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☆ Plumbing the Depths of Darkness, and Finding Liberation
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Robert Eggers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This essay is part of a series called The Big Ideas, in which writers respond to a single question: What do we fear? You can read more by visiting The Big Ideas series page. I hear the wind moaning through the pine boughs above, causing the thick trunks to sway and groan, but it is unnaturally still near the forest floor. The air is thick. It is increasingly difficult to walk through the dense, pungent air.

☆ China just showed how easily one of its massive drills around Taiwan could escalate into something worse
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewLast month, China conducted large-scale military exercises around Taiwan with the intent to send a message. He added that the May exercise showed that China's fleet "is very well suited" for a blockade or quarantine of Taiwan. After the most recent Chinese military drills, US Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo said the US observed the exercises closely, learning from them and assessing that they "looked like a rehearsal" for a military action against Taiwan. AdvertisementThe Taiwan M109 speed boats maneuver on the sea during a military drill on January 31, 2024, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. An outdoor screen shows a news coverage of China's military drills around Taiwan, in Beijing on May 23, 2024.

Persons: —, Tom Shugart, Adm, Samuel Paparo, Annabelle Chih, Nancy Pelosi, Mick Ryan, Ryan, JADE GAO, John Aquilino, Shugart, Gui Organizations: Service, Business, US Navy, Center, New, New American Security, of Defense, PLA, Pacific, Taiwan, Getty, South Korean, Theater Command, China Military, Anadolu, American Enterprise Institute, Institute for Locations: China, Taiwan, New American, Kaohsiung, Australian, Beijing, Gui Xinhua, Pacific

☆ Macron's snap election gamble in France resurfaces an old criticism — that he's arrogant
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Left-leaning newspaper Liberation described the snap election call as an "extreme gamble," while the center-right Le Figaro ran a brief headline Monday: "Le choc" ("shock"). That happened well before the humiliation of the European election results, in which Macron's Renaissance party got less than half as many votes as the far-right Rassemblement National ... In the meantime, other commentators and newspapers, such as Les Echos, have characterized Macron's move as a game of poker. Macron's supporters defend the president as a self-made and ambitious man who has a direct way of speaking to voters. "First, he has interpreted the vote for the European Parliament as a personal insult, as a rejection of his domestic policy direction.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Xi Jinping, Ursula von der Leyen, Gonzalo Fuentes, Emmanuel Macron's, Macron, drubbing, Jordan Bardella, Le Figaro, Alexis Brézet, Fenoglio, Macron's, it's, Robert Ladrech, Chirac Organizations: Reuters, Macron's Renaissance Party, National Assembly, Le Monde, CNBC, Keele University Locations: Paris, France, what's, EU

☆ The US military has a plan to turn the Taiwan Strait into an 'unmanned hellscape' if China invades, top admiral says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewIf China invades Taiwan, it may face a large, lethal drone force meant to make its military "miserable." At least that's the plan, according to the top US admiral in the Pacific, who said the "Hellscape" strategy is designed to distract China and buy the US time to respond. "I want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities," Adm. Samuel Paparo, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, told The Washington Post at the International Institute for Strategic Studies' Shangri-La Dialogue Summit. She said that "we'll counter the [People's Liberation Army's] mass with mass of our own, but ours will be harder to plan for, harder to hit, harder to beat." Paparo's remarks on the "Hellscape" strategy come on the heels of a massive Chinese military drill around Taiwan, during which it effectively surrounded the island and showed off joint force capabilities.

Persons: —, Adm, Samuel Paparo, SERGEI SUPINSKY, Kathleen Hicks, Hicks, Replicator, Paparo Organizations: Service, Pacific Command, Washington Post, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Dialogue, Business, Department of Defense, Army, Drones, Getty, Pentagon, Japan's Nikkei Locations: China, Taiwan, Pacific, Taiwan Strait, Kyiv, AFP, Replicator

☆ Chinese military harassed Dutch warship enforcing UN sanctions on North Korea, Netherlands says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Brad Lendon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —A Dutch warship was harassed by Chinese military aircraft in the East China Sea on Friday, the Netherlands said, becoming the latest country to accuse Beijing’s forces of initiating potentially unsafe encounters in international waters. PSMX partner nations include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to the US State Department. This handout picture shows the Dutch frigate Tromp approached in the East China Sea by a Chinese fighter jet. “As a warning, the Chinese military took necessary measures at the scene. Hours later, a Chinese military spokesman accused the United States of “creating division and provoking confrontation” in the region.

