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☆ Who is Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s new leader and why does China dislike him?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

On Saturday, Lai, 64, the current vice president from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), won a widely watched election to become Taiwan’s next president. Confetti flies over crowds as Lai Ching-te speaks to supporters at a rally at the DPP's headquarters on January 13, 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan. It was 1994, less than a decade after the DPP first emerged from Taiwan’s democracy movement against the authoritarian rule of the Kuomintang (KMT). Louise Delmotte/AP‘Chill out’In the lead-up to the election, China made no secret of its desire to prevent a Lai victory. Hours after Lai declared victory, China dismissed the outcome of Taiwan’s elections, saying the DPP “does not represent mainstream public opinion” on the island.

Persons: CNN — Lai Ching, Lai, Taiwan’s, “, ” Lai, we’re, ”, Xi Jinping, ” “, –, Tsai Ing, Lai Ching, Annice Lyn, I’ve, Louise Delmotte, Hou Yu, Beijing’s, Tsai, Xi, Beijing, Hsiao Bi, Hsiao, ” Lai Ching, Ann Wang, ’ Lai, ” Yang Wei Organizations: CNN, Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party, “, DPP, Kuomintang, KMT, Communist, ih, National Taiwan University, Reuters, Taiwan People’s Party, Taiwan Affairs Office Locations: Taiwan, China, Taiwan Strait, Beijing, Tainan, Taipei, United States, ”

☆ Vietnam Communist Party Chief Attends Parliament Session After Health Concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI (Reuters) - The head of Vietnam's Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, on Monday attended a session of the National Assembly after concerns were raised over the health of the country's most powerful leader. Diplomats had raised concerns over his health and several officials could not confirm the status of his health. Trong has been at the helm of the ruling Communist Party since 2011 and holds the top job in Vietnam's one-party political system. The National Assembly is convening to discuss banking and land reforms. Shortly after the chair's opening speech, Trong was seen walking out of the session with the help of aides, according to a Reuters witness.

Persons: Nguyen Phu Trong, Trong, Joko Widodo, Sonexay Siphandone, Kanupriya Kapoor Organizations: Vietnam's Communist Party, Monday, National, Diplomats, Communist Party, National Assembly, Reuters Locations: HANOI, Laos, Vietnam's

☆ China skeptic Lai Ching-te wins Taiwan's presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Taiwan's President-elect Lai Ching-te (left) gestures beside his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim during a rally outside the headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taipei on January 13, 2024, after winning the presidential election. The outcome of the presidential election on Saturday riled Beijing, which has repeatedly labeled Lai as a "stubborn worker for Taiwan independence" and a dangerous separatist. Annabelle Chih | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesDPP's Lai — Taiwan's current vice-president — won more than 40% of the popular vote in Taiwan's eighth presidential election. DPP is the first party to win the presidential office three times in row since direct presidential elections were introduced in 1996. This year, 71.9% of all eligible voters cast their ballots for the presidential election, according to preliminary data from Taiwan's Central Election Commission.

Persons: Lai Ching, Hsiao Bi, Yasuyoshi Chiba, Lai, Tsai Ing, Tsai, Annabelle Chih, DPP's Lai, Taiwan's, —, Beijing's, Hou, Ko Wen, Chen Binhua, Chen, Xi Jinping, Antony Blinken, Ko, Wei, Ting Yen Organizations: Democratic Progressive Party, AFP, Getty, TAIPEI, Saturday, Beijing, Chinese Communist Party, DPP, KMT, Chinese Communist Party officials, Democratic Progressive, Kuomintang, Taiwan People's Party, Taiwan's, Taiwan Affairs Office, State Council, CNBC, Franklin, Marshall College, Taiwan's DPP Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, China, U.S, Taiwan Strait, Beijing, Taiwan —, Republic of China, Xinhua, United States

The Taiwanese presidential candidate Lai Ching-te has for years been reviled by China’s Communist Party as a dangerous foe who, by its account, could drag the two sides into a war by pressing for full independence for his island democracy. Right up to Saturday, when millions of Taiwanese voted for their next president, an official Beijing news outlet warned that Mr. Lai could take Taiwan “on a path of no return.”Yet, despite China’s months of menacing warnings of a “war or peace” choice for Taiwan’s voters, Mr. Lai was victorious. Mr. Lai, currently Taiwan’s vice president, secured 40 percent of the votes in the election, giving his Democratic Progressive Party, or D.P.P., a third term in a row in the presidential office. No party has achieved more than two successive terms since Taiwan began holding direct, democratic elections for its president in 1996. gathering outside its headquarters in Taipei, thousands of supporters, many waving pink and green flags, cheered as Mr. Lai’s lead grew during the counting of the votes, which was displayed on a large screen on an outdoor stage.

