China warns ‘no one will win’ if Trump starts trade war
China shot back at Donald Trump after the incoming US president pledged to impose heavy import tariffs on the Asian nation, along with Canada and Mexico, saying it could trigger a trade war that “no one will win”.
Mr Trump claimed he would immediately after his inauguration on 20 January sign an executive order imposing a 25 per cent tariff on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada if the two countries did not take steps to curb the alleged flow of drugs and migrants into the US.
He outlined an “additional 10 per cent tariff, above any additional tariffs” on China, to curb the alleged smuggling of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the US.
“Representatives of China told me that they would institute their maximum penalty, that of death, for any drug dealers caught doing this but, unfortunately, they never followed through,” the Republican wrote on his social media app Truth Social.
A Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington responded that Beijing believed trade and economic cooperation between the two nations was mutually beneficial.
“No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” Liu Pengy was quoted as saying by Reuters.
China had taken several steps since 2023 when it agreed to curtail the export of items related to the production of fentanyl, a leading cause of drug overdoses in the US, he added.
“All these prove that the idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the United States runs completely counter to facts and reality,” the spokesperson said.
The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that at least 74,700 people in the US died due to fentanyl overdose in 2023. President Joe Biden had repeatedly called on Beijing to do more to stop the production of ingredients used in fentanyl and over the years dramatically increased tariffs on Chinese products.
Mr Trump previously pledged to end China’s most-favored-nation trading status and slap tariffs on imports from the country in excess of 60 per cent, much higher than those imposed during his first term.
China is the main supplier of imports to the US, accounting for over 16 per cent of the goods brought from abroad. The Chinese imports to the US range from finished products to components and raw materials that are used across virtually every American industry.
The US received imports worth $427bn (£340bn) from China last year and exported goods worth $148bn (£118bn ) to the Asian giant.
Mr Trump’s threatened new tariff would appear to violate the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade (USMCA). The deal, which Mr Trump signed into law, took effect in 2020, and continued the largely duty-free trade between the three countries. Canada and the US at one point imposed sanctions on each others’ products during the rancorous talks that eventually led to USMCA.
Mr Trump will have the opportunity to renegotiate the agreement in 2026, when a “sunset” provision will force either a withdrawal or talks on changes to the pact.
Street artist calls out AirAsia for using his work without permission
Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, known for creating stunning street murals in Malaysia’s Penang, has unexpectedly discovered that his work is being used as livery on an AirAsia plane without his permission.
The artwork titled Children On A Bicycle is one of his most well-known murals which he painted in 2012. The mural, along with his other works across George Town in Penang, draws tourists from all over the world.
The artist posted a picture from 22 November of the aircraft with his mural on social media. He tagged AirAsia and its founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and said: “I think we need to talk.”
Zacharevic’s mural is displayed on the front section of the fuselage. “I first noticed it on my friend’s Instagram story, and then I saw it myself at the airport on Friday,” he told The Straits Times.
He was not approached by the airline for permission to use his artwork and it wasn’t even the first time they used his work without seeking his approval, he said.
“I have contacted them in the past but there was no positive outcome,” he added.
The artist, who is based in Penang, said on Monday that his team reached out to AirAsia but it proved “difficult to get through the many corporate layers to the correct person”.
He was also hoping AirAsia would contact him via his ZACH Studio, he told Malay Mail, adding that he was not sure how many of the aircraft featured his work. Although he had seen only one, he said, “I am guessing there are a few of them”.
Zacharevic painted Children On A Bicycle, along with Boy on Motorcycle and Boy on Chair, at the 2012 George Town Festival. He has been likened to the famous British street artist Banksy, and one of his works featuring a woman carrying a Chanel bag walking and a man with a knife on the other side of the wall was painted over by local officials in 2013.
“My paintings are always a response to whatever social environment I get exposed to,” Zacharevic told the BBC. “I noticed many people just feel extremely unsafe. Everyone I talked to – no matter what their situation – would say, ‘Take care of yourself and hide your bag.’”
The Independent has reached out to AirAsia for a comment.
Four killed in India in violence over survey of 16th-century mosque
Four people were killed in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh after violence erupted during a court-ordered survey of a 16th-century mosque.
The clashes between locals and police over the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, which is at the centre of a legal dispute claiming that it was built on a Hindu temple site, led to the death of four Muslim youths and resulted in injuries to at least 20 police officers on Sunday.
Photos and videos from the site also showed several vehicles being set ablaze.
Authorities detained 21 people and imposed internet shutdowns and restrictions on movement in the area after the killings. Schools and colleges have also been shut in the area.
Officials stated those involved in the violence would face charges under the National Security Act (NSA).
Tensions in Sambhal have been rising since a video survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid began last Tuesday. The survey follows a petition claiming the mosque was built on a temple destroyed by Mughal ruler Babur in the 1520s.
Authorities under the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government initiated the survey the same day.
