The five nations in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network have been exchanging classified information on China’s foreign activities with other like-minded countries since the start of the year, seven officials in four capitals said. The increased cooperation by the Five Eyes alliance – grouping Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and ... Read More »
World stock markets dive as Trump attacks ‘crazy’ US rate hikes
President adds to borrowing costs concern as China tension fuels febrile market mood A jittery, volatile week on global financial markets has burst into a frenzy of selling, triggered by heavy losses on Wall Street and comments by Donald Trump describing US interest rate hikes as “crazy”. The Nikkei index ... Read More »
Taiwan pledges to boost national security amid Chinese pressure
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen vowed on Wednesday to boost national security, saying her government would not submit to Chinese suppression as Beijing ramps up pressure to assert its sovereignty over the self-ruled island. Tsai’s remarks came ahead of island-wide local elections in late November that are seen as a bellwether ... Read More »
World Bank launches ‘human capital’ rankings based on health, education
The World Bank Group unveiled a new system on Thursday to rank countries based on their success in developing human capital, an effort to prod governments to invest more effectively in education and healthcare. The bank’s “Human Capital Index,” showed poor African countries fared the worst in the rankings, with ... Read More »
Nikki Haley resigns as US ambassador to UN, shocking fellow diplomats
Nikki Haley has resigned as the US ambassador to the United Nations and will leave her post in January, in a move that stunned allied diplomats and other senior officials. Haley and Donald Trump announced her departure in the Oval Office. The timing came as a surprise to her colleagues ... Read More »
Brexit: Theresa May to face MPs after Chequers plan criticism
Theresa May will face the Commons for the first time since the EU rejected her Brexit plan, amid mounting pressure from some Tory MPs to change course. A week before a crucial meeting of EU leaders, the prime minister shows no sign of abandoning her proposals. Former Brexit Secretary David ... Read More »
Trump says next summit with North Korea’s Kim to come after November U.S. elections
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would be held after U.S. congressional elections on Nov. 6. Speaking to reporters as he flew to Iowa for a political rally, Trump said: “It’ll be after the midterms. I just can’t leave ... Read More »
UK accuses Kremlin of ordering series of ‘reckless’ cyber-attacks
Foreign Office increases pressure on Russia after Skripal poisoning The British government has directly accused Russian military intelligence of being behind a spate of “reckless and indiscriminate cyber-attacks” carried out on the orders of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin, including the hacking in 2016 of the US Democratic National Committee headquarters. The ... Read More »
Foreign aid picks up for Indonesia’s quake survivors, as death toll tops 1,400
International efforts to help survivors of Indonesia’s devastating earthquake and tsunami gathered pace on Thursday as concern grew for hundreds of thousands with little food and water, six days after disaster struck. Desperate residents on the west coast of Sulawesi island were scavenging for food in farms and orchards as ... Read More »
Iran faces sensitive time due to America tensions, economic woes: leader says
The people of Iran face a sensitive time because of the pressure from America and economic problems, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a key address broadcast by state television on Thursday. Khameini was speaking to tens of thousands of members of the Basij militia and top Revolutionary Guard ... Read More »