Anthropic has documented the use of Claude to track Catholic and Tibetan Buddhist leaders, Christians in Taiwan, and the Falun Gong. A religious affairs intelligence unit that once employed many teams has been reduced to a single office, yet this is enough to produce thousands of investigations per month.
The agreement between the Kuomintang and the new party of former mayor Ko Wen-je announced just a few days ago has evaporated. This outcome will favour current vice-president Lai Ching-te in the crucial 13 January vote. Foxconn tycoon Terry Gou, trailing in the polls and targeted by Beijing that wanted a united opposition front, dropped out of the race.
Today's news: for Beijing there are no 'new or unusual' pathogens causing the paediatric pneumonia epidemic. South Korean appeals court orders Japan to pay compensation to 16 'comfort women'. At least 20,000 Sri Lankan workers ready to leave for Israel in the agricultural and construction sectors. UN resolution against Iran for religious freedom violations, Tehran executes young pro-Masha Amini protester. Russian sturgeon market 40% occupied by illegal Chinese production.
The no-fly zone around the demilitarised zone will no longer be in force. The measure decreed by the Seoul government after Pyongyang put a satellite into orbit. For South Korea, the same missiles could also carry nuclear warheads. The sanctions packages decreed by the UN are ineffective with respect to the development of military technology.
Beijing is reportedly planning a greater role in the Middle East, as part of its global military challenge to US dominance in the Persian Gulf. So far, senior government officials have not commented. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is accelerating plans to build a blue-water navy.
Today's news: Unicef says Gaza is 'the most dangerous place in the world for children', truce postponed till first hostage release; Ankara announces the activation of a group to mediate the conflict between Israel and Hamas; Cross-border trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan resumes; Jakarta launches a $20 billion investment plan on renewables; Rescuers are approaching Indian workers trapped for 11 days in a tunnel; Presence of Russian manufacturers at the Dubai Airshow 2023 the Middle East's most important industry trade fair slated a fiasco.
Sri Lanka is increasingly tying its fragile economy to China. After the debt agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China, Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe said he was ready to expand the direct corridor with China bypassing India. Xi Jinping’s special envoy, State Counsellor Shen Yiqin, used her visit to the island to "lay out” China’s cards.
Today's news: Chinese dissident journalist Sun Lin died at the hands of the police; Pyongyang puts 'Malligyong-1' military spy satellite into orbit, Seoul suspends military agreement with the North; 216 more landings, mostly women and children, of Rohingya Muslims on Indonesian coast; The murderer of Turkish journalist of Armenian origin Hrant Dink, recently released from prison, will face new charges (including terrorism).
Argentina’s upcoming administration is already questioning whether to join the forum of emerging economies on 1 January, backed by Xi Jinping. During the election campaign, Milei had highlighted the gap with China. Beijing's reaction has been cautious so far, which may affect bilateral relations. Last year 92 per cent of Argentina’s soya beans and 57 per cent of its meat went the way of China.
Police agencies in the two countries have been working together against telecom scams since September. Some 63 alleged "financiers" and ringleaders top the list of people wanted in connection with Chinese nationals cheated out of lots of money. Fighting between Myanmar’s ruling junta and rebel forces is fuelling the problem.
In a new biography just published in Italy, Spanish journalist Fernando de Haro looks at the trip the founder of the Communion and Liberation movement made to Japan in 1987. Back then, during a visit to a Buddhist monastery near Osaka, a deep friendship and spiritual closeness developed with the local novice master Habukawa.
While offices in many of the world's major cities struggle to find workers to occupy them, Tokyo bucks the trend and opens Japan's tallest new tower on Friday: offices, flats and an 'urban village' that is vertical but also green with 2.4 hectares, about 30% of the total area, reserved for green space
Today's news: Israeli army strikes a church in southern Lebanon, for Hamas close to agreement on a truce; Pyongyang prepares for a new launch of a spy satellite; Since the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan, abuses against women in politics have tripled; US-based NGO awards three imprisoned Vietnamese activists for their pro-human rights struggle; The first Iranian-built cars appear on the Russian market; In Yerevan an unknown person tried to set fire to the synagogue.
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