5 h. ago Trump wants nations to pay US$1 billion to stay on his Board of Peace

The Trump administration is asking countries that want a permanent spot on his new Board of Peace to contribute at least US$1 billion. According to a draft charter for the proposed group seen by Bloomberg, US President Donald Trump would serve as its inaugural chairman and would decide on who is invited to be members. Decisions would be taken by a majority, with each member state present getting one vote, but all would be subject to the chairman’s approval. “Each Member State shall serve a term...

Economics

14 h. ago Before Maduro’s capture in Venezuela, US spoke with minister who is his loyal ally

Trump administration officials had been in discussions with Venezuela’s hardline Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello months before the US operation to seize the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, and have been in communication with him since then, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. The officials warned Cabello, 62, against using the security services or militant ruling-party supporters overseen by him to target the country’s opposition, four sources said. That security...

Politics

23 h. ago What Trump’s visa pause means for Southeast Asia and US regional priorities

The inclusion of four Southeast Asian nations in the United States’ 75-country visa suspension has thrown up questions over Washington’s foreign policy approach, including its interest in the region. Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand are among countries affected by the indefinite suspension, set to take effect on January 21, as the Donald Trump administration continues to roll out punitive measures to drastically restrict immigration. The list, released by the US Department of State on...

Politics

31 h. ago Counting China’s wins and losses among ‘swing nations’ in new era of power rivalry

It took the United States less than three hours to stun the world with its abduction of the sitting leader of a sovereign state, but the strategic ramifications of that dramatic operation are likely to reverberate for decades. In laying bare the limits of China’s economic-centric diplomacy towards third countries in its competition with the US, the Venezuela crisis has delivered a stark reminder that spheres of influence continue to shape global politics in this new era of great power...

Politics

31 h. ago Counting China’s ‘swing nation’ wins and losses in new era of power rivalry

Counting China’s ‘swing nation’ wins and losses in new era of power rivalry  South China Morning Post

Politics

37 h. ago China’s Muted Response to Venezuela: Sober Alarm, Not Nationalist Bombast

China’s Muted Response to Venezuela: Sober Alarm, Not Nationalist Bombast  The Diplomat – Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine

Events

47 h. ago China’s US envoy says world faces ‘stark choice’ as 2026 opens with instability

China’s top diplomat in the United States delivered a sharply worded rebuke on Thursday over US President Donald Trump’s tumultuous approach to global relations, laying out a stark choice between a world informed by China-led stability and one battered by Washington. Chinese ambassador Xie Feng’s comments to the 1,000-member China General Chamber of Commerce come two weeks into Trump’s second year of his latest term in the White House. The past fortnight has already seen the Trump administration...

Politics

49 h. ago Japan, US vow ‘unshaken’ defence alliance despite Trump’s pivot from Asia

The defence chiefs of Japan and the United States on Thursday agreed that the bilateral alliance is “unshaken” and pledged to reinforce its deterrence capabilities amid concerns in Asia that Washington’s focus is shifting from the region. Following his meeting with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon near Washington, Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said he was reassured that the administration of President Donald Trump remains committed to peace and stability in the...

Politics

51 h. ago China National Team ETFs Log Record Outflows Amid Cooling Signal

China National Team ETFs Log Record Outflows Amid Cooling Signal  Bloomberg.com

Politics

53 h. ago Fact Check Team: Exploring the relationship between China and Venezuela

Fact Check Team: Exploring the relationship between China and Venezuela  The National Desk

Politics

55 h. ago US lawmakers propose US$2.5 billion agency to boost production of rare earths

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed creating a new agency with US$2.5 billion to spur production of rare earths and the other critical minerals, while the Trump administration has already taken aggressive actions to break China’s grip on the market for these materials that are crucial to hi-tech products, including mobile phones, electric vehicles, jet fighters and missiles. It is too early to tell how the bill, if passed, could align with the White House’s policy but whatever the...

Economics

61 h. ago Trump administration wins appeal to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a freed pro

A federal appeal panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist. A three-judge panel of the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeal in Philadelphia instructed the lower court to dismiss Khalil’s habeas petition, a court filing that secured his release. The panel ruled that the federal district court in New Jersey did not have jurisdiction over...

Politics

62 h. ago A US Navy Sailor Who Spied for China Just Got 16 Years in Prison

A US Navy Sailor Who Spied for China Just Got 16 Years in Prison  The National Interest

Events

63 h. ago US seizes sixth sanctioned tanker as it tightens grip on Venezuela’s oil

US forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader US effort to take control of the South American country’s oil. The US Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of US President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of...

Events

64 h. ago Chinese firms to incur higher costs for deploying advanced AI chips from US: analysts

Chinese companies are expected to shoulder higher costs for deploying advanced chips from the US, owing to a new 25 per cent tariff imposed by Washington on select high-performance semiconductors, according to analysts. The administration of US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the new import duties on advanced artificial intelligence chips covered Nvidia’s H200 and Advanced Micro Devices’ MI325X graphics processing units, as well as their equivalent products and derivatives. According to...

Economics

67 h. ago China folk custom beats women to boost fertility, with dire consequences if fail to conceive

An uncivilised folk custom in ancient China known as Pai Xi, or “Beating for Joy”, involved striking women with sticks in an attempt to exorcise evil spirits and pray for conception. Pai Xi, also known as Da Sheng, meaning “Beating for Birth”, is believed to have originated in southern China, particularly in Jiangsu and Fujian provinces. It was a fertility ritual that gained popularity during the Song dynasty (960–1279). According to the Records of National Customs of China, in rural areas of...

Events

67 h. ago China folk custom beats women to boost fertility, with dire consequences for not conceiving

An uncivilised folk custom in ancient China known as Pai Xi, or “Beating for Joy”, involved striking women with sticks in an attempt to exorcise evil spirits and pray for conception. Pai Xi, also known as Da Sheng, meaning “Beating for Birth”, is believed to have originated in southern China, particularly in Jiangsu and Fujian provinces. It was a fertility ritual that gained popularity during the Song dynasty (960–1279). According to the Records of National Customs of China, in rural areas of...

Politics

2 d. ago China names special envoy to strengthen ties with SCO nations

China names special envoy to strengthen ties with SCO nations  TRT World

Politics

2 d. ago Man shot by federal officer in Minneapolis as tensions flare over crackdown

A federal officer shot a man in the leg on Wednesday night in Minneapolis, a week after the fatal shooting of a local woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent touched off angry protests and an intensifying clash between state leaders and the Trump administration. The shooting followed a targeted traffic stop shortly before 7pm Central Time, when the man fled in his vehicle and crashed into a parked car, according to Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland...

Events

3 d. ago China bans dozen of US and Israeli cybersecurity firms over national security concerns: report

China bans dozen of US and Israeli cybersecurity firms over national security concerns: report  Fox Business

Politics