[ Noahpinion] Why is China smashing its tech industry?
For those outside China’s byzantine, opaque nexus of party, government, and big business, it’s very difficult to figure out what’s going on. Just who is ordering these actions is not clear, or what the ultimate result of the crackdown will be. That makes it very hard to figure out why it’s happening. Some observers see this as an…
Read More[ SCMP ] Biden administration approves its first arms sale to Taiwan
The potential US$750 million deal includes 40 new M109 self-propelled howitzers and almost 1,700 kits to convert projectiles into more precise GPS-guided munitions The proposed sale would improve Taiwan’s capability to blunt a Chinese land invasion The US State Department notified Congress on Wednesday of a proposal to sell some US$750 million of weapons to…
Read More[ The Vibes ] RM114 mil in seized assets returned to Najib, Umno
Assets totalling RM114 million, seized from Pavilion Residences on May 17, 2018, have been returned to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Umno. This comes after the prosecution decided to not file for an appeal in the forfeiture suit after it was dismissed by high court judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin. Deputy public prosecutor Faten…
Read More[ The Drive ] Russian Nuclear Submarine Broke Down In Danish Waters
The Russian Oscar-II class nuclear guided-missile submarine Orel had an unknown problem with its propulsion system on July 30 while transiting Danish waters in the Baltic Sea near Denmark’s second-largest city Aarhus, prompting the Russian Navy to prepare to tow the submarine before it eventually resumed operation. In a Facebook post, the Danish Navy’s Third Squadron wrote that this particular escort “will…
Read More[ National Interest ] India Proves Critics Wrong on Kashmir
Thursday marks the second anniversary since India’s President Ram Nath Kovind revoked Kashmir’s special status under Article 370 of India’s constitution. In effect, the move ended Kashmir’s autonomy and turned Kashmir into a union territory equal in status to Delhi or the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Diplomats may have condemned the change to the status quo but, as legal specialist Kelly Buchanan noted for the nonpartisan Library of Congress noted,…
Read More[ CNN Philippines ] Duterte admits US vaccine donations persuaded him to cancel VFA termination
https://www.cnn.ph/news/2021/8/3/Duterte-US-vaccine-donations-cancelation-of-VFA-termination.html President Rodrigo Duterte revealed on Monday that COVID-19 vaccine donations from the United States played a role in his decision to recall the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement. “Give and take lang tayo, so pasalamat tayo sa kanila at may naibigay naman ako sa kanila na (we thank them, and I also gave them a) concession,”…
Read More[ The Jerusalem Strategic Tribute ] Can America Regain Global Leadership? A View From Singapore
Can America regain global leadership? The question reflects the shock and dismay with which foreign policy establishments in North America and Europe greeted and viewed Donald Trump’s election as the 45th president of the United States. They came to regard what Trump said and did in office between 2017 and 2021 as a repudiation of…
Read More[ The Guardian ] Taliban on brink of taking key Afghan city as residents told to flee
Taliban fighters appeared to be on the brink of overrunning the key Afghan provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, as officials confirmed all but one district of the city was under the hardline Islamists’ control and residents were ordered to evacuate. Majid Akhund, the deputy chairman of the Helmand provincial council, said the Taliban had taken…
Read More[ Reuters ] U.S., Britain believe Iran attacked Israeli-managed tanker off Oman
“Upon review of the available information, we are confident that Iran conducted this attack, which killed two innocent people, using one-way explosive UAVs,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, adding there was “no justification” for the attack. “We are working with our partners to consider our next steps and consulting with…
Read More[ Dawn ] Pakistan Cabinet gives the green light to cyber security policy
ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved the National Cyber Security Policy 2021 that allows establishment of a national cyber security response framework as the government constituted the Cyber Governance Policy Committee to implement the policy. As per the policy, a cyberattack on any institution of Pakistan will be considered an act of aggression against…
Read More