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☆ Founder of Taiwan's Foxconn says China won't attack if he's president
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, April 27 (Reuters) - The billionaire founder of Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW) and presidential hopeful Terry Gou said on Thursday China does not want war with the island and would not attack if he become president as he would not declare independence. Gou, one of Taiwan's most recognisable faces, stepped down as chief of major Apple Inc supplier Foxconn, which has extensive manufacturing facilities in China, in 2019. China wanted to develop its economy and focus on things like finding jobs for college graduates and feeding its people, Gou said. But Taiwanese politicians hope because of this the people can hate China and therefore they get elected," added Gou, 72. "I won't (declare) independence, you won't attack me or fly around Taiwan," he added, referring to the almost daily missions by China's air force in the vicinity of the island.

☆ UAE, Qatar set to restore diplomatic ties and reopen embassies after bitter feud
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are moving toward restoring diplomatic ties and reopening embassies in each other's countries, just over two years after the lifting of a blockade on Qatar that encapsulated bitter political discord between the two and in the wider Gulf region. The deal to end the three-and-a-half-year political and economic blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain took place in January of 2021, with states vowing to restore relations for the benefit of the region. The UAE expressed similar aims in a statement from a government official. "The UAE's foreign policy is primarily focused on building bridges, economic cooperation and regional deescalation. "At present, the activation of diplomatic ties, which will include the reopening of embassies, is under process between both countries."

The Sudanese air force is conducting operations against the RSF, the army said. Footage from broadcasters showed a military aircraft in the sky above Khartoum, but Reuters could not independently confirm the material. A Reuters journalist saw cannon and armoured vehicles deployed in streets, and heard heavy weapons fire near the headquarters of both the army and RSF. The RSF, which analysts say is 100,000 strong, said its forces were attacked first by the army. Civilian political parties that had signed an initial power-sharing deal with the army and the RSF called on them to cease hostilities.

☆ Heavy gunfire heard south of Sudanese capital Khartoum: witnesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 15 (Reuters) - Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said on Saturday that the army had surrounded one of its bases and opened fire with heavy weapons, as gunfire could be heard in several parts of Khartoum and adjoining cities, eyewitnesses told Reuters. The move follows days of tension between the army and the RSF, a powerful paramilitary group, that had sparked concern about a confrontation. A Reuters witness saw cannon and armoured vehicles deployed in streets, and heard the sound of heavy weaponry in the vicinity of the headquarters of both the army and RSF. The source of the gunfire could not be immediately confirmed by Reuters. A statement by the RSF on Saturday called the army's actions a "brute assault" and called for it to be condemned.

☆ McCarthy meets with Taiwan leader as China threatens 'actions' in response
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (R) speaks with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen while arriving for a bipartisan meeting at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on April 5, 2023. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a bipartisan congressional delegation are meeting Wednesday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Simi Valley, California, in a move that has increased simmering U.S. tensions with China. The Republican House speaker is the highest ranking U.S. official to meet with a leader of Taiwan on U.S. soil since 1979. Tsai's meeting with McCarthy follows private meetings she held last week with small groups of U.S. lawmakers. But in reality, Tsai's packed schedule of high-level meetings with U.S. lawmakers would rival that of any official visit by a world leader.

☆ 9 Middle Eastern funds and investors pouring money into US media, sports, and entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Governments and investors in the Middle East are pouring money into Western media and entertainment. Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment, and they're finding plenty of takers. The channels for money from Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East are complex. Insider broke down the key entities — their owners, leaders, and high-profile investments and joint ventures — in the top three Middle Eastern nations pouring money into US entertainment and media. It describes itself as the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa and runs one of the largest TV news channels, Al Arabiya.

☆ Saudi money is flowing to US media and entertainment, from Live Nation to LIV Golf, 5 years after Jamal Khashoggi's murder: 'The ice has thawed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment. Insider identified some key people connecting Middle East investors with American companies. Saudi Arabia is trying to pitch itself to the world as a cultural and economic reformer and spur tourism. Vince McMahon's WWE has a long-term partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a major live WWE event there slated for May. Vince McMahon's WWE was one of the first US companies to create unique events in Saudi Arabia.

