The country's new president, in office for a little over a month, had just dispatched his senior deputies to Washington to try to work out a trade deal.
Bloody conflict has splintered many families in Myanmar over the past four years. But for one set of siblings, a surprise reunion was joyful, if bittersweet.
President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Britain, which begins Tuesday, will be heavy on pageantry. But both he and Prime Minister Keir Starmer hope for practical results.
"They have to be able to defend themselves," the president said, appearing to signal a reversal after his administration paused some weapons transfers just last week.