Day: October 9, 2023

Top US general warns Iran to stay out of Israel’s conflict with Hamas

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. General CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has warned Iran “not to get involved” in Hamas’s attack on Israel as the US and other allies seek to prevent the deadly conflict from expanding further. Brown told a group of reporters on Monday evening that a recent US decision to move a carrier strike group and military aircraft closer to Israel was specifically aimed at deterring Iran. US…

Car crashes into China’s San Francisco consulate, reports say driver shot

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BreakingCar crashes into China’s San Francisco consulate, reports say driver shot A car crashed into the Chinese consulate building in San Francisco late on Monday evening, local media reported. The driver of the car was shot, according to Fox News. In a statement, the San Francisco Police Department said than an officer or officers had fired their guns at the crash site, but provided no other immediate details, AP said. China, US need not go head to head, Xi Jinping tells American senators Police earlier issued a warning on social…

Scientists in China use CRISPR gene-editing tool to uncover secrets of underwater photosynthesis

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While chlorophyll a is present in both marine and terrestrial environments, chlorophyll b is mostly unique to land-based plants, whereas the c variety is found predominantly in phytoplankton – including diatoms and brown algae. Two other forms of chlorophyll – d and f – are present in cyanobacteria, which produce energy through photosynthesis. Chinese scientists hope spinach holds key to treating osteoarthritis The different pigments have their own light absorption spectrums. Chlorophyll c, for instance, can more efficiently absorb the blue-green light of marine environments, and is used by algae…

SKorea on Alert for Possible NKorea Action After Israel-Hamas Conflict

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South Korea is under a heightened alert, assessing how the widening crisis in the Middle East could impact its national security after the unprecedented attack that Palestinian militant group Hamas launched against Israel. South Korean National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong is examining possible impacts that the Hamas-Israel conflict could have on South Korean security as he is being briefed on the situation, said the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday. The Hamas attack against Israel on Saturday, the deadliest assault it experienced in 50 years, appeared to be…

Samsung and SK Hynix Get U.S. Waivers From Export Curbs

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The South Korean government said on Monday that the country’s semiconductor manufacturers have secured waivers from U.S. government rules that threatened to limit their businesses in China. At issue is the continuation of licenses granted last year by the U.S. Commerce Department to Samsung and SK Hynix, the two dominant South Korean chip makers. The licenses effectively suspended 2022 controls on exports of semiconductors and chip making equipment to China. South Korea, an ally in America’s chip war with China, relies heavily on its semiconductor sector for jobs and revenue.…

South Korean regulators vow to curb ‘theme stocks’ craze

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Equities myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. South Korea’s financial regulators have vowed to curb short-term speculation by retail investors, as their bets on tech stocks fuel fears of a market bubble. Retail investors have made big bets on themes including electric vehicle battery materials, quantum computers and superconductors, making the tech-heavy Kosdaq one of the world’s best performers this year. “Their investment patterns are highly risky so we are cracking down on leveraged buying and margin call…

Saudi-China collaboration raises concerns about access to AI chips

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Stay informed with free updates Simply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox. Saudi-Chinese collaboration in artificial intelligence has stirred fears within the Gulf kingdom’s premier academic institution that the ties could jeopardise the university’s access to US-made chips needed to power the new technology.  Professor Jinchao Xu, an American-Chinese mathematician at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust), has launched AceGPT, an Arabic-focused large language model, in collaboration with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-SZ), and the Shenzhen…

Saudi central bank seeks regular dialogues, closer ties with monetary authorities of mainland China and Hong Kong to spur kingdom’s transformation

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Saudi Arabia’s central bank is seeking stronger ties with the monetary authorities of mainland China and Hong Kong, as the kingdom prepares to transition from an oil-dependent economy to one focused more on infrastructure development and attracting foreign capital. The Saudi central bank is looking to strengthen its connections with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) via bilateral dialogues, collaborations in multilateral forums, as well as partnerships in international organizations, said Ayman bin Mohammed Al-Sayari, the governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA). Bilateral dialogues can help the two…

Digital Currency: Beacon of Hope in Fight Against Myanmar Junta

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WASHINGTON —  “Digital currencies have played a pivotal role in backing Myanmar’s Spring Revolution,” following a military takeover of the government in February 2021, said NUG Deputy Minister of Planning, Finance and Development Min Zayar Oo, in a statement to VOA. The minister was appointed by the National Unity Government, or NUG, made up of members of Myanmar’s former democratically elected government and other opponents of the junta. Centralized digital currencies, however, can be a double-edged sword, with authoritarian regimes seeking to use them as a tool for financial surveillance…

Why attracting BlackRock’s Larry Fink is not enough for Japan

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. After hosting a gathering of the world’s biggest investors in Tokyo last week, BlackRock founder Larry Fink compared the current global interest in Japan to the time when the world was fascinated by the country’s economic “miracle” that lasted through the 1980s. The words were music to the ears of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who had spent the last few weeks trying to convince executives of Blackstone, KKR and sovereign wealth…