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CNN —South Korean soccer star Son Jun-ho has been arrested in China for allegedly accepting bribes as Beijing clamps down on alleged corruption in the upper ranks of Chinese football. A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday the ministry was aware of Son’s situation and that local Korean diplomatic missions were providing consular assistance. Wang said China would provide South Korean officials with the “necessary facilitation” to perform their consular duties. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said it had written to the Chinese Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation regarding the player on Tuesday but had not yet heard back. Vice President Kim Jeong-bae was checking on Son’s condition with the South Korean Foreign and Sports Ministries, a KFA official told CNN.

Last year the former leader of Yoon’s party hit out at what he said was the “evil influence” YouTube channels. “After President Yoon Suk Yeol came to power, there have been many cases where the presidential office filed complaints to the media,” Jung said. It has since consistently ranked top in terms of real-time daily viewership on YouTube in South Korea. To Professor Jung, it’s a success that demonstrates “voices cannot be silenced.”Kim, meanwhile, hopes to build a show with as much recognition as any on traditional media. “I will create a type of press that has not yet existed on YouTube,” Kim said.

☆ Canada summons Chinese ambassador over allegations of political interference
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Paula Newton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Ottawa CNN —Canada summoned China’s ambassador on Wednesday to respond to allegations of political interference and intimidation. However, she admitted Canada’s government was carefully weighing the possibility of retaliation by China, which denies interfering in Canadian political affairs. CNN asked China’s foreign ministry about the allegations, specifically the accusations made by CSIS about political interference and attempts at intimidation made by a Chinese diplomat. “China always opposes any country’s interference in other countries internal affairs. We have never had and have no interest in interfering in Canada’s internal affairs.

Dutch government sources estimate the deal at 20 billion euros ($22 billion) or more, but German industry sources say it may be less. TenneT had a book value of 7.3 billion euros at the end of 2022, on a balance sheet of 38.5 billion euros. TenneT's German grid alone has liabilities of 21.6 billion euros, nearly three times that of the Dutch network. TenneT's 19 billion euros of outstanding bonds, issued when interest rates were lower, are another issue, the people said. Dutch pension fund PGGM, one of TenneT's bondholders, expects such an outcome in the event of a sale.

☆ Factbox: Countries rush to evacuate foreign citizens from Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday some 16,000 people had crossed from Sudan to Egypt, including 14,000 Sudanese citizens. The foreign ministry said those evacuated included not only French nationals but also Britons, Americans, Canadians, Ethiopians, Dutch, Italians and Swedes. Cyprus said it had activated a humanitarian rescue mechanism at Britain's request to let third countries use it for reception and repatriation of foreign citizens evacuated from Sudan. NETHERLANDSAbout 100 Dutch nationals have been evacuated from Sudan since Sunday, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said. IRANIran's foreign minister said on Saturday 65 Iranian citizens had left from Port Sudan, through Jeddah, to Iran.

☆ China says it respects ex-Soviet nations after envoy’s 'unacceptable' comments on sovereignty
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China said Monday it respects the independency of former Soviet nations after remarks by its ambassador in France were deemed "unacceptable" in Europe. It comes as the 27 members of the European Union reassess their diplomatic and economic relationship with Beijing. That sentiment was echoed by Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister Margus Tsahkna, "We are an independent country, member of the EU, of NATO. Speaking also in Luxembourg, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said the comments of the Chinese ambassador were "totally unacceptable." This is just the latest episode in a series of controversial events between China and the European Union.