Persons: South Korea CNN —, Beijing’s, HNLMS Tromp, “, ”, Tromp, China’s People’s, Richard Marles, Lin Jian, Maj, Rob Millen, Lloyd Austin, Washington, Austin, Jing Jianfeng Organizations: South Korea CNN, Dutch Defense Ministry, CNN, United Nations, Pacific Security Maritime Exchange, European Union, UN Security Council, US State Department, Netherlands Ministry of Defence, South Korean Navy, China’s People’s Liberation Army, South China, Australian Defense, Foreign, Canadian, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, US, NATO, Joint Staff Department, Military Commission Locations: Seoul, South Korea, East, Netherlands, North Korea, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Chinese, East China, Busan, South, Hobart, China, South China, Ottawa, Pacific, Singapore, Asia, Ukraine

☆ The US has a rich drag history. Here’s why the art form will likely outlast attempts to restrict it
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Most of those efforts failed, but they have fueled harmful rhetoric around drag performers and the art form itself. Barbara Alper/Getty ImagesDrag has become increasingly visible in recent years through mainstream shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and popular public events such as drag brunches, drag bingo and drag queen story hours, in which drag performers read children’s books to young audiences, often at libraries. Pickle reads from a book during the Drag Queen Story Hour program at a Los Angeles library in 2019. These lawmakers falsely claim that drag performers “groom” or sexualize children, of which there is also no evidence. It’s why Alaska Thunderf**k, the blonde bouffanted winner of the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” first got into drag – to make art that wasn’t bound by rules.

Persons: Anderson Cooper, twirling, Madonna’s, Papa Don’t, ”, “, Meatball, George Santos, Mo B, Dick, It’s, Joe E, Jeffreys, Barbara Alper, ” Jeffreys, ’, Larry La Fountain, Stokes, Ann Arbor, von Miramar, you’ve, William Dorsey Swann, Swann, Channing Gerard Joseph, Nino Testa, ” Testa, it’s, ” Julian Eltinge, pansy, weren’t, Joan Jett Blakk, Adam Turner, Blakk, —, ” Blakk, I’m, Testa, Devin Antheus, Harry James Hanson, Hanson, Marsha P, Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, ” Antheus, Esther Newton, impersonators, ” Newton, RuPaul Charles, who’d, Monica Beverly Hillz, Kylie Sonique, RuPaul, Sasha Colby, Santiago Felipe, David McNew, Antheus, aren’t, who’ve, we’ll Organizations: CNN, New York University, University of Michigan, New, Princeton University, Texas Christian University, Police, Queens, San Francisco, Stonewall, “, Guardian, Broadway, Movement Advancement Locations: Florida, Ann, “, Harlem, Washington, America, Fort Worth, New York, San Francisco, Tennessee, Montana, Los Angeles, It’s, Alaska

There are more than 70 cases in which Tren de Aragua is mentioned in law enforcement documents or prosecutors’ complaints. Castro-Mata entered the country illegally last July, a member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told CNN. The Venezuelan has tattoos associated with Tren de Aragua – which court documents for a suspected gang member in Georgia describe as five-pointed crowns, five-pointed stars and teardrops – the New York Police Department told CNN. A fellow police officer who refused to cooperate with the gang in his native Aragua state was shot 50 times, Boza says. They tied his body to a motorcycle and dragged it throughout the San Vicente neighborhood to demonstrate the power of the Tren de Aragua,” Boza said.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, “, Óscar Naranjo, Aragua, Yuri Cortez, Primeiro Comando, ” Britton Boyd, Jason Owens, Tren, ” Owens, Bernardo Raul Castro, Mata, Castro, teardrops, –, Allbert Herrera Machado, Vanesa Chourio, Diaz, Josmar Jesus Zambrano, Zambrano, Herrera Machado, Chourio, Álvaro, Boza, ” Boza, Florida Sen, Marco Rubio, Ana María Salazar, Joe Biden, ” CNN’s Jaide Timm, Garcia Organizations: CNN, Chicago . Local, Transnational Criminal Organization, ”, South, Colombian National Police, CNN Tren, ‘, Transparency Venezuela, Venezuelan, Bolivarian National Police, Gang, Getty, National Liberation Army, Villa del Rosario, Norte de Santander, US State Department, Police, Customs, Border Protection, FBI, Border Patrol, “, Enforcement, New York Police Department, Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department, Tren, San, Florida, Republican Locations: South Florida, New York, Chicago ., Aragua, Venezuela, United States, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Peru, America, Carabobo, Tocorón, AFP, Venezuelan, Brazilian, South America, Tren, Villa, Norte, El Paso , Texas, Texas, Georgia, Queens . Castro, Louisiana , Texas, Virginia , New Jersey, Florida, ”, San Vicente, Central, Ecuador

