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Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing for a two-day summit with Xi Jinping just days after Trump's own visit, as Marco Rubio heads to a NATO foreign ministers meeting amid European unease over U.S. troop reductions.

This comes as Trump warned of potential strikes on Iran within days if no ceasefire is reached, and a Romanian F-16 under NATO command shot down a Ukrainian drone over Estonian airspace in an incident Kyiv attributed to Russian GPS jamming.

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1️⃣ 🇨🇳🇷🇺 Putin visits Beijing days after Trump: Putin arrived in China for a two-day summit with Xi Jinping, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Russia-China friendship treaty and coming just days after Trump's own visit to Beijing. The meeting underscores deepening ties, with China supplying Russia sanctioned technology and discounted energy purchases, while Russia provides China a secure overland energy supply amid Strait of Hormuz disruptions.

2️⃣ 🇺🇸🇪🇺 Rubio heads to NATO meeting amid European anxiety: Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Sweden, where U.S. troop reduction plans and Trump's inconsistent stance on the alliance have unsettled European members. NATO's top commander said no further withdrawals beyond the 5,000 already announced are expected, while the White House framed a delayed Poland deployment as a routine rotation rather than a reduction.

3️⃣ 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump threatens Iran while claiming China weapons pledge: Trump claimed Xi assured him Beijing would not send weapons to Iran, while warning he may strike Iran again within days if a ceasefire deal is not reached. Iran submitted a revised 14-point peace plan via Pakistani mediators, though details were not made public, as the April 8 pause in fighting holds.

4️⃣ 🇧🇴 Bolivia protests intensify amid economic crisis: Riots erupted in La Paz as demonstrators demanded the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz over the country's worst economic crisis in four decades, including 14 percent annual inflation. The government issued a terrorism arrest warrant against the country's largest union leader and announced a humanitarian corridor after weeks of blockades left the capital short of food, medicine and fuel.

5️⃣ 🇪🇺🇺🇸 EU finance ministers pressure U.S. to end Iran war at G7: European finance ministers privately urged U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the G7 summit in Paris to end the Middle East war, warning it is driving up energy prices, slowing growth and pushing Europe toward a food crisis. Bessent rejected the criticism and used the summit to call on allies to impose additional sanctions on Iran, while also announcing an extension of the pause on U.S. sanctions on Russian oil exports until mid-June.

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Major Story

🇷🇴🇪🇪 Romania shoots down Ukrainian drone over Estonia

A Romanian F-16 operating under NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission intercepted and destroyed a Ukrainian drone that entered Estonian airspace on Tuesday, with the operation coordinated through the Latvian Control and Reporting Center. 

Ukraine's foreign ministry apologized for the incursion, attributing it to Russian electronic warfare that redirects Ukrainian drones toward Baltic nations, a claim the Estonian military echoed, citing GPS spoofing and jamming. 

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna and NATO commander Alexus Grynkewich both described the shootdown as proof that the alliance's defense systems are functioning as intended. 

The incident follows a series of similar drone intrusions in recent weeks, including a Ukrainian drone crash into a Latvian oil depot earlier in May that triggered the resignation of Latvia's defense minister and the subsequent collapse of its government.

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Other News

1️⃣ 🇪🇺 EU explores fertiliser stockpiling as food crisis looms: The European Commission announced plans to assess stockpiling and joint procurement of fertilisers, as Strait of Hormuz disruptions push nitrogen-based fertiliser prices roughly 70 percent above their 2024 average. Officials warned the costs could filter through to broader food inflation by year's end as farmers exhaust pre-war stocks.

2️⃣ 🇺🇸🇬🇱 Trump seeks veto over China and Russia investment in Greenland: The Telegraph reported that the Trump administration is pursuing veto powers over Chinese and Russian investment in Greenland to block Beijing's access to the island's vast rare-earth and critical mineral reserves. Talks between the U.S., Greenland and Denmark are ongoing, though one source close to the negotiations suggested Washington is using China concerns as a pretext to expand its broader foothold on the island.

3️⃣ 🇸🇪 Sweden orders four frigates in biggest military deal since 1980s: Sweden announced a deal to purchase four French-made FDI frigates from Naval Group in a transaction estimated at over €3.5 billion, with deliveries expected between 2030 and 2035. The purchase will triple Sweden's air defense capability and represents the country's largest military investment since the introduction of its Gripen fighter jets.

4️⃣ 🇮🇱 ICC reportedly seeks arrest warrant for Israeli minister Smotrich: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed the ICC prosecutor has sought a confidential arrest warrant against him, and vowed to retaliate by ordering the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank. The ICC declined to comment, though the development could trigger further U.S. sanctions against the court, which already faces restrictions from the Trump administration over previous warrants against Israeli officials.

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