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The Ukrainian leader also condemned a deadly Russian missile attack against an apartment building in Zaporizhzhia.

Could tensions between Taiwan and China lead to war? Plus, the last two contestants go head to head in the Apprentice final. Here’s what to watch today

Delegation of British lawmakers met Taiwan’s president during visit to the island this week amid a deteriorating UK-China relationship
A British parliamentary delegation to Taiwan has called for the UK government to give “as much help as possible” to Taiwan to defend itself against China.
The visit by the British-Taiwanese All-Party Parliamentary Group to Taiwan this week included a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen, and discussions of British defence exports which supply Taiwan’s submarine program.

China’s military said guided-missile destroyer USS Milius intruded into China’s territorial waters near the contested Paracel Islands
The United States has denied Chinese claims that a US destroyer was driven out from waters around the contested Paracel Islands after it “illegally” entered the area in the South China Sea.
In a statement on Thursday, the Chinese military said the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius illegally intruded into China’s territorial waters, without the approval of the government, undermining peace and stability in the busy waterway.

The vultures are circling

Exclusive: Daniel Duggan is in segregation in Lithgow prison and only spoke to his mother briefly after she suffered a stroke
Daniel Duggan, the Australian pilot from prison, will not be able to attend his mother’s funeral, after she died in the US.
Duggan’s 95-year-old mother, Anne, suffered a stroke earlier this week, and died overnight Wednesday in Boston.

That was before 2020. “Something turned on during the pandemic and lit a fire,” said Jue, a Chinese American mother of two girls, ages 3 and 5, living on the west side of San Francisco. Throughout the ...

The United States is denying Chinese claims that its military had driven away an American guided-missile destroyer from operating around disputed islands in the South China Sea ...

The device, which transmits users’ kiss data collected through motion sensors hidden in silicon lips, makes sounds and warms up slightly when kissed
A Chinese start-up has invented a long-distance kissing machine that transmits users’ kiss data collected through motion sensors hidden in silicon lips, which simultaneously move when replaying kisses received.
MUA – named after the sound people commonly make when blowing a kiss – also captures and replays sound and warms up slightly during kissing, making the experience more authentic, said Beijing-based Siweifushe.

Beijing is watching ‘very carefully’ how world responds to Russian aggression, says US secretary of state
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has a “profound impact” on Asia, saying that China is watching “very carefully” how Washington and the world respond to Vladimir Putin’s war.
Speaking on the heels of a by Chinese president Xi Jinping, Blinken told a Senate foreign relations hearing that if Russia was allowed to attack its neighbour with impunity, it would “open a Pandora’s box” for would-be aggressors and lead to a “world of conflict”.

The official narrative in China is that the US responds to problems militarily, while China uses dialogue, and there are signs this narrative is catching on
As Xi Jinping returns to Beijing after his first trip to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, the contradictory forces that dominate the Chinese leader’s relationship with Moscow are no closer to being resolved. Xi wants to be a strong ally to Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, and a global peacemaker. Both cannot be true.
The red carpet and more – a brass band, Siberian salmon – was rolled out for Xi’s to Moscow. Xi and Putin raised a glass to the “deepening of the Russian-Chinese partnership”. As well as shared political and economic interests, the relationship is also characterised to an unusual degree by the personal bond between Xi and Putin. Xi has described the Russian president as his “best friend” and that their characters are alike.