Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Hong Kong to prevent Russia from using the Asian financial hub to bypass Western sanctions during a visit to the city on Thursday.

The United States and European Union have sanctioned dozens of companies in Hong Kong and mainland China for evading the extensive measures imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, including the supply of critical dual‑use goods such as semiconductors.

Kuleba “called on the Hong Kong administration to take measures to prevent Russia and Russian companies from using Hong Kong to circumvent the restrictive measures imposed for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” according to a statement from Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued after the minister met with Hong Kong leader John Lee.

“These restrictive measures are necessary to weaken Russia’s capacity to wage war and kill people in Ukraine,” it added. “The Minister stressed that Russia’s machinations should not spoil Hong Kong’s reputation as a highly developed liberal economy based on unwavering respect for the rule of law.”

Dual-use items are goods, software or technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications. The US has said that some of the dual-use items targeted by its sanctions are critical to Russia’s defense-industrial base.

While the UN General Assembly has passed resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion and demanding the withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine, similar resolutions at the UNSC have been vetoed by Russia, a permanent member of the group.

Hong Kong officials have previously said the city has no obligation to implement unilateral sanctions imposed by other countries – including when a mega yacht linked to a Russian oligarch sanctioned by the US, the EU and the United Kingdom dropped anchor in the city in October 2022.

However, international companies based in Hong Kong, including Chinese banks, have generally adhered to US sanctions to avoid any risk of being frozen out of the dollar dominated global financial system.

Kuleba’s visit to Hong Kong was the final leg of his trip to China, the first time the close partner of Russia has hosted a top Ukrainian official since Moscow’s invasion began nearly two and half years ago.

Beijing, which has forged deeper ties with Russia since the invasion and become a vital economic and diplomatic lifeline for Moscow, has repeatedly decried “unilateral sanctions” and what it calls “long-arm jurisdiction” by Western countries, saying they have no basis in international law.

In a meeting in the southern city of Guangzhou on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Ukrainian counterpart that, “although the conditions and timing are not yet ready,” China was “willing to continue to play a constructive role in ceasefire and resumption of peace talks.”

Kuleba told Wang that Ukraine was prepared for peace talks “when Russia is ready to negotiate in good faith,” according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, but stressed that Kyiv saw no such willingness from Moscow.

The Ukrainian diplomat’s visit comes as Beijing faces increasing pressure from the West over its deepening ties to Russia and allegations that it’s aiding Moscow’s war effort by providing dual-use goods. Beijing denies this and says the West is fueling the conflict by supplying arms for Ukraine’s defense.

As Venezuela girds for what could be a historic presidential election this weekend, one of the most important names in the race isn’t on the ballot: María Corina Machado – the woman who galvanized Venezuela’s opposition movement, and whom many voters see as the real challenger to socialist incumbent Nicolás Maduro.

Twelve years ago, Machado introduced herself to Venezuela’s political scene by confronting late President Hugo Chávez in Congress. Chévez, then at the peak of his power, was delivering his annual state of the nation address. Machado, then a fringe opposition politician who lost her primary race to challenge Chávez for the presidency, stood up and shouted back at the president on the podium.

Chávez dismissed her as an irritation, telling her, “An eagle doesn’t hunt a fly.”

On Sunday, once again, Machado will not be on the ballot – but not for lack of popularity. An avowed capitalist who has promised privatization of several state industries, Machado won more than 90% of the opposition primary vote last year, but has been barred from running for office following allegations that she didn’t include some food vouchers on her assets declaration. Machado has described the decision to bar her – upheld by Venezuela’s Supreme Court – as illegitimate, unjustified and unconstitutional.

The current opposition candidate for president, Edmundo González, is backed by Machado, who has campaigned on his behalf to mobilize voters.Experts say that their efforts may now pose the most significant threat to Maduro’s grip on power in years, as he fights to claim a third term.

Machado: We will win. We will succeed and we will bring everyone that has been forced to leave to come back. That’s my only plan.

