PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump started off his first day of Thanksgiving vacation Wednesday by resuming his taunts of the father of a UCLA basketball player detained for shoplifting in China, calling him an “ungrateful fool.” In a series of tweets fired off before dawn, the president complained yet again that LaVar … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he should have left three UCLA basketball players accused of shoplifting in China in jail. Trump’s tweet Sunday comes after the father of player LiAngelo Ball minimized Trump’s involvement in winning the players’ release in comments to ESPN. “Who?” LaVar Ball told ESPN on Friday, when asked about … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump urged three suspended UCLA basketball players on Thursday to thank China’s president for their freedom after they shoplifted in China. The president’s suggestion came a day after he tweeted: “Do you think the three UCLA basketball players will say thank you President Trump. They were headed for 10 years … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — President Donald Trump set aside his blistering rhetoric in favor of friendly overtures to China on Thursday, trying to flatter his hosts into establishing a more balanced trade relationship and doing more to blunt North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Winding down his two days in Beijing, Trump suggested that if the U.S. and … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — President Donald Trump set aside his blistering rhetoric in favor of friendly overtures to China on Thursday, trying to flatter his hosts into establishing a more balanced trade relationship and doing more to blunt North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. Winding down his two days in Beijing, Trump suggested that if the U.S. and … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia (all times local): 12:30 p.m. President Donald Trump is vowing to change “one-sided and unfair” trade relations with China but says he doesn’t blame China for taking advantage of the U.S. in the past. Trump says during a joint appearance with Chinese President … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — Welcomed to China with an outsized dose of pomp and pageantry, President Donald Trump pronounced himself wowed by Beijing’s lavish greeting Wednesday at the start of a two-day visit in which he aims to employ flattery, scolding and cajolery to press the rising Asian power on trade and North Korea. Trump, … Continue reading
HONG KONG (AP) — Young Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong warned Wednesday that China’s rise means human rights are in increasingly greater danger of being overshadowed globally by business interests. He was responding to questions about his expectations for an upcoming Asian tour by U.S. President Donald Trump, who will visit China and four … Continue reading
HONG KONG (AP) — When the propaganda film, “The Founding of an Army,” hit theaters in China recently, the reaction wasn’t quite what the ruling Communist Party might have hoped for. Instead of inspiring an outpouring of nationalism and self-sacrifice for the state, it was roundly mocked for trying to lure a younger audience by … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. pushed China Wednesday to rein in companies that deal with North Korea after President Donald Trump tweeted ahead of the high-level talks that Beijing’s efforts to sway its wayward ally weren’t working. Trump has been counting on China to use its economic leverage with the government of North Korean leader … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump chose simple over swanky this Father’s Day weekend. Nearly five months into his presidency, Trump flew for the first time Saturday to Camp David, the government-owned retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains. A frequent weekend traveler, Trump has favored his palatial residences in Florida and New Jersey over the wooded … Continue reading
SHANGHAI (AP) — China has granted provisional approval for four additional Ivanka Trump trademarks since April 20, and her brand has continued to seek more intellectual property protection in China, with at least 14 applications filed around the time she took on an official White House role, Chinese public records show. Trademarks provide essential — … Continue reading
GANZHOU, China (AP) — China’s government on Tuesday rejected a U.S. State Department call to release three activists detained while investigating a factory that produced shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands. It sought instead to enforce a cone of silence around the men, according to a lawyer and the wife of one detainee who … Continue reading
SHANGHAI (AP) — The arrest and disappearance of three labor activists investigating a Chinese company that produces Ivanka Trump shoes in China prompted a call for her brand to stop working with the supplier and raised questions about whether the first family’s commercial interests would muddy U.S. leadership on human rights. “Ivanka’s brand should immediately … Continue reading
TOKYO (AP) — North Korea said Monday it is ready to start mass-producing a new medium-range missile after a weekend test-launch confirmed its combat readiness. It called the missile, capable of reaching Japan and major U.S. military bases there, an “answer” to U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies. The solid-fuel Pukguksong-2 missile flew about 500 kilometers … Continue reading
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Monday boasted it successfully launched a new type of “medium long-range” ballistic rocket that can carry a heavy nuclear warhead, an escalation of its nuclear program that the U.N. Security Council warned could bring new sanctions on Pyongyang. Outsiders saw a significant technological jump in the weekend … Continue reading
by Troy White A violent passenger incident on a United Airlines flight happened just a month after the new CEO Oscar Munoz was named U.S. Communicator of the Year. Later, after the incident, Oscar Munoz apologized to the public for having to readjust customers, instead of telling the man who was dragged from his seat … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — China’s trading partners are bringing the top U.N. food standards official to Beijing in a last-ditch attempt to persuade regulators to scale back plans to require intensive inspections of food imports — including such low-risk items as wine and chocolate — that Washington and Europe say could disrupt billions of dollars in … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — China’s announcement of a 7 percent rise in military spending for the year came shortly after President Donald Trump called for a 10 percent increase in America’s defense budget, prompting renewed scrutiny of how the two countries’ capabilities compare. While the U.S. military remains the dominant force in Asia and the world, … Continue reading
SYDNEY (AP) — The ship involved in the recently halted hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 returned to port in western Australia on Monday, where officials from the countries that funded the fruitless search gathered to thank them and to defend their decision to end the hunt despite recommendations from investigators that it continue. Transport … Continue reading
BANGKOK (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: ___ EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — China’s Dalian Wanda Group has added another entertainment trophy to its stable of overseas acquisitions, paying $1 billion for Dick Clark Productions, the TV company that produces the Golden Globes and the “Miss America” pageant. Wanda is one of China’s most important conglomerates and China’s largest property developer. Its chairman, Wang Jianlin, … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced that his country is separating from the U.S. in a speech before a Beijing economic forum on Thursday October 20, 2016, after handing China a major diplomatic victory, agreeing to resume dialogue on their South China Sea territorial dispute following months of acrimony. The rapprochement between the … Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An 18-year-old woman was convicted Thursday in the beating death of a Chinese graduate student at the University of Southern California as he walked home after a late-night study session. Alejandra Guerrero was the first of four people to be tried in the slaying of 24-year-old Xinran Ji during a robbery attempt in … Continue reading
BEIJING (AP) — The world’s largest radio telescope began searching for signals from stars and galaxies and, perhaps, extraterrestrial life Sunday in a project demonstrating China’s rising ambitions in space and its pursuit of international scientific prestige. Beijing has poured billions into such ambitious scientific projects as well as its military-backed space program, which saw … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 