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Trader Joe’s started out as a health-food store in California. The brand has expanded across the US and now has travelers from around the world clamoring to visit one of its outlets.

With Putin’s threats in Ukraine, China’s accelerated weapons programme and the US’s desire for superiority, what will it take for leaders to step back from the brink?
Like Toto in The Wizard of Oz, at their 1985 summit in Geneva pulled back the curtain to reveal the truth behind the terrifying spectre of nuclear war, which their countries were spending hundreds of billions of dollars to prepare for. “A nuclear war cannot be won,” they jointly stated, and “must never be fought.” They omitted the inescapable corollary of those first six words: a nuclear arms race also cannot be won.
Still, the statement, almost unique among government declarations for its blunt truthfulness, strengthened the case for the arms control and nonproliferation undertakings that followed. Decades of agonisingly difficult negotiations built up a dense structure of treaties, agreements and even a few unilateral moves dealing with offensive and defensive nuclear weapons of short, medium and long range, with provisions for testing, inspections and an overflight regime for mutual observation. Often the two sides would only give up systems they no longer wanted. Frequently the language of the agreements was the basis of future friction. On the US side, the political price of securing Senate ratification of treaties could be extremely high.

CNS Fujian, the state-of-the-art but yet-to-be-commissioned Chinese aircraft carrier, uses catapult-assisted takeoff. This enables the Fujian to deploy with heavier and larger fixed-wing aircraft, ...

Flowers left at the site of the attack, which killed at least 35 people, were quickly removed. Censors deleted videos, articles and comments about it.

Company says Amazon Haul will mostly feature products under $10, which it plans to ship from China warehouse
Amazon has launched a low-cost online storefront featuring electronics, apparel and other products priced at under $20, an effort to compete with discount retailers that have increasingly encroached on the e-commerce giant’s turf.
In a blogpost on Wednesday, the company said the new Amazon Haul storefront would mostly feature products that cost less than $10 and offer free delivery on orders over $25. Amazon plans to ship the products to US customers from a warehouse it operates in China, according to documentation the company provided to sellers. Amazon said Haul orders could arrive within one to two weeks.

President-elect’s team has China hawks, an alleged Assad defender and a Fox News host – all have been vocally loyal
As rushes to fill out his cabinet and enact his America First agenda in the United States and abroad, a clear throughline for his foreign policy and national security team has been a vocal loyalty to the president-elect – at least in this election cycle.
The rapidly expanding roster includes established – and some Maga supporters would say establishment – foreign policy hawks, and a neophyte defense secretary who until this week was still a conservative commentator on Fox News.

Collection of 1,700 pieces dating from third to 20th century is highest-value gift of objects in UK museum history
The British Museum has been given a private collection of Chinese ceramics worth about £1bn, the highest-value object donation in UK museum history.
The 1,700 pieces dating from the third to the 20th century have been given permanently by the trustees of the Sir Percival David Foundation. They had been on loan to the London museum since 2009.

Even a decade ago, Yu's literary creation would likely have been ignored by Hollywood. But in recent years, breakout successes for Asian American productions like "Crazy Rich Asians" and "Everything ...

In particular, Soong’s three daughters would emerge as key figures in the founding of the Republic of China and in shaping Chinese-American relations during and after World War II. Soong sent all six ...

Federal authorities say an investigation into Chinese government hacking efforts has revealed a “broad and significant” cyberespionage campaign mounted by Beijing.

Labour peer called Donald Trump a ‘bully’ in 2018 article and said he was too hostile towards China on trade policy
Peter Mandelson’s position as the frontrunner to be British ambassador to the US has been questioned after it emerged he criticised Donald Trump for being a “bully” and too hostile towards China on trade policy.
Critics of Beijing raised concerns over the suitability of the Labour peer to take on the job given his repeated defence of engagement with China, while Trump’s administration is hawkish towards the rival trading power.

Biggest tiger farms outside Asia are operating freely in South Africa, Four Paws animal charity says
The largest tiger farms outside Asia are operating freely in , facilitating the illegal smuggling of tiger body parts, according to a report by an animal welfare charity.
Research by Four Paws, which is campaigning to shut down South Africa’s big cat industry, found 103 places in the country where tigers were kept in captivity in 2023 or 2024 or had been kept during the previous three years.