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 […]
New York CNN — As the American survivors of last week’s bloody kidnapping in Matamoros receive medical treatment, and the bodies of those killed are repatriated, Mexico’s broader epidemic of disappearances remains largely unsolved: More than 100,000 Mexicans and migrants have disappeared, with no explanation of their fate for families. The Mexican defense ministry said […]
CNN — The US transferred an alleged al Qaeda bomb maker from Guantanamo Bay to Saudi Arabia, the Defense Department announced Wednesday, part of the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to close the prison facility. Ghassan Al Sharbi, a 48-year-old Saudi native who has been held in detention at Guantanamo Bay for 20 years, was sent […]
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 […]
Washington CNN — The Biden administration took action Wednesday against several Iranian officials and entities for committing human rights abuses against women and girls in the latest round of sanctions against Tehran over its crackdown on unrest in the country. As the world marked International Women’s Day, Wednesday’s actions include sanctions against two senior officials […]
Editor’s Note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week update exploring what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. Sign up here. Hong Kong CNN — The US Department of Energy’s assessment that Covid-19 most likely emerged due to a laboratory […]
Hong Kong CNN — Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko – a close ally of Vladimir Putin – vowed to deepen defense and security ties and expressed shared views on the war in Ukraine during a Wednesday meeting in Beijing, as geopolitical tensions around Russia’s war continue to rise. Lukashenko endorsed China’s […]