☆ South Koreans sceptical as president offers olive branch to Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Ju-Min Park | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SEOUL, March 16 (Reuters) - As South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol landed in Tokyo on Thursday his plan to patch up relations with Japan faces lingering scepticism at home. Sixty-four percent of the respondents said South Korea did not need to rush to improve ties with Japan if there were no change in Tokyo's attitude, according to the poll. Yoon is the latest of many South Korean conservatives who embrace the argument that Seoul must heal divides with Japan to confront security challenges. Boycotts of Japanese products and vacations have largely faded in South Korea, and a growing number of South Koreans are travelling to Japan as COVID restrictions ease. Three Japanese animated films are among the top five at box office in South Korea.

"There is an increasing need for Korea and Japan to cooperate in this time of a polycrisis, with North Korean nuclear and missile threats escalating and global supply chains being disrupted," Yoon said. Yoon's visit also comes as North Korea has been raising tensions in the region weapons test, including the latest launch of two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday. South Korea, the United States and Japan must further strengthen security cooperation to deter North Korea, Yoon said, adding that he expected GSOMIA, an intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, to be "invigorated" as the two countries restore trust. South Korea has been conditionally maintaining the pact, which is intended to help the two countries share information on North Korea's missile and nuclear activities. Yoon denounced North Korea for focusing on its "reckless" weapons programmes when the country's food shortages have "grown worse" and said South Korea "will never acknowledge North Korea as a nuclear state under any circumstances."

The summit is the same week as major South Korea-U.S. military drills that routinely anger Pyongyang, and North Korea has already staged multiple missile launches - a backdrop for the message that Japan, South Korea and the United States need to close ranks. In November South Korea and Japan agreed to exchange real-time intelligence on North Korea's missile launches, which experts say will help both countries better track potential threats. "South Korea is already taking a side and entering the Cold War," said Kim Joon-hyung, a former chancellor of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy. Yoon said high-tech cooperation on supply chains between Japan and South Korea would contribute significantly to economic security. 'SHARED INTERESTS'Washington had pressed for reconciliation, but a State Department spokesperson said the recent arrangements were the result of bilateral discussions between Japan and South Korea.

☆ Factbox: What's on the table for the Kishida-Yoon summit?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, November 28, 2022. Kishida is considering visiting South Korea as early as this summer, Kyodo has reported. G7 INVITATIONKishida may extend an invitation to Yoon to attend the G7 summit set to take place in Hiroshima in May, several media reported. EXPORT CURBSThe two leaders could confirm their countries' intention to resolve Japan's high-tech material export curbs against South Korea. Japan tightened restrictions on the export of high-tech semiconductor materials to South Korea in 2019 as a row over how to compensate wartime labourers flared.

☆ South Korea's Yoon arrives in Tokyo hours after North's missile launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sakura Murakami | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee arrive at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) in Tokyo, Japan March 16, 2023. Before Yoon's flight, North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile, which landed in the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan, emphasising both the urgency of regional security and the threat posed by North Korea. "There is an increasing need for (South) Korea and Japan to cooperate in this time," Yoon said in a written interview with international media on Wednesday, calling both North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and supply chain disruptions a "polycrisis". South Korea and Japan at the time agreed to exchange real-time intelligence on North Korea's missile launches, which experts say will help both countries better track potential threats. Tokyo worries that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has set a precedent that will encourage China to attack self-ruled Taiwan.

☆ BBC won’t be ‘put off’ covering India by tax raids and censorship
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The BBC says it will not be “put off” from reporting in India after the government prevented a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from airing in the country and raided the broadcaster’s offices. Indian tax authorities spent three days searching BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai last week. We won’t be put off from that task”Davie added that the BBC “does not have an agenda.”Indian authorities have accused the BBC of tax evasion. Modi was accused of not doing enough to stop the violence, which killed more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. — Swati Gupta and Manveena Suri in New Delhi, Olesya Dmitracova and Martin Goillandeau in London, and Alex Stambaugh in Hong Kong contributed reporting.