Persons: Lai Ching, Lai, Lai’s Organizations: China’s Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan Locations: Beijing, Taiwan, Taipei

Taipei, Taiwan CNN —Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party pulled off a historic third consecutive presidential victory on Saturday as voters shrugged off warnings by China that their re-election would increase the risk of conflict. The counting of votes has concluded, with Lai – the candidate of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) – receiving just over 40% of the total votes, according to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission (CEC). Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party candidate Hou Yu-ih garnered 33.49% of the votes, with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je received 26.45%. A spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office insisted the election result “does not represent the mainstream view on the island.”“Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. “There’s multiple times that China could cause a fuss over a DPP victory, either now or later this year,” Nachman said.

Persons: Taiwan CNN — Taiwan’s, Lai Ching, ” Lai, “, Hsiao Bi, Lai –, Taiwan’s, –, Hou Yu, Ko Wen, je, Xi Jinping, Xi, Yasuyosh Chiba, Tsai Ing, Lai, Tsai, China’s, ” Xi, Hsiao, ”, Jaw Shaw, kong, Sam Yeh, Biden, Wang, Lev Nachman, ” Nachman, Nachman, hasn’t, they’ve Organizations: Taiwan CNN, Democratic Progressive Party, Commission, Kuomintang, KMT, ih, Taiwan People’s Party, Taiwan Affairs Office, Xinhua, China’s Communist Party, Party, Taiwan, Communist, DPP, Chinese Communist Party, Taiwan’s, Illinois State University, National Chengchi University, China’s Taiwan Affairs, Taiwan “, Analysts Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, China, United States, Beijing, ”, China’s Taiwan, AFP, “, New Taipei City, Washington, Taiwan Strait

☆ China Failed to Sway Taiwan’s Election. What Happens Now?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Damien Cave | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has tied his country’s great power status to a singular promise: unifying the motherland with Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party sees as sacred, lost territory. A few weeks ago, Mr. Xi called this a “historical inevitability.”But Taiwan’s election on Saturday, handing the presidency to a party that promotes the island’s separate identity for the third time in a row, confirmed that this boisterous democracy has moved even further away from China and its dream of unification. After a campaign of festival-like rallies, where huge crowds shouted, danced and waved matching flags, Taiwan’s voters ignored China’s warnings that a vote for the Democratic Progressive Party was a vote for war. They made that choice anyway. Lai Ching-te, a former doctor and the current vice president, who Beijing sees as a staunch separatist, will be Taiwan’s next leader.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Xi, Lai Ching, It’s Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party Locations: Taiwan, China, Beijing

☆ What’s at stake for the global economy as Taiwan goes to the polls
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

That pushed Taiwan’s trade surplus with China to an enormous $80.5 billion in 2023. For Taiwan, China has been its favorite investment stop for decades. China imports electronic components or precision machine tools from Taiwan, assembles them and exports the finished products to global markets. China may respond to a DPP victory by putting military and economic pressure on the island, Vest said. In 2022, China retaliated after Pelosi’s visit by banning imports of a range of food products from Taiwan.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Lai Ching, Lai, ”, Charlie Vest, Nancy Pelosi’s, Tsai Ing, Kevin McCarthy, they’re, ” Vest, Mike Kai Chen, Vest, there’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, Democratic Progressive Party, US, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, Imports, Hsinchu Science, Bloomberg, Getty, Capital Economics, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Apple, Foxconn, Analysts, Atlantic Locations: China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing, Taiwan Strait, California, United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, “ Taiwan, Hsinchu, Hsinchu Science Park

PRAGUE (AP) — František Janouch, a Czech nuclear physicist who set up a foundation in Sweden while in exile to support the dissident movement in his communist homeland at the time, has died. The Charter 77 Foundation said Janouch died on Friday morning in Sweden's capital, Stockholm, where he had lived since the 1970s. Born on Sept. 22, 1931 in the town of Lysa nad Labem near Prague, Janouch studied nuclear physics at Charles University in Prague and at universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the then Soviet Union. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesAt the invitation of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, he moved to Sweden in 1974. “František Janouch contributed significantly to the return of freedom to our country,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

Persons: Janouch, Václav Havel, Havel, “ František Janouch, Petr Fiala Organizations: Charles University, Nuclear Physics Institute, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Locations: PRAGUE, Czech, Sweden, Sweden's, Stockholm, Lysa nad Labem, Prague, Moscow, St, Petersburg, Soviet Union, Soviet, Czechoslovakia, Swedish

☆ Taiwan has chosen its new president. What’s at stake and how might China respond?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Nectar Gan | Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The world was watching to see not only who won the election, but how democratic Taiwan’s authoritarian neighbor will respond. China’s ruling Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite having never controlled it. In an initial response, Chen Binhua, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Taiwan’s presidential election result “will not change the basic layout and course of development in cross-strait relations.”“Taiwan is China’s Taiwan,” he said. Taiwan's Vice President and presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lai Ching-te speaks during a campaign rally in Keelung on January 8, 2024. In August 2022, China staged massive war games around Taiwan to show its displeasure with then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.