☆ Saudi provides $240 mln for Pakistan hydro-power dam
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, April 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will provide a $240 million loan to co-finance Pakistan's multi-purpose Mohmand dam project, a major hydro-power complex being built in northwest of the country, statements from both sides said on Friday. The project will "contribute to Pakistan's energy security, increase sustainable water supply for agriculture and human consumption and improve resilience to floods," Pakistan's economic affairs ministry said in a statement. Saudi state news agency issued the same statement in Arabic. "The Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has signed a $240 million loan agreement," the statements said. Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad; Additional reporting by Claudia Tanios in Dubai; Editing by Jason Neely and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Chinese spy balloon was gathering intel on sensitive US military sites and sending it to Beijing in real-time: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese balloon flying over the US was sending data to Beijing in real-time, NBC News reported. It was collecting mostly electronic signals from military bases, two unnamed US officials told NBC. The officials said the electronic signals collected by the balloon can include communications between base personnel or signals from weapons systems, per NBC News. While moving over some of these military sites, the balloon would sometimes fly in a figure-eight formation, the officials told the outlet. The US previously said it waited to shoot down the balloon because officials believed there was a low threat of it gathering valuable intelligence for Beijing.

☆ Hungarian government official argues Sweden isn't nice enough to his country to get approval to join NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hungary is one of two countries yet to approve Sweden's bid to join NATO. Sweden — alongside neighboring Finland — requested to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine over a year ago, but it still needs Hungary's approval to do so. "With Finland's admission into NATO now secure, Sweden must face the music regarding its daunting attitude and former derogatory comments toward Hungary," Kovács wrote. Photo by JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty ImagesKovács wrote that another reason for the hold up on Sweden's NATO bid is Stockholm's "crumbling throne of moral superiority" and a "lack of care and respect." Sweden and Finland — both of which have historically been militarily nonaligned — applied to join NATO in May 2022 and were invited to join the military alliance the following month.

☆ France on ICC arrest warrant for Putin: No-one should escape justice
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, March 17 (Reuters) - The French government said on Friday that "no-one should escape justice", as it reacted to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russia President Vladimir Putin. "No-one responsable for crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, regardless of their status, should escape justice," said the French Foreign Affairs Ministry on its FranceDiplomatie Twitter account. Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US summoning Russian ambassador over downing of drone over Black Sea -State Dept
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The United States has summoned Russia's ambassador to Washington on Tuesday after a Russian Su-27 fighter jet downed a U.S. military drone over the Black Sea, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. "We are summoning the Russian ambassador to the department where we will convey this message." The meeting of Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov with senior U.S. officials at the State Department will take place this afternoon, Price said, without saying who from the U.S. side he would be meeting. He referred reporters to the Department of Defense when asked about the effort to recover the downed drone. Two Russian Su-27 jets carried out what the U.S. military described as a reckless intercept of the American spy drone before one of them collided with it.

☆ U.S. warns China that helping Russia in war in Ukraine would 'alienate' it from world
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Adam Edelman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing at the White House on Dec. 12, 2022. President Joe Biden's top national security adviser said Sunday that the White House had not yet seen China provide Russia with lethal assistance in its war on Ukraine and warned Beijing that doing so would be against its interests. "We have not seen China yet provide military equipment to Russia for purposes of fighting in the war in Ukraine. We haven't seen it yet," White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on NBC News' "Meet the Press." A Chinese fighter jet flew within 500 feet of a U.S. Navy plane over the South China Sea last week.

☆ Netherlands orders Russian embassy to downsize, Moscow says it will respond
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The Dutch government on Saturday said it would close its consulate in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and that it would limit the number of Russian diplomats allowed at the Russian embassy in The Hague. "At the same time Russia refuses to give visas to Dutch diplomats who would work at the consulate in St Petersburg or the embassy in Moscow." In Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry said it would respond to the move, RIA news agency reported. The Dutch government said it had decided to limit the number of diplomats at the Russian embassy in The Hague to match the number of those at the Dutch embassy in Moscow. "A number of diplomats shall therefore have to leave the country within two weeks," The Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement, without giving a specific number.