☆ Exclusive: Peru eyes spending in protest zones, but fiscal goals 'non-negotiable' -minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The political turmoil is increasingly threatening to derail Peru's economic stability, with ratings agencies warning of downgrades, blockades impacting major mines and protesters demanding Congress and new president Dina Boluarte step down. Amid warnings from ratings agencies about the economic impact of the unrest and possible elevated spending, Contreras pledged that fiscal responsibility would be maintained. Peru is aiming for a fiscal deficit of 2.5% of GDP this year and 2.4% next year. On Monday, ratings agency S&P cut Peru's outlook to negative from stable and warned about a possible ratings downgrade if the upheaval continued. Contreras said that he had spoken with S&P and Fitch and understood their concerns, but highlighted Peru's fiscal and monetary strength, which he said was a buffer for the economy.

☆ Morocco airline cancels World Cup fans flights, citing Qatar restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The CN-ROP Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737 makes its final approach for landing at Toulouse-Blagnac airport, France, March 20, 2019. "Following the latest restrictions imposed by the Qatari authorities, Royal Air Maroc regrets to inform customers of the cancellation of their flights operated by Qatar Airways," the airline said in an emailed statement. The Qatari government's international media office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The RAM spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. Qatar Airways did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

☆ It's no great surprise that the European Parliament has a corruption problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Belgian police said late last week that they had carried out raids and arrested four people in connection with an ongoing corruption probe into alleged payments and gifts from Qatar to members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and their staff. Kaili did not appear at a scheduled hearing on Wednesday, and was remanded in custody until she appears before a court on December 22, Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office said Wednesday. Federal prosecutors confirmed a “large-scale investigation” was conducted into the alleged criminal activity, corruption, and money laundering activities within the European Parliament on Wednesday. Kaili, who has spoken in defense of Qatar in the European Parliament, traveled to Qatar shortly before the start of the soccer World Cup. While this scandal has rocked Brussels, the allegations have come as no great surprise to those who know the European institutions, especially the Parliament.

☆ Iran morality police: Is this the end for the regime's notorious force?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —An Iranian official’s comment signaling that the country’s notorious morality police had been shut down has raised more questions than answers. The attorney general was quoted by an Iranian state media outlet as saying: “Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary. It was abolished from the same place it was launched.”It is possible the comment was misinterpreted, and the tone from state media quickly changed. On Sunday, state media was keen to downplay Montazeri’s comments, saying that the morality police does not fall under the authority of the judiciary. Notorious for terrorizing citizens as they enforce the country’s conservative rules, the morality police have been the main coercive tool implementing Iran’s hijab law.

Much of Ukraine’s resisting force has had to hunker down in muddy trenches, fighting tooth and nail to deny Russian forces a victory they desperately crave. Vasco Sousa Cotovio/CNNFamily tiesCaesar’s ideological drive is not the only reason some Russians have chosen to side with Ukrainians on the battlefield. Evidence of mass graves and civilian executions in those areas emerged following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kyiv region in early April. Russian soldiers fighting for Ukraine could face tougher consequences than their Ukrainian counterparts if they’re captured by the enemy. Vasco Sousa Cotovio/CNNBut pain and death are not a part of this unit’s lexicon, even as they face overwhelming odds in Bakhmut.

☆ Factbox: A chronology of dissent in China in recent decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( James Pomfret | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The following is a timeline of some other notable protests, and public dissent against China's ruling Communist Party. 2009 - Xinjiang - In the region's worst ethnic unrest in decades, ethnic Uighurs attacked majority Han Chinese in the capital Urumqi, after an incident involving Uighur workers in a factory in southern China. China later builds massive "facilities" to turn Xinjiang into what a United Nations panel described as a "massive internment camp shrouded in secrecy". China later imposes a powerful national security law, arresting scores of democrats and shutting down civil society groups and liberal media outlets, including the Apple Daily newspaper. 2022 - Henan bank protests - Public protests simmer as thousands lose access to their savings in a banking fraud scandal centred on rural lenders in Henan and Anhui provinces.