☆ I'm much older than my 2 siblings. I helped raise them, and now, I don't want kids.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Hayley Folk | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

My sister is 9 years younger than I am, and I'm 16 years older than my little brother. And being the older sister — and helping raise my younger siblings — has played a big part in why I don't want kids of my own. It was then that I first had an inkling that raising kids wasn't in the cards for me. Helping raise her younger sister and brother showed Hayley Folk she doesn't want to have kids. Getting to their big sister has been a true honor, and when they really need me, they know I'm always going to be there.

Persons: I've, —, Hayley Folk's, Hayley, I'm, wasn't, Hayley Folk

☆ A Jewish woman adopted as a baby after World War II lost hope of finding her father. This year she gained a whole new family
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-08 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —When Elana Milman published an autobiography last year about her lifelong quest to find her birth parents, she had accepted she would never know the identity of her father. Courtesy Elana MilmanIt was only in her 30s that Milman finally discovered her birth certificate, which – after some meticulous research – led her to her birth mother in Canada. It showed she was 50% Ashkenazi Jewish and 50% Eastern European and revealed a match with a Polish woman living in France. Elana Milman is pictured at the Warsaw Ghetto monument during her recent visit to Poland. From left to right: Juliusz Gorzkoś, Elana Milman, their sister Ewa, her husband Wladek (kneeling), Gorzkos' wife Ania, Milman's granddaughter Yhali and Gorzkos' sons, Radek and Hubert.

Persons: Elana Milman, ”, Milman, “, Eliezer, Hulda Rosenfeld, –, Helena Lewinska, Franziska Lewinska, Palestine –, Elana, Eugeniusz, Milman –, Little, Gilad Japhet, Roi Mandel, Lewinska, MyHeritage, ” Mandel, Mandel’s, Juliusz, Shocked, Franziska, Franka, Yoseph Bursztajn, Diane, ” Gorzkoś, Gorzkoś, Ewa, Milman “ shivers, Juliusz Gorzkoś, I, Wladek, Gorzkos, Ania, Yhali, Radek, Hubert, Elena, Mandel Organizations: CNN, Nazi, MyHeritage, Armia Krajowa, Home Army, Technology Locations: Bergen, Belsen, Poland, Israel, Canada, Polish, Palestine, Europe, Kibbutz Merhavia, Haifa, Warsaw, Treblinka, France, Blizno, Germany

☆ Opinion: The female gaze is taking over page and screen, and it is hot
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Opinion Sara Stewart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

In Amazon’s movie, Hathaway’s character, Solène, meets cute with Harry Styles-esque singer Hayes Campbell (Galitzine) at Coachella. The movie launches into a montage-heavy romp around Europe before the couple’s outed publicly, at which point a million cougar headlines take flight. I’d like to think this hoopla is overblown, that it wouldn’t really happen in this day and age. But that beautiful bed in her living room … she probably f**ked or fondled or kissed people on it all the time. “But on the other side of that it’s like, ‘Why the f**k weren’t you greenlighting it before?”

Persons: Sara Stewart, we’ve, Sara Stewart Todd Thompson “, ”, Annie Mumolo’s, Tracy, Anne Hathaway’s, Nicholas Galitzine, Harry Styles, Hayes Campbell, she’s, Olivia Wilde, “ Hayes, Styles, Wilde, —, Vogue —, Sam Taylor, Johnson, Aaron Taylor, Miranda, who’s, Davey, “, wasn’t, Glynnis MacNicol, MacNicol, we’re, heartening, I’ve, — Nicola Coughlan’s “, Penelope Featherington —, Karen Tang’s, ” Tang, “ Barb, ” I’ve, Kristen Wiig, Jamie “, there’s, Wiig, Barb, Star ”, Bridesmaids ”, ” Wiig Organizations: CNN, Vogue, New York Times, Del, Variety, Star Locations: Pennsylvania, Coachella, Europe, New York, Paris, Del Mar

☆ Biden’s D-Day visit may mark the end of an American era
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Geopolitical empires like Russia and China are, meanwhile, resurgent and threatening to obliterate the global system dominated by Western values that has prevailed since World War II. Trump’s “America First” philosophy has taken deep root in the Republican Party that once prided itself on winning the Cold War. For many years after World War II, D-Day commemorations lacked the fanfare and high diplomatic and political significance they carry today. The speech came at a particularly contentious moment in the Cold War with tensions high between Washington and the Soviet Union. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies.