Machado: I am committed to giving every single Venezuelan the opportunity to have the education they need to be independent and take hold of their future.

I do believe in public education, but I do believe that you have to create incentives so the public education can be as competitive and with the same degree of excellence that you have in private education.

You must have the rules of the market. It’s the system, and that works as well with the health system. I am convinced that education is a right.

Machado: As a society and as a state, you have the duty to guarantee that every single Venezuelan has access to it. But we have to change all the way around.

What do I promote? For instance, in the case of education, I believe in coupons that you can give directly to the parents so that parents can choose the kind of education they want for their children, either public or private. And this is a true revolution in Venezuela.

In the case of the energy sector or other, industries. Venezuela has a huge potential that requires enormous investments. That we don’t have the resources for. This country was sacked: we need to open markets.

And we need to create conditions that are so competitive, so attractive that international resources will be invested in a country, despite what happened in the previous regime.

One of the things we need to do is totally transform our judiciary system and come back from being the last place globally in rule of law to one of the most respected countries.

Machado: We need tens or hundreds of billions of dollars that could be invested in energy, not just oil and gas. Also, renewable resources.

The Venezuelan government doesn’t have the resources to do that. The resources we need to invest in infrastructure, in health, in education and so on.

We definitely need to open markets in order to take advantage of that huge potential and turn Venezuela into truly the energy hub of the Americas.

How the how the country will benefit from that? We will have fiscal flows, and other resources, mechanisms through which the state will get taxes.

But you don’t need to own the companies directly for the country to benefit from it.

If we don’t do that, the window of opportunity for oil and gas will close soon. And that will be unforgivable.

Machado: The regime will try to steal the election. But I have trust, full confidence in what the Venezuelan people voted for. We have built a platform to defend our votes; it’s unprecedented.

Today, Venezuelans realize that it is a personal responsibility. They don’t expect others to defend their vote. Right? They are going to do it themselves. And you will see people coming out with their families together, willing to stay as long as it takes.

Ambar Leáñez grows quiet when she thinks of a future beyond this weekend.

A staunch supporter of Venezuela’s opposition movement, she’s buoyant about her coalition’s chances to win this Sunday’s presidential election. The thought of another six years under the incumbent – Venezuela’s entrenched authoritarian president Nicolás Maduro – would drive her to flee the country, she says.

Often divided among its many political parties, Venezuela’s anti-government coalition has united behind a single presidential candidate, Edmundo González.

Many experts believe that González could pose Maduro’s toughest political challenge to date. On top of a galvanized opposition, pressure from the international community and Venezuela’s oil sector have led to a series of agreements that paved the way to a competitive election this year.

On Friday, members of a young opposition group in Maracay, a mid-size city in central Venezuela, took to the streets with fliers and slogans to galvanize votes for González. A few years ago, openly calling for Maduro’s removal here could have invited trouble.

But the group, called “Neighbors for Venezuela,” campaigned without incident. Leañez among them shouting anti-Maduro slogans in the city’s market: “Urgent, we need a new president!”

Another protester, Julio César Pérez, described the choice looming on Sunday in stark terms: “For me, it’s change or the Darién.”

Campaigning with your bags ready

Thousands of Venezuelans have already trekked through jungles and rivers in the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panamá to head northward toward the United States.

If Maduro remains in power, experts predict that millions more may follow. One poll conducted in June by Venezuelan firm ODH Consultores, estimates up to a third of the population is considering leaving the country after the election.

“I don’t want to leave!” has become a popular chant among opposition supporters.

Most people in Venezuela know someone who has emigrated already. Large numbers of Venezuelans now live in Colombia, Perú, and Brazil, and growing numbers have attempted relocating to the United States – part of a significant election year issue for American voters.

Leáñez’s uncle, Rafael Cabrera, moved to Miami in 2021. On a videocall to his niece in Maracay, he expressed anger that he would not be able to vote on Sunday – Venezuelans living abroad are not allowed to vote by mail, and Venezuela doesn’t have consular representation in the US, which means there are no paths to the vote for Cabrera.

