1. Chinese President Xi Jinping told former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou that outside inference could not stop the "family reunion" between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and that there are no issues that cannot be discussed.

2. US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will showcase a strong and growing partnership during a White House state visit focused on joint defense cooperation to deter an aggressive China.

3. Chinese automakers and shippers are ordering a record number of car-carrying vessels to support a boom in EV exports.

4. A year into Sudan's civil war, Iranian-made armed drones have helped the army turn the tide of the conflict.

5. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Rwandan President Paul Kagame are looking forward to the first flights under Britain's plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.