Persons: Joe Biden, Adolf Hitler’s, Donald Trump’s, he’d, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Washington, autocrats . Biden, they’d, ’, ”, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Trump’s, Trump, Charles Kupchan, “ It’s, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Volodymyr Zelensky, Hitler, Putin, Britain’s, Charles III, Queen Elizabeth II, Emmanuel Macron, Ronald Reagan, Reagan, ” Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, “, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, NATO, Republican Party, GOP, District of Columbia, Council, Foreign Relations, Ukrainian, Soviet, US Army Rangers, Rangers, Soviet Communist Party Locations: Normandy, France, Ukraine, Russia, China, Germany, Japan, United States, Europe, British, Omaha Beach, “, George H.W ., Iraq, Afghanistan, Paris, Pointe, Omaha and Utah, Pointe du Hoc, Washington, Soviet Union, America

Eighty years ago, the Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, during World War II on what would be known as D-Day. Heads of state from around the world have traveled to France over the past few days to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the landing. Around 150 American veterans who took part in the landings were also expected to attend the ceremony. One American veteran, Robert "Al" Persichitti from New York, died while on his way to the memorial service. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prince William also attended a separate Canadian commemorative ceremony near the village of Courseulles-sur-Mer, in northwestern France.

Persons: Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Britain's King Charles III, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ryan, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Robert, Al, Persichitti, Justin Trudeau, Prince William Organizations: Allied, American Cemetery and, Canadian Locations: Omaha, Saint, Mer, France, Normandy, Europe, U.S, Colleville, New York, Courseulles

☆ ‘The Whole World Smiles With You’ challenges the boundaries of Black art
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“These were the images that were easy for the art world to engage with. Akinkugbe hopes the exhibition shows the "sprawling" nature of Black figurative art. Courtesy Opera GalleryWhile public and institutional interest in Black art has been increasing steadily since 2008, attention and engagement is often inextricably linked to the news cycle. “I do think that in the art world, there was a huge reaction to 2020. “I think it could broaden someone’s idea of what Black art is.

Persons: London CNN —, tutu, Edgar Degas, Chicago, Thelonious Stokes, Stokes, Alayo Akinkugbe, ”, Louis Armstrong, ” Akinkugbe, George Floyd, Derek Chauvin, Akinkugbe, Adjei, Amoako Boafo, Noel Anderson’s, Jazz Grant, ” Noel Anderson, Michael, Leonardo da Vinci, Vermeer, David Hockney, Lucien Freud, Jenny Saville, Francis Bacon’s, Lucian Freud ”, “ I’ve, ’ Stokes, Jesus, “, reimaginings, ” Stokes, ArtNews, Morgan Stanley, “ It’s, We’ve, there’s Organizations: London CNN, Opera, CNN, Sound, Black Arts Movement, Harlem Locations: retiré ., London, Chicago, Florence, Minneapolis, Ghana, West Africa, African

☆ US and allies warn China is intensifying its efforts to recruit Western military pilots
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Katie Bo Lillis | Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Western-trained pilots can teach Chinese military personnel everything from air combat tactics to how to land on an aircraft carrier, according to a US official. Former western pilots — which number at least in the dozens — are training Chinese military officials who then return to China and, in turn, train more pilots there, this person said. An indictment in 2017 alleged that Duggan trained Chinese pilots while he was still a US citizen, between November 2009 and November 2012. That same month, the UK Ministry of Defense issued a security alert after several of its military pilots were also found to have been training the PLA Air Force. Last August, two US Navy sailors were arrested for allegedly sending sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence officers.