Some Muslim groups in Sambhal protested the mosque survey, claiming they were not notified in advance and questioned the court’s urgency.
A second survey on Sunday turned violent when protesters gathered near the mosque, shouted slogans, and clashed with the survey team, according to police.
Meanwhile, opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the “biased and hasty attitude” of the state government on the dispute was “extremely unfortunate”.
“The administration’s insensitive action without listening to all parties further vitiated the situation and resulted in the death of many people – for which the BJP government is directly responsible,” he wrote on X.
A case has been filed against Sambhal lawmaker Ziaur Rahman Barq, along with Sohail Iqbal, the son of local MLA Iqbal Mehmood, from the Samajwadi Party. Authorities have accused them of inciting violence, mobilising crowds, and instigating unrest, India Today reported.
Those who lost lives during the clashes have been identified as Nauman, Bilal, Naim, and Mohammad Kaif. While there are claims that the victims sustained bullet injuries, police said the exact cause of the deaths will be determined through autopsies.
Taiwan alters threshold to trigger alarm for Chinese incursions
Taiwan lowered the threshold to trigger air raid alarms in case of a Chinese incursion, raising concerns that the revised system might leave citizens with less time to seek shelter during conflict.
Taiwanese defence minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung said the change was necessary due to the repeated and escalating hostilities by China across the Taiwan Strait.
But he assured that China will not remain “unchallenged within Taiwan’s vicinity”.
Taiwan has been issuing air raid alerts if the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft or vessel breached the 70 nautical miles limit of the Taiwanese coast. However, that limit has been revised in recent years and now the air raid alert is triggered at 24 nautical miles.
“China’s repeated provocations across the median line and escalating hostilities around Taiwan have necessitated this adjustment,” Mr Koo was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.
“The military will respond by closely monitoring and analysing the situation to discern PLA intentions, ensuring they cannot operate unchallenged within Taiwan’s vicinity,” he said.
Beijing views Taiwan, an island of 23 million people which is about 160km (100 miles) off China’s east coast, as a renegade province that must come under its control.
The median line refers to the unofficial maritime boundary in the Taiwan Strait, a 180km-wide body of water separating Taiwan and mainland China. The line was first delineated in the 1950s by the US during the Cold War but Beijing has repeatedly refused to accept it and disregarded it, raising tensions.
The Taiwanese government has accused China of intensifying its military harassment of the island in recent years, sending military vessels and aircraft near it almost daily. Beijing has also been flying balloons – which are feared to be used for surveillance – near the island despite Taiwan’s complaints.
Military officials in Taiwan have reportedly said the decision is to better align its defences with the PLA’s strategies, possibly to avoid issuing warnings too early or unnecessarily.
However, the concern raised is that this adjustment could reduce the amount of time civilians have to seek shelter in case of a real threat during a potential cross-strait conflict.
On Tuesday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said it detected five PLA aircraft and seven PLA navy vessels operating in the strait with at least four of the aircraft crossing the median line.
It came as Taiwan said it detected a Chinese balloon over the sea to Taiwan’s north, the first incident since April and in the days leading to the presidential election in January.
South Korea convicts man who avoided military service by binge eating
A court in South Korea has sentenced a man to prison after he was found guilty of evading mandatory military service by deliberately gaining weight.
The 26-year-old man was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years, under the Military Service Act by the Seoul Eastern Dongbu District Court, The Korea Herald reported.
The man had doubled his daily food intake and consumed large amounts of water before his physical examination for the military draft, according to the report. He had qualified for a combat role in his initial physical exam in October 2017.
He deliberately consumed more food and was granted a grade that held him obese after a physical exam in June 2023. He weighed 102.3kg at 169cm tall with a body mass index of 35.8, which allowed him to serve in a non-combat role at a government agency.
According to South Korean law, all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 28 must join the military and serve 18 months in active service. In 2020, the law was revised to allow globally recognised K-pop stars to postpone their service until they turned 30.
Those who evade their mandatory military service without justifiable cause can be jailed for up to three years under the military law.
The defendant reportedly followed a weight-gain regimen planned by his friend, who was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, for aiding and abetting.
The friend denied the accusation and said he never thought the defendant would go through with the plan.
The court reportedly handed a “relatively lenient punishment” for the defendant and his friend as the duo held no previous criminal record. The defendant acknowledged his wrongdoing and vowed to sincerely serve his military duty, according to the Korean daily.
Earlier in 2018, a dozen South Korean college students deliberately made themselves overweight by consuming large amounts of protein powder and drinking copious amounts of juice the day before their physical exam to avoid service.
Three men killed after GPS leads car off broken bridge into river
Three people lost their lives in India when their car veered off a partially collapsed bridge into a river after the driver was allegedly misdirected by the GPS navigation system.
According to the police, the navigation system had not been updated to reflect the bridge’s damaged condition from floods last year.
The incident occured in Badaun district of the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh around 10am on Sunday, when the group was travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj.
