Last March, following angst-ridden months as Europe came to terms with Donald Trump’s return to the White House, financial markets in Paris, Milan and Berlin were gripped by a surge of optimism. The cause was a historic deal brokered by Friedrich Merz, then Germany’s chancellor-elect, which loosened constitutional spending constraints in the EU’s powerhouse nation. Here at last, it was hoped, was the fiscal kickstart required to end a prolonged period of economic stagnation, and mitigate geopolitical headwinds blowing from the US and China. Six months into Mr Merz’s premiership,…
Category: The Guardian
China and Japan are in a war of words over Taiwan – what happens next?
Tokyo and Beijing are embroiled in a deepening row over Taiwan after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, suggested that her country could potentially become militarily involved in the event of an attempted Chinese invasion of the self-governing island. Why has Taiwan become a flashpoint between the north-east Asian neighbours and major trading partners, and is there a risk that the war of words could escalate? What is the row about? The quarrel kicked off after Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, suggested in her first parliamentary address since taking office in…
China travel warning for Japan sends shares in tourism and retail companies plunging
Shares in Japanese tourism and retail firms fell sharply on Monday after China warned its citizens not to travel to Japan amid an escalating row over comments made by prime minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan. In morning trade shares in cosmetics form Shiseido fell 9%, department store group Takashimaya by more than 5% and Fast Retailing – the owner of Uniqlo – by more than 4%. China is the biggest source of tourists to Japan. Takaichi told Japan’s parliament on 7 November that the use of force against the self-ruled…
Inside Trump’s scramble to reduce US dependence on Chinese rare-earth metals
Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, returned from South Carolina last week brandishing a small piece of metal, proclaiming that it was the first rare-earth magnet made in the US in a quarter of a century. It was, he indicated to Fox Business, proof that the US is ending “China’s chokehold on our supply chain”. Thanks to the South Carolina company eVAC’s new rare-earth mineral processing center, Bessent added: “We’re finally becoming independent again.” Breaking China’s processing and manufacturing dominance in these materials, essential for some semiconductors, batteries and armaments,…
China sends coast guard to Senkaku islands amid row with Japan
China has sent its coast guard through the waters of the Senkaku islands and military drones past outlying Japanese territory as Beijing ramps up tensions over the Japanese prime minister’s remarks on Taiwan. On Sunday the Chinese coast guard said its ships made a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters of the Senkaku, which are administered by Japan but also claimed by China as the Diaoyu islands. “China coast guard vessel 1307 formation conducted patrols within the territorial waters of the Diaoyu islands. This was a lawful patrol operation conducted…
China advises against travel to Japan amid escalating row over PM’s Taiwan comments
China has advised its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan, escalating a diplomatic feud sparked by comments from Tokyo’s new prime minister about a hypothetical attack on Taiwan. Sanae Takaichi told Japan’s parliament on 7 November that the use of force against the self-ruled island claimed by China could warrant a military response from Tokyo. Japan has since said its position on Taiwan – just 100km from the nearest Japanese island – is unchanged. In a post online on Friday, China’s embassy in Japan warned its citizens against travelling to…
China voices ‘extreme disappointment’ with Dutch minister at centre of car chip row
Vincent Karremans called semiconductor supply chain crisis a ‘wake-up call for western leaders’ The Chinese government has expressed “extreme disappointment” with the Dutch minister at the heart of a row over chip supply to the car industry. A spokesperson for the ministry of commerce was responding to a Guardian interview with Vincent Karremans on Thursday in which the politician described the standoff between China and the European Union as a “wake-up call” for western leaders. Continue reading… The Guardian
Maureen McGinley obituary
My sister Maureen McGinley, who has died aged 77, was a member of the Order of Columban Sisters, a progressive Irish Catholic order whose nuns train as doctors, nurses and teachers before going abroad. While serving in Hong Kong, Maureen made a significant and pioneering contribution to the care of people who are HIV positive. In 1994 she founded the Society for Aids Care (SAC), the first non-governmental organisation of its kind in Asia. It continues its charitable work to this day. Maureen devoted her life to the welfare of…
London businessman jailed for life after filming his sex attacks on women
Chao Xu, 33, may be one of worst sex offenders in British criminal history, police fear A businessman has been jailed for life for drugging women then subjecting them to sexual attacks which he recorded for his pleasure, as well as committing hundreds of other sexual offences. The judge said Chao Xu’s offending was “calculated and planned” and he posed a high risk to women. Continue reading… The Guardian
AI firm claims it stopped Chinese state-sponsored cyber-attack campaign
Anthropic says financial firms and government agencies were attacked ‘largely without human intervention’ A leading artificial intelligence company claims to have stopped a China-backed “cyber espionage” campaign that was able to infiltrate financial firms and government agencies with almost no human oversight. The US-based Anthropic said its coding tool, Claude Code, was “manipulated” by a Chinese state-sponsored group to attack 30 entities around the world in September, achieving a “handful of successful intrusions”. Continue reading… The Guardian