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In New York, Taiwan leader says ties with US ‘closer than ever’

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In New York, Taiwan leader says ties with US ‘closer than ever’

Beijing has condemned Tawain President Tsai Ing-wen’s cease within the US, with a Chinese language official pledging to ‘struggle again’.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has hailed the island’s relations with the US throughout a stopover on her approach to Central America, a “transit” that has been condemned by Beijing.

Throughout a closed-door speech in New York on Wednesday evening, Tsai stated the connection between Washington and Taipei was “nearer than ever” and touted “vital progress” in financial and safety cooperation, based on an announcement from her workplace.

She hailed Taiwan as a “beacon of democracy in Asia” and stated the island wouldn’t be remoted regardless of the “monumental challenges” it confronted.

“Now we have demonstrated a agency will and resolve to defend ourselves, that we’re able to managing dangers with calm and composure and that we’ve the flexibility to keep up regional peace and stability,” Tsai stated.

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Among the many attendees on the occasion had been New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Laura Rosenberger, chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), which operates the de facto US embassy in Taiwan.

Tsai can also be on account of communicate at a Hudson Institute assume tank occasion on Thursday, sources instructed the Reuters information company, however all occasions are set to be closed to the press and public.

The stopover comes as Tsai travels to Central America, the place she’s going to try to shore up help in Guatemala and Belize, a part of a shrinking group of nations that recognise Taipei’s sovereignty from Beijing.

She can also be scheduled to cross via Los Angeles, California, on her manner dwelling subsequent week, the place she is rumoured to be assembly with US Home of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

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Tsai’s journey comes days after Honduras established ties with Beijing and ended its recognition of Taiwan, leaving the island with solely 13 allies that preserve formal diplomatic ties.

Beijing maintains Taiwan belongs to “one China” and that, as a Chinese language province, it has no proper to state-to-state ties. Taiwan is the place the nationalist Republic of China authorities fled in 1949, following its defeat by the Chinese language Communist Celebration on the finish of the nation’s civil warfare.

Washington has not formally recognised Taiwan because it normalised ties with Beijing in 1979. Nonetheless, the US stays an necessary ally, offering army coaching and tools to the island.

Within the lead-up to Tsai’s journey via the US, White Home nationwide safety spokesperson John Kirby sought to downplay the transit’s significance to keep away from tensions with China. He billed her journey as “in keeping with our longstanding unofficial relationship with Taiwan”.

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On Wednesday, Kirby stated: “There isn’t a purpose — none — for the Chinese language to overreact right here”.

Daniel Kritenbrink, the highest US diplomat for East Asia, additionally famous that Tsai had transited via the US six instances beforehand “with out incident”.

Nonetheless, Beijing has condemned Tsai’s cease within the US. China’s Taiwan Affairs Workplace spokesperson Zhu Fenglian stated on Wednesday that, if Tsai met with McCarthy, China would “positively take measures to resolutely struggle again”.

Xu Xueyuan, the cost d’affaires of China’s embassy to Washington, additionally instructed reporters on Wednesday that the US risked “severe confrontation” ought to its leaders meet with Tsai.

Referencing a go to then-Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi made to Taiwan in 2022, Xu warned in opposition to different US politicians following her instance and assembly with Tsai.

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“The US retains saying that transit is just not a go to and that there are precedents, however we should always not use previous errors as excuses for repeating them at this time,” she stated.

Pelosi’s Taiwan journey final yr prompted Beijing to stage a number of days of army workout routines and hearth missiles into the Taiwan Strait. She was the highest-ranking US official to go to Taiwan in 25 years.

The anticipated assembly between McCarthy and Tsai in California has been framed as much less diplomatically fraught than Pelosi’s journey to Taiwan. Nonetheless, such a gathering would signify the primary time a Taiwanese chief has met with a Home Speaker on US soil.

As of Thursday, Taipei stated the New York stopover had not triggered any uncommon army actions by China.

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Cambodia's prime minister bans musical horns on vehicles to curb dangerous street dancing

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Cambodia's prime minister bans musical horns on vehicles to curb dangerous street dancing
  • Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Mane has issued a ban on musical horns after videos on social media depicted people dancing on roadsides.
  • Mane instructed the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation and police nationwide to remove tune-playing horns from vehicles.
  • The ban has already been put into effect by provincial authorities, and Hun Manet voiced its nationwide enforcement.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Mane has ordered a ban on musical horns, after videos posted on social media showed people dancing on roads and roadsides as passing trucks blasted rhythmic little tunes.

Hun Manet, who last year took over the wheel of government from his father, Hun Sen — who led Cambodia for 38 years — called on the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation and police across the country to immediately take action against any vehicle whose normal horn has been replaced by a tune-playing one by ripping it out and restoring the standard honking type. 

He said the measure has already been implemented by provincial authorities, but he wanted to announce it publicly to make sure it was enforced nationwide.