To join him one day, Leáñez said she would consider migrating as an undocumented migrant. “I would wish to migrate as legally as possible, but it’s is one of the cards in my hand. An option… What else could I do?” she said.

‘To all Venezuelans abroad…come home!’

On the campaign trail, both Venezuela’s current government and the opposition are urging Venezuelans abroad to return.

Since 2018, a government-sponsored “Return to the Homeland” program organized free flights for more than 10.000 Venezuelan migrants who wished to come back from other Latin American countries.

“We have gone through a bad stretch, really bad, but we’re getting better, we’re improving… to all Venezuelans abroad […] come home!” Maduro said last month.

It’s an issue that has touched the top leaders of the opposition movement personally – though they have chosen to stay and fight, in a battle for Venezuela’s future that will be decided on Sunday.

Opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has campaigned alongside González after being barred from running as a candidate, has endured a familiar separation, with her three adult children and their families all living abroad.

An 18-year-old man has been detained on suspicion of killing a former Ukrainian lawmaker, local authorities say, after her fatal shooting in the city of Lviv.

Iryna Farion, 60, died in hospital last Friday after she was shot in western Ukraine, the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadoviy, posted on Facebook.

A specialist team of Ukrainian security forces and criminal analysts tracked down the suspect on Thursday after 139 hours of investigative work, according to the country’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Authorities scoured about 100 hectares of forest and identified him using surveillance cameras, the minister said.

“We checked every corner of the shooter’s escape route,” Klymenko posted on Telegram. “Identifying and detaining the offender was a laborious process that required the highest professionalism, endurance and discipline to avoid making any mistakes. I thank the entire team.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised his country’s security forces.

“I am grateful to each and every one of them who added more facts to the picture of the crime every day and brought the full truth closer,” he said in a post on Telegram on Thursday.

A former nationalist parliamentarian and professor, Farion was known for her unfavorable attitude towards the Russian language, which is spoken in eastern Ukraine.

The Security Service of Ukraine launched a criminal investigation against the academic last year, after she published a social media post with a screenshot of a message from a pro-Ukrainian student in occupied Crimea, containing the name, surname and other personal data of the sender. That information became the basis for his persecution by the Russian special services.

During the investigation in November, Farion told authorities that she categorically rejected Russian-speaking members of the Armed Forces fighting against Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to Reuters, saying she could not call them Ukrainians.

Her statement triggered a wave of outrage among sections of Ukrainian society.

The death toll from devastating landslides in southern Ethiopia has climbed to more than 250 and could rise as high as 500, the UN warned, citing local authorities.

The landslides hit thousands of people in Gofa Zone on Sunday and Monday and are the deadliest ever reported in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country.

“These people are at high risk of further landslides and need to be evacuated to safe zones immediately. Amongst these are at least 1,320 children under 5 years of age and 5,293 pregnant and lactating women,” the UN’s humanitarian agency OCHA said.

The UN agency also said that the government is finalizing an evacuation plan.

Residents and volunteers have been digging through the mud searching for survivors.

Photos from one site showed residents of Kencho Shacha Gozdi embracing after another day of excavations.

Ethiopia is prone to landslides during the rainy season, according to geological surveys. In parts of the country, including the southern region, floods triggered by heavy rains have displaced thousands of people in recent months, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report last month.

At least 43 people died from floods and landslides last year, OCHA said in November.

Families of hostages held captive in Gaza condemned Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United States Congress, as pressure grows on the Israeli prime minister to agree to a deal to secure their release.

“The speech and applause won’t erase the one sad fact: The words ‘Deal Now!’ were absent from the prime minister’s address,” The Hostage and Missing Families Forum in Israel said in a statement.

People gathered at the so-called Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to watch Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday, which drew raucous applause inside Congress but was also snubbed by dozens of Democrats.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has become a potent political force in Israel since some 250 people were abducted by Hamas on October 7, and the square a regular site of protests demanding that the hostages be brought home.

“They came to watch the broadcast of the speech and hear addresses from family members of the hostages, hoping to hear the Prime Minister utter the two crucial words: ‘There’s a deal,’” the statement said.

