The US says it will assist Chinese Taipei if a war breaks out with China. The comments have been met with condemnation from officials in Beijing who warned the US against escalation of the already high tensions in their bilateral ties.

The US air force is deploying over two dozen F-22 stealth fighters to an exercise in the western Pacific this month, in keeping with the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which called on the US military to be a “more lethal, adaptive, and resilient force”.

The pledge by Biden to fully withdraw from Afghanistan by September the 11th is seen as the end of one struggle and the beginning of another by the people of Afghanistan, some of whom fear the dominance of extremism promoted by the Taliban.

The US may have bullied and bribed the Arab cousins into turning their backs on Palestine. But to Iran, an atypically non-Semitic, non-Arab state in the region, standing up for Palestine is both a matter of pride and national security.

The current, outgoing, US administration has ignored its commitment to international law but with a new US president waiting in the wings, to take over from outgoing President Trump, the country may return to honoring deals it’s made.