CAMBODIA’S PIONEERING POST-KHMER ROUGE ERA PHNOM PENH POST NEWSPAPER WILL STOP PRINT PUBLICATION

He commented on his Facebook page on Monday that recent social media posts had shown “inappropriate activity committed by some people, especially youth and children, dancing on the roadside to the musical sounds from trucks’ horns.”

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet greets garment workers on Aug. 29, 2023, at Prey Speu village outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Mane has ordered a ban on musical horns, after videos posted on social media showed people dancing on roads and roadsides as passing trucks blasted rhythmic little tunes. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

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Hun Manet said such dancing affects public order and poses a traffic hazard that is a threat to life and limb, not least of all to the dancers themselves. 

2 ANTI-GOVERNMENT ACTIVISTS IN CAMBODIA CHARGED WITH INSULTING KING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

One video shows three young people dancing in the middle of a road while a large trailer truck coming their way lays down a beat.

For Cambodians, there will be no more dancing in the street.

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Biotech strategy launch, Newsletter

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Biotech strategy launch, Newsletter

Key diary dates

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Tuesday 19 March: European Parliament’s committee vote on the reform of EU pharmaceutical rules.

Wednesday 20 March: Presentation of the European Commission‘s first ‘EU Biotech and Biomanufacturing Initiative’.

Tuesday 19-Friday 22 March: European Commission organises Digital Markets Act workshops with gatekeepers.

In spotlight

This Wednesday (20 March) the European Commission is expected to unveil a new ‘EU Biotech and Biomanufacturing Initiative’ .

Despite half-hearted attempts at regulatory simplification in the sector in the past, life science technologies are increasingly drawing attention from policymakers.

Last month Euronews first reported on the health component of this initiative based on a leaked draft document that highlighted a focus on the vibrant biopharmaceutical sector – responsible for providing breakthrough messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules playing an essential role in COVID-19 vaccines.

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But biotech applications are not limited to the health sector, ranging from sustainable sourcing of advanced materials to climate-smart production and other components essential to a fossil-free and circular economy.

A ‘blue’ biotech is also emerging, with new research on aquatic organisms and microalgae fermentation ready for commercial exploitation – not to mention the potential of new genomic techniques (NGTs) for food production, already under discussion by EU lawmakers.

The main goals of this initiative will be to survey the status quo and track future challenges facing the biotech sector to orientate policy efforts in readiness for the next legislative mandate.

Some policy ideas are likely to be proffered, such as a one-stop shop to permit and authorise biotech manufacturing – while a controversial proposal for an R&I tax credit for biotech companies is rumoured to have been shelved for the moment.

This first dedicated attempt to address the sector won’t be the last, with economic security and strategic autonomy likely to be key buzzwords for the next commission.

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Biotech is expected to be a new beat to keep a close eye on and it has already been listed as a critical technology for the continent, together with semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

The defence imperative dominating current commission thinking involves European independence from military aircraft to sourcing these critical new technologies.

Policy newsmakers

@Hahn                                                                                                                   @Wiewiórowski

Commission under data notice

The European Commission was ordered last week to bring its use of Microsoft 365 office programs in line with its own rulebook, after European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) Wojciech Wiewiórowski found following an investigation that the commission breached EU rules on transfers of personal data outside the EU. The commission now needs to suspend all data flows resulting from its use of Microsoft 365 to Microsoft and to its affiliates and sub-processors located in countries outside the EU/EEA that are not covered by a data transfer agreement. The commissioner responsible for admin, Johannes Hahn, will have to demonstrate compliance with the orders by 9 December 2024.

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Subscribe here to see the results of last week’s poll and stay informed on the latest EU policy developments with our weekly newsletter, “The Policy Briefing”. Your weekly insight on European rulemaking, policy issues, key events, and data trends.

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Reuters Institute: Research shows women only make 24% of news top editors / FIP

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Reuters Institute: Research shows women only make 24% of news top editors / FIP

New research by the Reuters Institute analyses the gender representation of senior editors in major news outlets across five continents, recording that women fill only 24% of senior editorial roles in the markets surveyed. The findings highlight how gender inequalities can reinforce misperceptions, imbalances, and perceived differences both within journalism and as covered by journalists.

The research “Women and leadership in the news media 2024: Evidence from 12 markets” took examples from five continents, and analysed the gender breakdown of editorial leaders.  Two hundred and forty major online and offline news outlets provided data. 

According to the factsheet, among the 33 news top editors appointed across brands covered this year and last, 24% are women. In some of these countries, however, women outnumber men among working journalists.

Reuters contrasts its new findings with data from the past five years. The proportion of women among the top editors has increased by only 2% since 2020, going from 23% to 25% in 2024. The Institute’s analysis anticipates that, at this pace, gender parity will be reached in such positions only by the year 2074.

Change is not consistent throughout countries, however. If the percentage has increased relative to 2020 in six countries (name them all), it has decreased in Germany by 2% and it has highly decreased in South Africa, from 47% to 29%. 

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Reuters Institute makes clear that “top editorial leadership matters both in terms of how journalism is practised and how it appears in society,” insisting on  how top editors represent the wider public “in all its difference and diversity.”

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