa’s top envoy to protest against a recent spike in deadly anti-immigrant attacks that’ve left at least two Nigerian nationals dead. Ghana filed a similar complaint last month. (BBC)

Comment: South Africa has the continent’s most industrialised economy, but persistent stagnation — combined with the visibility of Nigerian nationals across South African sectors like retail — has been a combustible combination, with Ghana’s complaint suggesting it’s spreading. It risks derailing not just South Africa’s neighbourly ties but also the broader ‘Afro-optimism’ moment.