President William Lai Ching-te says he met King Mswati III and signed trade agreements.

Taiwan President William Lai Ching-te says his government will never give up on engaging with the world as he visited Eswatini despite China’s efforts to block the trip.

Lai arrived in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, on Saturday after “meticulous arrangements made by our diplomatic and national security teams”, he said in a Facebook post, although it is unclear how he arrived in the kingdom.

He said he was greeted with a “military-style welcoming ceremony”. Taiwan’s leader said he met with King Mswati III and signed trade agreements.

The trip was originally scheduled for late April, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar cancelled flight permits for his charter plane without notice.

Taiwan’s presidential office said the cancellations came after heavy pressure from Beijing, including economic coercion, and it called the move “without precedent in the international community”.

Taiwan operates as a self-governing democracy, but China claims it is part of its territory and says it must come under its rule. Beijing has insisted that countries halt engagements with the island’s government.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson called the trip a “laughable stunt” and said Lai used a “foreign plane to “smuggle” himself out of the island”, insisting that Taiwan is a part of China.

China has spent decades pressuring countries to sever formal ties with Taipei, leaving Taiwan with only 12 diplomatic allies, which include Belize, Guatemala, Haiti and the Vatican.

Although the United States doesn’t recognise Taiwan, it has pledged to help Taipei defend itself under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act.

Eswatini is the only country on the African continent that still recognises Taiwan.

Lai thanked its king for standing with Taiwan “undeterred by various diplomatic and economic pressures” and reiterated that no country has the right to prevent Taiwan from contributing to the world.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/3/taiwan-leader-visits-eswatini-despite-chinas-attempts-to-block-trip?traffic_source=rss

Ministry of Commerce says sanctions against refineries accused of importing Iranian oil violate international law.

China has announced an injunction to block US sanctions placed on five Chinese refiners accused ‌of buying oil from Iran.

The US sanctions announced by the Department of the Treasury late last month bar the refiners from the US financial system and seek to penalise anyone doing business with the firms.

In a statement on Saturday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said the sanctions “improperly” restrict business between Chinese enterprises and third countries “in violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations”.

The Commerce Ministry said it had issued a “prohibition order” stipulating that the sanctions “shall not be recognized, enforced, or complied with,” calling the order a move to “safeguard national sovereignty, security, and development interests”.

“The Chinese government has consistently opposed unilateral sanctions that lack UN authorisation and basis in international law,” the ministry added.

It said the order blocked US measures against Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery and four other so-called “teapot” refineries: Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group, Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group, Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical and Shandong ⁠Shengxing Chemical.

Announcing the sanctions on April 24, the US Treasury Department called Hengli “one of Tehran’s most valued customers”, saying it had generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military through crude oil purchases.

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on the other four refineries named by the Chinese ministry, among other facilities, last year.

China gets more than half of its oil from the Middle East, much of it from Iran.

According to commodities data firm Kpler, China bought more than 80 percent of the oil Iran shipped in 2025.

China’s “teapot” refineries operate independently and are generally smaller than the facilities run by state-owned oil giants, such as Sinopec.

The facilities, which have been crucial to China’s efforts to secure its oil supplies, capitalise on heavily discounted crude sold by countries under sanctions, such as Iran, Russia and Venezuela.

Teapots account for a quarter of Chinese ⁠refinery capacity, operate with narrow and sometimes negative margins, and have been squeezed recently by tepid domestic demand.

US sanctions have created additional hurdles for refiners, including difficulties selling refined products under their correct place-of-origin markings.

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/5/3/china-blocks-us-sanctions-against-five-teapot-refineries?traffic_source=rss

Iran has sent the US a new 14-point proposal to end the war.

United States President Donald Trump says he will review the latest Iranian proposal to end the war but has expressed doubt that the new plan will lead to a deal as the two sides have escalated their rhetoric.

Tehran has sent a 14-point plan to Washington, calling for guarantees of nonaggression, sanctions relief, the lifting of a naval blockade and an end to the war “on all fronts”, including in Lebanon. This proposal seeks to postpone nuclear talks to a later stage, an issue Trump has considered a “red line”.

Despite the diplomatic opening, the US president did not rule out the possibility of renewed hostilities. “If they do something bad, there is a possibility it could happen,” Trump said.

The Iranians have also fired back with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) saying it is on standby for a return to war.

Here is what we know as the conflict enters day 65:

📰 மூல செய்தி (Source): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/3/iran-war-whats-happening-on-day-65-as-trump-reviews-new-plan-to-end-war?traffic_source=rss