Monday Briefing: Al-Assad’s Final Days in Power
Plus, parody as protest in South Korea.
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Let China build electric cars in UK, Tory ex-chancellor tells Rachel Reeves ahead of trade trip
Despite ‘spy’ scandal, Philip Hammond says Britain should now adopt a ‘pragmatic approach to Beijing’
China should be encouraged to build electric cars and renewable energy technology in the UK as part of a new pragmatic trading relationship that would benefit both countries, a former Tory chancellor has said ahead of a landmark visit by Rachel Reeves to Beijing early in the new year.
Philip Hammond, who was chancellor from 2016 to 2019, and the last UK minister to take part in formal economic discussions with China before the process was abruptly ended, told the Observer that while Reeves should never “compromise security for trade”, there were vital economic sectors where deals could be struck.
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How Netflix’s ‘Culinary Class Wars’ Made Chef Anh Sung-jae a Star
Anh Sung-jae went to America as a 13-year-old, joined the Army, went to culinary school and opened a top restaurant in San Francisco. Now back home in South Korea, he’s a Netflix star.
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At least 30 children die from drug shortages in Pakistan after sectarian violence
Key roads closed in Kurram, a hotbed of sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims for decades
At least 30 children have died due to drug shortages in part of north-west Pakistan after the regional government closed key roads in and out of the district in an attempt to quell an outbreak of deadly sectarian violence.
The district of Kurram, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, has been a hotbed of sectarian violence between Shia and Sunni Muslims for decades, and since July disputes over farmland have escalated.
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Australia Targets China’s Influence With Deals in Pacific Islands
In separate agreements with Nauru, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Australia is attempting to edge out China’s influence in the region.
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Minister issues warning after British Sikhs report harassment by India
Exclusive: Dan Jarvis has written to the Sikh Federation after allegations of people being stopped at UK airports
The UK will not tolerate attempts by foreign countries to harass or intimidate British citizens, the security minister has warned, after a number of Sikhs complained they were being targeted either by or on behalf of the Indian government.
Dan Jarvis has written to the Sikh Federation after reports of harassment involving British Sikhs, including people being stopped at UK airports and asked about their views on the Indian state.
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Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin says Russia ready for missile ‘duel’ with US
Russian leader, making annual end-of-year address, suggests ‘experiment’ involving his Oreshnik system and US weapons
Poland summoned the chargé d’affaires of Belarus (a diplomat of a lower rank acting in place of an ambassador), Alexei Ponkratiev, on Thursday to protest against what it called “aggressive actions” of the Belarusian KGB spy service towards Polish diplomats accredited in Belarus and other countries.
The Polish foreign ministry did not specify what actions it was accusing the Belarus agency of having taken, but said the continuation of such provocations would be met with a “symmetrical response from the Polish side”.
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4 Reasons China Meddles in Local U.S. Politics
American intelligence agencies have warned of influence operations targeting city halls and statehouses. But what’s in it for Beijing?
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A Ten Commandments Tablet Sells for More Than $5 Million at Auction
Sotheby’s called the stone the world’s oldest inscribed with the Ten Commandments, but some experts had raised questions about its provenance and authenticity.
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Fleeing Xi’s China: following the trail of migrants trying to reach Australia through Indonesia
A new and high-stakes escape route has been revealed, through the Indonesian archipelago to a smuggler’s boat
Paul, an Indonesian fisherman, says he was working as a rideshare driver in the dusty streets of Kupang in West Timor when he came across half a dozen Chinese men on the side of the road. They were wet up to their waist, carrying a backpack each, and spoke no Indonesian.
“They had walked from the beach, from the mangrove forest to the main road. They said they had difficulty with their boat engine,” Paul recalls. They asked for directions to a nearby hotel … and went on their way. Paul, a former people smuggler from Rote Island, called the police. “I used to bring people like this.”
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The Once Booming Drug Town Going Bust Under Taliban Rule
Funding its war against the United States, the Taliban reaped millions from boom towns trading opium, heroin and meth. Victorious, the group crushed the trade, leaving ghost towns in its wake.
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South Korean president fails to appear before corruption watchdog
Yoon Suk Yeol was summoned for questioning over attempt to impose martial law earlier this month
South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, failed to appear before the country’s corruption watchdog on Wednesday, it said, after he was summoned for questioning over his attempt to impose martial law.
Yoon was stripped of his duties by parliament over the weekend after his short-lived 3 December martial law declaration, which plunged the country into its worst political turmoil in decades.
