CNN — With a grandiose diplomatic flourish China brokered a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, in the process upending US calculus in the Gulf and beyond. While the United States has angered its Gulf allies by apparently dithering over morality, curbing arms supplies and chilling relations, Saudi Arabia’s King-in-waiting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, […]
Canberra, Australia CNN — More than a year after the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia dropped the tightly held news they were combining submarine forces, the trio released more details Monday of their ambitious plan to counter China’s rapid military expansion. Under the multi-decade AUKUS deal, the partners will build a combined fleet […]
Hong Kong CNN — China’s most important annual political meetings wrapped up Monday, leaving leader Xi Jinping firmly at the helm of a superpower that appears more eager to push back against the United States than at any time in decades. Much of what took place over 10 days in Beijing at the highly choreographed […]
San Diego CNN — President Joe Biden will be flanked on Monday by a 377-foot submarine – the USS Missouri – as he announces an accelerated timeline for Australia to receive its own nuclear-powered submarines early next decade. But looming much larger will be the increasingly tense US relationship with China, which has emerged as […]
CNN — China’s leader Xi Jinping on Monday vowed to bolster national security and build the military into a “great wall of steel,” in the first speech of his precedent-breaking third term as president. Speaking at the closing of the annual meeting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, Xi underscored the need to comprehensively modernize national defense […]
Hong Kong CNN — China’s rubber-stamp legislature has appointed Li Qiang, a long-time aide of leader Xi Jinping, as premier, the man tasked with reviving the world’s second-largest economy after three years of zero-Covid restrictions. The National People’s Congress endorsed Li in a largely ceremonial vote at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing […]
London CNN — The UK government this week introduced proposed legislation that it couldn’t say for certain complies with international law, its latest attempt to put a stop to migrant boats crossing the English Channel from France. The UK has seen a dramatic increase of people arriving in small, non-seaworthy boats, having paid criminal gangs […]
Hong Kong CNN — Police in central Japan have arrested three people for taking part in pranks at a sushi conveyor belt restaurant. The acts, which appear to be becoming more commonplace, have been dubbed online as “#sushitero” or “#sushiterrorism” and have affected the financial fortunes of the country’s famous rotating kaiten-style restaurants. Various perpetrators […]
Hong Kong/Seoul CNN — Kakao, one of South Korea’s top internet giants, has doubled down on its quest to take control of SM Entertainment, the iconic K-pop music agency. The tech firm announced Tuesday that it would seek to buy up to 35% of the music label, just days after a previous share sale between […]
New York CNN — The Chinese government could use TikTok to control data on millions of people and harness the short-form video app to shape public opinion should China invade Taiwan, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday. Wray responded affirmatively to questions from Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the panel’s […]
