Cautious bully reputation resolve and beijings use of coercion in the south china sea

Black box data on crashed China Eastern 737 suggests possible “intentional nosedive” Investigators are now examining further if the crash of China Eastern Airlines 737-800 on March 21 was indeed due to “intentional action on the flight deck”. The early reports say that there is, so far, no evidence of a technical malfunction. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that flight data from one of the two “black boxes” on the Boeing jet indicated that “someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the plane”. The comments were made by people the WSJ cited as “familiar with the preliminary assessment by US officials”. US National Transportation Safety Board officials have been working with engineers from Boeing and investigators from the Civil Aviation Administration of China since the crash. Boeing, the US manufacturer of the jet, has so far declined to comment on the early leaks and, instead, referred all questions to the Chinese regulators. At this stage, the CAAC, … [Read more...] about Thailand News Today | Crashed China eastern flight possible “intentional nosedive”

- A + A SYDNEY (May 18): Treasury Wine Estates Ltd will soon release a made-in-China version of its famous Penfolds brand, dodging punishing import tariffs that are crippling Australia’s wine exports. The first bottles will go on sale in China for between A$30 (US$21) and A$50 in the second half of 2022, Treasury said Wednesday. Experiments with grapes from Ningxia, in China’s central-north, and Shangri-la in the south-western province of Yunnan, have produced “promising characteristics”, it said. Beijing in 2020 slapped tariffs of as much as 200% — or more in some cases — on Australian-made wine as trade and diplomatic relations soured. That effectively cut off from Australian winemakers an estimated 52 million regular drinkers. “We’re confident we can produce a premium Chinese Penfolds that maintains the distinctive Penfolds house style,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Ford in the statement. Treasury in 2021 launched Penfolds Napa, sourced from California grapes, … [Read more...] about Made-in-China Penfolds wine will dodge crippling import tariffs

- A + A LONDON/JOHANNESBURG (May 18): A digital rand in South Africa could cut the high cost of cross-border payments for banks but its introduction is still a few years away, a senior central bank official said. However, regulation of crypto assets is in the offing and might come into force within nine to 15 months, South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Deputy Governor Kuben Naidoo told Reuters in an interview. It costs 13% of a transaction to remit money from South Africa to another country, more than double the average of the Group of 20 (G20) leading global economies, according to a 2021 World Bank report. Sending money to South Africa costs 6.2%. Some countries are planning to introduce e-versions of traditional currency, known as central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and are studying how the underlying technology could be used. China's digital yuan project is the most advanced among large economies, though central banks from the euro zone to the United … [Read more...] about S.African central bank eyes digital rand to cut cross-border payment costs