Persons: Lai Ching, Xi, China’s, ” Xi, ”, Amanda Hsiao, ” Hsiao, Lai, Chen Binhua, Hwa Cheng, “, Wen, doesn’t, Hsiao, Nancy Pelosi’s, Lai’s, Yuan Organizations: CNN, Democratic Progressive Party, DPP, Party, Taiwan, Communist, International Crisis, Taiwan Affairs Office, Getty, China’s Taiwan Affairs, Atlantic, US Locations: China, Beijing, Taiwan, Taipei, United States, Japan, Keelung, AFP, ” Beijing, “, South, Washington

☆ Opinion: Why Martin Luther King Jr.’s sharpest question remains unanswered
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Opinion Peniel E. Joseph | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

He is the author of “The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century.” The views expressed here are his own. CNN —Had he lived, Martin Luther King Jr. would be 95 years old this year. He turned political debates over racial integration, non-violent civil disobedience and voting rights into a national, then global, referendum on freedom. And, as their forerunners did, they continue to press for voting rights, equal education and environmental justice in communities of color – all a continuation of King’s legacy. The passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were not pre-ordained - nor were they universally beloved pieces of legislation.

Persons: Joseph, Barbara Jordan, “, CNN —, Martin Luther King Jr, Joseph Kelvin Ma, Kelvin Ma, King, subversives, Communist dupes, John F, Kennedy, Robert F, Black, ” King, White, ”, Jim Crow, ‘, ” Kennedy, George Wallace Organizations: Center, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas, Racial Justice, CNN, Tufts University, Communist, Jobs, Birmingham City, White, University of Alabama, Blacks Locations: Austin, America, Washington, Birmingham, United States

☆ China could take inspiration from Vladimir Putin as it seeks to conquer Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Gregor Schwung | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Read previewOn the beach of the Taiwanese island of Kinmen, pointed metal rods protrude from the ground and point towards the sea. To test Western resolve, China could first grab one of the offshore islands - just as Putin initially seized Crimea. After all, the only previous hostilities between Taiwan and China took place here - Beijing tried to conquer Kinmen in 1960 and 1970. To take Taiwan, China does not need Kinmen or the other offshore islands as a springboard. Due to its proximity to the mainland, Chinese military activities and any preparations for an invasion can be easily observed from here.

Persons: —, Gregor Schwung, Xi Jinping, Putin, Xi, Sun Tzu, Li Wen, Jing, Li, Vladimir Putin, Yao, Yuan Yeh Organizations: Service, Business, Congress, Kinmen, dicey coastguard, People's Liberation Army, Institute for National Defence and Security Research, Ministry of Defence, WELT, New, Security, Beijing, Communist Party, St Thomas University, Policy Locations: Kinmen, China, Xiamen, Taiwan, Taipei, Pratas, People's Republic, Crimea, Washington, Beijing, Ukraine, Taiwan's, Houston

☆ eBay must pay $3 million after its employees sent live spiders and cockroaches to a couple as part of a harassment campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

eBay has agreed to pay a $3 million fine after its employees waged a harassment campaign against a Massachusetts couple. The employees sent live spiders, cockroaches, and a bloody pig mask to the couple. AdvertisementOnline retailer eBay Inc. will pay a $3 million fine to resolve criminal charges over a harassment campaign waged by employees who sent live spiders, cockroaches and other disturbing items to the home of a Massachusetts couple, according to court papers filed Thursday. The couple produced an online newsletter called EcommerceBytes that upset eBay executives with its coverage. Wenig, who stepped down as CEO in 2019, was not criminally charged in the case and has denied having any knowledge of the harassment campaign or ever telling anyone to do anything illegal.

Persons: —, David, Ina Steiner, Josh Levy, Devin Wenig, Wenig, James Baugh, Baugh, David Harville, Harville Organizations: eBay, Service, eBay Inc, Justice Department, EBay, Associated Press, Communist Party of Locations: Massachusetts, California, United States, Boston, Wenig

☆ Former Chinese central banker took ‘extraordinarily massive’ bribes, state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —Fan Yifei, a disgraced former Chinese central banker, has admitted making a “huge mistake” in comments aired as part of a documentary by state broadcaster CCTV that alleges he accepted massive bribes from the beginning of his tenure. It described how he had received “extraordinarily massive” payments from executives of various companies in exchange for favors after taking up the PBOC’s second-highest position. “I wanted to possess great power, and at the same time, to be rich,” Fan said in the documentary. “I made a huge mistake.”According to CCTV, Fan accepted payments from businesspeople through his brother’s investment company. In addition to Fan’s case, the CCTV documentary exposed graft at a state-owned energy investment group and at the highest levels of Chinese sport.

