Nicaragua cuts ties with Taiwan and pivots to China

Central American country becomes latest to switch allegiances to Beijing, amid escalating tensions

Nicaragua has switched diplomatic allegiance to China, leaving Taiwan with just 14 governments around the world which formally recognise it as a country.

The announcement, made on Thursday by the Central American country's foreign ministry, also recognised Beijing's claim over Taiwan as a Chinese province, a dispute which is at the heart of escalating tensions in the region.