China’s urging “flexibility” on North Korea appears to coincide with the Chinese Communist Party’s ambitions in the region.
“According to unclassified intelligence reports to Congress, there are five key Chinese banks and a specially created holding company that funds the North Korean missile and nuclear technology programs.” — Peter Huessy, Real Clear Defense, August 10, 2017.
Since coming to power last year, the Taliban has increasingly reverted to form on almost every level. The killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a Kabul safe house on July 31 only underscores the group’s continued close ties with the Taliban, particularly the Haqqani network. Taliban leaders are also steadily reimposing the world’s most extreme restrictions by far on women and girls, returning to their old practices of “disappearing” women by closing off their education, restricting their travel, dictating their dress, and limiting their movement.
TOURISTS, CLAD in shorts and sandals, gathered on China’s Pingtan island. Some clutched umbrellas to ward off the sun. Those with cameras tended to point them at the blue waters of the Haitan Strait, which divides Pingtan from Fujian, a province on the country’s east coast. Their holiday snaps on August 4th captured military helicopters swarming overhead and rockets streaking into the sky. These were some of the first missiles fired from the Chinese mainland towards the waters off Taiwan in 26 years.
Several of Al-Qaeda’s senior leaders have been killed and following the death of Ayman al-Zawahiri, experts say there are only two likely candidates for the top job at the terror group
The dramatic assassination of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in a US drone strike has left the global terror franchise with a serious recruitment problem.
Until Sunday, al-Qaeda head Ayman al-Zawahri was one of the world’s most wanted men.
As the number one extremist on the FBI’s most wanted list, al-Zawahri and his deceased co-conspirator Osama Bin Laden were the masterminds behind the 9/11 attacks against the World Trade Centre in New York. Al-Zawahri was considered one of the leaders of terrorism that led the planning and execution of heinous terrorist operations in the US, Saudi Arabia and several other countries across the world.
Taiwan may be 10,000km from East Africa, but whatever happens there could still hurt you. This is why a brawl between China and the US over Washington’s dalliance with Taipei could bring the region new worries.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., landed in Taiwan late Tuesday evening local time, a high-profile visit that has magnified tensions between the U.S. and China and drawn a display of military aggression from China.
Minutes after Pelosi landed, China’s Eastern Theater Command announced live fire military exercises would begin as soon as Tuesday in six zones that encircle Taiwan.
Why Relying on Beijing Is a Bad Bet
In July, a popular uprising in Sri Lanka toppled the government and sent its president scurrying into exile. The revolt had been brewing for months in the wake of the country’s economic implosion, but it still caught observers off-guard. In surreal scenes, protesters took over the presidential palace, swam in the pool, dined in the kitchen, traipsed around the bedrooms, and held stylized meetings in the conference rooms.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday that the U.S. does not “support Taiwan independence,” amid heightened threats from China about Nancy Pelosi’s reported trip to the island.
How the Ukraine War Has Changed Beijing’s Strategy
In the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Beijing was on the back foot. For weeks after Russian troops crossed Ukraine’s border, China’s messaging was stilted and confused as Chinese diplomats, propagandists, and foreign ministry spokespeople themselves tried to figure out Chinese President Xi Jinping’s line on the conflict. Xi’s “no limits” partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin was incurring growing reputational costs.