During his nearly 52-minute address, Netanyahu lashed out against critics of Israel’s war in Gaza but did not mention the status of the ceasefire negotiations, despite intense international pressure to find a deal and growing optimism that one could soon be struck.

Rather than mentioning a deal, a bellicose Netanyahu told Congress: “The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms and returns all the hostages. But if they don’t, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas’ military capabilities, end its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home.”

But Netanyahu is facing growing calls to negotiate a deal to secure the hostages’ release. Noam Peri, daughter of Chaim Peri, who the Israeli government last month said died in Hamas captivity, said: “You can no longer save my father, but you must return to our shared values and restore the basic contract between us – before it’s too late.”

“Sign the deal, save the hostages who are alive and fighting for their lives every moment,” she urged.

Criticism from families of hostages was echoed by Yair Lapid of the opposition Labor party, who wrote on X: “Disgrace! An hour of talking without saying the one sentence: ‘There will be a kidnapping deal.’”

But Netanyahu’s speech was lauded by members of his government. Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the “moving and important” speech demonstrates “the strength of alliance between the US and Israel.”

Bezalel Smotrich, the hard-right finance minister and chairman of the Religious Zionist Party, said: “Our Jewish and Israeli hearts are moved and filled with pride on this important occasion.”

After Netanyahu’s speech, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced it had retrieved the bodies of five hostages and brought them back to Israel. The bodies of Ravid Katz, Kiril Brodski, Tomer Ahimas, Oren Goldin and Maya Goren were found during an operation in the Khan Younis area on Wednesday, the IDF said, where it launched a fresh ground offensive this week.

This means that 111 hostages remain in Gaza, including 39 believed to be dead, according to data from Netanyahu’s office. There are eight dual-American citizens believed still to be captive in Gaza, three of whom have been confirmed dead. The Biden administration has not shared information about the five who may still be alive.

The recovery of the five bodies came after Israel renewed its offensive in Khan Younis. The United Nations estimates that about 150,000 people fled the area on Monday alone, after the IDF issued evacuation orders that have intensified pressure on the meager supplies of food and water, and the lack of places to seek shelter.

Absent Democrats

Despite the warm reception by lawmakers in Congress, about 80 House Democrats skipped Netanyahu’s speech, including US Vice President Kamala Harris, who instead attended a pre-scheduled trip to a sorority event in Indiana. President Joe Biden and Harris are scheduled to meet with Netanyahu at the White House Thursday.

Also among the absentees was former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who later blasted Netanyahu’s speech as “by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary invited and honored with the privilege of addressing the Congress of the United States.”

“Many of us who love Israel spent time today listening to Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings. These families are asking for a ceasefire deal that will bring the hostages home – and we hope the Prime Minister would spend his time achieving that goal,” she said in a statement.

Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the lone Palestinian-American congresswoman, held up a black-and-white sign during Netanyahu’s speech. One side said, “War criminal;” the other, “Guilty of genocide.”

A number of House Democrats and Republicans criticized Tlaib’s demonstration. Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer said the sign was “unfortunate” and not appropriate.

While most of the chamber rose to applaud Netanyahu as he entered, Tlaib was among three Democrats who remained seated. Sen. Chuck Schumer stood to welcome Netanyahu, did not not applaud. Sen. Mark Kelly, a potential pick for Vice President in November, did applaud the Israeli leader.

With so many Democrats skipping the speech, a number of Republicans sat on the Democratic side of the aisle.

Much of the Philippine capital remained underwater Thursday after deadly Typhoon Gaemi worsened torrential monsoon rains that lashed the country, trapping thousands of people in rising flood waters and causing widespread damage.

Continuous heavy rains, massive flooding and landslides across the Philippines killed at least 13 people and displaced more than 600,000, Philippine authorities said during a disaster relief briefing Thursday.

