US authorities arrested a California woman on Sunday, accusing her of spying on the son of Taiwan’s president at the behest of Chinese officials, the FBI said. The FBI arrested Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday before her planned departure to China, the agency said in a statement. Authorities charged Zhang, 34, of Irvine, California, with acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Zhang surveilled a son of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, the FBI alleged. The agency did not directly name Zhang’s alleged target,…
Tag: US news
Republicans say they hate communists. So why do they like Donald Trump?
Americans will never accept the Democratic party’s slide to the left, or so desperate Republicans are hoping. With the midterm elections fast upon us, Zohran Mamdani’s promise of a few city-run bodegas in New York City will scare the bejeezus out of middle America. Disgust over the democratic socialists’ unicorn-and-puppy promises of a world without capitalism will keep the Republicans in power. Leading the charge against the new reds-under-the-bed is Donald Trump. “Together, we will defeat communism,” Trump promised in his recent TV ads. Trump’s supporters might be surprised to…
US arrests California man for allegedly smuggling $300m worth of computer servers to China
US authorities have arrested a man accused of smuggling more than $300m worth of computer servers to China, the Department of Justice announced. Greg Lui, 38, of California, also known as “Yiu Kong Lui”, allegedly used false paperwork and shipments through third countries to smuggle the export-controlled computer servers to China, the justice department said in a statement on Thursday. The servers contained “US-manufactured graphics processing units (GPUs) commonly used for Super Intelligence (SI)”, it added, using the Trump administration’s new name for artificial intelligence (AI). “Protecting America’s national security…
Foie gras, live dolphins and toasters: China and US cut reciprocal tariffs on $30bn each of goods
The US and China have released reciprocal lists of goods worth about $30bn each on which they plan to cut tariffs, ranging from consumer electronics and agricultural products to artificial flowers and live dolphins. The announcements are the latest tack away from the intense trade war between the world’s two largest economies that dominated much of last year, though major strategic products are not included and no timeline has yet been given for the reductions. The US list includes 77 categories of Chinese products including bed linen, garden umbrellas, toasters,…
Two giant pandas set off to Atlanta zoo from China after Xi-Trump summit
Two giant pandas departed Chengdu in south-western China early on Sunday for their new homes in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of an agreement between the Chinese and US governments. While in Washington DC for a three–day summit with Donald Trump, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced that the pandas would arrive in Atlanta in the coming days. The loan of the pandas to the Atlanta zoo was one of the few concrete outcomes to come out of Xi’s state visit with the US president, which saw expressions of goodwill between the…
France gave the Statue of Liberty. China sends pandas. What do diplomatic gifts mean – and how do you choose one?
It was one of the most potent political gifts of modern times: the Statue of Liberty, a colossal neoclassical sculpture made in France and offered to the American people in the late 19th century.The size and symbolism of Liberty Enlightening the World (the statue’s original name) was intended as a mark of friendship to commemorate the centenary of the 1776 US declaration of independence. Delivered a decade late, it was also a reminder – perhaps a pointed one – of France’s critical role in helping the US break free from…
‘The weaker he gets, the more dangerous he gets’: Trump lashes out as his power wanes
Donald Trump stood before the United Nations on Tuesday and threatened to “annihilate” Iran. Yet even as the most powerful man on the planet flexed his military muscles, he was powerless to keep the gravitational pull of domestic politics at bay. Heading into the UN building in New York, the US president was questioned by Kaitlan Collins, an anchor at CNN, which he had banned from the White House before a judge ruled against him. “I’m surprised that CNN is here covering me,” the 80-year-old snapped. “You should not be…
Trump and Chinese president Xi end summit without major agreement on AI
Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping wrapped up their Washington summit on Friday, facing criticism that they had squandered an opportunity to pause their countries’ artificial intelligence (AI) arms race. The three-day state visit emphasised pageantry and personal rapport rather than substantial agreements. The US president and Xi discussed the wars in Iran and Ukraine and the status of Taiwan. Their biggest policy announcement was a modest two-month extension of a trade truce. But despite the presence of top tech executives at a White House state dinner on Thursday…
The Guardian view on Trump and Xi: a show of friendship, but no real attempt to address the tensions | Editorial
Within days, two high-profile Chinese visitors will arrive in the US – envoys of friendship, as Xi Jinping described them when he met Donald Trump at the White House this week. The giant pandas, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, will be hosted at Atlanta zoo. Beijing dispatched the first panda pair to the US in 1972 following President Richard Nixon’s landmark visit to China. It uses the animals to indicate satisfaction or displeasure with other nations. But it also charges heftily for their lease: reportedly, around $1m a year per pair.…
OpenAI hack on Australian government reveals anxiety at heart of global artificial intelligence dilemma
When the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, sat down for an interview in the heart of Silicon Valley at the weekend he had known for two days that his was the first government known to have been attacked by a rogue AI agent. He didn’t reveal the attack then, but he sounded a warning about the march of AI: “the risk is that AI develops in a way in which humans are no longer in control of what AI is producing.” But Albanese noted, too, that two countries – the…