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China Lengthens Visa-Free Stays for Tourists
In its efforts to attract visitors, the country extended stays from less than a week to up to 10 days for visitors between destinations.
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‘Several hundred’ North Korean troops killed fighting Ukraine, says US official
‘All ranks’ among casualties in Kursk after Pyongyang sent thousands of soldiers to reinforce Russia’s war effort
North Korean forces have suffered “several hundred” casualties fighting against Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, according to a senior US military official.
Pyongyang has sent thousands of troops to reinforce Russia’s war effort, including to the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian forces seized territory earlier this year.
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Denmark refuses to extradite whaling activist Paul Watson to Japan, says lawyer
US-Canadian founder of Sea Shepherd was arrested in Greenland after Japan issued international warrant
Denmark has rejected a Japanese request to extradite the anti-whaling activist Paul Watson over criminal charges dating back more than a decade, a Danish lawyer representing Watson said on Tuesday.
The US-Canadian Watson, 74, the founder of the Sea Shepherd conservationist group and of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, was apprehended by police in Greenland when his ship docked in the Danish autonomous territory in July.
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Trump’s Tariffs Helped Northern Vietnam Boom Like Never Before. What Now?
The north benefited from the global search for alternatives to Chinese manufacturing. No one knows whether a second Trump term will impede or accelerate that growth.
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Tuesday Briefing: Syria’s New Leader Calls for Lifting Sanctions
Plus, the breakout stars of 2024.
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Prince Andrew spy scandal may have further exposed threat posed by China
Royal’s relationship with alleged spy, Yang Tengbo, should be seen as a blessing in disguise, says China analyst
Prince Andrew should be commended for doing Britain a great service according to longstanding China watcher, Charles Parton. The now marginalised royal has, the analyst observed, “almost single handedly” succeeded “in highlighting the threat to free and open countries” posed by the contemporary Chinese state.
The story of Sino-British has developed rapidly of late, turning 180 degrees in less than a decade.
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Fears of Humanitarian Crisis on Mayotte After Tropical Cyclone Chido
The official death toll so far is 14, but there are fears that the number killed in the French territory by Tropical Cyclone Chido could be much higher.
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South Korean court begins review of president’s impeachment over martial law
President Yoon Suk Yeol and senior officials face potential charges of insurrection and abuse of authority
South Korea’s constitutional court has begun reviewing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his attempt to impose martial law on 3 December, a process that will decide if he is removed from office.
The court will hold the first public hearing on 27 December, the spokesperson Lee Jean told a news conference, after the court’s six justices met on Saturday to discuss plans for reviewing the impeachment by the opposition-controlled parliament.
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The forgotten faces of Christmas in China | Letter
Hugo Wong says the question today should be how much value the free movement of products and people has brought to our nations
Reading “made in China” on his toys for the first time, my young Chinese nephew asked me innocently whether Santa was Chinese. Oddly, like Santa’s elves, toy assembly workers in China remain remote and faceless to most of us in the west. In Britain, most Asian migrants work backstage, too, kept in kitchens or workshops, taking the first and last train, earning low wages and hidden from our eyes. In many countries this Christmas, instead of being acknowledged for alleviating our cost of living crisis, those foreign workers will be vilified for stealing our jobs and threatened with tariffs whose consequences economists are still not certain about.
It is always easier to blame people who remain invisible and voiceless. Although our world has never been so interconnected, and hence our nations so reliant on each other’s labour, Chinese society remains poorly understood. In the west, Chinese people remain enigmatic, the ever-silent and under-represented minority. When scrutinised, it is often with a political lens as well, maybe showing some cognitive bias.
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South Korea’s president reportedly defies summons in martial law inquiry
Report comes day after MPs voted to impeach Yoon Suk Yeol, who faces possible charges of insurrection
South Korea’s conservative president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has reportedly failed to obey a summons from prosecutors investigating him on charges including insurrection as he faces impeachment after declaring martial law.
Yoon, who was sent a summons on Wednesday requesting him to appear for questioning at 10am local time on Sunday, did not show up, according to the Yonhap news agency. Yoon and other senior officials are being investigated on possible charges of insurrection, abuse of authority and obstructing people from exercising their rights.
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After Impeachment, South Korea Is Left With No Elected Leader
The suspension of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s powers left a seasoned but unelected prime minister in charge of a country facing daunting challenges at home and abroad.