Persons: Fan, Xi Jinping, “, Qian Long, Liu Liange, Wang Bin, Tang Shuangning, Tang, Wang Yongsheng, Wang, Li, China’s Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, People’s Bank of China’s, Central Commission, Xinhua, Communist Party, National Supervisory Commission, of China, China Life Insurance, China Everbright, China Development Bank, China Daily, soccer team, China’s Twitter Locations: China, Hong Kong, Xinhua, Weibo

☆ A top city official used a downtown billboard to secretly funnel 'huge sums' of cash into his family's pockets, Chinese state media says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Zhang Xiaopei, the former party secretary of Jilin, had people pay "huge sums" to rent a billboard. AdvertisementA top Communist Party official had for years used a digital billboard in the downtown area of the Chinese city of Jilin to channel illicit funds toward him, Chinese state media reported on Saturday. Zhang Xiaopei, Jilin's now-disgraced former party secretary, was expelled from the ruling party in June 2023 after anti-graft officials announced he had been taking bribes. As party secretary, Zhang held the top position in Jilin starting in 2011 before being assigned vice-chairman of the province's political advisory body in 2014. Related stories"Some companies didn't even have advertising needs, but they took the initiative to buy these ads, typically in an effort to obtain benefits from Party Secretary Zhang," Tang added.

Persons: Zhang Xiaopei, —, Jilin's, Zhang, Zhang's, Tang, Xi Jinping's, Xi Organizations: China, Service, Communist Party, Business, Party, Central Commission Locations: Jilin, China

☆ A US Navy sailor handed over military secrets to China for just $15,000, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewA US Navy sailor has been fined $5,500 and sentenced to 27 months in prison for leaking military secrets to Chinese intelligence, federal prosecutors said on Monday. Prosecutors said Zhao would talk with the Chinese intelligence officer using encrypted messaging, and accused him of destroying evidence and trying to hide his communications with his handler. AdvertisementAnother US Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick, was arrested at the same time as Zhao on similar charges. She believed that the espionage would secure him a position in the Chinese Communist Party, federal prosecutors alleged.

Persons: —, Wenheng Zhao, Zhao, Thomas, Prosecutors, Larissa Knapp, Jinchao Wei, Patrick, Wei Organizations: Service, US Navy, Business, Justice Department, Federal Bureau, Investigation's National Security, Prosecutors, Chinese Communist Party Locations: Port Hueneme, Ventura County , California, Okinawa, Japan, Monterey Park , California, Essex, San Diego, Wisconsin, Washington

On Nov. 18, China’s Ministry of Public Security announced that authorities in northern Myanmar had handed over some 31,000 suspects. The Kokang Self-Administered Zone and the Wa Self-Administered Division both share a border with China and are heavily influenced by their bigger neighbor. The Ming family are not the only powerful Kokang families caught up in the drive. Wa police handed 194 Chinese nationals to Chinese authorities on Nov. 28, according to Wa's state media, Voice of Wa State. Others say that China is showing it won't tolerate the scams anymore, regardless of how powerful are the people behind them.

Persons: ”, Lu Jiantang, Jason Tower, Ming, Hu Xijin, ” Hu, Wei Qingtao, they’ll, ” Wei, Liu Zhengqi, Ming Xuechang, Kokang, Yin Masan, MNDAA, cyberscammers, Richard Horsey, “, Bai Suocheng, Li Kyar Wen, It’s, Wanqing Chen Organizations: China’s Ministry of Public Security, U.S . Congress, United States Institute of Peace, Communist Party, China’s Communist Party, CCTV, Global Times, of Public Security, Fully, Wa Construction Ministry, Wa Communist Party, Brotherhood Alliance, Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, National Liberation Army, International Crisis Locations: BANGKOK, China, Myanmar, “, Wa, Kokang, Yunnan, Wa State, Shan, Arakan, cyberscams, Beijing

☆ The horror of Henry Kissinger’s legacy in Southeast Asia goes on
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —Fifty years after Henry Kissinger drove American foreign policy in Southeast Asia, the region continues to live with the fallout from the bombing and military campaigns backed by the former secretary of state, who died last week. That’s more than the Allies dropped during World War II, according to an account by Yale University historian Ben Kiernan. Experts say the devastation – which is especially acute for people in rural areas – will go on for years to come. That’s Kissinger’s legacy,” said Bill Morse, president of the nonprofit Landmine Relief Fund, which supports organizations including Cambodia Self-Help Demining. They play catch with it and it blows up 10 year old children … (unexploded ordnance) are where the injuries are coming from now,” he said.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, Kissinger, Richard Nixon, ”, Youk Chhang, Chhang, Nixon, Vietnam –, CNN It’s, Gerald Ford, Suharto’s, “ Kissinger, Chong Ja Ian, Ben Kiernan, …, That’s, Bill Morse, Morse, Le Duc Tho, “, Barack Obama Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Center of Cambodia, CNN, National University of Singapore, ”, Yale University, Paris Peace Accords, MPI, Getty, NPR Locations: Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Khmer Rouge, Phnom Penh, Khmer, Laos, East Timor, United States, Missouri, destabilized, Paris, United Kingdom