☆ The 3 Flying Objects the US Shot Down May Have Been Commercial or Research Craft, White House Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The White House said that three objects shot down over the weekend might have posed no threat. A leading explanation is that they were used for commercial or research purposes, a spokesperson said. US authorities have also found no evidence linking the objects to Chinese spying, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a White House briefing. Kirby added that even though the US hadn't determined that the objects were used for spying, authorities couldn't rule that possibility out. Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

☆ Indian regulator probes Adani's links to investors as Modi's office is briefed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

One of the sources said the focus of the probe would be whether any of the anchor investors are "connected" to the founder group. Last week, the group's flagship entity Adani Enterprises pulled its secondary share offering, India's largest ever, because of the sharp selloff. SEBI and the Adani Group did not respond to requests for comment about the investigation. The federal corporate affairs ministry, responsible for regulating Indian businesses, has briefed officials in Modi's office and been in touch with SEBI, the market regulator, one of the officials said. Modi's office and India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs did not respond to requests for comment about the regulatory probe into Adani after publication of the Hindenburg report.

[1/3] Indian billionaire Gautam Adani speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad April 2, 2014. Last week, the group's flagship entity Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) pulled its secondary share offering, India's largest ever, because of the sharp selloff. Adani has said Monarch was selected for previous share sales "for their credentials and ability to tap into the retail market". On Elara, Adani has said "innuendoes" that the firm was in any manner related to the conglomerate founders were incorrect. The federal corporate affairs ministry, responsible for regulating Indian businesses, has briefed officials in Modi's office and been in touch with SEBI, the market regulator, one of the officials said.

Sydney/Hong Kong CNN —Australia’s defense ministry will remove Chinese-made cameras from its offices over spying concerns, the country’s Minister for Defence Richard Marles has said. The concerns were raised by Senator James Paterson of the opposition Liberal Party, who said Wednesday that he had conducted an “audit” of Chinese-made security devices in use on Australian government premises. The audit found 913 devices, including cameras, access control systems and intercoms, made by Chinese-state owned enterprises Hikvision and Dahua, Paterson noted. “These companies have a very close relationship with the Chinese Communist Party, and they are subject to China’s National Intelligence laws, which require all Chinese companies and individuals to secretly cooperate with Chinese intelligence agencies if requested,” Paterson said in a radio interview Wednesday. And where those particular cameras are found they’re going to be removed.”Asked about the Australian government’s concerns over Chinese-made cameras, a spokesperson for Beijing’s foreign affairs ministry said China opposes “generalizing national security, abuse of state power and acts that discriminate and suppress Chinese companies.”

☆ Uganda says it will not renew mandate of U.N. human rights office
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KAMPALA, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Uganda has said it will not renew the mandate of the United Nations' human rights office in the East African country, citing the development of its own sufficient capacity to monitor rights compliance. "The ministry wishes to convey the government's decision not to renew the mandate of the OHCHR Country office in Uganda beyond the current term," said the letter, which the ministry confirmed to Reuters as authentic. OHCHR Uganda country office spokesperson Bernard Amwine told Reuters he had no comment. President Yoweri Museveni's government has over the years been criticised by the opposition, human rights activists and Western countries for various rights violations including torture, illegal detentions and extrajudicial killings of opponents and critics. The OHCHR Uganda office was established in 2006 and was initially allowed to focus only on human rights issues in conflict-plagued areas in Uganda's north and northeast, according to the Uganda government.

☆ Dutch export rules on China in focus ahead of ASML results
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Tosterling Stephanie Van Den Berg | Stephanie Van Den Berg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

One is making sure Dutch rules are drafted in such a way that they are not actually more restrictive for ASML than for U.S. companies. ASML is expected to post fourth-quarter net income of 1.68 billion euros ($1.82 billion) on record revenue of 6.37 billion euros, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. In November ASML raised its annual revenue estimates by 25% to at least 30 billion euros by 2025. There could be further losses from tougher Dutch rules, if for example, limits are re-applied to sales to China of older technology deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) equipment. ASML has sold more than 8 billion euros worth of such equipment in China since 2014, when DUV was removed from international lists of goods deemed of possible military use.

