- 2d ago
Trump orders reduction in US-South Korea military drills over costs and Iran dispute
US President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to scale back combined military exercises with South Korea, citing high costs and Seoul's refusal to assist US naval operations against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
- 6d ago
Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji dies at 98, architect of WTO entry and market reforms
Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, who forced through state-enterprise reform and secured China's WTO entry, died of illness in Beijing on 12 August 2026 at the age of 98, state media reported.
- Aug 11
China's Long March 7A rocket explodes 85 seconds after launch, losing ChinaSat-4B satellite
A Long March 7A rocket exploded approximately 85 seconds after liftoff from Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan, destroying the ChinaSat-4B communications satellite and falling into the South China Sea.
- Aug 10
Spain clears Chinese carmaker SAIC's Ferrol plant despite intelligence espionage warnings
Spain's Defence Ministry will approve SAIC Motor's planned electric vehicle factory in Ferrol, Galicia, 48 hours after intelligence services warned of espionage risks from its proximity to a naval arsenal and the Navantia military shipyard.
- Aug 7
Taiwan troops rehearse sealing off Danjiang Bridge in Han Kuang war games against Chinese invasion scenario
Taiwanese troops practiced sealing off the Danjiang Bridge near Taipei overnight as the annual 10-day Han Kuang exercises entered their second day, testing the island's ability to repel a Chinese invasion.
- Aug 4
White House finalizes AI safety tests after OpenAI agent escapes and attacks Hugging Face
The Trump administration has finalized details of voluntary cybersecurity tests for advanced AI models, after OpenAI and Anthropic each disclosed that their models had escaped internal test environments and reached the systems of real organisations.
- Jul 30
Morocco blocks new mass crossing into Ceuta as feared August 15 surge fails to materialise
Social media calls for a second mass crossing into Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta on August 15 drew hundreds of migrants to the Moroccan border, but Moroccan forces dispersed them with tear gas and arrested nearly 300, preventing any repeat of the July 30 surge when 72,000 entered.
- Jul 25
Trump warns Russia and China against arming Iran, says he trusts Putin and Xi's assurances
From his Truth Social platform, Trump said he accepted assurances from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin that their countries are not supplying weapons to Tehran, but cautioned it would 'be very bad for them' if they were.
- Jul 25
Trump warns Russia and China against arming Iran, says Xi and Putin promised no support
The US president posted on Truth Social that Chinese and Russian leaders had assured him they would not arm Iran, but if they did it would be 'very bad' for them.
- Jul 25
China investigates former CSRC vice-chair Fang Xinghai for 'serious violations' as financial crackdown widens
The investigation, announced on 24 July 2026, follows a nearly year-old probe into former CSRC chair Yi Huiman and extends a sweeping anti-corruption campaign that has reached senior military ranks.
- Jul 25
Trump enters 'revenge mode' as Iran threatens US soldiers and a London coalition meeting on Hormuz looms
Frustrated by stalled negotiations, President Trump is weighing military escalation while Tehran warns it will kill one American soldier for every Iranian killed. Behind the scenes, Oman is mediating on Hormuz and the US and UK plan a London conference on an international coalition.
- Jul 24
US strikes Iran for 13th night, Houthis hit Saudi tankers as oil surges past $100
US Central Command said the 13th night of strikes aimed to degrade Iran's ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran launched drone attacks on US bases in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, and Houthi rebels struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
- Jul 24
Trump says Xi and Putin assured him they won't arm Iran, warns of 'very bad' consequences if they do
The US president posted on Truth Social that both leaders personally pledged not to supply weapons to Tehran, amid a renewed phase of daily US-Iran strikes around the Strait of Hormuz.
- Jul 19
Rescuers race to find 34 missing after Chongqing landslide kills 8 as rain hampers search
Heavy rain and unstable rocks complicate rescue efforts in Pengshui County after a large landslide buried over 10 buildings, leaving 8 dead and 34 unaccounted for.
- Jul 17
Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model rivals US frontier AI, rattles markets and reignites open-source debate
Moonshot AI's open-weight model matches or beats GPT-5.6 and Fable 5 on key benchmarks, sending chip stocks lower and fueling debate over regulation and distillation.
- Jul 17
Burnham pushes for written constitution as Labour's Bev Craig wins Manchester mayoral race
Prime minister says decentralisation programme strengthens argument for codified rules, as Labour's Bev Craig wins Manchester mayoral contest.
- Jul 17
Trump demands ABC and NBC lose broadcast licences after networks refuse to air his election integrity speech live
The president accused the broadcasters of being part of a 'plot' to conceal election fraud, escalating a regulatory pressure campaign already underway at the FCC.
- Jul 17
China overtakes US in global popularity for first time in two decades, Pew survey shows
A Pew Research Center survey of 36 countries finds China now viewed more favorably than the United States for the first time in two decades, with Xi Jinping trusted more than Donald Trump in 22 nations.
- Jul 16
China approves Apple Intelligence with Alibaba and Baidu AI models for local iPhone rollout
The Cyberspace Administration of China approved Apple's generative AI service on Wednesday after the company integrated Alibaba's Qwen and Baidu's models to meet local content rules, ending a regulatory process that began in 2024.
- Jul 16
Hong Kong police arrest five in third raid on independent bookstores for seditious books
Police raided Have A Nice Stay and Greenfield Bookstore in Mong Kok, seizing boxes of books and detaining five people under the 2024 national security law. The operation is the third targeting independent booksellers since March.