☆ Shanghai wants Microsoft to promote AI tech in city - govt
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

A Microsoft sign at the U.S. tech giant's offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris, France, January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Shanghai authorities told Microsoft's (MSFT.O) visiting president on Tuesday they want his company to promote artificial intelligence technology to boost businesses there, the Chinese financial hub's government said. Chen Jining, Shanghai's Communist party Secretary, made the remarks while meeting Microsoft President and Vice Chair Brad Smith, the government said. Shanghai was also open to Microsoft collaborating on studying technology-related governance frameworks and standards, Chen said. Reporting by Beijing Newsroom;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Microsoft's, Chen Jining, Brad Smith, Chen Organizations: Microsoft, REUTERS, Rights, Communist, Beijing Newsroom, Thomson Locations: Issy, Paris, France, Rights BEIJING, Shanghai

☆ Lawmakers ramp up scrutiny of Shein, call for proof it doesn't use forced labor after retailer files for IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | In Gabrielle-Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Lawmakers are ramping up their scrutiny of Shein after it confidentially filed to go public last week. "Urge the SEC to apply maximum scrutiny to Shein's business and management before letting it anywhere near our capital markets," Luetkemeyer said in the video, viewed by CNBC. They include legislation that would block Shein from trading in the U.S. or bar its shipments from coming into the country. Gallagher is also interested in pursuing reforms to the trade loophole known as the de minimis provision and expanding enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, the aide said. The committee is investigating Shein over its use of forced labor and de minimis — probes that are ongoing, Luetkemeyer said.

Persons: confidentially, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Shein, Luetkemeyer, let's, Mike Gallagher, Gallagher Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange, CNBC, SEC, Chinese Communist Party, Uyghur, Labor Locations: U.S

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s constitutional court ordered an immediate humanitarian release Tuesday for imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori, 85, who was serving a 25-year sentence in connection with the death squad slayings of 25 Peruvians in the 1990s. The court ruled in favor of a 2017 pardon that had granted the former leader a release on humanitarian grounds but that later was annulled. In a resolution seen by The Associated Press, the court told the state prisons agency to immediately release Fujimori “on the same day.”Fujimori was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison on charges of human rights abuses. Political Cartoons View All 1283 ImagesThe constitutional court previously had ordered a lower court in the southern city of Ica to release Fujimori, but that court declined to do so, arguing in ruling last Friday that it lacked the authority. It returned the matter instead to the constitutional court.

Persons: —, Alberto Fujimori, Fujimori “, ” Fujimori, Pablo Kuczynski, Fujimori Organizations: Associated Press, Inter, American, of Human Rights Locations: LIMA, Peru, Ica, America, Caribbean

☆ China's policy support is a 'stop-gap' measure — not stimulus, SocGen economist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Close up of Chinese Yuan notes, with Mao Tse-tung Peter Dazeley | The Image Bank | Getty ImagesChina's recent policy support is aimed at fixing its system and shouldn't be seen as economic stimulus, according to Societe Generale's Asia chief economist and head of research. PMI divergenceExpansion in China's services sector climbed to its strongest since August, a private survey on Tuesday showed. However, the private survey diverged from China's official PMI. The moderating manufacturing PMI and contracting services PMI, along with other November data point to the fragility of the Chinese economy and a faster deceleration of growth momentum last month, they added. The official PMI includes more companies engaged in heavy industries compared with the Caixin PMI, which covers more consumer-focused firms, Barclays economists said.

Persons: Yuan, Mao Tse, Peter Dazeley, Wei Yao, Yao, Jian Chang Organizations: Bank, Getty, Societe Generale's, CNBC, Economic Work Conference, China Communist, PMI, National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Barclays Locations: Societe Generale's Asia, China