Unlike in Taiwan, the typhoon – known locally as Carina – didn’t make landfall in the Philippines, but its powerful outer bands dumped more than 300 mm (12 inches) of rain in the Manila region and parts of the main island Luzon, prompting officials to declare a “state of calamity” in the capital on Wednesday and evacuate tens of thousands of people.

Video and images from Manila show people wading through chest-deep water and some clinging precariously to overhead power lines as major roads turned into rivers. Families with children wrapped in towels or plastic ponchos huddled together on dinghies as disaster response teams rescued them from flooded houses.

Some parts of Metro Manila – home to 13 million people – have reported floods as high as one-story buildings, with some residents spotted waiting for rescue on roofs, according to the official Philippine News Agency.

The southwest monsoon, supercharged by the typhoon, is still causing misery and destruction in the Philippines even after Gaemi moved north and made landfall in Taiwan early Thursday as the equivalent of a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic.

Heavy rainfall, gusty winds and a dangerous storm surge killed at least two people and injured nearly 300 others in Taiwan’s northeast, according to the Central Emergency Operations Center.

Taiwan remained largely shut down for a second day Thursday with flights canceled and financial markets, schools and offices closed as heavy rainfall continued to pummel the island. Some mountainous regions have reported up to 1,219 mm (48 inches) of rain.

A cargo ship carrying nine crew members sank off Taiwan’s coast in rough seas on Thursday, according to Taiwan’s National Fire Agency. The Tanzanian registered vessel sank around 20 miles off the coast of the southern port city of Kaohsiung and was not equipped with a lifeboat.

All nine crew members “fell into the sea and were floating there” wearing life jackets, Hsiao Huan-chang, the head of the National Fire Agency, said in a press conference.

The island is expected to endure several more hours of torrential rain even as the typhoon’s center moved into the Taiwan Strait Thursday and headed toward China.

The storm is expected to make landfall in China’s southeast coastal Fujian province, bringing more strong winds and downpours to a country already hit hard by weeks of extreme rain and deadly flooding.

Philippines disaster

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday said it was responding to a maritime incident involving an oil tanker that capsized off the coast of Bataan, west of Manila. PCG spokesperson, CG Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said 16 of the 17 crew on board had been rescued and search teams were continuing to look for the missing crewmember.

Images show the coast guard launching a rescue operation and the ship almost fully submerged in rough seas.

On land, the flooding has caused widespread disruption that forced authorities to close schools, businesses and cancel more than 150 flights on Thursday.

Rescue services said Thursday they are continuing to pull trapped residents out of flooded buildings. Some homes could be seen completely inundated and vehicles submerged on flooded streets.

Quezon City, north of Manila, was hit hard by the floods. The city government said in a post on X that more than 55,000 people, including nearly 16,000 families, had been evacuated and were sheltering in evacuation centers.

The Philippine Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal for donations to help the thousands of Filipinos affected by the typhoon-enhanced monsoon.

“Families and children are without water, electricity and basic services, whole others are stranded in knee- and chest- deep floods,” it said in a post on X.

Dramatic footage posted by Philippine media Wednesday showed several barges colliding with a bridge in Pasig City as the Marikina River – a major artery flowing through the capital – overflowed.

Pasig mayor Vico Sotto told local media Wednesday night that a man was rescued from one of the barges and brought to a nearby hospital for treatment.

At a situation briefing on the typhoon response on Thursday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed the need to urgently assess the flooding situation and requested local government units to deploy medical staff to evacuation centers.

Megacities reaching their limit

The widespread and destructive flooding has put fresh scrutiny on the Philippines’ ability to respond to disasters.

The archipelago experiences several typhoons a year, but the human-caused climate crisis has made storms more unpredictable and extreme – while leaving the nation’s poorest most vulnerable.

As the climate crisis worsens, typhoons are becoming more intense and destructive. In 2021, Super Typhoon Rai – known locally as Odette – killed more than 200 people when it slammed as an equivalent Category 5 hurricane into Siargao Island, a popular tourist and surfing destination on the central east coast. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms recorded in modern history, struck the Philippines in 2013 and killed more than 6,000.

