China has officially downgraded its diplomatic ties with Lithuania to the “charge d’affaires” level in protest at Taiwan establishing a de facto embassy in Vilnius. Lithuania allowing Taipei to formally open an office using the name Taiwan was a significant diplomatic departure that defied a pressure campaign by Beijing, which tries to keep Taiwan isolated on the global stage. “The Chinese government had to lower diplomatic relations between the two countries … in order to safeguard its sovereignty and the basic norms of international relations,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs…
Day: November 20, 2021
Peng Shuai: Video claims to show tennis player at tournament
But they’ve only raised further questions, over apparent editing and their seemingly staged nature, and so far there’s been no let up in the calls from the Women’s Tennis Association, a number of global tennis stars as well as governments, for proof that Peng Shuai is genuinely free to speak and acts as she chooses. BBC
Peng Shuai Said to Be in Videos From China’s State Media
Nearly two weeks after people across the world began asking “Where is Peng Shuai?,” two questionable videos surfaced Saturday on social media of a person who appears to be the Chinese tennis star at a restaurant. The videos were shared on Twitter by the editor of a state-run newspaper, but the seemingly unnatural conversation in one video and the unclear location and dates of both raised questions about Peng’s safety and whether she was appearing in the videos of her own free will. A third video, said to be of…
WTA chief casts doubt on Chinese player Peng video
WTA chairman ‘worried about Peng’s safety’ A video claiming to show Chinese player Peng Shuai out with friends is “insufficient” evidence of her safety, says Women’s Tennis Association chief Steve Simon. On Saturday, Chinese state-affiliated media posted two clips on Twitter of Peng purportedly having dinner with her coach and friends in a restaurant. “While it is positive to see her, it remains unclear if she is free and able to make decisions and take actions on her own, without coercion or external interference,” said Simon. Peng, 35, has not…
What to Know About the Frantic Quest for Cobalt
The clean energy revolution is replacing oil and gas with a new global force: the minerals and metals needed in electric car batteries, solar panels and other forms of renewable energy. Places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which produces two-thirds of the world’s supply of cobalt, for example, are stepping into the kinds of roles once played by Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich nations. And a race between China and the United States to secure supplies could have far-reaching implications for the shared goal of protecting the planet. An…
‘Horrifying’: Djokovic voices concern for Peng Shuai as WTA threatens to pull out of China – video
The men’s world No 1 Novak Djokovic voiced his concern for missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Djokovic said he supported “100%” the WTA’s threat to pull events out of China. Peng, a former doubles world No 1, has not been seen in public since she accused the former high-ranking official Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault on 2 November. A journalist from China’s state broadcaster has revealed a set of photos, which he said were posted on Peng’s WeChat social media account on Friday, but analysts debated the authenticity of…