- War to Unify Taiwan in One Year? China May Not Be Ready: China Experts
An expert said mainland Chinese military leaders told her that they would be ready to unify Taiwan by force in one year, while another China expert told The Epoch Times that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would be too busy maintaining his position as party boss over the next 20 months. Oriana Skylar Mastro, center fellow […]
- Australian Parliament Passes Contentious ‘World First’ Media Payment Law
The contentious “world-first” media payment law that spurred Facebook to censor news content in Australia will soon be in force after the Australian federal Parliament ratified it on Thursday. The media payment law locks Google and Facebook into a framework where eligible news outlets in Australia, with a minimum revenue of $150,000, can enter negotiations […]
- French Actor Gerard Depardieu Charged With Rape in Revived Case
PARIS—The Paris prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday that French actor Gerard Depardieu was charged in December with rape and sexual assault after authorities revived a 2018 investigation that was initially dropped. The office told The Associated Press that Depardieu was not detained when he was handed the preliminary charges on Dec. 16, 2020. The prosecutor’s […]
- White House Signals Hard Line on Buy American as Ottawa Urged to Push for Exemption
WASHINGTON—The White House isn’t leaving much wiggle room for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to escape Joe Biden’s Buy American rules. The two leaders are set to meet virtually later today in Biden’s first bilateral meeting since taking over as U.S. president. Trudeau is likely to ask Biden for help in procuring COVID-19 vaccines, since Canada […]
- Rocket strike reported near U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
Source: @Bilesa_Shaweys (Twitter) Three rockets struck near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Monday, according to multiple reports, making it the third rocket attack in Iraq against Western targets within a week. Iraqi Security Forces announced that three rockets fell in the Iraqi-controlled Green Zone and destroyed four vehicles, but did not result in casualties. Security Forces […]
- Secretary of State Tells Mexican Officials: ‘Border Is Closed to Irregular Migration’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday warned Central Americans not to make journeys to the United States without travel papers as the Biden administration deals with a surge in illegal immigrants on the southern border. “The border is closed to irregular migration,” Blinken said in a virtual event with officials from El Paso and Mexico’s […]
- China Will Exploit Paris Climate Accord to Undermine US: Expert
After the Biden administration rejoined the Paris Climate Accord on Feb. 19, reversing the policies of the previous administration, experts warned that it will benefit China and the latter will take advantage of this move to undermine the United States. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will gain in four fronts through the Paris agreement, Sen […]
- ‘International Zionist clown’: Khamenei’s antisemitic nuclear weapons post remains on Twitter
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Monday alleged in a tweet that his country is not interested in producing a nuclear weapon, but said that if it were, no one could stop it, including Israel. In the post, he used the antisemitic phrase “international Zionist clown,” which, according to The Times of Israel, was […]
- Hong Kong Residents Now Able to Apply for UK Visas via Smartphone App
Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status holders can now apply for UK visas using a smartphone app, the UK Home Office said on Tuesday. The UK government opened a new visa scheme last month designed to offer BN(O) status holders in Hong Kong a path to citizenship at a time when freedom and human rights […]
- New COVID Travel Rules Violate Canada’s Charter
Commentary Democracies respect the right of citizens to leave and re-enter their own country freely; repressive regimes like China and North Korea do not. Hence Section 6 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects this right. Any restrictions on the right to leave and enter Canada, such as needing a passport, must be […]
- Updates on CCP Virus: 2 US Navy Warships in Mideast Hit by Outbreaks
Two U.S. Navy warships operating in the Middle East have been struck by CCP virus outbreaks, authorities said Friday, with both returning to port in Bahrain. A dozen troops aboard the USS San Diego, an amphibious transport dock, tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, said Cmdr. Rebecca […]
- Chinese Regime Burns Religious Books, Jails Believers in War Against Faith
China’s communist party has continued its broad attack on faith through the pandemic, burning and trashing religious books while jailing spiritual adherents for possessing religious literature. While the officially atheist Chinese regime formally recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Christianity, it imposes strict rules over how these religious organizations should operate, and often […]
- Twitter Removes Hundreds of Accounts It Says Are Linked to Iran, Russia, Armenia
BRUSSELS—Twitter said on Tuesday it had taken down 373 accounts which it said had ties to Russia, Armenia, and Iran and had breached its platform manipulation policies. The company said it had taken down 238 accounts operating from Iran for various violations of its policies. Twitter said 100 accounts with Russian ties were removed for […]
- Australian Government Set to Increase Jobless Benefit After Pandemic Supplement Ends in March
The Australian government is set to introduce a permanent rise in the JobSeeker payment rate by $50 a fortnight. This will be the first real increase to the unemployment benefit in Australia since 1994. It is also the largest increase since 1986 and is expected to cost the country $9 billion dollars over the next […]
- UK Calls for ‘Urgent and Unfettered’ UN Access to Xinjiang
Britain on Monday condemned the Chinese regime’s “deteriorating human rights situation” and urged Beijing to give the United Nations “urgent and unfettered” access to Xinjiang. Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “We stand with the growing number of international partners, U.N. experts, and NGOs concerned about the deteriorating human […]
- Updates on CCP Virus: Backlogged Cases Push California Deaths Past 50,000
Los Angeles County on Wednesday reported another 806 deaths from the CCP virus during the winter surge, pushing California’s toll above 50,000, or about one-tenth of the U.S. total from the pandemic. The county, which has a quarter of the state’s 40 million residents, said the deaths mainly occurred between Dec. 3 and Feb. 3. […]
- UK’s Johnson Refuses to Boycott Beijing Winter Olympics Over Uyghur Abuse
Britain does not favour sporting boycotts, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday when asked if he thought the UK should boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics over the abuse of Uyghurs. At the Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “Today, millions of Uyghur people […]
- ‘El Chapo’s’ wife nabbed by DOJ in Virginia for allegedly taking over family drug business
This story was first published by The Dark Wire: an Investigation Foundation Emma Coronel Aispuro, the wife of the notorious head of the Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was arrested at Dulles International Airport on Monday on international drug trafficking charges, the Justice Department announced. Aispuro, 31, is charged with “participating in […]
- ‘New Rules Needed for Big Tech’: Civil Society Groups Decry Facebook’s News Ban
Civil society groups are concerned Facebook’s news ban will undermine Australia’s democracy and thereby leave room for misinformation “to fill the void.” Meanwhile, a new voluntary code (pdf) to combat the spreading of disinformation was introduced by the Minister for Communications on Feb. 22. In an open letter published by Reset Australia on Feb. 18, […]
- Stricter Public Health Measures Now in Effect at Canadian Borders, Airports
OTTAWA—A mandatory three-day hotel quarantine for most travellers landing at Canadian airports comes into effect today, along with a suite of measures meant to prevent contagious COVID-19 variants from entering the country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said the tighter border controls are meant to keep everyone safe, not punish travellers. Anyone flying into the […]
