Welcome back to the World Roundup, where we take a look at who’s who in the world China-Russia relationship, India dating Nordic region, and Ebolaincrease in the number of deaths in the country Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Balanceless Collaboration
A few days after the Chinese President Xi Jinping the host US President Donald Trump, Beijing welcomed another world leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin – long called Xi’s “old friend” –it has arrived in China late Tuesday for a two-day summit that coincides with the 25th anniversary of the China-Russia Friendship Treaty. The trip, Putin’s 25th visit to China as president, aims to reaffirm the two sides’ “core interests” amid a fractured geopolitical climate.
Welcome back to the World Roundup, where we take a look at who’s who in the world China-Russia relationship, India dating Nordic region, and Ebolaincrease in the number of deaths in the country Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Balanceless Collaboration
A few days after the Chinese President Xi Jinping the host US President Donald Trump, Beijing welcomed another world leader. Russian President Vladimir Putin – long called Xi’s “old friend” –it has arrived in China late Tuesday for a two-day summit that coincides with the 25th anniversary of the China-Russia Friendship Treaty. The trip, Putin’s 25th visit to China as president, aims to reaffirm the two sides’ “core interests” amid a fractured geopolitical climate.
“We will continue to work side by side and without stopping any efforts to strengthen cooperation between Russia and China and good neighborly friendship,” Putin said. he said Tuesday before the meeting, adding that bilateral relations were at an “unprecedented level.”
However, Russia’s growing economic woes—from its war in Ukraine to the fallout from the conflict in the Middle East—have transformed what the Kremlin sees as an equal partnership into a more secular one, with Moscow increasingly hostile. increasingly dependent over Beijing.
Beijing is the largest buyer of Russian crude. Despite Western sanctions, China has purchased more than $367 billion in Russian oil since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022. Last September, Xi and Putin agreed to build a nearly 1,600-mile pipeline, named. Power of Siberia 2to boost Russian natural gas exports. That year, Moscow also agreed to supply Beijing with an additional 2.5 million tons of oil per year via Kazakhstan.
Several issues regarding the oil and gas sector remain not resolvedsuch as the prices of Power of Siberia 2. However, Putin is hopeful that this week’s summit can finalize these details, especially as Moscow. expects The Iran war will increase Beijing’s demand for Russian crude. In the first quarter of 2026, Russian oil exports to China grew 35 percentaccording to Putin’s presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.
Yet this week, Xi will try give a line between supporting his old friend and presenting China as a mediator of peace.
Beijing maintains that it has never supplied lethal weapons to either side of the Russian-Ukrainian war. China’s foreign ministry told the Chinese foreign ministry that China has maintained a position of neutrality and strives to continue peace talks. Reuters on Tuesday. However, according to three European intelligence agencies, the Chinese army secretly trained nearly 200 Russian soldiers in China at the end of last year, some of whom have returned to fight in Ukraine. These secret sessions were reportedly aimed at the use of drones and electronic warfaretwo important strategies that have proven to be harmful to the forces of Ukraine.
It is not known to what extent China has supported Russia’s attacks against Ukraine. Days before the full-scale invasion of Russia, Putin and Xi announced “unlimited” strategic cooperation. Since then, Beijing has ignored demands from the West to halt all sales of advanced equipment to Moscow’s arms industry.
But the tolerance of Beijing and the Kremlin could be fatal. The Financial Times information on Monday that Xi told Trump last week that Putin might come to “regret” invading Ukraine, although the US president on Tuesday rejected hear that.
Today’s Most Read
What we’re after
India-Nordic relations. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the leaders of the five Nordic countries on Tuesday during a summit in Oslo, Norway. Issues of international security, climate change, and trade opportunities took up a large part of the agenda, as Modi pushed India’s large pharmaceutical exports in place of Nordic exports of renewable energy, among other key products. Bilateral trade between India and its Nordic partners (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) reached $19 billion in 2024.
Tuesday was the third iteration of the India-Nordic summit. It came a few months after New Delhi signed a free trade agreement and the European Union and a year after India inked economic cooperation with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. Experts say that India’s transition towards Europe is direct response for the Trump administration to grow business uncertainty.
When Mod to be praised Describing Tuesday’s talks as “productive” and “very fruitful,” some Nordic leaders expressed concern over India human rights recordespecially the way it treats Muslims. “It’s not only about freedom of the press but also the rights of minorities who are under a lot of pressure,” said Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten. he told it local media before the meeting. “The concern is to what extent India remains an inclusive society where equal rights apply to everyone.”
The spread of Ebola. About 26 more people suspected to have died from Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo were recorded within the past 24 hours, health authorities said Tuesday. That brings the total number of deaths linked to the rare form of Bundibugyo to 131, although the World Health Organization (WHO) he warned Sunday that the explosion was much bigger than what is currently being detected.
“I am very concerned about the scale and speed of this epidemic,” the head of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus he told members of the World Health Assembly on Tuesday. Tedros declared the Ebola outbreak a public health emergency over the weekend, expressing concern that the disease could spread. This is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the Congo, but unlike the previous cases, which were caused by the Ebola Zaire strain, the Bundibugyo strain has there are no approved vaccines.
Several neighboring countries, including Uganda and Rwanda, have restricted the crossing of their borders to prevent further spread. However, at least two confirmed cases, including one death, have already been found recorded in the capital of Uganda, Kampala. Ebola is spread by direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people or animals; The Bundibugyo variant has an estimated mortality rate of between 25 and 40 percent.
A growing friendship. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung the host Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday to reaffirm their “deep friendship and trust.” Although both Seoul and Tokyo are close allies of the United States and share similar concerns about China, they have historically fought over disputes linked to Japan’s 35-year colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula.
Lee and Takaichi, though, expect it change the tide. “The fact that such a meaningful and historic exchange took place in just four months speaks to the depth and strength of the friendship and relationship that Korea and Japan now share,” Lee said during the meeting. joint news conference with Takaichi. Tuesday’s summit in the city of Andong, Lee’s hometown, was their fourth such meeting.
Both leaders look like practical politicians who recognize the threat of China’s expansionist ambitions and high US tariffs. “In particular, we agreed that close bilateral cooperation is needed more than ever amid the instability in supply chains and energy markets resulting from the recent situation in the Middle East,” Lee said on Tuesday. To deal with this, Lee and Takaichi agreed expand cooperation on the supply of crude and liquefied gas.
Odds and Ends
Enjoying a false bed while flying is no longer a luxury in first class. From Monday, Air New Zealand is offering Skynest sleep pods for economy passengers traveling from Auckland, New Zealand, to New York City, one of the world’s longest commercial flights. Starting at an additional $291, flyers can pre-book a four-hour slot on a three-level (albeit, narrow) bed. But the upgrade comes with conditions: Passengers can’t wear strong perfume, share a bed, play music, or snack in bed—and must wear specially-provided socks to enter the pod.
