News of the World

[kyonides]

China says Indian forces crossed border, fired warning shots

https://apnews.com/0ea5d13315acb3cdc030d711a9d3e753
First of all let me remind you of a few facts. China and India has been fighting for the territory that is right between China, India and a bit of Nepal. Chinese claim the region and named it with a typical Chinese name, India did the same but in their own language. Nepalese claim that India invaded part of its territory while building a highway that leads to that very same region in dispute. Since 1962 both China and India want to stretch or reduce the border based on their own agendas.

Those fights have been brutal even resorting to unconventional fighting styles for modern armies like boxing, throwing stones, pushing enemies to make them fall down the cliffs, etc. Shots are, err, kind of uncommon, but they do happen every other day. They usually call them "warning shots" only.

By the way, they have been trying to negotiate a different deal since their only war ended in a hard to swallow truce long time ago. So where did they meet?
Let me give you a tip, you would link that place to bears, not pandas but bears. Curiously it seems the Bible also relates it with a bear. Oh and its current leader is as bald as this guy! =>

Last 2 journalists working for Australian media leave China

https://apnews.com/28d6c05e87922013cf6c485d9568160d
Well, some time ago it was a row over meat and other products, now Australian journalists are not welcome in China. Actually they did not let them go at first, even if they had packed everything to leave China behind for good. Things are getting UGLY there.

Both journalists had sheltered in Australian diplomatic compounds in recent days.
They left after Australia revealed last week that Australian citizen Cheng Lei, a business news anchor for CGTN, China’s English-language state media channel, had been detained.
Both journalists were told they were “persons of interest” in an investigation into Cheng, The Australian Financial Review reported. Seven uniformed police visited each journalist’s home in Beijing and Shanghai at 12:30 a.m. Thursday, the newspaper said.
Birtles was due to depart Beijing on Thursday and was holding a farewell party on Wednesday when police came to his apartment and told him he was banned from leaving the country, ABC said. He was told he would be contacted on Thursday to organize a time to be questioned about a “national security case,” his employer said.

If they cannot blame you for anything, they will bother you till you can take it anymore.

El Salvador prosecutors search prisons in pact investigation

https://apnews.com/ee6a00d1d18658a3eb1a40ad9df3e460

They first criticized Nayib Bukele for being quite severe while dealing with criminals. Nowadays they want to accuse him of negotiating with the Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 as you might know it in the USA. This does not make any sense, he actually ordered them to mix criminals from several gangs. So why would he send a committee to negotiate with the MS?
Also keep in mind that there are local political parties that hate Bukele as much as Democrats hate Trump in the US.

Samsung wins $6.6 billion Verizon contract for 5G network

https://apnews.com/50e406d41d782a1bcbe2596bd6ecf4be
Did you want to carry along a brand new 5G cellphone? Well, that might happen in the not so far future in many more places.

But one 5G rival — China’s Huawei Technologies Ltd. — wasn’t in the running for the contract. Huawei has been largely absent from the U.S. since 2012, when a congressional panel warned phone carriers to avoid it.

How curious... is it not? Several media keep blaming Trump for how his administration has treated Huawei but even back in 2012 they noticed it was a threat. Oh and few years later China approved two controversial laws that would force companies with subsidiaries or headquarters in China to share any intelligence with the government. They still want to claim they pose no threat to US security.

Italy investigates Apple, Google, Dropbox over cloud storage

https://apnews.com/5d8de6ebe1f08233ba670fd44d4b1246

The competition and market authority said Monday it has opened a total of six investigations into Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox’s online storage service in response to complaints about unfair commercial practices and violations of the country’s consumer rights directive. In one case, it’s also looking into “vexatious clauses” in a contract.
The Italian probe follows wider efforts by European Union regulators to clarify the fine print tech companies use in their terms and conditions of service so consumers can better understand how their information is being used.

I wished they had done those "clarifications" a lot sooner than they usually do.

Russia’s Alexei Navalny out of coma, is responsive

https://apnews.com/bd9b23bb9c7dbfdf36ffb8ffb514e305

Poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s condition has improved, allowing doctors to take him out of an induced coma, the German hospital treating him said Monday.
“The patient has been removed from his medically induced coma and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation,” Berlin’s Charite hospital said in a statement. ”He is responding to verbal stimuli. It remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning.”

By the way, Melana and others, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel now isn't so sure about closing the gas pipeline deal with Russia.
Oh and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called his poisoning outrageous.

Saudi court issues final verdicts in Khashoggi killing

https://apnews.com/7c6e35f99ba2861e242ac607e20dac40

A Saudi court issued final verdicts on Monday in the case of slain Washington Post columnist and Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi after his son, who still resides in the kingdom, announced pardons that spared five of the convicted individuals from execution.

Interesting attitude but why was it for just 5 out of 8 people in trial?

The court ordered a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the five. Another individual received a 10-year sentence, and two others were ordered to serve seven years in prison.

That was the reason, they weren't desperate to get such pardons. So what about the Crown Prince? Is he really getting away with it? Those men worked for his office after all.

Japanese economy is not rising but sinking

https://apnews.com/8453d44c1d4e0c2c65706f786171602f
What is notorious but almost left in the dark is that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is resigning due to health issues and the Japanese are now waiting for a new PM to keep their country going amidst the coronavirus crisis.