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China’s Xi projects power at military parade with Putin and Kim

Putin later thanked Kim for his soldiers’ courageous fighting in the war in Ukraine during a bilateral meeting at China’s State Guesthouse.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping warned the world was facing a choice between peace or war at a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, flanked by Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in an unprecedented show of force.

The event to mark 80 years since Japan’s defeat at the end of World War Two was largely shunned by Western leaders, with Putin and Kim – pariahs in the West due to the Ukraine war and Kim’s nuclear ambitions – the guests of honour.

Designed to project China’s military might and diplomatic clout, it also comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and volatile policymaking strain its relations with allies and rivals alike.

“Today, mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, win-win or zero-sum,” Xi told a crowd of more than 50,000 spectators at Tiananmen Square, adding that the Chinese people “firmly stand on the right side of history”.

Riding in an open-top limousine, Xi then inspected the troops and cutting-edge military equipment such as hypersonic missiles, underwater drones and a weaponised ‘robot wolf’.

Helicopters trailing large banners and fighter jets flew in formation during a 70-minute showcase that culminated in the release of 80,000 ‘peace’ birds.

Donning a tunic suit in the style worn by former leader Mao Zedong, Xi earlier greeted more than 25 leaders on the red carpet, including Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto who made a surprise appearance despite widespread protests at home.

Seated between Putin and Kim in the viewing gallery, Xi repeatedly engaged in conversations with both leaders as thousands of troops and materiel passed before them. It marked the first time the trio have appeared together in public.

Putin later thanked Kim for his soldiers’ courageous fighting in the war in Ukraine during a bilateral meeting at China’s State Guesthouse. The North Korean leader said he was willing to do everything he can to help Russia.

In a post directed at Xi on Truth Social as the parade kicked off, Trump highlighted the U.S. role in helping China secure its freedom from Japan during World War Two.

“Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against the United States of America,” Trump added.

The Kremlin said Putin was not conspiring against the United States and suggested Trump was being ironic in his remarks.

Xi has cast World War Two as a major turning point in the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”, in which it overcame the humiliation of Japan’s invasion to become a global powerhouse.

Earlier this week, Xi unveiled his vision of a new world order at a regional security summit, calling for unity against “hegemonism and power politics”, a thinly veiled swipe at his rival across the Pacific Ocean.

“Xi feels confident that the table has turned. It’s China that is back in the driver’s seat now,” said Wen-Ti Sung, fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, based in Taiwan.

“It’s been Trumpian unilateralism rather than China’s wolf warrior diplomacy when people talk about the leading source of uncertainty in the international system.”

At a lavish reception after the parade at the Great Hall of the People, Xi told his guests that humanity must not return to the “law of the jungle”.

Beyond the pomp and propaganda, analysts are watching whether Xi, Putin and Kim may signal closer defence relations following a pact signed by Russia and North Korea in June 2024, and a similar alliance between Beijing and Pyongyang, an outcome that may alter the military calculus in the Asia-Pacific region.

Putin has already sealed deeper energy deals with Beijing during his China visit, while the gathering has given the reclusive Kim an opportunity to gain implicit support for his banned nuclear weapons.

It has been 66 years since a North Korean leader last attended a Chinese military parade. Kim also shook hands with the speaker of South Korea’s National Assembly Woo Won-shik before the start of the parade, Woo’s office said.

Pyongyang has rejected Seoul’s recent overtures to stabilise souring relations between the two Koreas, technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Kim travelled to Beijing with his daughter Ju Ae, whom South Korean intelligence consider his most likely successor, although she was not seen alongside him at the parade.

Over the past two years, more than a dozen generals – many formerly close to Xi – have been purged from the People’s Liberation Army in a sweeping corruption crackdown.

“The parade allows Xi to focus the world’s attention on its impressive strides in modernising its military hardware, while overshadowing the stubborn challenges afflicting the PLA, most notably the continued purges rolling through the ranks of its most senior officers,” said Jon Czin, a foreign policy analyst at Brookings Institution, a U.S.-based think tank.

The parade was not only aimed at projecting China’s might to the outside world, but also galvanising patriotic spirit at home, analysts said.

In his keynote address, Xi called the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation “unstoppable”. Civil servants up and down the country have been tasked with watching the parade and writing down their reflections, one of them told Reuters.

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Trump says Iran talks to take place on Monday, sets no deadline for deal

Asked if there was a deadline for Iran to come to an agreement, Trump declined to answer.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said talks ​with Iran will happen on Monday but declined to set a deadline for an agreement after earlier saying he had called off an ‌imminent attack in hopes of quickly reaching a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resolve the impasse over Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, Reuters reported.

