Nicole Chi Amén, a Costa Rican woman of Chinese descent, has always been on the outside looking in. The opening scene of her moving debut feature replicates this predicament visually: her face pressed against a metal barricade, she looks through a hole in the opaque facade with interest. The camera is observing, too, and the sight of a house being torn down gradually comes into view. This was once the home of her maternal grandmother, a Guangdong native who emigrated to Costa Rica more than 60 years ago. Conceived in…
Day: January 12, 2026
Chinese arms exporters may be the big winners in any Pakistan-Saudi JF-17 talks
Reported discussions between Riyadh and Islamabad over a potential deal involving fighter jets co-developed by China and Pakistan could be a “big win” for Beijing’s arms exports to the Gulf region, analysts said. However, doubts remained over whether such an agreement would actually proceed on the grounds that the JF-17 was in such marked contrast to Saudi Arabia’s Western-centric air force. A Reuters report on Thursday that cited two Pakistani sources said Islamabad and Riyadh were in talks for a deal that may convert about US$2 billion of Saudi loans…
Japan’s PM Takaichi weighs snap election
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is considering calling a general election as early as next month, according to ruling party members, as she seeks to use her sky-high approval ratings to reclaim her party’s parliamentary majority. One plan under discussion would involve dissolving the lower house of parliament immediately after it reconvenes on January 23 for a general election around the second week of February, said a senior member of…
Trump’s new ‘great game’: Mining, mapping and mercantilism
Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world History rhymes. Over the past week, we’ve seen many analogies drawn between the Monroe Doctrine and President Donald Trump’s new imperialism — and rightly so, given that the administration itself is making them (just read the recent national security strategy). But what’s happening in Venezuela today, and what may yet happen in Greenland, or in Ukraine or Taiwan (where Russia and China could well take counteraction as a…