Experts have said countries in the Global South are reaching their limit of being able to handle climate and extreme weather disasters on their own and those living in low-lying, coastal areas will soon lose their homes to rising sea levels.

A study published last year found that parts of Asia’s largest cities could be under water by 2100 due to rising sea levels, and coastal flooding events in Manila within the next century will occur 18 times more often than before – solely because of climate change.

Just days before the typhoon lashed the Philippines, President Marcos included flood prevention in his state of the nation address.

“More than 5,500 flood control projects have been completed and many more are currently being done throughout the country,” Marcos said Monday.

Campaigners have urged Marcos to do more to build resiliency to extreme weather, which has left people struggling to rebuild after enduring multiple climate disasters.

“These torrential rains give yet another picture of extreme weather in a climate changed world. Filipinos are calling for climate justice. President Marcos must champion policies to help facilitate access to justice for communities,” Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Khevin Yu said in a statement.

“This will likely not be the last, or the worst, storm we will face this year. Climate impacts will continue to escalate. It is small communities … with poor infrastructure, that are affected the worst. For their sake, the Marcos administration must prioritize climate action.”

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi has had a busy week in which two devastating conflicts have loomed large.

Wang started by gathering 14 Palestinian factions for reconciliation talks in Beijing, including bitter rivals Hamas and Fatah, before meeting on Wednesday with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba – the first time China has hosted a top Ukrainian official since Russia’s invasion nearly two and half years ago.

The juxtaposed diplomacy – where talks were closely linked to the grinding wars in Gaza and Ukraine, respectively – came as Beijing vies to present itself as a geopolitical heavyweight in a world increasingly divided by both conflicts.

In a meeting with Kuleba, Wang said Beijing “supported all efforts that contribute to peace” – marking China’s latest effort to position itself as a “neutral” peace broker in the conflict, even as it has ratcheted up ties with Russia.

And at the conclusion of talks between the Palestinian factions a day earlier, the foreign minister hailed the signing of a declaration on “ending division.” The agreement, viewed with a measure of skepticism in the Middle East where such deals have quickly collapsed before, was a “historical moment in the Palestinian liberation cause,” Wang said.

For the Chinese government, experts say, Wang’s week of diplomacy offered a chance to play up desired optics: framing the country as a productive player in intractable conflicts – and an alternative broker to the United States.

China’s ambition is to be “recognized and accepted as a – if not the – global leader, and it seeks to do so by enlisting the support of the Global South, which is more numerous in both population and country terms than the democratic West,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.

But it also signals some of the limits within which Beijing is operating, experts suggest, as it seeks to build a solution in Gaza without having deep influence in the region and calls for peace in Ukraine while keeping tight ties with Russia.

Kuleba’s visit was the first time in the nearly 29 months of Russia’s war on Ukraine that a high-level Ukrainian official has visited China. In contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited twice and Kremlin officials have made numerous trips during the same period.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders have previously expressed hope that China could use its close relationship with Russia to push for peace on terms acceptable to Kyiv, which unequivocally calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops and a return to its internationally recognized borders. But Chinese officials have given no public indication of doing so and have instead pushed for any peace efforts to consider “all countries’” security concerns.

Kuleba’s visit comes as Beijing is under increasing pressure from the West over its ties to Russia and allegations it’s aiding Moscow’s war effort by providing dual-use goods. Beijing denies this and says the West is fueling the conflict by supplying arms for Ukraine’s defense.

Western rhetoric is also hardening. NATO leaders earlier this month said Beijing was “decisively” enabling Russia’s war by support for its defense industrial base, and Zelensky last month accused China of prolonging – through its “support to Russia” – the war devastating his country.

That may be a topic of conversation later this week when Wang is expected to speak with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in another engagement during a regional meeting in Laos.

‘Not yet ready’

Kuleba arrived in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Tuesday saying that there would be “extensive, detailed, substantive” negotiations focused on “one issue – peace in Ukraine.”

