Israel-Lebanon: Trump announces a three-week extension to the ceasefire

Today’s headlines: in Sri Lanka, hackers have stolen .5 million from the Ministry of Finance. South Korea-Vietnam: 73 trade agreements and 12 cooperation pacts following Lee’s visit to Hanoi. Thailand: 44 MPs on trial for attempting to amend the lèse-majesté law. Xi Jinping: first comments on the war in the Middle East.

USA - LEBANON - IRAN

Trump said he hoped to host Israeli and Lebanese leaders “in the near future”, after announcing a three-week extension of the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, which was due to expire on Sunday. Meanwhile, a third US aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, in an impressive display of naval firepower. Trump has ordered any Iranian vessel laying sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz to be “shot at”, whilst the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continues and officials in Tehran state that talks will not resume until the blockade is lifted.

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka has launched an investigation after hackers breached the Ministry of Finance’s IT systems and stole .5 million. The funds were part of a bilateral debt repayment to Australia, which has complained that it has not received the payment. The authorities believe the theft took place in January, although the details are only now coming to light. Four senior officials from the Public Debt Management Office have been suspended.

SOUTH KOREA - VIETNAM

During Lee Jae Myung’s visit to Hanoi, South Korean and Vietnamese companies signed 73 trade agreements in the technology, energy and infrastructure sectors. This follows the signing of 12 cooperation agreements during the meeting between Lee and To Lam, including one concerning South Korean investment in a new nuclear power plant. South Korea is the leading investor in Vietnam, with factories accounting for over 30% of the country’s exports.

THAILAND

The Thai Supreme Court has announced that it has upheld an appeal accusing 44 opposition MPs of ethical violations in connection with their attempt in 2021 to amend a law protecting the monarchy from criticism. Hundreds of people have been prosecuted under Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté law, one of the harshest of its kind in the world. Among those on trial since 30 June are current and former members of the People’s Party.

CHINA – MIDDLE EAST

According to analysts, the shift from public silence to two statements in a week by Chinese President Xi Jinping on the war in Iran reflects the growing pressure stemming from energy risks as the conflict drags on, as well as Beijing’s desire to exert greater diplomatic influence. Xi’s statements on 14 and 20 April were his first on the war, ranging from a peace proposal to a call for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open.

VATICAN

Pope Leo XIV has concluded his apostolic journey to Africa. On the flight from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to Rome, he answered some questions from the press. He reiterated that “as a shepherd, I cannot be in favour of war”. He encouraged responses to the world’s conflicts that stem “from a culture of peace and not of hatred and division”. He remembered the child victims of war in Iran and Lebanon. On migration – a “global phenomenon” – he asked: “What is the North doing for the South of the world?”. On the blessings of same-sex couples by German bishops: “We do not agree with the formalised blessing.” Pope Leo XIV recalls Pope Francis’s appeal: “‘Everyone, everyone, everyone’ expresses the Church’s conviction that everyone is welcomed, everyone is invited, everyone is invited to follow Jesus.”

GEORGIA

In Georgia, the final results of the 2024 population census have only just been published, and according to the national statistics institute Gruzstat, the population stands at 3,929,581, higher than the figure reported in 2025, 52% are women, over 2 million compared to 1,881,000 men, with women significantly outnumbering men in Tbilisi and Kutaisi (54%), whilst in many smaller municipalities women are in the minority; 62% of the population lives in cities, mainly in the capital Tbilisi and the port of Batumi.

RUSSIA

On 19 April, Russia commemorated the ‘Day of the Genocide of the Soviet People’ for the first time, established by Vladimir Putin at the end of December 2025, with talks for schoolchildren in schools and museums on the parallels between the actions of the Nazis of yesterday and those of the Ukrainians of today, held with the participation of the “Heroes of the SVO” who have returned from the Ukrainian front, and the replacement of monuments to the victims of Soviet repression with new materials.

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