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Washington’s power is suddenly threatened by a newly confident China and disquiet among leaders in the global south
It’s a useful coincidence that the 20th anniversary of George W Bush and Tony Blair’s illegal attack on Iraq falls only a matter of weeks after the anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s illegal attack on Ukraine. Neither war was authorised by the UN. Both are marked by massive destruction and huge loss of life.
The Bush/Blair invasion and occupation of Iraq, and its chaotic consequences, have taken the lives of more than a million Iraqi civilians, . US forces committed innumerable war crimes, not least the torture of captured soldiers. At the detention centre near Baghdad, US officers humiliated Iraqi prisoners in violation of the Geneva conventions. The invasion provoked widespread resistance, but US counter-insurgency tactics involved raids on villages that led to .

Nanaia Mahuta says she will raise concerns over Ukraine and human rights issues as well as ways the two countries can cooperate
New Zealand’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, will leave for China on Tuesday in the first visit to Beijing by a New Zealand minister since 2019.
Mahuta, who will meet her counterpart Qin Gang, said she would raise New Zealand’s concerns about key security challenges at the meeting, such as the “illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine”, and advocate for outcomes reflecting New Zealand’s values on human rights issues.

Former marine pilot fighting extradition to US on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering says case is a ‘test of Australian sovereignty’
Australian pilot Daniel Duggan believes he could not get a fair trial in America, where he faces up to 60 years in prison on charges relating to training Chinese pilots.
But Australia’s role in his arrest is also being interrogated: his legal team say they are investigating whether the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (Asio) assisted the US by “luring” Duggan back to Australia from China, so that he could be arrested and extradited.

China is calling Xi Jinping’s visit a “trip for peace,” but he is unlikely to risk straining the country’s ties with Russia and President Vladimir V. Putin.

Russian president lauds Xi ahead of meeting, while Beijing calls for a ‘rational way’ out of the crisis

Vladimir Putin has praised “good old friend” Xi Jinping in a newspaper article published in China on the eve of a state visit by the Chinese president that will reaffirm the leaders’ strong ties and provide Moscow with an opportunity to emphasise that it has not been isolated by the global community.
The two leaders, who are believed to share a strong personal relationship, will meet one-on-one on Monday, followed by an informal lunch, Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said.

Asian stock markets fell Monday after Swiss authorities arranged the takeover of troubled Credit Suisse amid fears of a global banking crisis ahead of ...

Asian stock markets are lower after Swiss authorities arranged the takeover of troubled Credit Suisse amid fears of a global banking crisis ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting to decide on more possibl ...

Russian president says he has high hopes for ‘good old friend’ Xi Jinping’s impending visit to Moscow
Vladimir Putin has welcomed China’s willingness to play a “constructive role” in solving in what he called the Ukraine “crisis”, in an article released on the eve of a visit by his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
In what the Kremlin said was an article written for a Chinese newspaper on Sunday, the Russian president called Xi his “good old friend” and said Russia had high hopes for his visit, the Chinese leader’s first to Russia since Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine last year.

Also, Donald Trump says his arrest is imminent and UBS agrees to buy Credit Suisse.

Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to investigate a hot, new Chinese-made e-cigarette that he believes is skirting American advertising laws by appealing ...

Move comes after UK government bans app on government devices over fears of data being accessed by Chinese state
The BBC has urged its staff to delete the Chinese-own social media app TikTok from corporate mobile phones.
Guidance to BBC staff circulated on Sunday said: “We don’t recommend installing TikTok on a BBC corporate device unless there is a justified business reason. If you do not need TikTok for business reasons, TikTok should be deleted.”