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US sets up task force to combat birth tourism, revokes more than 600 visas

The Trump administration announced on Wednesday the establishment of a task force to end birth tourism in the latest push to curtail the practice after the Supreme Court recently rejected US President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict constitutional birthright citizenship. Working alongside the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the US State Department wrote in a fact sheet that it is “using all available tools to defend the integrity of US citizenship, ensure non-immigrant visas are used...

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China projects ‘outward confidence’ amid economic anxiety, US congressional panel says

A US congressional advisory body on China said the country is projecting an image of confidence even as concerns about its economy and future growth remain beneath the surface, following a week-long visit to Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou in July. Members of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) discussed their observations during a wide-ranging press briefing on Wednesday, offering new details about meetings with Chinese officials that had not previously been disclosed. “I...

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Trump’s Plane Switch Ruse Pales in Comparison With Putin’s Secrecy

President Trump’s Air Force One subterfuge pales in comparison to the secrecy surrounding Russia’s president, whose fixation on security has reached new heights in recent years.

© Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik

A Russian state media photo of President Vladimir Putin in his office in the Kremlin last month. The secrecy around Mr. Putin’s movements means journalists have resorted to tracking his activity by assessing the wilting of the plants in his office.
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US-China ‘Board of Investment’ stalls before expected Trump-Xi meeting

The US-China Board of Investment, one of the key outcomes of the May summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, is unlikely to be among the deliverables for their expected meeting next month in Washington, according to the head of a leading bilateral business group. “I’m not seeing evidence yet that that’s going to be a sizeable deliverable for the next summit,” Sean Stein, the president of the US-China Business Council, told the South China Morning Post. “The US...

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Eurovision Bans Countries in War Zones From Hosting

The event’s organizers would not say whether that included Israel, but its participation has been a matter of contention during the war in Gaza.

© Tobias Schwarz/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The singer Noam Bettan representing Israel at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna in May.
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Zhu Rongji: reformer who led China’s economic transformation through ‘minefield or abyss’

“Regardless of what lies ahead – be it a minefield or a deep abyss – I will forge ahead unswervingly, dedicating my entire life and energy to the country until my dying day.” Those words, spoken at the dawn of his premiership, came to define Zhu Rongji, China’s towering economic reformer who died in Beijing on Wednesday. He was 97. His remarks at a press conference in 1998 came as China was undertaking sweeping state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms that caused widespread job losses, even as it...

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How Scientists Use Eclipses for Research

It’s a chance not just to study the sun but also space weather, light pollution and even animal behavior.

© Gemma Miralda/Associated Press

The Gran Telescopio Canarias, at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canaries, Spain.
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How Africa is becoming a ‘strategic hub’ for Chinese industrial expansion

For decades, resource-rich African nations operated on a straightforward pit-to-ship model whereby foreign operators extracted raw ore, loaded it onto cargo ships and exported it abroad, leaving producer countries with little to show for it. Today, nations such as Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Ghana and Guinea are dismantling that system – by banning exports of raw materials and enforcing local processing rules. These measures force international mining firms, including Chinese companies, to...

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Could the rise of left-wing Democrats reshape America’s policy on China?

The Democratic Party’s ascendant left wing is likely to push American foreign policy further “inward” and away from big-power rivalry, according to a Chinese political scientist. Meng Weizhan, an assistant research professor at Fudan University’s Institute for Advanced Study in Social Sciences in Shanghai, also said it was time for Beijing to move away from the notion that all American political factions took a hard line on China. The remarks come as progressive Democrats are riding a wave of...

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China approves Japanese envoy in Chongqing, ending 8-month vacancy

China has approved a new Japanese acting consul general in Chongqing, ending an eight-month vacancy at the mission following a bilateral freeze. Shigehiro Nishiumi, who previously served as Japan’s deputy consul general in Hong Kong, assumed the post at the diplomatic mission in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing on August 4, Japanese news agency Kyodo reported, citing an unnamed government source. The Chongqing post had remained unoccupied since December 5, when former head of mission...

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Blackout at China’s Terracotta Army museum triggers nationwide cultural safety review

China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration is putting museums nationwide on notice to strengthen emergency management during the summer peak season, following a series of operational failures, including a sudden power outage in Xian’s Terracotta Warriors museum last week. According to the notice published on Monday, there have been issues such as blackouts, air conditioning failures and severe overcrowding at some museums, triggering safety fears and public concern. The disruptions...

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Zhu Rongji, China’s chief engineer of economic reform and former premier, dies aged 97

Former Chinese premier Zhu Rongji, who helped engineer one of the greatest economic reforms in human history, died of an illness on Wednesday in Beijing. He was 97. Zhu, who served as China’s premier from 1998 to 2003, is remembered for shaking up the centrally planned economy, overhauling the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector and tackling corruption. He was the mastermind behind negotiations for China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) entry in 2001, which opened China up to the international...

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In Europe, the Total Solar Eclipse Is Hours Away

Sky watchers have flocked to places, from Iceland to Spain, where the moon will completely block the sun.

© Cesar Manso/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A researcher from a San Francisco museum in a village near Burgos, Spain, on Monday, making preparations for live coverage of the total solar eclipse.
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In Europe, the Total Solar Eclipse Is Hours Away

Sky watchers have flocked to places, from Iceland to Spain, where the moon will completely block the sun.

© Cesar Manso/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A researcher from a San Francisco museum in a village near Burgos, Spain, on Monday, making preparations for live coverage of the total solar eclipse.
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China prepares to mark Jiang Zemin centenary with full commemorative honours

Beijing has started airing a flagship documentary on former Chinese president Jiang Zemin as part of commemorative events marking the centenary of his birth, expected to culminate on Monday in a grand ceremony presided over by President Xi Jinping. In the lead-up to the anniversary, state broadcaster CCTV launched a 12-episode documentary titled Jiang Zemin, with the network’s flagship CCTV-1 airing two episodes nightly at prime time from Tuesday. The series is jointly produced by the ruling...

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Fishing trip mishap or grey-zone test? Taiwan arrests men after boat slips past defences

Two people from mainland China were arrested six days after illegally landing in Taiwan by inflatable boat, raising fresh concerns over the island’s coastal security amid its biggest annual military drill. The timing of the incident has drawn scrutiny. The two men arrived just before the 10-day Han Kuang exercise, which began on August 5, and remained at large for nearly a week before being arrested. The case only came to light on Monday after an angler reported finding an abandoned inflatable...

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