The man behind the phone chuckles as he calls out in the Hmong language to villagers sitting around a raised wooden home in rural Laos. A young man in a yellow hooded sweatshirt offers a slightly embarrassed smile, while other men gathered around a motorbike appear to pay him no mind. The camera zooms in on two young women who look shocked or turn away, as others laugh, before it settles on a girl barely in her teens, sitting atop a bike between two other children. This 30-second video, shot…
Day: April 13, 2024
Tech war: China pushes forward self-reliance campaign amid unrelenting US sanctions
They include chip design companies Loongson Technology and Sophgo Technologies, cloud computing and server vendor Inspur Group, Huawei Technologies’ big-data solutions unit Kunpeng, cybersecurity solutions start-up KML Technology Group and operating system specialist UnioTech Software. Tongming Lake IT City covers an area bigger than 500 football pitches. Photo: Handout During a media tour organised by the Beijing government last week, Tian Ye, a manager at UnioTech, told visitors that the company’s products are “breaking the monopoly of [Microsoft’s] Windows”. UnioTech, a company formed from a Chinese community of Linux enthusiasts,…
Police identify man who stabbed 6 people to death in Sydney
SYDNEY — Police have identified the man they say stabbed six people to death at a busy Sydney shopping center before he was fatally shot by a police officer. New South Wales Police said Sunday that Joel Cauchi, 40, was responsible for the Saturday afternoon attack at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, in the city’s eastern suburbs and not far from the world-famous Bondi Beach. NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke told reporters at a media conference on Sunday that Cauchi suffered from unspecified mental health issues and…
China’s gold markets under strain as horde of new buyers hunts for stable investment
April has been a busy month for the Hualin International Jewelry Market in Guangzhou. A scrum of eager buyers has descended upon the venue, looking to join a new gold rush as prices soar and the precious metal takes on new life as a vehicle for investment. Standing out as one of the few bets considered safe in China at present – with stocks, property and banking having lost their lustre in an environment of heightened uncertainty – gold has not only attracted new buyers, but also provided opportunities for…
Iran launches missile and armed drone attack on Israel
Iran has launched missiles and more than 100 armed drones towards Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike in Damascus that killed several senior Iranian commanders, pushing the Middle East closer to a full-blown regional war. Just before 2am Israeli time, sirens went off over Jerusalem, across southern and northern Israel and in the occupied Golan Heights. Skies over Israel were lit up by incoming missiles and Israeli air defence interceptors. It was not immediately clear if any damage was caused. The Israeli paramedic service said a 10 year-old Bedouin girl…
Ma Ying-jeou’s mainland China trip shows he’s Beijing’s best hope to win Taiwanese hearts and minds
“Even though our political systems and perspectives may differ from those of the mainland, we are all descendants of the Yellow Emperor, belonging to the same Chinese nation,” Ma said upon returning to Taiwan on Thursday, wrapping up a trip he dubbed a “journey of peace”. “I also hope that the young people of Taiwan can set aside ideological differences and recognise the historical and cultural connections between Taiwan and the mainland, which cannot be severed by politics.” President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou…
Iran launches attack on Israel
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Iran has launched more than 100 armed drones towards Israel in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike in Damascus that killed several senior Iranian commanders, pushing the Middle East closer to a full-blown regional war. Daniel Hagari, Israel’s military spokesman, said the drones would take several hours to reach the country, adding that the Israeli military was “prepared and ready on all its systems, in offence and defence, for a variety…
China reaffirms ties with North Korea in high-level meeting
A top ranking Chinese official reaffirmed ties with North Korea during a meeting in Pyongyang on Saturday with the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, China’s state media reported, in the highest-level talks between the allies in years. The visit by Zhao Leji, who ranks third in the ruling Communist party hierarchy and heads the ceremonial parliament, came as North Korea has test-fired missiles to intimidate South Korea and its ally, the US. The Xinhua news agency reported that Zhao told Kim at the meeting concluding his three-day visit that China, North…
Climate change requires US and China to cooperate not compete, experts warn
“Looking back, what has been so successful has been … our willingness to forge consensus on important issues, our willingness to collaborate and cooperate [for] local public good and our willingness to agree to disagree,” said Bo Li, deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund. “At a challenging time like this, this willingness is both scarce and enormously valuable.” Li, speaking at the Harvard College China Forum under the theme “Telling the US-China Story”, highlighted in particular the bleak outlook for global warming, adding that the world is far…
China’s Zhao, North Korea’s Kim hold highest-level talks in years
BEIJING — A top-ranking Chinese official reaffirmed ties with North Korea during a meeting Saturday with the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, in Pyongyang, China’s state media reported, in the highest-level talks between the allies in years. The visit by Zhao Leji, who ranks third in the ruling Communist Party hierarchy and heads the ceremonial parliament, came as North Korea has test fired missiles to intimidate South Korea and its ally, the United States. The Xinhua News Agency reported that Zhao told Kim at a meeting concluding his three-day visit…