China and New Zealand pledge deeper trade and economic cooperation

China and New Zealand flags. Andrea Verdelli | Getty Images News | Getty Images China and New Zealand are working toward implementing an upgraded version of the free trade agreement between the two countries. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Monday the two countries should kick off negotiations on the negative list of service trade … Read more

Putin wins Russian election and talks about Navaln

Russian President Vladimir Putin was upbeat after winning a fifth term in power in Russia’s presidential election over the weekend. He chose the moment to make his first public remarks on the death of his political nemesis, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, mentioning his name for the first time in years. Putin won Russia’s presidential … Read more

Senate should move swiftly on TikTok bill

TikTok creators gather before a press conference to voice their opposition to the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” pending crackdown legislation on TikTok in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 12, 2024. Craig Hudson | Reuters White House national security adviser John Kirby said Sunday that the … Read more

Former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is putting together an investor group to buy TikTok

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is building an investor group to acquire ByteDance’s TikTok, as a bipartisan piece of legislation winding its way through Congress threatens its continued existence in the U.S. The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bipartisan bill that if signed into law would force ByteDance to either divest its flagship … Read more

China would block sale of short video app

Visitors are visiting TikTok’s stand at the Appliance & Electronics World Expo (AWE) in Shanghai, China, on April 27, 2023. On March 14, 2024, the United States will pass a bill banning TikTok.  CostFoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images The U.S. could be about to force ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant that owns TikTok, to … Read more

First ship carrying aid approaches Gaza Strip as Israel accused

The Open Arms vessel docked in the Cypriot port of Larnaca. – | Afp | Getty Images An aid ship was approaching the Gaza Strip’s coastline on Friday with much-needed deliveries for the Palestinian people, as relief organizations warn that thousands in the besieged enclave are on the brink of famine. The ship — called … Read more

Macron doubles down on NATO deployment in Ukraine

A photo of a television screen shows French President Emmanuel Macron during a televised address to the nation, made from the Elysee Palace, after signing into law a pensions reform, in Paris, on April 17, 2023. Ludovic Marin | AFP | Getty Images French President Emmanuel Macron has doubled down on the possibility of sending … Read more

Putin sure to win but Kremlin wants a landslide

Vladimir Putin at a rally at Manezhnaya Square near the Kremlin on March 18, 2018. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images There are no surprises over who will win Russia’s presidential election this coming weekend with incumbent, Vladimir Putin, set to win a fifth term in office, keeping him in power until at least 2030. The heavily stage-managed … Read more

Abu Dhabi-backed newspaper buyout sparking panic

Copies of The Daily Telegraph newspaper on a newsstand in a shop in London, UK, on March 12, 2024 (L), and UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan speaking at COP28 on Dec. 1, 2023. Getty Images DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Mansions, university facilities, think tanks, sports teams — the U.K. is no stranger … Read more

TikTok ban moves forward as House passes bill; fight shifts to Senate

The House approved a bill Wednesday that calls for China tech giant ByteDance to divest TikTok or the popular social video app will effectively be banned in the U.S. The measure passed with a resounding 352-65 vote and with one member voting present. The legislation, dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, … Read more