
AI-generated summary
Ukrainian President Zelensky was traveling to New York for the UN General Assembly. CIA Director Ratcliffe had recently met Egyptian President el-Sisi and, less than a month before, traveled to Moscow to meet Russian intelligence officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US CIA chief John Ratcliffe at Shannon Airport in Ireland, two people familiar with the matter said.
The meeting took place on Monday, one of the sources said. The other source said the pair spoke informally while their planes were being refuelled without specifying a date. Both sources, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, declined to disclose details of their conversation.
The meeting happened as Zelensky was travelling to New York to take part in the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. Ratcliffe was on his way back from meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, one source said.
Ratcliffe’s meeting with Zelensky comes less than a month after the CIA chief travelled to Moscow to meet Russia’s top intelligence officials.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Further diplomatic or intelligence engagements between Ukrainian and US officials will occur in the coming weeks.
Likely · Within weeks

U.S. President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to hold a bilateral meeting in Washington on the 24th. Before the meeting, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng warned that China had red lines that could not be crossed on issues such as Taiwan and human rights, and called on the United States to stop using national security as an excuse to contain China. At the same time, the foreign ministers of the United States, Japan and South Korea issued a joint statement in New York, emphasizing the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and supporting Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations.

Disagreements between Washington and Beijing over potential Chinese investments in the US have stalled plans for Chinese business leaders to join President Xi Jinping's delegation for his upcoming state visit to Washington, with sources citing unresolved differences over the Board of Investment as the visit window narrows.

The Trump administration plans to cap refugee admissions in the next year at 17,500, with the Afrikaans as the main resettlement targets, triggering criticism from refugee groups who question the move as excluding other vulnerable groups fleeing persecution. The U.S. State Department submitted a notice to Congress with an estimated cost of about US$500 million, claiming that the group would be easy to integrate and would not crowd out public resources. After returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump suspended all refugee admissions on the grounds of national interest. A few weeks later, he announced that South African Afrikaners would be prioritized for resettlement, claiming that this group was racially persecuted in South Africa, but the South African government denied this statement. According to the State Department, in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, the United States accepted nearly 3,000 refugees, all but three of whom were South Africans, which is far lower than the Biden administration’s figure of more than 100,000 refugees from dozens of countries in the 2024 fiscal year. Wignaraja, president of the refugee aid organization Global Asylum, said that a single-ethnic refugee plan would abandon the United States' leadership in global humanitarian aid and abandon thousands of vulnerable families.

Changhua County Speaker Hsieh Dian-lin was detained for engaging in bribery at banquets. In an interview, Taichung District Prosecutor’s Office Chief Prosecutor Hong Jiayuan emphasized that giving gifts or treating people to meals during the election does not automatically constitute vote bribery. The key lies in whether a consideration relationship between interests and voting support is formed and goes beyond general social etiquette. At the same time, be wary of new election interference such as digital interests and false information.

Legislative Yuan Hanguo-yu went south to Kaohsiung last night to attend the Legislative Yuan Dinner of the World Federation of Taiwan Chambers of Commerce Annual Meeting, and reunited with Kuomintang Kaohsiung Mayor Ke Zhien. Ke Zhien expressed his pleasure to meet Han Guoyu and thanked Taiwanese businessmen for their contributions to Taiwan. He emphasized that Taiwanese businessmen are Taiwan's "power that never sets" and looked forward to working together to promote the development of Kaohsiung in the future.

During the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, a spokesman for the European Union stated that the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 is only 150 words and does not mention Taiwan. As long as it complies with the rules or practices of the organization, Taiwan should be allowed to participate in the international system, especially when its professional capabilities can bring added value. The EU reiterates the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, opposes unilateral use of force to change the status quo, and calls for resolving differences through cross-strait dialogue.