Trump had said late on Saturday on his Truth Social platform that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal that would lead to “the Immediate, Complete and Total” reopening of the strait and “an end to ​Iran’s nuclear threat” but that Tehran must “rapidly make a DEAL.”

As he returned to Washington from a weekend in New Jersey, Trump told reporters on Sunday ​that a negotiation would begin on Monday afternoon but did not provide details of where it would take place or ⁠who would be involved.

Asked if there was a deadline for Iran to come to an agreement, Trump declined to answer. “Would I rather make a deal? I’m not ​looking to kill people because people die, a lot of people die, and we don’t want that,” Trump said in response.

Trump has repeatedly issued threats that he would ​escalate the war on Iran he launched along with Israel in late February, only to allow more time for talks, which have so far not led to a comprehensive deal.

Trump’s apparent de-escalation after days of threats of new attacks from each side was the latest twist in the war. Attacks have spread across the Gulf to the Red Sea and even a Mediterranean facility ​in Egypt.

Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the start of the war, ​causing energy prices to rise and stoking broader inflation.

The U.S. president has argued that his stated goal of keeping Iran from gaining nuclear weapons justifies higher fuel costs in the near ‌term, but ⁠the economic pain has put political pressure on him to find a way to end the conflict, read the report.

Oil prices were down more than 4% in early trading on Monday.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held phone calls with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir to discuss diplomatic efforts, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday.

The official Iranian news agency IRNA reported earlier that negotiations between Tehran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz were in their final stages, ​citing Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

Iranian Foreign ​Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said negotiations ⁠were focused on agreeing a new route through the strait, adding that it had “no link to the Strait of Hormuz being opened or closed. That is a separate discussion.”

Last month Iran publicly rejected an Omani proposal, backed by Gulf states, to manage ​the strait they share. People familiar with the matter had told Reuters the plan included the collection of voluntary fees ​for using the strait.

Eli ⁠Cohen, Israel’s energy minister and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, said there was close security and intelligence coordination between Israel and the U.S. on everything happening in the region.

But he added: “With or without an agreement, and regardless of any external commitments, if Iran attempts to renew its nuclear program or advance its ballistic missile ⁠industries, we ​will be there. We will take action, and we will strike.”

Trump and Netanyahu met on Tuesday ​in Washington, with an Israeli official saying they had explored all possible paths to curb Iran’s nuclear program, including diplomacy, economic pressure and force. Tehran denies it is seeking a nuclear weapon.

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Suspected suicide bombing at police station kills at least 14 in Pakistan, officials say

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At least 14 people were killed in a suspected suicide bombing outside ​a police station in northwestern Pakistan on ‌Sunday, a rescue group and a regional police official said, as the country battles widening insurgencies.

The explosion took place ​in the Kabal area of Swat, a district ​in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Reuters reported.

A pro-police rally of ⁠local residents was taking place in the same ​area on Sunday, but it was not immediately ​clear whether the rally was the intended target.

Fida Hussain, a regional police official, said the victims included five police officers and ​eight civilians. The 14th person was believed to ​be the suicide bomber, he told Reuters.

At least 18 people ‌were ⁠wounded, according to a police statement. It said an operation had been launched to arrest anyone who may have assisted the attack.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif ​in a statement ​expressed “deep grief ⁠and sorrow over the suicide blast”.

 

 

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Bomb carried by woman kills three, injures 21 near Moscow restaurant, authorities say

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A homemade bomb carried by a woman killed three people and injured at least 21 in an explosion near an upscale restaurant in central Moscow ​on Saturday evening, the authorities said.

The explosion occurred just before 2000 ​local time close to an Italian restaurant located in one ⁠of Moscow’s seven Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinkskaya Square, the police said, Reuters reported.

Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee said that ​an unidentified woman had tried to get into the restaurant but was stopped by ​a security guard, the state RIA news agency reported.

It said the woman, the security guard and a customer at the Balzi Rossi Italian restaurant had been killed in the ​blast that followed.

Those injured received wounds of varying seriousness, the police said.

Russia’s state ​RIA news agency released video of heavily armed law enforcement officers at the scene, which ‌had ⁠been closed off to the public.

The authorities did not name those killed or injured nor did they say who they thought might have been responsible.

More than four years into a full-scale war with Ukraine, Russia’s FSB security service said earlier ​this year that authorities would step ​up protection for ⁠high-ranking military officials after a series of assassinations and attempted killings it blamed on Kyiv.

The Kommersant daily newspaper cited its ​own sources as saying that the bomb had been intended ​to maim ⁠and kill guests who were enjoying themselves on the restaurant’s summer terrace outside.

It suggested that the bomb had been set off by someone else remotely and ⁠that the ​woman carrying it may not have known ​that it was an explosive device.

The restaurant’s website said the venue had been closed on Saturday for ​a private event.

 

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