Day: September 8, 2026

The first two F-16 Block 70 fighters bought by Taipei from the United States have yet to reach Taiwan, after spending more than two weeks in Hawaii for reasons that remain unclear. The aircraft, which were expected to arrive at Taiwan’s Chihhang Air Base in late August, were spotted preparing for departure at Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickam on Monday, raising expectations that the fighters were finally about to resume their journey. But the two single-seat F-16Cs, numbered 6727 and 6728, apparently did not leave Hawaii, with witnesses saying they taxied…

Imagine swapping your daily cholesterol pill for a single injection that keeps “bad” cholesterol under control for a year, a decade – or even a lifetime. Two clinical trials, one in the United States and another in China, suggest that this one-and-done approach could become a reality. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), better known as “bad” cholesterol, is a major driver of heart disease – the leading cause of death worldwide. Triglycerides, another type of blood fat, add to the risk. How man’s best friends could be AI-enhanced doctors able to…

When you are denied a pay rise, when you feel anxious about your children’s education, or when you are alienated by colleagues, Chairman Mao can help. At least, that is what China’s online influencers and their hundreds of thousands of followers believe. Wednesday marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Mao Zedong, founding father of the People’s Republic of China. Chinese authorities have not announced any plans to mark the date, as former state leaders are usually commemorated on the anniversaries of their birth. The only special arrangement in…

Argentine President Javier Milei has every right to reassert his country’s territorial claims over the Falkland Islands. His proposal to use the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration as a template for resolving the Falkland Islands dispute merits serious consideration as a pragmatic framework for bringing this long-standing territorial conflict to a peaceful conclusion. Argentina’s claim to what its citizens call the Islas Malvinas rests on solid foundations. Upon independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina inherited sovereignty over the islands under territorial succession. Argentina arguably exercised governmental authority over the archipelago between…

The risk of a conflict over Taiwan is shaping Japanese defence planning, with Tokyo shoring up security at home and abroad for a potentially prolonged fight. But there are economic, demographic and political constraints on how far its military transformation can go. In the second of a three-part series, Gabriel Dominguez examines how Tokyo is building military resilience within its territory. Japan’s recent purchase of a former Nippon Steel site to build a sprawling new defence hub points to a deeper shift in Tokyo’s preparations for a potential Taiwan conflict:…

Nicaragua has granted a Chinese-owned company linked to one sanctioned by Washington the right to prospect and dig for gold across 262 sq km (101 sq miles) of rainforest, about a quarter the size of Hong Kong. The 25-year concession over the block, named Jade, went to Linze Excelente Mineria, a company that appeared in Nicaragua’s mining registry only last year. The block is in a corner of the country where prospectors first struck gold in 1880. Corporate filings list Lijun Dong as legal representative of both Linze Excelente and…

When US President Donald Trump announced on August 28 that the United States had secured majority control over some 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil through a private company, the North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), he called it “the biggest oil deal in history”. The White House fact sheet provided the details: NABEP’s 100-year concessions on 17 oilfields with 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, a 35 per cent Pentagon stake, a 20 per cent State Department offtake at cost with right of first refusal, and a Washington veto…

⁠The US government on Tuesday accused Chinese artificial intelligence companies of maliciously copying technology from American AI firms, potentially complicating relations ahead of a planned meeting between leaders of the world’s two biggest economies later this month. The Chinese companies ‌copied US AI labs’ intellectual property through a technique known as distillation, according to a statement from US law enforcement and intelligence officials. Distillation is the process of training smaller AI models using output from larger, more expensive ones as part of an effort to lower the costs of training…

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Colombia on Tuesday to meet President Abelardo de la Espriella, sign agreements on critical minerals and civil nuclear cooperation and take up the country’s ties to China, in the first visit by a cabinet-level US official since the Colombian leader took office a month ago. Colombia’s participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Chinese investment in critical infrastructure were on the agenda for the meeting, a Colombian official who was not authorised to speak publicly told the South China…