The world also said goodbye to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who died Nov. 29. Political Cartoons View All 1277 ImagesAnother political figure who died this year was former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter, who died Nov. 19. Among the entertainers who left the world this year was singer Tina Turner, who died May 24. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2023 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Fred White, 67. A Hall of Fame forward who helped the Chicago Blackhawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup Final.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin’s, Henry Kissinger, Rosalynn Carter, Jimmy Carter, Silvio Berlusconi, Dianne Feinstein, James Buckley, James Abourezk, Nigel Lawson, Pervez Musharraf, Sandra Day O’Connor, Li Keqiang, Martti Ahtisaari, United Nations Bill Richardson, Gov, Sheila Oliver, Theodoros Pangalos, Tina Turner, Ike Turner, Suzanne Somers, Matthew Perry, Raquel Welch, Richard Belzer, Chaim Topol, Jacklyn Zeman, Lance Reddick, Alan Arkin, Paul Reubens, David McCallum, Richard Roundtree, Tom Sizemore, Jimmy Buffett, Sinéad O’Connor, Rita Lee Jones, Burt Bacharach, David Crosby, Fito Olivares, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Astrud Gilberto, Coco Lee, Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, Cormac McCarthy, William Friedkin, Bob Barker, Jerry Springer, Louise Glück, Jeff Beck, Mary Quant, Kaija Saariaho, Lloyd Morrisett, Fred White, Maurice, Verdine White, Ken Block, Walter Cunningham, Fay Weldon, ” Jan, Russell Pearce, Charles Simic, Lynette “ Diamond ” Hardaway, Donald Trump, Diamond, Constantine, Jan, Tatjana Patitz, George Michael’s, Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley, Robbie Knievel, Evel Knievel, Ray Cordeiro, Elmo, Cookie, Gina Lollobrigida, Chris Ford, Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Cindy Williams, Shirley, “ Laverne, Billy Packer, Sylvia Syms, Alex ”, Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield, “ Papa, Rollin ’ Stone, Tom Verlaine, Patti Smith, Bobby Hull, Paco Rabanne, Harry Whittington, Dick Cheney, Hsing Yun, ”, San Jose ”, Carlos Saura, Spain’s, Hugh Hudson, Oscar, “ Greystroke, Hans Modrow, David Jude Jolicoeur, Huey “, ” Smith, Little Richard, Lloyd Price, “, Leiji Matsumoto, Yamato ”, Tim McCarver, Stella Stevens, Jerry Lewis’s, John Munch, Ahmed Qureia, Betty Boothroyd, Ricou Browning, Gill, Gérard Latortue, Fontaine, Barbara Everitt Bryant, Ryan ”, Kenzaburo Oe, Judy Heumann, Gary Rossington, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Georgina Beyer, Traute Lafrenz, Rose, Peterson Zah, Tevye, Robert Blake, Jiang Yanyong, Bud Grant, Dick Fosbury, Pat Schroeder, Gloria Bosman, Jacqueline Gold, Britain’s Ann Summers, John Wick ”, John Jenrette, Juana La, Willis Reed, Darcelle, Paul O’Grady, Lily Savage, Emperor ”, Hedda Kleinfeld Schachter, Margaret Thatcher, Ben Ferencz, Nuremberg, Elisabeth Kopp, Michael Lerner, Jack Lipnick, “ Barton Fink, Bugsy Calhoun, Anne Perry, Thomas Pitt, William Monk, Al Jaffee, magazine’s, Charles Stanley, Richard Riordan, Todd Haimes, Tony Awards, Barry Humphries, Tony, Dame Edna Everage, Len Goodman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, Emmett Till, LeRoy “ Lee ” Carhart, Larry “, ___ Gordon Lightfoot, Tori Bowie, Vida, Grace Bumbry, Rock ”, Ovelha, Denny Crum, Heather Armstrong, Bobbie Spencer, Rolf Harris, Kenneth Anger, Doyle Brunson, Jim Brown, Timothy Keller, Andy Rourke, Ray Stevenson, Thor ”, Ed Ames, George Maharis, Carroll Cooley, Miranda, John Beasley, Kaija, George Winston, Ipanema ”, Robert Hanssen, Richard Snyder, Simon & Schuster, Françoise Gilot, Pablo Picasso —, Pat Robertson, Theodore “ Ted ” Kaczynski, Roger Payne, Treat Williams, Glenda Jackson, Daniel Ellsberg, Richard Nixon, Big, George Frazier, Lee Sarokin, Rubin “, ” Carter, Winnie Ewing, Sheldon Harnick, Jerry Bock, “ Fiorello, John Goodenough, Peg Yorkin, Sue Johanson, Yan Mingfu, John Berylson, James Lewis, poisonings, Mikala Jones, André Watts, Jane Birkin, Kevin Mitnick, San Francisco ”, Frank Sinatra, Lady Gaga, Hugh “ Sonny ” Carter Jr, Jimmy, Randy Meisner, Herman, Angus Cloud, Fezco, ” O’Neill, ___, Mark Margolis, Hector Salamanca, Saul, Sixto Rodriguez, flamed, Robbie Robertson, Tom Jones, Magoo, Timbaland, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Clarence Avant, Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, Ada Deer, Jerry Moss, Herb Alpert, Alpert, Michael Parkinson, Muhammad Ali, Miss Piggy, Jiri Cerny, Betty Tyson, Richard Nixon’s, John Warnock, Ron Cephas Jones, Howard Hubbard, Samuel “ Joe ” Wurzelbacher, Joe, Barack Obama, Gil Brandt, Tom Landry, Tex Schramm, Bill Richardson, Steve Harwell, Shabtai Shavit, Jordan, Ian Wilmut, Dolly, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Roy Kidd, Eno Ichikawa, Michael McGrath, Fernando Botero, Giorgio Napolitano, Matteo Messina Denaro, Michael Gambon, Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter ”, Mankombu Sambasivan, Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Hosni Mubarak, Tim Wakefield, Dick Butkus, Michael Chiarello, Michael Chiarello ”, Masters, Burt Young, Paulie, Sylvester Stallone, Hughes Van Ellis, Kevin Phillips, Louise Meriwether, Mark Goddard, Major Don West, Rudolph Isley, Isley, unblinking, Piper Laurie, Chrissy Snow, Bobby Charlton, Bishan Bedi, Richard Moll, Xi Jinping, Wu Zunyou, Chandler Bing, Ken Mattingly, Bob Knight, Frank Borman, Steve Norton, Don Walsh, Mariana Trench, Terry R, Taylor, Daisaku Ikeda, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Ussery, George “ Funky ” Brown, Joanna ”, Marty Krofft, Pufnstuf, Donny, Marie ”, Terry Venables, Tim Dorsey, Serge A, Frances Sternhagen, ” “, Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, Gerald Ford, Shane MacGowan, Bernard McGhee Organizations: Wagner Group, Russian, White House, U.S, Supreme, United Nations, Greek Foreign, Republican, Hong, Boston Celtics, NBA, NBC, CBS, Television, Fame, Chicago Blackhawks, ”, New, of Fame, Louis Cardinals, “, Palestinian, Israel, South Dakota Democrat, Arab, Arab American U.S, Britain’s, Commons, . Census Bureau, Alabama ”, Zealand, Navajo, Minnesota Vikings, People, Playboy, Capitol, Juana La Cubana, New York Knicks, Guinness, World Records, Hollywood, Treasury, Southern Baptist Convention, Los Angeles, Roundabout Theatre Company, Air Force, Harlem Globetrotters, Janeiro Games, baseball’s, Germany’s Bayreuth, NCAA, Hall of Famer, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Legion, Ames, Phoenix, FBI, Simon &, Christian Broadcasting Network, Republican Party, Christian Coalition, Harvard, Feminist Majority Foundation, “ Little, Communist Party, Millwall, New York Philharmonic, San, Brigade, Wing, Eagles, HBO, of Indian Affairs, M, Police, Carpenters, Adobe Systems, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dallas Cowboys, escapist, Democratic, Zulu, Eastern, AA, Broadway, Communist, U.S . Senate, Red Sox, Yankees, Boston, Chicago Bears, Major, Isley Brothers, New York Times, Manchester United, India, Indiana, Nevada — Resorts, Atlantic City —, Navy, Associated Press, Soka Gakkai, Kentucky Derby, Kool, The, European, Barcelona, Tottenham, City Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Russian, U.S, Finnish, New Mexico, New Jersey, British, Greece, American, Hong Kong, Italian, America, New York, Spanish, catwalks, Texas, Taiwan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, San, New Orleans, Rosebud, Arab American, Haiti, “, African, Brooklyn, London, Los, Mississippi, United States, Rivers, Georgia, Savannah, Louisville, New York City, Irish, HBO’s “ Rome, Brazilian, Ipanema, Moscow, Virginia, Montana, Vietnam, Canada, Asia, Chicago, Hawaii, France, South Africa, Wisconsin, Los Angeles, Czech, Eastern Kentucky, Colombian, ”, California, Tulsa, Finland, China, Nevada, Atlantic City, Florida, Berkshire

