China

  FILE - Poll workers with the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office work to set up early voting equipment at the Seffner-Mango Branch Library in Seffner, Florida, August 2, 2024. WASHINGTON — There is new evidence China, Iran and Russia are aggressively expanding their efforts to influence American voters to potentially sway the result of the upcoming U.S. elections. Two threat intelligence reports Wednesday, one from software giant Microsoft and the other from the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, detail growing activity by cyber actors linked to each country — all aiming to impact U.S. public perceptions with less than two weeks before voters go to the polls. The biggest change, according to Microsoft, comes from Chines...

  In this undated photo released Oct. 24, 2024 by the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, a sailor monitors the movement of a a Chinese coast guard vessel in the water of North Natuna Sea in the disputed area of the South China Sea. JAKARTA, Indonesia — A Chinese coast guard vessel was driven out of Indonesia\'s waters for a second time this week after it initially disrupted a survey by state energy firm Pertamina in the South China Sea, Indonesia\'s maritime security agency said on Thursday. While Chinese coast guard vessels have been spotted numerous times in Indonesia\'s exclusive economic zone, the most recent incidents came just days after Prabowo Subianto took over Indonesia\'s presidency. China claims sovereignty over almost the e...

  Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. kazan, russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin told BRICS leaders on Thursday that the Middle East was on the brink of a full-scale war after a sharp rise in tension between Israel and Iran, though the Kremlin chief also faced calls to end the war in Ukraine. The BRICS summit, attended by more than 20 leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Turkey\'s Tayyip Erdogan, has shown the depth of Russia\'s relations beyond the Western world. Much discussion at the summit in the Russian city of Kazan was dedicated to the war in Ukraine and the violence in the Middle East, though ...

  Chinese President Xi Jinping and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia Oct. 23, 2024. NEW DELHI — This week\'s movement toward rapprochement between the leaders of China and India is raising questions about New Delhi\'s commitment to the Quad, the loose four-nation alliance widely seen as a U.S.-led bid to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific. India\'s participation in the grouping, which also includes Japan and Australia and is formally known as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, has been at least partly driven by a vexing border dispute that has seen repeated clashes between Chinese and Indian troops along their Himalayan border. Presidents Narendra Modi of India and ...

  FILE - Pope Francis presides a Mass concelebrated by the new cardinals for the start of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Oct.4, 2023. Vatican City — A new assistant Catholic bishop for Beijing was ordained on Friday, three days after the Vatican and Chinese officials extended an accord on appointments in China, the Vatican said. Bishop Matthew Zhen Xuebin, 54, was named to the role by Pope Francis, who approved his nomination within the framework of a diplomatic deal originally struck in 2018 that gives Chinese officials some input into papal appointments. Some conservative Catholics say the deal gives too much influence to China\'s ruling communists, who have kept a tight rei...

  FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping speak during a plenary session in the outreach/BRICS Plus format at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 24, 2024. Washington — The 2024 BRICS summit in Russia this week provided Moscow and Beijing with a showcase for their shared anti-West sentiment and global ambitions, but analysts say the war in Ukraine may be fracturing the “no limits” relationship between the two countries. The location of the summit was strategically significant, given international efforts to isolate Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. “For Russia as the host, the most important thing is to highlight that it is not isolated and still has supporters on the international stage.” s...

  FILE - Indonesian President Joko Widodo answers journalists questions during the inauguration of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train named 'Whoosh' at Padalarang station in Padalarang, West Java on Oct. 2, 2023. Jakarta — One year after the opening of Indonesia\'s first high-speed railway that connects Jakarta to Bandung, named Whoosh, Indonesia is courting China to invest in an extension of the line eastward to the port city of Surabaya in East Java. The rail service is one of former President Joko Widodo\'s flagship infrastructure projects and part of China\'s Belt and Road Initiative. The Whoosh attracted over 4 million passengers in its first year, and the government has added more trips. Currently, the government is carr...

  FILE - Kiribati President Taneti Maamau addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 22, 2022, in New York. Maamau won his third term in office on Oct. 26, 2024. TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Kiribati President Taneti Maamau, who has led the Pacific Island nation to build closer ties with China in recent years, secured his third term in office on Saturday. He defeated two other candidates in an election closely monitored by countries around the world. Maamau won about 55% of the vote, while his nearest challenger, Kaotitaaake Kokoria, won 42% of the vote, New Zealand’s High Commissioner in Kiribati said. Kiribati’s chief justice, Tetiro Semilota, declared Maamau the winner and congratulated him. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon...

  FILE - Jin Liqun, president of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, speaks in Paris, Nov. 10, 2023. On Saturday, Jin criticized advanced economies for creating trade barriers, saying there was "no longer free trade" in the global economy. (Reuters/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool) washington — Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun on Saturday criticized advanced economies for creating trade barriers including for renewable energy goods, saying there was "no longer free trade" in the global economy. The United States last month locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports — including a 100% duty on electric vehicles — to strengthen protections for strategic domestic industries from China\'s st...

  Live rounds are fired during a nighttime exercise on Penghu Islands, Taiwan, Oct. 24, 2024. Beijing — China will take "countermeasures" to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the government said, lambasting a $2 billion arms sale package by the United States to Taiwan. The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing. On Friday, the Pentagon said the United States had approved a potential $2 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced air defense missile system battle-tested in Ukraine. The Pentagon\'s Defense Security Co...