☆ Deputy U.N. chief has talks in Afghanistan on women's rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The United Nations deputy secretary-general discussed women's rights with Afghanistan's acting foreign minister on Wednesday after the Taliban authorities banned most female aid workers and stopped women and girls from attending high school and university. Amina Mohammed has also met with U.N. staff, aid groups and Afghan women "to take stock of the situation, convey solidarity, and discuss ways to promote and protect women's and girls rights," deputy U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said in New York. In those talks, Mohammed "stressed the need to uphold human rights, especially for women and girls" and was "encouraged by exemptions" to the ban on female aid workers, Haq said. The Taliban administration on Dec. 24 ordered local and foreign aid organisations to stop female staff from working until further notice, days after it banned women from universities. Many aid groups, some of whom carry out humanitarian work under contracts with the United Nations, stopped operations following the ban.

☆ Pakistan PM Sharif offers talks with arch-rival India
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered his Indian counterpart talks over all outstanding issues, including disputed Kashmir, which he believes could be facilitated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He can play a very important role to bring the two countries on the talking table," Sharif said. The two arch-rival nuclear powers have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947. Tensions rose high when India unilaterally revoked the autonomous status of its part of Kashmir later in 2019, which Sharif said resulted in "flagrant" human rights violations. Sharif said the wars between the two countries brought nothing except misery, poverty and unemployment.

The EU froze funds earmarked for Hungary and Poland over their nationalist governments' track record of undercutting liberal democratic rules. Portugal had disbursed 1.4 billion euros, or 8.5% of the total recovery funds assigned to it, to project promoters by the end of 2022. Romania and Portugal are the two countries pushing hardest to extend the 2026 deadline and Spain and other Eastern European countries are supporting their demands, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said. Some countries are devising workarounds for projects that are particularly important and look like they are unlikely to meet the deadline, said a source. This would imply budgeting and allocating funds before the projects have been commissioned in order to meet the 2026 deadline, the person said.

REUTERS/Nir EliasSINGAPORE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Israel's Cognyte Software Ltd (CGNT.O) won a tender to sell intercept spyware to a Myanmar state-backed telecommunications firm a month before the Asian nation's February 2021 military coup, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. Intercept spyware can give authorities the power to listen in on calls, view text messages and web traffic including emails, and track the locations of users without the assistance of telecom and internet firms. MPT uses intercept spyware, a source with direct knowledge of the matter and three people briefed on the issue told Reuters although they did not identify the vendor. Reuters was unable to determine whether the sale of Cognyte intercept technology to MPT was finalised. While intercept spyware is typically described as "dual-use" technology for civilian and defence purposes, Israeli law states that "dual-use" technology is classified as defence equipment.

☆ Taliban criticises Prince Harry over Afghan killings comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Harry's highly personal book "Spare" went on sale in Spain days before its global launch on Jan. 10. When asked about Harry's comments, a spokesperson for Britain's Ministry of Defence said: "We do not comment on operational details for security reasons." Representatives of Prince Harry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As is usual for the royal family, spokespeople for King Charles and Prince William have declined to comment. Some of those who were willing to talk said they thought Harry had gone too far.

☆ U.S., Turkey target financial network linked to Islamic State
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday it was taking joint action with Turkey against a network it said played a key role in money management, transfer and distribution for the Islamic State militant group operating in Iraq and Syria. Turkey's foreign affairs ministry said on Twitter the assets of seven individuals or legal persons involved in financing for the group were frozen. The U.S. Treasury Department said four individuals and two entities in Turkey were designated under U.S. sanctions. Islamic State killed and executed thousands of people in the name of its extreme interpretation of Islam before it was territorially defeated in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019. The United States in November blacklisted four individuals and eight companies in South Africa aiding the group and in May imposed sanctions on a network of five Islamic State financial facilitators working across Indonesia, Syria and Turkey.

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