Federal prosecutors said on Monday that a retired State Department official worked for decades as a secret agent for Cuba, and told an undercover F.B.I. agent that the United States was “the enemy.”In a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Miami, the prosecutors said that the diplomat, Manuel Rocha, had secretly aided Cuba’s “clandestine intelligence-gathering mission against the United States” since 1981 as he rose undetected through the ranks of the diplomatic corps and the National Security Council. Mr. Rocha, 73, appeared to have met with handlers from Cuba’s premier spy agency as recently as 2017, prosecutors said, and boasted that his 40 years of spying on behalf of the communist government in Havana had “strengthened the revolution immensely.”For more than two decades, Mr. Rocha handled matters related to Latin America in a series of roles at the State Department under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, including a stint as ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002. More recently, Mr. Rocha, a native of Colombia who grew up in New York, served as an adviser to the U.S. military command responsible for Cuba.

Persons: Manuel Rocha, Cuba’s, . Rocha, “, Rocha, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush Organizations: State Department, United, National Security Locations: Cuba, United States, Miami, Havana, America, Bolivia, Colombia, New York

☆ CNN took an 11-day cruise through some of the most-contested waters on Earth. Here’s what we learned
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

China claims almost all of the 1.3 million-square-mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. In daylight hours in the South China Sea, from Ottawa’s flight deck or outdoor bridge wings, Chinese warships are often visible to the naked eye. Aviator Gregory Cole/Canadian Armed Forces PhotoOn October 29, things take a potentially dangerous turn, one that could have cost lives and ratcheted up tensions in the South China Sea to new levels. Radar operators scan their instruments in a Canadian antisubmarine warfare helicopter over the East China Sea. Hammerhead targets drones await their fate on the deck of the frigate HMCS Ottawa in the South China Sea.

