Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
It reminds us of the detentions of other foreign citizens, such as Canadian Kevin Garratt, Briton Peter Humphrey, Sweden’s Gui Minhai, or Taiwanese Lee Ming-che, and that over the years China has institutionalised arbitrary and secret detention affecting innumerable Chinese citizens, and with little international consequence.
As Apple’s shares tumble after its cut in forecasts, the company is laying the blame squarely on the economic slowdown in China. But that is only part of the problem.
Never before has Apple faced such fierce competition from a multitude of rivals from around the globe, all vying for a slice of the lucrative premium smartphone market. Matching or exceeding Apple’s iPhone on hardware quality, these phones are arguably more capable, often cheaper and, perhaps crucially for China, made by local firms, not only those from the US and South Korea.
Lander sends back first close-up shot of previously unexplored side of the moon
A Chinese spacecraft has become the first ever to land on the far side of the moon, according to state-run media, in a giant leap for human space exploration.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) landed the robotic probe Chang’e 4 in the unexplored South Pole-Aitken basin, the largest, oldest, deepest, crater on the moon’s surface.
Apple’s shock downgrade has sent shares in European and US-listed companies with exposure to China – from Burberry and the Gucci owner, Kering, to chipmakers and miners – tumbling over fears the slowdown that has hit the Silicon Valley giant is set to spread.
In New York the Dow Industrial Average fell over 2% in morning trading and all the major markets suffered sharp losses as investors reacted to the Apple news, reports of a slowdown in US factory activity and an ongoing government shutdown over the funding of Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
Trump claims ‘We’re the talk of the world’ as weak data in Asia and Europe confirmed fears of a global economic slowdown
After their worst year in close to a decade US stocks started the new year with a more than 1% decline on Wednesday before inching their way back into the black as Donald Trump blamed a “glitch” for last year’s losses.
Markets wobbled between gains and losses all day on Wednesday as weak data in Asia and Europe confirmed fears of a global economic slowdown while the US government shutdown dragged on.
Chang’e 4 will explore giant crater, possibly offering more clues as to moon’s formation
A Chinese spacecraft could become the first ever to land on the “far side” of the moon tomorrow, in a milestone for human space exploration. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) is aiming to land the craft in the unexplored South Pole-Aitken basin, the largest, oldest, deepest, crater on the moon’s surface.
The robotic probe, Chang’e 4, entered an elliptical path around the moon last weekend, drawing as close as 15km (9 miles) from the surface. China’s mission control has not confirmed a time for the touchdown attempt but reports in state-run media suggested it would be early Thursday morning UK time.
Chinese manufacturing sector declines for first time in 19 months amid new year global growth concerns
UK manufacturing activity came in significantly higher than expected at the end of 2018 thanks in part to a steep rise in stockpiling ahead of Brexit, according to a closely followed survey.
The manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 54.2 in December, up from 53.1 in November, data firm IHS Markit reported. Economists had expected a slowdown to 52.5.
The rise in the PMI level during December was mainly driven by stronger inflows of new business and a solid increase in stocks of purchases. Movements in both mainly reflected Brexit preparations by manufacturers and their clients.
The European Central Bank has been busy celebrating 20 years of the euro this new year, but today it was forced to announce less pleasant news: Italian lender Banca Carige has been put in administration.
Chinese leader calls for reunification and says independence would be a ‘disaster’
Taiwan independence would lead to “disaster”, Chinese president Xi Jinping has said, pledging efforts for peaceful “reunification” with the self-ruled island but warning China would not renounce the use of force.
Speaking at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on the 40th anniversary of a key Taiwan policy statement, Xi said reunification must come under a one-China principle that accepts Taiwan as part of China, anathema to supporters of Taiwan independence.
For weeks before the annual winter festival in Harbin, China, workers collect and transport to the site nearly 200,000 cubic metres of ice cut from the frozen Songhua River. Most of the cutters are farmers from nearby villages who start work before dawn in bitterly low temperatures and earn about US$35 a day
A Chinese destroyer veered within 45 yards of a U.S. Navy ship Sunday in "an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver" in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, the Navy said. USS Decatur was conducting a routine freedom-of-navigation patrol about 8:30 a.m. near Gaven Reefs when the People's Republic of China destroyer Luyang approached the ship.
The escalating trade war and new US tariffs on Chinese goods could end up being the catalyst needed for the WTO to modernise Former senior US trade officials are urging the Trump administration to work with allies to modernise the World Trade Organisation and use the body to resolve its grievances with China, rather than continue its barrage of tariffs that flout WTO rules. The US-China trade war has seen the WTO largely relegated to the sidelines, with critics contending that a number of its mechanisms are outdated and thus inadequate for dealing with practices involving digital trade and state-led economies - issues core to US claims about China.
A long-expected, controversial deal between the Chinese government and Catholic leaders in the Vatican has sparked opposition, including inside the Church itself. The provisional agreement, which will see the Vatican recognize the legitimacy of bishops appointed by the Chinese government, comes at a time when the ruling Communist Party is cracking down on "illegal" Christian groups in the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China on Monday, imposing 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, but sparing smart watches from Apple ( Trump, in a statement announcing the new round of tariffs, warned that if China takes retaliatory action against U.S. farmers or industries, "we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports." The iPhone was not among the 'wide range' of products that Apple told regulators would be hit by the $200 billion round of tariffs in a Sept.
A pair of leading scientists is calling on the global community to spend the next few decades working toward formal protections for at least half of the world's oceans and lands, warning that as the human population nears its projected 10 billion by mid-century, several species will face a heightened threat of extinction. "If we truly want to protect biodiversity and secure critical ecosystem benefits, the world's governments must set a much more ambitious protected area agenda and ensure it is resourced."
China's independently-developed large amphibious aircraft, the AG600, has completed trial ground flights and entered a new test phase on the water. The AG600, codenamed "Kunlong," successfully finished a trial flight from an airport in the city of Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, to an airport in Jingmen, a city in central China's Hubei Province, on Sunday, according to China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co.
As trade tensions escalate between Washington and Beijing, the U.S. Senate quietly passed legislation on Thursday that would lower trade barriers on hundreds of items made in China. FILE PHOTO: Shipping containers are seen at a port in Shanghai, China July 10, 2018.
Despite concerns over the U.S.-initiated trade dispute with China, the state of Georgia is showing strong interest in building cooperative ties with Chinese partners in order to offset the negative impact caused by Washington's protectionist trade policy. Georgia, a southern U.S. state known for its business-friendly environment and trade-driven economy, just hosted an investment and trade forum with northwest China's Shaanxi Province for local entrepreneurs and business representatives who were eager to find more potential opportunities to forge partnerships with the Chinese side.
Today, advocacy group Food & Water Watch sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue questioning the agency's controversial decision to approve three new poultry slaughter facilities in China as "equivalent" to facilities operating under the USDA's food safety system. The letter cites the "irregular" process in approving these facilities and asks for clarification on how the decision was made.
The nonbinding measure, which passed 88-11, directs Capitol Hill negotiators trying to reconcile separate spending bills to include language giving lawmakers a role when such tariffs are put in place. Workers apply fiberglass to the resin frame of a boat Wednesday at Regal Marine Industries in Orlando, Fla.
Containers are transferred at a port in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province on July 6, 2018. The Trump administration announced plans to levy tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese goods as trade tensions escalate.