Keep pulling the thread on Global Hotspots Outlook.
A Kremlin official confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump held a 90-minute phone call on April 29 to discuss security matters related to Iran and Ukraine.
The U.S. Department of Defense released a $400 million military aid package for Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump rejected the latest peace proposal from Iran and received briefings from US CENTCOM on options to resume an offensive air campaign inside the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump ordered US CENTCOM to sustain an extended naval blockade against Iranian ports.
The United Arab Emirates announced on April 28 that it was exiting from OPEC.
The United States sanctioned China's largest private oil refiner for its purchases of Iranian oil.
The United States has threatened to impose further sanctions on China's banking sector if Chinese purchases of Iranian oil continue.
China blocked the acquisition of the Chinese-founded AI company Manus by Meta, citing concerns about the technology transfer process.
China is pressuring the United States to change its policy on Taiwanese independence from "not supporting" to "opposing" it.
Russia's Africa Corps was attacked by the Tuareg Azawad Liberation Front and other al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Kedal, Mali, and was forced to withdraw.
Mali's defense minister, General Sadio Kamara, was killed during attacks in the northern town of Kedal.
The United States is co-funding a $100 million initiative by the DRC's General Inspectorate of Mines to establish a paramilitary unit to safeguard the country's mining sector.