Here's what would happen if China invaded Taiwan after Chinese president Xi Jinping vowed to 'reunify' Taiwan with the mainland
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The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Japan's emperor says he will honor Japanese POWs who were held in Mongolia
Japan 's Emperor Naruhito said Wednesday that he will honor thousands of Japanese prisoners of World War II who were held under harsh conditions in Mongolia when he visits the country next week. Naruhito, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, has been visiting some of the places where the bloodiest battles and bombings occurred, including Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Hiroshima. It's part of his effort at atonement and remembrance of the tragedy of war fought in the name of his grandfather, Emperor Hirohito. 'I will pay tribute to the Japanese people who unwillingly died in the distant land away from home, and think of their hardships,' Naruhito said at a news conference ahead of his July 6-13 trip to Mongolia. His Harvard-educated former diplomat wife, Empress Masako, will accompany him. Just before the end of the hostilities in 1945, the Soviet Union had declared war on Japan, taking most of about 575,000 Japanese POWs to Siberia. But around 12,000 to 14,000 of them were taken to Mongolia, which was fighting alongside the Soviets against Japan. Most of the POWs were put to hard labor and construction work for the Mongolian government's headquarters, a state university and a theater that are still preserved in the capital Ulaanbaatar. The prisoners toiled under harsh conditions and scarce food. Japanese records show about 1,700 of them died in Mongolia. 'As we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the war this year, we should never forget the pain and sorrow of the people,' Naruhito said. 'I believe it is important to not forget those who died, deepen understanding of the wartime past and to nurture the peace-loving heart.' Naruhito has repeatedly stressed the importance of telling the war's tragedy to younger generations, pledging to contribute to efforts to promote the understanding of history and the determination for peace. The emperor's trip to Mongolia will be his second since he visited in 2007 as crown prince to mark the 35th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the countries.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Tesla deliveries plummet 14% in second quarter
Elon Musk's Tesla has reported a 14% decline in vehicle deliveries in the second quarter of the year, as the electric car-maker's problems show no sign of just over 384,000 vehicles it delivered between April and June represents the second quarterly drop in a faces increasing competition from rivals, including China's BYD. Musk's controversial role as government efficiency czar in the Trump administration has also been blamed for the plummeting delivery has since left the administration - but has publicly sparred with US President Donald Trump over a massive spending bill pushed by the White House. In response, Trump floated cutting the subsidies received by Musk's firms or even deporting suggested that the ad-hoc Department of Government Efficiency - known as Doge - could be used to harm the billionaire's companies."Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far," Trump wrote on social media Tuesday. "Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!""I am literally saying CUT IT ALL. Now," Musk has suggested that Musk's opposition to the spending bill stems from a provision that removes incentives to buy electric vehicles."He's upset that he's losing his EV mandate, he's very upset, he could lose a lot more than that, I can tell you that," Trump told reporters on the quarterly deliveries metric is tracked closely investors, some analysts have shrugged off the figures."The good news: that ~14% should mark the bottom," wrote Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster on Musk's social media site X. "I have September down 10% and December flat."Munster said he expected uncertainty about the US EV tax credit to boost near-term sales as buyers scramble to purchase before it expires. Tesla's push into robotaxis which kicked off in Austin, Texas last month in uncertain fashion could prove critical, he said."Over the next two years, I think investors will be fine with flat deliveries as long as autonomy shows measurable progress," Munster added. Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Dalai Lama says he plans to reincarnate - but how is a successor chosen and why is it controversial?
The Dalai Lama says he will have a successor after his death, ending years of speculation over whether he would be the last Tibetan spiritual leader. Tenzin Gyatso, who became the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama in 1940, made the announcement at prayer celebrations on Monday, which marked his 90th birthday in the Tibetan calendar. His birthday in the Gregorian calendar is this Sunday. He said the next Dalai Lama should be found in line with Buddhist traditions, signalling that China should stay away from the process of identifying his successor. But China's communist authorities have long insisted they should be the ones to select the next reincarnated figure. Here, we look at the tensions with China, how a successor is chosen and what the spiritual leader's role is. Tensions since Dalai Lama fled Tibet The Dalai Lama and thousands of other Tibetans fled to India after a failed uprising against Chinese Communist rule in 1959. He has been living in the town of Dharamshala in India since then, helping establish a democratic government-in-exile while also travelling the world to advocate autonomy for the Tibetan people. Beijing has campaigned for decades to counteract the international influence of the Dalai Lama, whose world travels draw attention to the Communist government's often harsh 60-year rule over Tibet. How is the next Dalai Lama chosen? To understand why there is anxiety over the next Dalai Lama, it's important to understand how the next one is chosen - or rather, identified. Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama can choose the body into which he is reincarnated. The search for a Dalai Lama's reincarnation begins only upon the incumbent's death, and it can take several years. In the past, the successor has been identified by senior monastic disciples while they are still a baby, based on spiritual signs and visions, and they have been groomed to take the reins. Tenzin Gyatso was identified as a baby in 1937, and formally recognised as the 14th Dalai Lama two years later before being enthroned in 1940. The searchers from the Tibetan government were convinced when the toddler identified belongings of the 13th Dalai Lama with the phrase, "It's mine, it's mine". What is the Dalai Lama's succession stance? He said in 2011 that the institution of the Dalai Lama did not necessarily have to continue, and that he would leave it up to the Tibetan Buddhist community. Then in his book Voice For The Voiceless, which was published earlier this year, he wrote that his successor would be born in the "free world", meaning outside China. He made his succession plans more explicit in a recorded statement that was televised at a religious gathering of Buddhist monks in Dharamshala on 30 June, saying the next Dalai Lama should be found and recognised as per past Buddhist traditions, while indicating China should not be involved. He stated reincarnation lies solely with the Gaden Phodrang Trust - a non-profit he founded in 2015 that oversees matters related to the spiritual leader and the institute of the Dalai Lama. "No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter," he said, adding that the search for a future Dalai Lama should be carried out in "accordance with past tradition." Hours after the Dalai Lama's latest announcement, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry reiterated that his succession must be approved by China. Before the Dalai Lama's announcement, the Tibetan Buddhist community had rallied for him to change his stance and pledge that there would be a successor, with many fearing the Chinese authorities would name their own reincarnation if he didn't. Many believe the dispute will mean there are eventually rival Dalai Lamas - one appointed by Beijing, and one by senior monks loyal to the current Dalai Lama. What does the Dalai Lama do? The Dalai Lama is believed to be the manifestation of Chenrezig or Avalokiteshvara, the god of compassion and the patron saint of Tibet, who chose to reincarnate to serve the people. There have been 14 incarnations since the creation of the Tibetan Buddhist institution in 1587. Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom, and Tibetans normally refer to him as Yeshin Norbu, the Wish-Fulfilling Gem, or simply Kundun, meaning The Presence. He has travelled the world in efforts to promote peace, and in 1989 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet. The Dalai Lama once headed the self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile, before relinquishing his political role in 2011 and allowing a democratic president to take his place. He said he was retiring politically to focus solely on his spiritual affairs, ending a 368-year-old tradition of the Dalai Lamas functioning as both the spiritual and temporal head of Tibet.