The victims included two brothers, Amit Kumar and Vivek Kumar, who had hired a taxi for their journey from Badaun to Bareilly. The third individual was their friend, Ajit Kumar.
The three were aged between 28 and 35, reported the Hindustan Times. According to the police, the GPS displayed the route as operational near Dataganj in Badaun, as the bridge had been in use until a section caved during the 2023 floods.
However, the route was neither closed, nor were any signs installed.
“Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system,” said circle officer Ashutosh Shivam.
Mr Shivam noted that the absence of safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the bridge contributed to the fatal accident. The driver, relying on navigation, was unaware of the danger and drove off the damaged section.
Upon being alerted, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly, and Dataganj rushed to the scene. The car and the victims’ bodies were recovered from the river, Mr Shivam added.
The deceased have been sent for post-mortem examinations, and authorities are conducting further investigations into the incident.
New Zealand citizen poisoned by tainted alcohol in Laos returns home
A New Zealand citizen who fell ill after drinking contaminated alcohol in Laos has returned home following the deaths of six tourists due to supected methanol poisoning.
New Zealand’s foreign ministry had earlier reported that one of its citizens fell ill in Laos and was believed to be a victim of the poisoning.
The victims, including two Danes, two Australians, a Briton, and an American, had visited Vang Vieng, a popular tourist town in Laos. Earlier, the US State Department also released a health alert for its citizens travelling to Laos, citing “suspected methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, possibly through the consumption of methanol-laced alcoholic drinks”.
This followed warnings issued by other nations whose citizens have been affected.
“The New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok has been providing assistance to one New Zealander who we believe to have been poisoned with methanol in Laos. They have now departed Laos and returned home,” a New Zealand foreign ministry spokesperson said.
Details about the individual’s condition were not disclosed.
The Laos government has pledged to prosecute those responsible, and investigations are ongoing.
The government also expressed its “sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased”. Authorities in Laos also detained the manager and owner of a backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng on Friday.
Lao state-run news agency KPL said earlier that authorities were gathering evidence and witness accounts following the foreigners’ deaths due to suspected “consumption of tainted alcoholic beverages”.
The government has been “conducting investigations to find causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law”, it said in its first official comments published on the foreign affairs ministry website.
Methanol poisoning from counterfeit and homemade alcohol has prompted warnings from multiple countries, including Australia, the US, and the UK. It is a toxic alcohol that is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide, and alternative fuel source, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Crazy Rich Asians director shares update on long-awaited sequel status
Jon M Chu has provided an update on the long awaited sequel to his 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians sequel, but said that he would not bring the cast back unless “it’s worth it”.
The first Crazy Rich Asians film, written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, directed by Chu, and based on the 2013 novel of the same title by Kevin Kwan, followed Chinese-American professor Rachel Chu who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick Young and is shocked to discover that his family is one of the richest there.
The romantic comedy-drama was lauded for its predominantly Asian cast, with Constance Wu starring as Rachel Chu, Henry Golding as Nick Young, along with Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, and Sonoya Mizuno. Crazy Rich Asians grossed $239m globally, and opened to mostly favourable reviews.
A sequel was announced by Warner Bros Pictures in 2018, with Chiarelli and Lim returning to write the script, based on the book’s sequel, China Rich Girlfriend. Later the same year, it was announced that the third film, based on the final novel in the trilogy, Rich People Problems, would be filmed back-to-back in 2020.
In 2022, Chinese-Australian writer Amy Wang was hired to replace the writers following Lim’s exit from the film in 2019 after it was revealed that Chiarelli was allegedly going to be paid almost 10 times more than her.
In a podcast appearance, fresh off the success of recent directorial venture Wicked, Chu provided fans with a disappointing update on the fate of the sequel.
“I won’t bring everyone back unless it’s worth it. There’s too much on the line for everybody,” Chu said on Deadline’s Crew Call.
“I want the best thing. I want it to be worthy of what Crazy Rich Asians 1 was. We’ve tried all different versions. It’s hard because people think the first movie is like the book, but it actually is not. It’s the right spirit, but the plotting is very different. And so, you can’t just go and translate. And we’ve tried versions and the fact is, is that we just haven’t gotten there.”
“And there’s no way I’m dragging the audience back. There’s no way the bar is too high. So, in time when we get there, we will.”
“To me, that sequel right now is the Broadway musical that we’re working on. That’s very exciting and very fun,” he added, referring to the forthcoming musical adaptation in development, set to be directed by Chu.
Chu’s Wicked, along with Gladiator 2, is being credited for fans rushing to theatres this past weekend, with the lavish musical, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuting with $114m domestically and $164.2m globally for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey gave Wicked three stars, writing that stars “Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande showcase phenomenal vocal ability in this adaptation of the blockbuster musical, but they’re let down by a film that is aggressively overlit and shot like a TV advert.”