Persons: “, ”, Michael Casey, Sabrina Singh, Adm, John Aquilino, Charles Q, Brown —, —, ” Brown, Daniel Duggan, Duggan, Matt Olson Organizations: CNN, Western, Wednesday, Liberation Army, National Counterintelligence and Security Center, PLA, Pentagon, National Intelligence, ” Military, Former, US, Pacific Command, PLA Navy, PLA Air Force, ”, Air Force, NATO, People’s Liberation Army, Air Chiefs, US Marine, UK Ministry of Defense, Australian, Export Control, US Army, People’s Locations: China, Beijing, Taiwan, Western, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United States, South Africa, Singapore, Laos, Australian, People’s Republic

☆ China is trying to overcome weaknesses in its military by 'aggressively recruiting' Western pilots to train its aviators, Five Eyes intel allies warn
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewChina is "aggressively recruiting" Western military personnel to train its air force pilots and naval aviators, attempting to lure them in with "lucrative" contracts and promises of opportunities to fly "exotic aircraft," the US and its allies are warning. Related storiesChinese schemes target Western pilots, flight engineers, air operations center personnel, and technical experts knowledgeable about military tactics, techniques, and procedures. The Chinese military "wants the skills and expertise of these individuals to make its own military air operations more capable while gaining insight into Western air tactics, techniques, and procedures," the newly released bulletin said. Advertisement"The insight the PLA gains from Western military talent threatens the safety of the targeted recruits, their fellow service members, and US and allied security," it added. Despite efforts from Western governments to warn its veterans and military personnel about the Chinese poaching efforts, the recruitment continues to evolve, the bulletin noted.

Persons: —, New Zealand —, Michael Casey, Chen Jimin, Casey, Wang Jingtian Organizations: Service, New Zealand, NATO, People's Liberation Army, Business, PLA, US National Counterintelligence and Security, Zhuhai Air Show, China News Service, Getty, US, Job, US Marine Corps Locations: China, Canada, Australia, New, Beijing, Washington, Changchun, China's Jilin Province

☆ Allies Warn Former Fighter Pilots Not to Train Chinese Military Members
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Helene Cooper | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For years, U.S. officials have accused China of stealing American technology to design and build fighter planes. But while China learned how to build advanced fighters, its pilots could not fly them so well. U.S. and allied intelligence officials warned on Wednesday that Beijing was intensifying a campaign to entice former fighter pilots from Western nations to train Chinese pilots. “To overcome their shortcomings, China’s People’s Liberation Army has been aggressively recruiting Western military talent to train their aviators, using private firms around the globe that conceal their P.L.A. ties and offer recruits exorbitant salaries,” said Michael C. Casey, the director of the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center.

Persons: —, “, ”, Michael C, Casey Organizations: Liberation Army, U.S . National Counterintelligence and Security Center Locations: China, Beijing, United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand

☆ What is D-Day? How the Normandy landings led to Germany’s defeat in World War II
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —June 6, 2024 marks 80 years since D-Day, the first day of the Normandy landings that laid the foundations for the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. The Allied troops’ invasion was coordinated across air, land and sea, in what can be described as amphibious landings. On D-Day alone, around 4,440 Allied troops were confirmed dead, according to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), with more than 5,800 troops wounded or missing. Because Omaha Beach was the bloodiest landing beach, the US Army lost the most men in the amphibious landings. Within minutes of reaching Omaha Beach, 16 of these men were killed and four were wounded.

Persons: –, France –, ’, Adolf Hitler, “, ”, Bedford’s, Bedford, Hitler Organizations: CNN, Royal British Legion, Canadian, Cotentin Peninsular, Omaha Beach, Juno, Allied, Pas de, Allies, Commission, Omaha, US Army, Bedford, Foundation, US Department of Defense, Western Allies, US, German Nazi, Third Reich, Victory Locations: Normandy, Nazi Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Utah, Omaha, Australia, Belgium, Czech Republic, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Poland, Europe, Fortitude, Pas de Calais, Cotentin, British, Gold, Pas, Germany, Bedford , Virginia, Omaha Beach, Paris, Nazi, German, Reims

☆ Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits Cambodia as US concerns grow over China’s influence
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Phnom Penh, Cambodia CNN —US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to Cambodia on Tuesday to meet with the country’s prime minister and defense minister, as Washington becomes increasingly concerned that Phnom Penh may grant China’s military exclusive access to a key naval base. Austin’s trip to the Cambodian capital marks his second visit to the Southeast Asian country as Secretary of Defense but is the first time a United States defense chief has traveled to Cambodia specifically to hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, Defense Minister Tea Seiha. The outreach reflects the US’ desire to forge a better relationship with Cambodia, defense officials said, particularly as Beijing’s influence over the country has only continued to grow in recent years. “There are no doubts about where our concerns are,” a Pentagon spokesperson said following Austin’s meetings, when asked about Ream. In a meeting with China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun last week, their first face-to-face, Austin said the US wants to keep military-to-military channels open with the Chinese to avoid misunderstandings and escalation.

