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As the US marks its 250th birthday, it operates an empire in all but name

There will be parades and speeches, fireworks and barbecues, and a healthy dose of patriotism. This Fourth of July, Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of their country’s independence from the British empire. Many remain unaware of when their continental republic became an empire of its own. Neither will many of them know that at the turn of the 20th century, the founding principle of the Declaration of Independence was betrayed, despite impassioned opposition from some of the most...

◇ unclassifiedusa · europe · china

Taiwan needs a ‘hornet’s nest’ of drones to deter conflict, US diplomat says

Taiwan says it needs to bolster its defenses in the face of a stepped-up threat from China, which claims the island as its own territory.

China’s Momenta IPO oversubscribed 414 times as Hong Kong listings pack calendar

Chinese autonomous-driving startup Momenta drew massive subscription numbers for its HK$5.89 billion (US$751 million) initial public offering in Hong Kong, even as it competed against five other issuers launching their IPOs at the same time. The Suzhou-based company’s bookbuilding closed on Friday. Preliminary figures showed that it attracted nearly 210,000 subscription applications, with the public offering subscribed 414 times, according to people familiar with the matter. Sponsored by China..

‘Machine warfare is coming’: US, China urged to address military AI as global rules stall

The head of a top UN security think tank has warned that the international community, along with industry, must pivot to pragmatic dialogue on artificial intelligence (AI) in warfare, as a major global regulatory convention remains unlikely in the short term. “Machine warfare is coming,” said Robin Geiss, director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (Unidir), during a lecture at Tsinghua University in Beijing on Tuesday. He warned that AI was reshaping military operations on

Current oil price: More oil through the Strait of Hormuz – oil prices are increasing slightly

Oil prices are rising slightly, trading remains thin due to US Independence Day. Meanwhile, shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is recovering.

China’s BYD surpasses Tesla to regain lead in global EV race

China’s electric vehicle (EV) king BYD has leapfrogged once more over Tesla to become the world’s largest battery-powered car manufacturer, spurred by its surging overseas shipments, despite posting an 8.2 per cent year-on-year drop in deliveries. As BYD gained the upper hand in the race against the US carmaker, it is the latest signal that China’s prowess in EVs is increasingly recognised by consumers around the globe amid an energy crisis. Tesla said in a statement on Thursday that it had...

US touts regional ‘balance’ in missile sale to Singapore. What does it mean?

Washington has recently approved a proposed US$22.3 million sale of additional Hellfire missiles to Singapore, with the US State Department declaring that the transfer and associated arms support “will not alter the basic military balance in the region”. While observers say the sale is a routine purchase by the city state for training and to replenish an advanced arsenal, America’s language on the move signals a broader strategy to strengthen a network of US allies and partners while avoiding...

Court awards HK$251,000 to family of late helper sacked during cancer battle

A Hong Kong court has awarded more than HK$251,000 (US$32,000) to the family of a domestic helper who was dismissed by her employer in 2019 after being diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer and later died. The years-long legal battle involving the late helper, Baby Jane Allas, came to an end on Friday when the District Court ordered her former employer, Jamil Bushra, to pay damages. Bushra had fired Allas in February 2019 while she was on medical leave. Bushra, who was absent throughout the...

Earnings in the presidency: Trump: Nothing wrong with my family's million-dollar business

Donald Trump has no say in his sons' financial dealings. He still advises them to exercise restraint. Because they wouldn't have it easy with him as US President.

Chinese tea chain ordered to pay Louis Vuitton US$1.5 million for trademark infringement

Chinese tea chain Molly Tea has been ordered to pay Louis Vuitton 10.3 million yuan (US$1.5 million) in damages for the unauthorised use of a logo similar to the French luxury brand’s four-petalled floral monogram. The Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, ruled this week that Shenzhen-based Molly Tea must pay the amount within 10 days. It said the compensation in the trademark infringement lawsuit included 10 million yuan for economic losses and 300,000 yuan..

◇ unclassifiedchina · asia · middle-east

Khamenei’s coffin placed in Tehran religious complex as Iran begins days-long funeral

The body of Iran’s supreme leader, killed in US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, arrived at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Friday ahead of his funeral, state media reported. Millions of people and a coterie of foreign dignitaries were expected to attend Saturday’s official ceremony for Ali Khamenei, with Tehran’s chief negotiator calling for a massive turnout to avenge his death. Photos showed mourners carrying Khamenei’s coffin, emblazoned with Iran’s tricolour flag, into the...

Monetary policy: Trump expands attack on Fed

The White House still wants to get rid of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and former boss Jerome Powell - despite a ruling by the US Supreme Court. Now the Atlanta Fed is also coming into focus.

8d07/03⚠ war-conflict · 1/5

Birthright Citizenship After Trump v. Barbara (2026)

An analysis of the June 30 US Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara through a strategic rather than legal lens, arguing that citizenship law is one of the oldest instruments of statecraft and that the litigation itself is a datum about American power. The historical pattern is consistent: expanding polities seek citizens and absorb them, because they need soldiers, taxpayers and settlers. Rome enfranchised Italy after the Social War; Caracalla extended citizenship empire-wide in 212 AD, and C

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◇ unclassifiedgermany · europe · japan

Nikkei and Kospi: Asian stock markets are rising – US labor market data dampens interest rate concerns

The prospect of no interest rate increases from the US Federal Reserve for the time being is making Asian investors optimistic. Nikkei, Kospi and Topix are trading higher.