“We will talk, we will be looking for common ground. We need to avoid competition between peace plans,” he said in a social media video post, in an apparent reference to the vast distance between Beijing’s proposed “political settlement” for the war and Ukraine’s own peace formula.

Official statements from Beijing and Kyiv after Wednesday’s Wang-Kuleba talks gave no indication that the Ukrainian diplomat had swayed Beijing toward Kyiv’s vision for peace.

Instead, Wang re-emphasized Beijing’s past statements and its call for a “political settlement.” China last year released its view on such a settlement, which backs a ceasefire without stipulating the prior withdrawal of Russian troops, a position criticized as favorable to Moscow’s illegal territorial gains. Neither side mentioned the provision of material or economic support to Russia in official statements.

Wang did appear to leave a door open for Ukraine to rely on China as a broker, saying, according to Beijing’s Foreign Ministry, that “although the conditions and timing are not yet ready,” China was “willing to continue to play a constructive role in ceasefire and resumption of peace talks.”

Kuleba, for his part, reiterated the country’s position of being ready for peace talks “when Russia is ready to negotiate in good faith,” according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, but highlighted that Kyiv sees no such readiness from Moscow.

Observers say Beijing could, at some point, play a role in any potential future talks, but is unlikely to shift its relationship with Russia.

Xi is widely seen to view China’s northern neighbor as a critical partner in pushing back against a world order he sees as unfairly dominated by the West – and does not want Russia to suffer a damaging defeat.

Chinese leaders may have decided to meet Kuleba now to show they’re trying to “push for peace” amid Western criticism of Beijing’s Russia ties and because of the impending election in the United States, according to Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

Kyiv is casting a wary eye on those elections that could see a plunge in American support for Ukraine’s defense if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins. Trump’s running mate JD Vance has openly advocated for ending military aid to Ukraine in favor of bolstering Taiwan’s defenses.

“Perhaps Beijing is reading this and feels that they are in a better position to push Kyiv towards a compromise that Moscow might find more amenable,” Chong said.

China’s state-linked news outlet Global Times also highlighted expert commentary suggesting Ukraine may realize that “efforts to completely isolate” Russia internationally have failed, as players like India and Brazil – both key Global South nations – have not supported a communique following a Ukraine-backed peace summit in June, which did not include Russia. Beijing has said such conferences should include both Kyiv and Moscow.

‘Reconciliation’ deal

Beijing’s efforts to be a platform for Palestinian reconciliation, meanwhile, come as it has presented itself as a leader for voices across the Global South in calling for Palestinian statehood and decrying Israel’s war and its staggering humanitarian cost, while criticizing US backing of Israel.

Wang said that Tuesday’s reconciliation talks between Palestinian factions ended with an agreement “on post-Gaza war governance and the establishment of a provisional national reconciliation government.”

The announcement comes as the future governance of Palestinian territories remains in question following Israel’s repeated vow to eradicate Hamas – and a growing push for Palestinian statehood. But it was met with some skepticism from observers in the region given the failure of past attempts at unity.

A US State Department spokesperson questioned whether the deal would “in any way have an impact on the ongoing discussions to reach a ceasefire” in the war in Gaza, adding it ran counter to Washington’s position, which is that militant group Hamas should not have a role in the governance of “a unified Gaza and the West Bank” after the war.

Within the region, there is also a sense that some of Beijing’s broader diplomacy around the conflict may be “missing out on the intricacies” of different viewpoints there, while seeking to win backing for its own international agenda, according to Jonathan Fulton, a nonresident senior fellow for the Atlantic Council’s Middle East programs.

“Of course there’s frustration with the West and in particular with the US, but at the same time nobody’s looking at China and saying, ‘well, this is the country that’s going to come and solve it,’ because they see it as very self-interested actor with a pretty shallow level of regional knowledge and expertise,” he said.

A British policeman has been removed from frontline duty after multiple videos emerged on social media showing officers beating at least three people inside Manchester Airport in an incident the city’s own force has labeled “truly shocking.”

The viral videos, in which one officer could be seen stomping on a man’s head, are the latest to spark a public and political argument in Britain over whether violence used by police was proportionate or justified.