Persons: Defense Lloyd Austin, Tea, “, ”, Hun Manet, Hun Sen’s, ” Austin, Biden, Austin, Hun Sen, Dong Jun, Dong, Beijing “ Organizations: Cambodia CNN, Defense, United, Cambodian, Ream, Base, South China, Pentagon, State Department, US Military Academy, West, United Nations Peacekeeping, China’s Defense, CNN Locations: Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Washington, United States, Thailand, China, South China, ” Beijing, South, Taiwan, Beijing, Ream, Asia, Singapore

☆ 80th anniversary of D-Day: This year will likely be the last major D-Day anniversary with living veterans, so organizers are all-out
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Fifteen Canadian veterans, including three or four that fought on D-Day, are traveling with the Canadian delegation, according to John Desrosiers, the director of international operations for Veterans Affairs Canada. US D-Day veterans attend an event at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial as part of the 79th anniversary D-Day celebrations on June 6, 2023. American and Canadian organizers told CNN that they will seat veterans last at their respective national ceremonies to keep them comfortable. The general public at the American event, for example, may need to be seated about an hour in advance due to security precautions. American troops march up from Omaha Beach on June 18, 1944.

Persons: Jake Tapper, “, Jack Foy, Foy –, Foy, ” Foy, ”, Michel Delion, Mark, Katherine Sibilla, –, Charles Djou, John Desrosiers, Desrosiers, Christopher Furlong, Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Justin Trudeau, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Buckingham, Djou, Tom Schaffer, John Pinkerton, Schaffer, Gareth Fuller, Hitler, Ben, ” Brands, “ There’s Organizations: CNN, Chief Washington, Democracy, France CNN —, Mission, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Monuments Commission, Canadian, Veterans Affairs Canada, Cemetery, Memorial, British, French Interior Ministry, Defense, Underwood Archives, Ben Brands, ”, US Department of Veterans Affairs Locations: Caen, France, Ukraine, Europe, Normandy, US, United States, Belgium, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, British, Ver, Mer, Omaha, Sword, Utah, Omaha and Utah, Nazi Germany, Omaha Beach, Germany, Colleville, Canada, American

☆ China's defense chief warns those seeking to separate Taiwan from China face 'self-destruction'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

China's Defense Minister Dong Jun speaks during the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on June 2, 2024. Nhac Nguyen | AFP | Getty ImagesSINGAPORE — China's defense minister, Adm. Dong Jun, vowed that anyone who aims to separate Taiwan from China will face "self-destruction." "Anyone who dares to separate Taiwan from China will only end up in self-destruction," he said. In response to questions, Dong reiterated China's position that Taiwan is part of China and said Beijing is committed to peaceful reunification. "These kinds of behavior sends very wrong signals to the Taiwan independence forces and make them become very aggressive.

Persons: Dong Jun, Nhac Nguyen, Dong, Lai Ching, —, Bastian Giegerich, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Thomas Shoal Organizations: China's, AFP, Getty, SINGAPORE, Democratic Progressive Party, Abrams, U.S, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Liberation Army Locations: Singapore, Taiwan, China, Beijing, U.S, Philippine, South, Philippines, Manila

☆ US vs. Chinese aircraft carriers: How the world's top flattops stack up
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Liaoning and ShandongAircraft carrier Liaoning set out for sea trials at Dalian shipyard with the help of tugboats. A J-15 fighter takes off from aircraft carrier Shandong during the combat readiness patrol and military exercises around Taiwan. Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford sails in the Adriatic Sea. China has no experience operating carrier catapults on its warships (though it did study carrier catapults when it purchased the decommissioned Australian carrier HMAS Melbourn from Canberra in 1985 under the guise of scrapping). AdvertisementChina's third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, docks in Shanghai with a Chinese flag seen in the foreground.

