American officials arrived in Russia to discuss a proposal to end the war in Ukraine. America and Ukraine agreed to the idea of a 30-day ceasefire during talks in Saudi Arabia this week. Earlier Vladimir Putin visited Russian troops in Kursk, a border region partly held by Ukraine. Russia said it was close to regaining the territory, having made recent advances.
Donald Trump said he would “of course” respond to the European Union’s decision to introduce $28bn in tariffs on American imports, but did not say how. The EU’s move came in response to America’s 25% levy on all steel and aluminium entering the country. Canada also introduced $21bn-worth of retaliatory tariffs on its neighbour.
Andrzej Duda, Poland’s president, told the Financial Times that America should move nuclear weapons to Poland to deter Russian aggression. Mr Duda said he had already discussed the proposal with Keith Kellogg, America’s special envoy for Ukraine. Earlier this month Poland’s prime minister, Donald Tusk, said that the country would consider seeking nuclear weapons and wants to more than double the size of its army.
Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, accused China of trying to “absorb” the island, by stepping up “influence campaigns and manipulation” there. Sixty-four people were charged for Chinese espionage in 2024—the majority of whom had been in the army. Mr Lai proposed a raft of countermeasures, including stricter rules on residency applications by Chinese citizens.
Intel appointed Tan Lip-Bu as its chief executive, months after the struggling chipmaker ousted Pat Gelsinger. The American firm is playing catch-up in the manufacture of cutting-edge chips, having fallen far behind competitors such as Taiwan’s TSMC. Mr Tan said he hoped to restore “world-class” operations in chip design and manufacturing. Intel’s shares rose by 12% after his appointment.
Pakistan’s army said it had freed around 300 hostages from a train hijacked by the Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist militant group, in Balochistan province. More than 400 passengers were on board when the BLA seized the train on Tuesday; 21 civilians were reportedly killed. Pakistani officials said all 33 attackers were killed during the rescue mission.
Rodrigo Duterte, a former president of the Philippines, said he would “be responsible for everything” as he prepared to face charges of crimes against humanity from the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The remarks, posted on his Facebook account, are his first since his arrest at Manila airport on Tuesday. In office, Mr Duterte urged police to commit thousands of extra-judicial killings.
Figure of the day: 38%, the share of American college students displaying symptoms of depression in 2024, down from 44% in 2022. Read the full story.
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