NEWSLETTER
Thursday / September 29Sep 29
Friday / August 12
China - South Korea tensions
China and South Korea continued their disagreement on Thursday over a US missile defence shield.
China, contending that the THAAD's powerful radar could peer into its airspace, curbed trade and cultural imports after Seoul announced its deployment in 2016.
A senior official in South Korea's presidential office told reporters on Thursday that THAAD is a means of self-defence and can never be subject to negotiations. China demanded that South Korea not deploy any more batteries and limit the use of existing ones.
President Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to abandon the previous government's promises not to increase THAAD deployments, and not to participate in a U.S.-led global missile shield or create a trilateral military alliance involving Japan.
UN's nuclear warning
UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for an end to military activity around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex after the plant was hit five more times. The UN Security Council met to discuss the situation.
He called for Russia and Ukraine not to target the facilities or surrounding area. "The facility must not be used as part of any military operation," Mr Guterres said in a statement.
Russia seized Europe's largest nuclear power plant in March after invading Ukraine on February 24. The plant is still run by its Ukrainian technicians. Ukraine's Energoatom said the area was struck multiple times on Thursday, including near the site where radioactive materials are stored.
Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement the Ukrainian shelling had partly damaged a thermal power plant and splash pools that form part of the reactors' cooling systems.
China - Baltic relations
Latvia and Estonia withdrew from a cooperation group between China and over a dozen Central and Eastern European countries on Thursday, following Baltic neighbour Lithuania which withdrew last year.
Latvia's Foreign Ministry said the country's continued participation in the China group was "no longer in line with our strategic objectives in the current international environment." In statements published Thursday, both Latvia and Estonia said they would continue to work towards "constructive and pragmatic relations with China" while respecting the rules-based international order and human rights.
Russia - Iran ties
Russian officials trained in Iran in recent weeks as part of an agreement on the transfer of drones between the two countries, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
U.S. officials said last month that Washington had information that Iran was preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred drones, including some that are weapons capable, and that Russian officials had visited Iran to view attack-capable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The claim raised concerns that Iran was now giving support to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Iran's foreign minister at the time denied the claim, including in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart.
U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel claimed on Thursday that Russian officials had conducted training on drones in Iran "in the last several weeks."
Sunak on BoE
Rishi Sunak, in the race to become Britain's next prime minister, said scrapping the Bank of England's independence would be a mistake that would scare off international investors.
Asked about comments from leadership front-runner Liz Truss's team suggesting that the central bank's rate-setting independence should be reviewed, Sunak said: "That would be a massive mistake for our country, and international investors would really not look very kindly on it."
US PPI
US producer prices unexpectedly fell in July amid a drop in the cost for energy products. The producer price index for final demand declined 0.5% last month, the first negative monthly reading since April 2020, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The PPI climbed 1.0% in June. In the 12 months through July, it increased 9.8% after advancing 11.3% in June.
Economists had forecast the PPI would rise 0.2% in July and increase 10.4% on a year-on-year basis.
There was a drop of 1.8% in goods prices after a gain of 2.3% in June. A 16.7% fall in gasoline prices accounted for 80% of that decline. The prices of diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and residential natural gas also fell sharply.
US jobs
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose for the second straight week, indicating further softening in the labor market despite still tight conditions as the Federal Reserve tries to slow demand to help tame inflation.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 262,000 for the week ended Aug. 6, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 263,000 applications for the latest week.
China and South Korea continued their disagreement on Thursday over a US missile defence shield.
China, contending that the THAAD's powerful radar could peer into its airspace, curbed trade and cultural imports after Seoul announced its deployment in 2016.
A senior official in South Korea's presidential office told reporters on Thursday that THAAD is a means of self-defence and can never be subject to negotiations. China demanded that South Korea not deploy any more batteries and limit the use of existing ones.
President Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to abandon the previous government's promises not to increase THAAD deployments, and not to participate in a U.S.-led global missile shield or create a trilateral military alliance involving Japan.
UN's nuclear warning
UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for an end to military activity around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex after the plant was hit five more times. The UN Security Council met to discuss the situation.
He called for Russia and Ukraine not to target the facilities or surrounding area. "The facility must not be used as part of any military operation," Mr Guterres said in a statement.
Russia seized Europe's largest nuclear power plant in March after invading Ukraine on February 24. The plant is still run by its Ukrainian technicians. Ukraine's Energoatom said the area was struck multiple times on Thursday, including near the site where radioactive materials are stored.
Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement the Ukrainian shelling had partly damaged a thermal power plant and splash pools that form part of the reactors' cooling systems.
China - Baltic relations
Latvia and Estonia withdrew from a cooperation group between China and over a dozen Central and Eastern European countries on Thursday, following Baltic neighbour Lithuania which withdrew last year.
Latvia's Foreign Ministry said the country's continued participation in the China group was "no longer in line with our strategic objectives in the current international environment." In statements published Thursday, both Latvia and Estonia said they would continue to work towards "constructive and pragmatic relations with China" while respecting the rules-based international order and human rights.
Russia - Iran ties
Russian officials trained in Iran in recent weeks as part of an agreement on the transfer of drones between the two countries, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
U.S. officials said last month that Washington had information that Iran was preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred drones, including some that are weapons capable, and that Russian officials had visited Iran to view attack-capable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The claim raised concerns that Iran was now giving support to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Iran's foreign minister at the time denied the claim, including in a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart.
U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel claimed on Thursday that Russian officials had conducted training on drones in Iran "in the last several weeks."
Sunak on BoE
Rishi Sunak, in the race to become Britain's next prime minister, said scrapping the Bank of England's independence would be a mistake that would scare off international investors.
Asked about comments from leadership front-runner Liz Truss's team suggesting that the central bank's rate-setting independence should be reviewed, Sunak said: "That would be a massive mistake for our country, and international investors would really not look very kindly on it."
US PPI
US producer prices unexpectedly fell in July amid a drop in the cost for energy products. The producer price index for final demand declined 0.5% last month, the first negative monthly reading since April 2020, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The PPI climbed 1.0% in June. In the 12 months through July, it increased 9.8% after advancing 11.3% in June.
Economists had forecast the PPI would rise 0.2% in July and increase 10.4% on a year-on-year basis.
There was a drop of 1.8% in goods prices after a gain of 2.3% in June. A 16.7% fall in gasoline prices accounted for 80% of that decline. The prices of diesel fuel, liquefied petroleum gas and residential natural gas also fell sharply.
US jobs
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose for the second straight week, indicating further softening in the labor market despite still tight conditions as the Federal Reserve tries to slow demand to help tame inflation.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 262,000 for the week ended Aug. 6, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 263,000 applications for the latest week.
