President Xi Jinping celebrated the 70thanniversary of the People’s Republic of China by saying there is “no force that can shake the foundation of this great nation. He also highlighted ongoing riots in Hong Kong, saying China remains “committed to the strategy of peaceful reinforcement of one country two systems” with the eventual goal of “complete unification.” [node:read-more:link]
Despite ongoing friction on a number of fronts, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he has no plans to take his country out of the European Union. However, he also says eastern and western members must compromise about the bloc’s future. Among other things, Orban and other leaders have been at loggerheads over his refusal to accept migrants under an EU quota scheme. [node:read-more:link]
As China has become more authoritarian even as it prospers economically, its militarization of the South China Sea and its trade practices have helped to persuade many that President Donald Trump has spurred an essential U.S. policy debate. However, a Rand Corp. “policy currents” commentary suggests Trump’s stance may be unlikely to engender much third-country support. [node:read-more:link]
In in a lawsuit filed in New York Sept. 23, the Shariah-compliant Kuveyt Turk Bank, which includes the Turkish government among its shareholders, has been accused of helping Hamas and other jihadist movements to finance terrorism. The suit was filed by four children of an U.S.-Israeli couple killed by Hamas in 2015. [node:read-more:link]
Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, is back in a Vancouver courtroom as lawyers fight her extradition to the U.S. Meg’s arrest, arising from U.S. allegations about the Chinese telecom giant’s financial practices, has undermined Canada’s carefully-cultured relationship with China since establishing formal ties nearly a half-century ago. [node:read-more:link]
Tariffs on a diverse list of 437 items imported from China have been lifted by the U.S. as President Donald Trump explains that the two sides as “making a lot of progress” on trade talks. The editor of the Beijing-based Global Times, said the development is being taken as “a goodwill signal.” [node:read-more:link]
More than 10,000 state-supported Twitter accounts used by six countries to spread propaganda and disinformation have been delete by the social media giant. About 40 per cent were being operated by China, which outranked only the United Arab Emirates. [node:read-more:link]
Donald Lafleur, executive vice-president of the Canadian Labour Congress, is the subject of an internal investigation after attending a trade union conference in Syria and then calling for an end to international sanctions. A CLC spokesperson says the organization was unaware Lafleur had attended the conference organized by the Syrian regime. [node:read-more:link]
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian says “the time is right” for reconciliation between the European Union and Russia. His suggestion comes just as the U.S. Congress prepares to resume consideration of sanctions against Russia, which could heighten tensions between the EU and the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
The Angus Reid Institute says the vast majority of Canadians see money-laundering as a critial issue in the aftermath of an expert panel’s conclusion that the annual flow-through could be nearly $50 billion. The last federal budget proposed several countermeasures but many Canadians evidently feel the government is not being aggressive enough. [node:read-more:link]
British Airways has begun advising passengers planning to travel to and through the U.K. two weeks hence to cancel their reservations. The carrier is trying to limit the fallout from a pilots’ strike slated to begin Sept. 27. [node:read-more:link]
The United States will impose sanctions on whichever country buys oil from Iran’s oil or does business with its Islamic Revolutionary Guard. Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, says there will be no exceptions. [node:read-more:link]
A Chinese academic has been charged with fraud for allegedly taking technology from an unnamed California company for the benefit an unnamed Chinese telecommunications company. Arrested in Texas, Bo Mao, an associate professor at Xiamen University, was released under bond after consenting to proceed with the case in New York, where he pleaded not guilty. [node:read-more:link]
Brad Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Corp., says the Chinese tech giant Huawei should be permitted to purchase U.S. technology despite President Donald Trump’s ban. He says such decisions should be based on “fact, logic and the rule of law.” [node:read-more:link]
By this time next year, the U.S. Department of Defense will require suppliers to have cybersecurity certification to continue doing business with it. The DoD, which has its own stringent processes for verifying information technology products and services it uses, points out that doing business often requires the sharing of sensitive information. [node:read-more:link]