In Beijing, hundreds of mostly young people demonstrated in the commercial heart of the city well into the small hours of Monday. Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of arts, freedom of movement, personal freedoms. A security guard tries to cover a protest slogan against zero-Covid on the campus of Peking University in Beijing. “Open your eyes and look at the world, dynamic zero-Covid is a lie,” the protest slogan at Peking University read. At Tsinghua University, another elite university in Beijing, hundreds of students gathered on a square to protest against zero-Covid and censorship.

☆ U.S. is probing Shireen Abu Akleh’s killing, Israel's defense minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Abu Akleh’s supporters accuse Israel of intentionally killing the 51-year-old and have urged Washington to open a full investigation. Gantz, who is set to leave his post following elections earlier this month that vaulted Israel’s former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to power, was defense minister when Abu Akleh was killed. In September, Israel acknowledged for the first time that Israeli fire probably killed Abu Akleh. Human rights groups have long accused the Israeli military of failing to properly investigate wrongdoing by its own troops and seldom holding forces accountable. Abu Akleh was shot while reporting on an Israeli military raid in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, long a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

CNN Business —Apple has limited the use of the AirDrop wireless file sharing function on devices in China, just weeks after reports that some protesters had used the popular feature to spread messages critical of the Chinese government. Users not in China face no such restriction and are able to receive files wirelessly from anyone, including people who are not contacts. Apple (AAPL) told CNN Business the new feature will be expanded globally in the coming year. Reaction in Chinese media to the software update was mixed. But others criticized Apple on Chinese social media.

☆ China vows commitment to growth as investors bet on easier COVID policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Even though case numbers are rising and disruptive lockdowns continue with no clear exit strategy in sight, investors latched on to hope that China may ease its strict COVID policy in the coming months. Renewed COVID lockdowns are weighing heavily on China's business activity and consumer confidence. read moreOPEN-DOOR POLICYYi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said China will continue to deregulate its markets. While other countries have been tightening policy to battle rising prices, China has implemented an accommodative monetary policy to shore up sputtering growth, raising concerns about capital flight. With China's zero-COVID policy expected to remain in place through at least the winter, or longer, its near-term growth outlook is bleak.

☆ China vows commitment to growth as pressure on economy mounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Renewed COVID lockdowns are weighing heavily on China's business activity, consumer confidence and financial markets, adding to a sharp downdraft on the global economy from surging inflation and rising interest rates. OPEN-DOOR POLICYYi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said China will continue to deregulate its markets. With China's zero-COVID policy expected to remain in place through at least the winter, or longer, its near-term growth outlook is bleak. After surprisingly high gross domestic product growth of 3.9% in the third quarter, Nomura expects growth to drop again, with zero or even negative sequential growth from the previous quarter. "We maintain our GDP growth forecast of 2.8% year-on-year for the fourth quarter with a corresponding sequential growth forecast at 0.0%."

☆ Mystery as former Chinese leader is escorted out of Communist Party Congress in front of world media
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Janis.Jpg | Janis Mackey Frayer | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING — Former Chinese President Hu Jintao was led out of the country's Communist Party Congress Saturday in a moment of unexpected drama during an otherwise highly choreographed event. The “Two Safeguards” assure Xi’s “core” status within the party and the party’s centralised authority over China. It is widely expected that Xi Jinping will hold onto his status as general secretary and head of China’s armed forces. “With Xi Jinping being so prominent, and the party so omnipresent, whenever something goes wrong in China the party will be blamed, and Xi Jinping will be blamed,” he said. In his closing remarks, president Xi said that the Chinese Communist Party, now in its 100th year, was still in its prime.

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