Persons: Sam Patchell, Jacob Broderick ,, Ben Hughes, Gregory Cole, he’s, “, King Neptune, Xi Jinping, Brad Lendon, Rafael Peralta, Collin Koh, ” Patchell, Patchell, Aviator Gregory Cole, ”, haven’t, Xi, Rob Millen, they’d, Long, Peralta, It’s, Qinetiq, Noble, That’s, Cmdr, Sean Milley, Christine Hurov, Wally Shirra, it’s, Wally Schirra, Loverboy’s, Australia’s, doesn’t, We’ll Organizations: HMCS, HMCS Ottawa CNN, Royal Canadian Navy, Canada, United, Naval Warfare Officers, Canadian Armed Forces, US Navy, Ottawa, CNN, Canada’s Defense Ministry, Chinese Communist Party, Coast Guard, Rajaratnam, of International Studies, People’s Liberation Army Navy, PLA Navy, United Nations, Ottawa's, Cyclone, Canadian, Royal Canadian Air Force, Chinese Defense Ministry, Pentagon, troika, Peralta, Brisbane, CNN Radio, New, New Zealand Navy’s, Cmdr, HMNZS Aotearoa, Australian, Southern Hemisphere, One Locations: HMCS Ottawa, Taiwan, Ottawa, China, United States, Canadian, South China, Gaza, Ukraine, East, Washington, Singapore, Beijing, Spratly, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Chinese, South, East China, CNN Beijing, Canada, Gulf of Mexico, West Coast, Australian, Brisbane, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Okinawa, replenishments, Aotearoa, American, Ottawa’s

☆ Opinion: Taylor Swift has it. Elon Musk and George Santos don’t
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

Exit George SantosVideo Ad Feedback SE Cupp: Trump didn't pave the way for George Santos. In the week that Americans said goodbye to Rosalynn Carter, Henry Kissinger and Sandra Day O’Connor, it was jarring that Santos occupied our minds. But as SE Cupp argued, in a more rational world, Santos would have resigned from Congress long ago. • Join us on Twitter and Facebook“Many Republicans just don’t care,” wrote Zelizer. Ron Edmonds/APAs a 12-year-old girl in 1981, Traci Lovitt was riveted by the appointment of Sandra Day O’Connor as the first woman on the Supreme Court.

Persons: William James, “, James, Webster, — Taylor Swift, Elon Musk, Taylor, Jeff Yang, aplomb, Swift, Ariana Grande, Tay, bestie, ”, ” Yang, Holly Thomas, ‘, Emma Chamberlain, we’re, we’ll, We’ll, Exit George Santos, George Santos, Rosalynn Carter, Henry Kissinger, Sandra Day O’Connor, Santos, New Jersey Sen, Bob Menendez, Cupp, Mercedes, ” Santos, Menendez “, Menendez, Donald Trump, Trump, Bill Clinton, ” Clay Jones Liz Cheney’s, Liz Cheney, ” Cheney, Julian Zelizer, Cheney, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, ” “, craven, — Cheney, Wade, Patrick T, Brown, ’ Trump, ” Brown, Sen, John McCain, ” Nick Anderson, Agency Nikki Haley’s, Nikki Haley, Koch, Haley, Geoff Duncan, ” Duncan, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Barack Obama, ” “ Haley, Nicole Hemmer, Bill Carter, Hannity, Newsom, Henry Kissinger’s, Henry “ Kissinger, Fareed Zakaria, Kissinger, Stalin, reread Spinoza, ” Kissinger, Zakaria, ” Jeremi Suri, ” “ Kissinger, Peter Bergen, Christopher Hitchens, Henry Kissinger David Andelman, Joe Biden, Phil Hands, Frida Ghitis, it’s, Netanyahu, Ghitis, Hani Almadhoun, Almadhoun, ” Elon, Jill Filipovic, X, Dean Obeidallah, Keith Magee, Lisa Benson, GoComics.com, Dominic Erdozain, Ronald Reagan, ’, Walt Handelsman, Will Leitch, William Faulkner, Robert Frost, John Steinbeck, Leitch, … I’d, ” Don’t, Dana Summers, Agency Amy Klein, Stuart E, Carter, Carmen Cusido, Sandra Day, Sandra Day O'Connor, Ron Edmonds, Traci Lovitt, O’Connor, Lovitt, Antonin Scalia, — Organizations: CNN, Oxford, Merriam, Exit, Trump, White House, Republican, Democrat, Independent, Mar, Twitter, Facebook, Republicans, Affordable, “, Tribune, Agency, New York Times, Biden, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Musk’s, Islamic State, America “, National Commission, Illustrated, Sports, AP, Stanford Law, Potomac Locations: Merriam, New York, New Jersey, Roe, Georgia, Siena, optimists, European, Nazi Germany, Vietnam, Cambodia, Gaza, Israel, America, America “ America, United States, Arizona

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