Kuaishou files US$3 billion Kling AI funding round to Hong Kong stock exchange

Chinese short video giant Kuaishou said on Thursday evening that its artificial intelligence video arm, Kling AI, was seeking to raise around US$3 billion in its first external fundraising round, according to a filing to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. The funding round, first reported by the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, was backed by a long list of investors, spanning Chinese technology heavyweights, state-backed investment vehicles and entertainment industry participants. Baidu,...

250 years of the USA: Seven US facts that not everyone knows

Drinking songs, inkwells and an abbreviation that stands for nothing: American history has pages that don't appear in any school textbook. Seven small talk facts for the 250th birthday.

250 Years of the USA: The Settlement - Trump's Attack on America's Ideals

The US President set out to make America “great” again. But 250 years after the Declaration of Independence, he broke with the ideals of the Founders. What does that do to the country?

◇ unclassifiedchina · asia · iran

Australia expects to gain extra US$26 billion from exports after Iran war raises prices

Australia forecasts a A$38 billion (US$26 billion) lift in its export income as commodity and energy prices rise because of the war in Iran. The nation’s resources exports are set to rise almost 3 per cent to A$416 billion in the financial year through June 2027, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources said in its latest resources and energy quarterly on Friday. The extra earnings assume trade is disrupted until end-June 2026, with a further A$7 billion windfall possible if that...

Chinese gym refunds client, offers membership elsewhere after body odour complaints

A man in China has been refunded by a gym which asked him not to use the premises any more and even offered him a three-month membership card at another gym because management had received too many complaints about his strong body odour. The man, identified only as Shi, lives in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. He spent 6,388 yuan (US$940) on a three-year membership at a gym in May 2025, meaning he could use the facility until the end of April 2028, local media Zhejiang TV...

◇ unclassifiedusa · europe · germany

Kyiv military chief salutes outgoing US Army commander as war rages in Ukraine

In a farewell message, Syrskyi credited the departing U.S. commander with saving thousands of Ukrainian lives.

8d07/02⚠ war-conflict · 3/5

Which Trump will show up at Nato summit? Odds are it will be the fuming one

The Nato summit beginning on Tuesday in Turkey is expected to be low-key as European members track their progress towards increased defence spending goals and Beijing watches intently from afar. Low-key, that is, with one major caveat. Will the get-along US President Donald Trump show up, or the raging Trump who slammed the alliance, questioned its purpose and threatened repeatedly to take his military and head home? Early indications suggested it would be the raging one. “The United States...

9d07/02⚠ war-conflict · 2/5

From starry-eyed to sceptical: why young Chinese are turning away from the American dream

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. In this article, Jane Cai and Yuanyue Dang examine Chinese people’s changing attitudes towards the US. As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary this month – marking its journey from a revolutionary experiment to a.

US lawmakers push for fewer tax breaks to reduce reliance on China technology

A growing number of US lawmakers see the tax code as a way to shift corporate America’s reliance on Chinese technology, framing economic ties as a national security risk, seen most recently in a congressman’s comments on Thursday. Representative Nathaniel Moran said on Thursday that business leaders must remember China is an “adversary”, arguing that the American business world remains trapped in a “toxic relationship” with Beijing. Speaking at a Hudson Institute event, Moran highlighted...

Ex-US Olympian indicted in what Trump called Reflecting Pool vandalism

A former Olympian was indicted on Thursday on a felony charge in what US President Donald Trump has called vandalism of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where a renovation project he launched has been riddled with problems. David Hearn, a former Olympic canoe racer, was indicted on a single count of property destruction in a Washington court. District of Columbia US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said Hearn ripped up recently installed sealant on the pool in “a deliberate act” that caused more than

9d07/02⚠ war-conflict · 3/5

Gen. Christopher Donahue relinquishes command of US Army Europe and Africa

U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Donahue relinquished command on Thursday. The Army has not given a reason for the leadership change.

◇ unclassifiedusa · europe · germany

9d07/02⚠ war-conflict · 2/5

Dominance of the US stock market: Why Wall Street is so powerful

The big money on the stock market is made in the USA. And Europe? First has to patch up its capital market.

Trump Watch: How Trump is challenging the legacy of the Declaration of Independence

On the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the hosts in the podcast discuss where the Trump administration is currently attacking US democracy most severely - and how lasting this damage is.

9d07/02⚠ coups-regime · 3/5

Oil Glut Calls May Be Getting Ahead of Reality

Crude oil prices are crashing on reports that flows out of the Strait of Hormuz are recovering, and analysts are back to predicting oversupply, even though Iran just said it will not be meeting with the U.S. envoys to negotiate peace, and that comes after strikes on a couple of ships in Hormuz. “The Strait is reopening faster than expected, yet the ‘twin solvers’ of high US exports and low Chinese imports remain in place,” Morgan Stanley commodity analysts wrote this week in a note, as quoted by

◇ unclassifiedmiddle-east · russia · usa

Alliance defense: US General Donahue resigns: NATO “stronger than ever”

The commander of the US Army in Europe and Africa, General Donahue, says an early farewell - accompanied by a 17-gun salute. He leaves with words of appreciation for the allies in Europe.