Greater Manchester Police said the footage on social media showed a confrontation that began after three officers were injured in a “violent assault,” including one female officer who suffered a broken nose.

But the force added that the event seen in the videos was “truly shocking” and an “unusual occurrence,” adding it had voluntarily referred its response to Britain’s independent police watchdog.

The videos began circulating Wednesday, quickly going viral on social media and sparking an outcry from both the public and some politicians.

One video shows a man on the ground with at least two police officers pointing a taser at him. A male police officer moves closer to the man and starts kicking him in the face, while his taser is still drawn, before stomping on his head.

Later in the same video, another man, whose hands were in the air while sitting nearby, is taken to the ground after a police officer points a taser at him. After the second man kneels on the ground, one officer starts kicking him before another wrestles him to the ground and appears to try to constrain his hands behind his back.

The video appears to show the attacks taking place on the ground level of the airport outside of several elevators.

Another video shows a man in a gray T-shirt being confronted, pepper-sprayed in the face, and brought to the ground by a police officer who wrapped his arm around the man’s neck as he wrestled him down.

The condition of the men following the confrontation is unclear.

‘Disturbing footage’

In its statement released on X, Greater Manchester Police outlined what it said were the events that led up to the videos.

Police said they were called to Terminal 2 of the airport on Tuesday evening following reports of an assault.

When police confronted the male suspect, three officers were injured in a “violent assault, where they were punched to the ground,” with one female officer ending up with a broken nose, the force said.

Four men have been arrested for assaulting an emergency worker, the statement added.

“We know that a film of an incident at Manchester Airport that is circulating widely shows an event that is truly shocking, and that people are rightly extremely concerned about,” Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said in the statement.

“The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.”

A male officer has been “removed from operational duties,” Chaudhry added, and Greater Manchester Police have also asked for a review by the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

Protesters gathered outside the force’s divisional headquarters in the town of Rochdale on Wednesday, PA media reported.

Multiple British politicians condemned the assaults shown in the videos. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, called the videos “disturbing” in a post on X.

Paul Waugh, the local MP for Rochdale, said in a post on X he is “extremely concerned” by the “appalling” footage from Manchester Airport, noting he has expressed his concerns to police.

The man who was arrested is a Rochdale resident, Waugh said, adding in a later post that he has spoken to the man’s family and will meet them Friday.

UK Home Office Minister Diana Johnson said on X that she was “aware of the disturbing footage” and “understand(s) the public concern it has prompted.”

But not all lawmakers condemned the police actions.

Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK and one of five recently elected MPs for the right-wing populist party, said in a television interview that seeing the video was “not distressing” but rather “reassuring” that police officers were responding to a “serious issue” if they were using such force.

One person was killed and three others were injured at Cambodia’s famed centuries-old Angkor temple complex when a large tree was blown down onto their vehicle during a fierce rainstorm, the government said Wednesday.

The accident occurred late Tuesday afternoon at the southern gate to Angkor Thom, which is near the more famous Angkor Wat temple and part of the same archaeological complex in the northwestern province of Siem Reap, about 200 miles northwest of the capital, Phnom Penh.

The site is Cambodia’s most popular tourist attraction and in the first half of this year attracted more than half a million international tourists, according to Cambodia’s Tourism Ministry.

The tree fell on a tuk-tuk — a kind of motorized three-wheeled vehicle popular in South and Southeast Asia — killing the driver instantly and injuring its three passengers, one critically, according to a statement issued by the Siem Reap Provincial Administration.

Several statues on the balustrade of what is called Tonle Oum Gate were also damaged by the falling tree, the statement said.

The Apsara National Authority, the government agency that oversees the archaeological park, posted photos late Tuesday on its official Facebook page showing the fallen tree in front of the temple entrance. The agency later announced that the tree had been removed and the entrance was again accessible to visitors.

The Angkor site sprawls across some 155 square miles, containing the ruins of capitals of various Cambodian empires from the 9th to the 15th centuries. Scholars consider it to be one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia.