Chinas xi tells military to prepare for war

BEIJING (AP) — Latvia and Estonia say they have left a Chinese-backed forum aimed at boosting relations with Eastern European countries, in what appears to be a new setback for China's increasingly assertive diplomacy. The move follows China’s boosting of its relations with Russia, whose invasion of Ukraine is seen as a possible first step in a series of moves against countries that were once part of the Soviet Union. China has refused to criticize Russia and has condemned punishing economic sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West. Weeks before the invasion, Chinese President and Communist Party leader Xi Jinping hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing and declared their bilateral relations had “no limits" in a joint statement. The move also comes after Beijing launched economic and diplomatic retaliation against another Baltic state, Lithuania, in retaliation for its expanded ties with the self-governing island democracy of Taiwan, which China claims as its own … [Read more...] about Latvia, Estonia leave China-backed East Europe forum

close Video Fox News Flash top headlines for August 12 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are planning their first in-person meeting since Biden took office in Southeast Asia come November, the Wall Street Journal first reported Friday. The trip will be Xi’s first foreign trip in three years and comes as tension between Washington and Beijing mounts following increased Chinese aggression toward Taiwan. Geopolitical relations between the two superpowers have been strained for years following the COVID-19 pandemic, a trade war and increased pressure from the West placed on Beijing to address gross human rights abuses. TAIWAN REJECTS CHINA'S 'ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS' PLAN FOR THE ISLAND President Joe Biden meets virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping from the Roosevelt … [Read more...] about Biden and Xi Jinping plan first in-person meet up amid rocky relations

China’s state-run Global Times on Thursday declared the “partisan infighting drama” over the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s residence was proof the United States has degenerated into a “banana republic.” As usual, the Chinese propagandists were merely riffing on verbiage they skimmed from American social media — they even dropped scare quotes around “banana republic” every time it was used, without mentioning whom they were quoting. Some critics of the FBI raid have said it reminds them of politicized investigations and abuses of power from a “Third World” dictatorship or “banana republic.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was among the most prominent voices to use the “banana republic” comparison, and because DeSantis is a constant focus of unfriendly media attention himself, banana-flavored flame wars are raging across social media. The Global Times professed itself suspicious of the FBI action, which “makes external observers on U.S. … [Read more...] about Chinese Media: ‘Partisan Infighting’ Turned U.S. into ‘Banana Republic’

Illustration: Michael Houtz When we think about the economy, there’s a tendency to rush headfirst into the swirl of numbers moving up or down each month, plot them on angular charts, and spin out a story of what it all means. Inflation, unemployment, pay raises, gas prices — together, these indicators are supposed to jell into a coherent narrative and tell us where we’re going. The problem with the current economy is that the numbers don’t make any sense. Less than a month ago, some commentators were claiming we were already in a recession , thanks to two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Then the July jobs report hit, showing that the economy had added a staggering 528,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate hit a 53-year low. Prices are high, everything is expensive, and it’s sometimes impossible to find baby formula on the shelves — but for many workers, the pandemic economy has seen the balance of power shift in their favor with more people switching jobs … [Read more...] about Are We in a Recession or a Vibecession?

According to a report published at far-left NBC News, American college enrollment has plummeted over the last ten years. “There are 4 million fewer students in college now than there were 10 years ago ,” the report tells us. And this cannot be blamed on the China Flu or an overheated job market : But while the pandemic certainly made things worse, the downturn took hold well before it started. Demographics alone cannot explain the scale of this drop. And statistics belie the argument that recent high school graduates are getting jobs instead of going to college: Workforce participation for 16- to 24-year-olds is lower than it was before Covid hit, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, reports. Focus groups and public opinion surveys point to other, less easily solved reasons for the sharp downward trend. These include widespread and fast-growing skepticism about the value of a degree, impatience with the time it takes to get one, and costs that have finally exceeded … [Read more...] about Nolte: American College Enrollment Plummets

The search warrant for the raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Monday suggests he is being investigated under the Espionage Act of 1917 — the same law that Hillary Clinton was suspected of violating in 2016. Attorney General Merrick Garland admitted Thursday that he personally approved the warrant application, which seeks broad discretion to search Trump’s home based on three statutes: 18 U.S.C. section 793, on the mishandling of defense information; 18 U.S.C. section 1519, relating to the destruction of federal documents; and 18 U.S.C. section 2071, which punishes hiding, moving, or destroying federal documents. Section 793 is from the Espionage Act of 1917, passed during the First World War. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was suspected of violating the latter when she used an unsecured private email server in her own home to handle her communications, including emails with classified information, during her time in office. The relevant part … [Read more...] about Trump Warrant Suggests Espionage Act; Same Law Hillary Clinton Dodged