Prism of the week — 2026-W38Hormuz: when the backup route becomes vulnerable tooREAD THE PRISM

One story. Many countries. Different accounts.

The Refract compares how each country’s media tell the same news.

Xi Jinping arrives in Washington for a state visit as Beijing sets Taiwan and human rights as "red lines"

14 countries

Gap between media framings

74/100

How the world tells it

Argentina

« Buenos Aires is mainly gauging the commercial impact of the Trump-Xi summit. »

Infobae · La Nación · Clarín

Australia

« Canberra fears that artificial intelligence and Taiwan's security will be settled bilaterally in Washington. »

Sydney Morning Herald · ABC News · The Age

China

« Beijing is positing Taiwan and human rights as non-negotiable "red lines" even before Xi Jinping's landing in Washington. »

South China Morning Post · SCMP China · CGTN China

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See what the media in 11 other countries are saying.

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The Justice Department defends the barring of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House in court

The US Justice Department asked a federal judge to reject the three outlets' request to restore their reporters' credentials, arguing the ban is lawful. Trump says he will let them back if a judge so decides. Legal scholars see long odds: US courts hold that a government cannot condition press access on favourable coverage. The White House launched "Trump TV", which opened with a speech from July.

12 countries

Close accountsOpposed accounts

Two accounts that clash

Argentina

Buenos Aires is mainly gauging the commercial impact of the Trump-Xi summit.

Infobae · La Nación · Clarín

Australia

Canberra fears that artificial intelligence and Taiwan's security will be settled bilaterally in Washington.

Sydney Morning Herald · ABC News · The Age

Read both accounts side by side

3

Diplomatie & Gouvernance

Trump threatens to "annihilate" Iran at the UN, then announces talks have resumed

At the General Assembly, Donald Trump said he would have to decide whether to annihilate Iran absent a deal, then minutes later announced a "very good" three-hour meeting between US and Iranian representatives in New York, led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. A deal, he said, could come after the midterm elections. The Iranian and Cuban delegations walked out; oil prices fell.

32 countries

4

Conflits & Securite

The UK will refuel Saudi jets against the Houthis, where Washington has held back

London has agreed to Riyadh's request for defensive military support against the Houthis: Royal Air Force Voyager aircraft will refuel Saudi fighter jets in the air, on missions deemed defensive, for a period of weeks. It is one of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's first military decisions. On the sidelines of the UN, the G7 condemned the Houthi strikes and called on Iran to stop arming them.

19 countries

5

Conflits & Securite

Macron puts to Trump a moratorium on strikes against energy facilities in Ukraine and Russia

The two presidents met on Monday at Trump Tower, on the eve of their speeches to the UN General Assembly. Macron called the meeting "very constructive" and said they discussed an initiative to suspend strikes on energy facilities between Ukraine and Russia; the Red Sea and surging oil prices were also on the table. Volodymyr Zelensky was due to meet Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday.

11 countries

6

Diplomatie & Gouvernance

CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue the Trump administration after being barred from the White House

The three outlets said on Monday they were suing Donald Trump and his administration, three days after the president ordered them barred from the White House and their reporters' credentials were revoked. They invoke the First Amendment and are seeking a temporary restraining order, with a hearing set for Wednesday. Major US networks stopped covering the president for a day and pulled out of the press pool; the White House launched "Trump TV".

24 countries

7

Conflits & Securite

United Russia wins the parliamentary election on the day Ukraine launches its largest drone attack on Moscow

Vladimir Putin's party is set to win the State Duma election with 57.5% of the vote, in the first parliamentary ballot since the war began and with no real opposition on the papers. On the final day of voting, Moscow reported more than 1,600 Ukrainian drones intercepted, around 450 of them over the capital; the Moscow oil refinery caught fire and the Kremlin has promised to intensify its strikes on Kyiv.

27 countries

8

Diplomatie & Gouvernance

The AfD comes first in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Friedrich Merz's CDU misses the 5% threshold for the first time in its history

Two German states voted on Sunday. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the AfD came first with about 38.2% of the vote while the CDU fell to 4.9%, below the 5% threshold, leaving it out of a state parliament for the first time in its history. In Berlin, Die Linke came first with 25.3%, ahead of the CDU. Friedrich Merz called the result a disaster for his party and said he would stay on as chancellor.

29 countries

divergence

45/100

9

Diplomatie & Gouvernance

Washington proposes an AI incident notification mechanism to Beijing, days before the Trump-Xi summit

In New York, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng discussed trade, tariffs, critical minerals and artificial intelligence. Washington proposed a notification mechanism between the two countries for serious AI incidents, and both delegations agreed to open a formal dialogue on AI ahead of the Washington summit.

10 countries

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