Persons: —, Kuznetsov, Pu, Gerald R, Ford, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Smith, Jackson Adkins, John F, Kennedy, Doris Miller, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Jacob Mattingly, Li Gang, Timothy Heath, Heath, China's, Benjamin Brimelow Organizations: Service, US Navy, Business, Shandong Aircraft, Getty, People's Liberation Army Navy, Getty Images Fujian, EA, Jiangnan Shipyard, Getty Images, PLAN, Xinhua News Agency, Nimitz, Ford, Aircraft, Greyhound, Navy, Carrier, USS Enterprise, Pacific Fleet, Shandong, RAND Corporation, US, Global Affairs, Fletcher School of Law, Diplomacy, Modern, Institute Locations: Shanghai, Fujian, China, China's, Liaoning, Dalian, Shandong, Soviet, Ukraine, Taiwan, Xinhua, Getty Images China, George H.W ., Adriatic, Melbourn, Canberra, Sanya, Hainan Province, West

☆ South African Voters Reject the Party That Freed Them From Apartheid
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The African National Congress lost its political stranglehold on South Africa after election results on Saturday showed that with almost all of the votes counted, the party had received only about 40 percent, falling short of winning an absolute majority for the first time since vanquishing Africa’s last white-led regime 30 years ago. With South Africans facing one of the world’s highest unemployment rates, shortages of electricity and water, and rampant crime, the governing party still bested its competitors but could not sustain the nearly 58 percent of the vote it won in the last election, in 2019. The staggering nosedive for Africa’s oldest liberation movement put one of the continent’s most stable countries and its largest economy onto an uneasy and uncharted course. The party, which rose to international acclaim on the shoulders of Nelson Mandela, will now have two weeks to cobble together a government by partnering with one or more rival parties that have derided it as corrupt and vowed never to form an alliance with it.

Persons: vanquishing, Nelson Mandela Organizations: African National Congress Locations: South Africa

☆ South Africa's ruling ANC loses majority in country's most sweeping political shift in 30 years
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

South Africa's governing African National Congress lost its parliamentary majority of 30 years, in the country's most sweeping political shift since the end of the apartheid. The six-months-old uMkhonto weSizwe party of the country's former president Jacob Zuma, established in December, clinched 14.6% of votes. The result marks a meteoric fall for ANC from the 57.5% wrested during the previous election of 2019 — at the time, the party's weakest feat since South Africa's first democratic vote in 1994. In 2022, the World Bank named South Africa "the most unequal country in the world." "Top-of-mind issues for voters are unemployment, loadshedding, corruption, and crime, which have all taken a toll on the country's growth performance for years," analysts at Deloitte said at the start of the month.

Persons: Jacob Zuma, Long Organizations: African National Congress, ANC, Democratic Alliance, Marxist Economic, Fighters, World Bank, Deloitte Locations: South Africa

☆ South Africa's election portal resumes showing partial results after brief glitch
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Voters during the South Africa general elections on May 29, 2024 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Live updates of partial results from South Africa's parliamentary election reappeared on the electoral commission's website, following a glitch of at least two hours. The prints are closely watched amid early indications that the country's governing African National Congress, the liberation party of Nelson Mandela, could lose its parliamentary majority for the first time in the 30 years since it assumed governance. The electoral commission's portal was briefly blank at 06:08 a.m. London time, but once more displayed results by 08:23 a.m. in London, according to CNBC monitoring.

Persons: Nelson Mandela Organizations: South, African National Congress, CNBC Locations: Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa, South Africa's, London

☆ Nvidia's Jensen Huang receives a rockstar reception in Taiwan amid a record high stock market
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewNvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang is in Taiwan this week, where he's getting rockstar reception and boosting the stock market. The drills started on Thursday, but Taiwan's stock market was little changed over the period. "In this case, the AI equity theme, physical investment in AI, and the wider upturn in electronic component demand are driving robust Taiwanese growth and the strong stock market performance," wrote Green. He added that an outright invasion of Taiwan by China is "very unlikely" due to high military and economic risk. "If the macro backdrop is positive and China remains far from achieving 'fortress-like' economic conditions, future sell-offs may offer attractive buying opportunities," Green wrote.

Persons: —, Jensen Huang, Huang, Li Xi, Morris Chang, Lisa Su —, Pat Gelsinger, Cristiano Amon, Rene Haas, Rory Green, It's, Green Organizations: Service, China's People's Liberation Army, Business, Local, rockstar, Asus, AMD, Qualcomm, Semiconductor, PLA, Investors, Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Nvidia Locations: Taiwan, China, Beijing, TSMC, Taipei, Taiwan's, GlobalData.TS, Ukraine, Russia

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