Indonesian President Joko Widodo, leader of the most populous Muslim country, met with President Joe Biden at the White House Monday, delivering an appeal from 57 countries of the Muslim world for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. Voice of America
MANILA, Philippines — A Philippine court on Monday freed on bail a former senator jailed more than six years ago on drug charges she said were fabricated to silence her investigation of then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal crackdown on illegal drugs. The European Union Parliament, some American lawmakers and United Nations human rights experts have long demanded the release of Leila de Lima, who was detained as an opposition senator in February 2017 in what they called political persecution by Duterte and his allies and a major blow to Philippine democracy.…
“We aren’t seeing many companies pulling out of China. Many of the big multinational firms have been in the market for decades, and they’re not willing to give up market share that they’ve spent 20, 30 or 40 years cultivating. But in terms of new investment, in particular, we are seeing a reassessment.” BBC
San Francisco and Washington — Before Chinese President Xi Jinping’s arrival in San Francisco on Wednesday for the APEC summit, protesters and pro-democracy activists voiced concerns about China and Xi that are rarely expressed in China or the region. The summit is expected to bring U.S. President Joe Biden and Xi together for their first face-to-face meeting since they spoke on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022. Xi last visited the United States in April 2017, when then-President Donald Trump served him a…
TOKYO — Just days ago, Chinese and Japanese coast guard ships faced off — again — over rocky islets in the East China Sea that each nation claims as its own. Called the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, the Nov. 1 incident was a repeat of a similar incident on Oct. 17. To ensure that this dispute and others like it do not escalate due to a lack of communications, Toyko and Beijing took a step backward on May 16,when Japan’s then-Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada placed a…
North Korea lambasted the G7 for denouncing its nuclear weapons development, in a sign that demonstrates not only its intent to persist with the nuke program, but also preparation for impending military provocations. “The G7, a relic of the Cold War, should be immediately disbanded as the first step towards resolving current international crises and restoring world peace,” Jo Chol Su, director-general of the Department of International Organizations at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said via the official Korean Central News Agency Tuesday. Jo called the G7 a mere “interest group…
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The US is rushing to strengthen Taiwan’s defences against a potential Chinese attack, including by training its troops, Taipei’s top national security official has said in remarks that are likely to rankle Beijing as Xi Jinping prepares for a summit with President Joe Biden. Washington’s security co-operation with Taiwan covered “all aspects”, said Wellington Koo, secretary-general of President Tsai Ing-wen’s National Security Council, in his first briefing with foreign journalists…
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The US is rushing to strengthen Taiwan’s defences against a potential Chinese attack, including by training its troops, Taipei’s top national security official has said in remarks that are likely to rankle Beijing as Xi Jinping prepares for a summit with President Joe Biden. Washington’s security co-operation with Taiwan covered “all aspects”, said Wellington Koo, secretary-general of President Tsai Ing-wen’s National Security Council, in his first briefing with foreign journalists…
China’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) could grow by about 1 percentage point as a result of the bond issuance, he added. “Local officials probably won’t face quite the same pressure to deliver now, as the central government is taking on a greater role, but it doesn’t exactly augur well for potential growth in the medium and long term,” Beddor said. Investment banks and other institutions have forecast lower Chinese economic growth after 2024 as the bond issue would not solve underlying problems, analysts said. “One trillion yuan, while no…
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Singapore’s GIC, one of the world’s largest institutional investors, has advised “doubling down” on Big Tech rather than overvalued start-ups in the booming generative artificial intelligence sector. Lim Chow Kiat, chief executive of the $700bn sovereign wealth fund, said tech giants, including Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta, had begun capturing “a lot of value” in the transformative technology with their existing customers. “Customers are paying for [their services] already. So, actually,…