You don't have to be America or China to win in AI, says Rishi Sunak
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
STV News
3 hours ago
- STV News
Bangladesh Air Force jet crashes into a Dhaka school and kills 19
A Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school campus in the capital, Dhaka, shortly after take-off on Monday, killing at least 19 people including the pilot and injuring 164 others, the military said. According to the military and a fire official, the Chinese-made F-7 BGI aircraft crashed into the campus of Milestone School and College, in the Uttara neighbourhood, in the afternoon as students were attending classes. The military said the jet took off at 1.06pm local time and crashed soon after, catching fire immediately. The cause was not immediately clear. PA Media It is the deadliest plane crash in the Bangladeshi capital in recent memory. Local media indicated most of the injured were students. Relatives arrived at the scene as rescuers, using tricycle rickshaws or whatever was available, transported the injured to local hospitals. Rafiqa Taha, a student who was not present at the time of the crash, told The Associated Press by phone that the school, with some 2,000 students, offers classes from elementary to twelfth grade. 'I was terrified watching videos on TV,' the 16-year-old said. 'My God. It's my school.' Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus pledged an investigation into the crash, expressing his deep sorrow over the 'heartbreaking accident' at Milestone School and College. In a statement, he lamented the 'irreparable' loss suffered by 'Air Force personnel, students, parents, teachers, staff, and others', calling it 'a moment of deep national grief'. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
China rallies for opposition as Taiwan gears up for mass parliamentary recall
TAIPEI, July 22 (Reuters) - As Taiwan gears up for a recall vote that could reshape its parliament, opposition lawmakers being challenged at the ballot box are getting two unusual supporters: Chinese officials and state media outlets rallying to their cause. While President Lai Ching-te won the election last year, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its legislative majority. The opposition has flexed its muscles since then to pass laws the government has opposed and impose budget cuts, complicating efforts to boost defence spending in particular. The political drama has been happening against a backdrop of China ramping up its own military and diplomatic pressure campaign against Taiwan to assert territorial claims Lai and his government resolutely reject. Lai has offered talks with Beijing many times, but been rebuffed. Civic groups formally started the recall campaign earlier this year, and on Saturday voters will decide on the fate of 24 lawmakers from Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), around one-fifth of all lawmakers. The recall groups say theirs is an "anti-communist" movement, accusing the KMT of selling out Taiwan by sending lawmakers to China, not supporting defence spending, and bringing chaos to parliament. The KMT rejects those accusations, denouncing Lai's "dictatorship" and "green terror" - the DPP's party colour. China has not sat quietly on the sidelines, to the KMT's unease, ever wary of being "painted red" by its opponents. In June, two senior Chinese officials overseeing Taiwan policy denounced the recalls as a "political scheme" of Lai's. Lai is "engaging in dictatorship under the guise of democracy" and "using every means possible to suppress the opposition," China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian told a news briefing in June. Taiwanese tycoon Robert Tsao, one of the most prominent recall campaigners, said such comments would only support their cause. "It shows they (the KMT) are together with the communist party. It helps us," he told reporters at a campaign event on Monday. The KMT says it neither asked for nor wants China's support, can't control what China says, and that it is not pro-Beijing. "We feel the same way as all the people of Taiwan - this is our business. It is the two parties, the DPP and the KMT, fighting for public support, for public recognition. It has nothing to do with the mainland," party spokesperson Crystal Yang told Reuters. Chinese state media outlets and their affiliated social media accounts published some 425 articles or videos describing the recall campaign as "dictatorship" or "green terror" in the first half of 2025, according to Taiwan research organisation IORG, which analyses Chinese state media. In an April commentary, China's ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily said Lai was "presumptuously abusing the recall system to crack down on the opposition party, attempting to establish a 'green dictatorship.'" Pointing to the similarity between China and the KMT's arguments against the recalls, Wu Szu-yao, secretary general of the DPP's legislative caucus, said Beijing is "offering ammunition" to the KMT to sway voters. "China is really concerned that the mass recall will be successful and win the support of Taiwan's public," she said. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. The KMT says its China engagement is vital given Beijing's refusal to talk to Lai, who it says is a "separatist", and to advocate for Taiwan's interests, such as promoting agricultural exports. "This is an unfair criticism," Tony Lin, chair of the KMT's Culture and Communication Committee, said, referring to the accusations they are pro-Beijing. "What we have always stressed is that we are pro-communication." The KMT hopes people will turn out to also express their dissatisfaction with Lai, whom they say is incompetent and has stoked tensions with China. "The DPP uses its overwhelming propaganda network to bring up a sense of fear (about China) in Taiwan society," said Huang Kwei-bo, a professor of diplomacy at Taipei's National Chengchi University and a former KMT deputy secretary general.
NBC News
7 hours ago
- NBC News
Washington says China will not let U.S. government employee leave the country
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department said Monday that the Chinese government had blocked a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office employee visiting the Asian country in a personal capacity from leaving. 'We are tracking this case very closely and are engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,' a State Department spokesperson said. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is part of the federal Department of Commerce. The individual's name and whether the person was detained were not disclosed. The Chinese Embassy in Washington and the U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Washington Post reported Sunday that a U.S. citizen who works for the Commerce Department had traveled to China several months ago to visit family. The man was being prevented from leaving the country after he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the U.S. government, the newspaper said, citing sources. Beijing has used exit bans on both Chinese and foreign nationals in connection with civil disputes, regulatory enforcement and criminal investigations. Analysts say the tactic is at times used to crack down on local dissent and also as diplomatic leverage in disputes with other nations. Washington and Beijing have had friction for years over issues ranging from tariffs to Taiwan and the origins of Covid-19. Chenyue Mao, a Wells Fargo banker, has also been blocked from leaving China. Beijing's foreign ministry said Monday that she was involved in a criminal case and obliged to cooperate with an investigation. Mao is the latest of several executives from foreign corporations to be stopped as they tried to depart China. The U.S. bank suspended all employee travel to China after Mao's exit ban, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week, saying Mao was a U.S. citizen.
