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China has tested its ability to “seize power” by launching mock missile strikes on Taiwan and pretending to bomb foreign assets.

The two-day tests were staged to punish Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te, who China has previously denounced as being a “dangerous separatist”.

China dispatched fighter jets carrying live missiles along with bombers on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The bombers set up several attack formations in waters east of Taiwan – which China views as its own territory. Mock attacks were carried out in coordination with naval vessels, CCTV added.

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China launched mock missile strikes on Taiwan. Pic: AP

Pic: Reuters
Chinese warships are pictured while navigating at an undisclosed location in waters around Taiwan in this handout image taken on May 23, 2024, released on May 24, 2024. Taiwan Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.
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Chinese warships in waters around Taiwan on Thursday. Pic: Reuters

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A sign of bigger things to come?

It’s just days after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te was sworn into office in Taipei and China is making a big statement – with these so-called “punishment” drills.

The island’s new leader is loathed by Beijing even more than his predecessor, describing Mr Lai as a “dangerous separatist”.

Beijing took great offence at President Lai using the word China to describe China. It believes that revealed his real thinking – that they’re two separate countries.

Now Beijing has carried out numerous blockades before of course, but this time it is casting it as a dress rehearsal for an “invasion”, focused on encircling the island and simulating a full-scale attack.

It says it wants to test its ability to “seize” control over Taiwan. It’s more than simply rhetorical bluster.

It’s an important inflection point and a significant test for Taiwan’s ruling party, which has championed democracy in the face of growing threats from its authoritarian neighbour.

The drills are taking place in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the self-ruling island from mainland China.

They’re not only in the north, south and east of Taiwan, but also the outlying islands of Kinmen, Dongyin, Wuqiu and Matsu.

That expansion, coupled with China’s more muscular language has prompted analysts to warn it could be a sign of bigger things to come.

The name “Joint Sword 2024-A” at the very least suggests more may be afoot.

And there’s global optics and dynamics at play. The recent meeting with Putin was a reminder Xi Jinping wants to create a new world order, away from the US and Taiwan has always been in its sights.

But – and it’s a big but – China is facing a huge economic challenge at home and any war would not only be expensive but experts say, would also take many months to prepare for.

These drills currently look like a warning shot. The real “punishment” may be yet to come.

President Lai has attracted the ire of Beijing over pro-independence comments made earlier in his career.

While the president has since been more cautious about repeating similar remarks, his claim about China having to “face up to the fact that the Republic of Taiwan exists” during his inauguration speech earlier this week was enough to anger Beijing.

A Taiwan Air Force Mirage 2000-5 aircraft prepares to land at Hsinchu Air Base, Taiwan on Friday. Pic: Reuters
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A Taiwan jet landing at Hsinchu Air Base on Friday. Pic: Reuters


‘Seize power’

The Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army said the exercises, dubbed “Joint Sword – 2024A”, were to “test the ability to jointly seize power, launch joint attacks and occupy key areas”.

“This action is completely reasonable, legal, and necessary to combat the arrogance of ‘Taiwan independence’ and deter the interference and intervention of external forces,” said Wu Qian, a spokesperson of China’s defence ministry.

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Taiwan’s armed forces have mobilised to monitor and shadow Chinese forces, with the island’s defence ministry on Friday publishing pictures of F-16s, armed with live missiles, patrolling the skies.

A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters several Chinese bombers conducted mock attacks on foreign vessels near the eastern end of the Bashi Channel, which separates Taiwan from the Philippines, practicing how to seize “total control” of areas west of the so-called first island chain.

The first island chain refers to the area that runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing China’s coastal seas.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic, said several Chinese coastguard boats also conducted “harassment” drills off Taiwan’s east coast, including mock inspections of civilian ships.

The US Navy 7th Fleet said it was paying attention to “all of the activities” in the Indo-Pacific and takes “very seriously” the responsibility to deter aggression in the region.

‘No concessions’

While the US formally recognises Beijing, it is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself and is the island’s most important international backer.

Speaking in Taipei, Taiwan foreign minister Lin Chia-lung said the island would not succumb to pressure.

“We will not make any concessions because of this Chinese military exercise, because it concerns the development of
democracy in Taiwan,” he said.

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Trump achieves something remarkable, but will his ‘goldfish’ attention span stay the course?

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Trump achieves something remarkable, but will his 'goldfish' attention span stay the course?

Two things can be true at the same time – an adage so apt for the past day. 

This was the Trump show. There’s no question about that. It was a show called by him, pulled off for him, attended by leaders who had no other choice and all because he craves the ego boost.

Gaza deal signed – as it happened

But the day was also an unquestionable and game-changing geopolitical achievement.

World leaders, including Trump and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, pose for a family photo. Pic: Reuters
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World leaders, including Trump and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, pose for a family photo. Pic: Reuters

Trump stopped the war, he stopped the killing, he forced Hamas to release all the hostages, he demanded Israel to free prisoners held without any judicial process, he enabled aid to be delivered to Gaza, and he committed everyone to a roadmap, of sorts, ahead.

He did all that and more.

He also made the Israel-Palestine conflict, which the world has ignored for decades, a cause that European and Middle Eastern nations are now committed to invest in. No one, it seems, can ignore Trump.

Love him or loathe him, those are remarkable achievements.

‘Focus of a goldfish’

The key question now is – will he stay the course?

One person central to the negotiations which have led us to this point said to me last week that Trump has the “focus of a goldfish”.

Benjamin Netanyahu applauds while Trump addresses the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Pic: Reuters
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Benjamin Netanyahu applauds while Trump addresses the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Pic: Reuters

It’s true that he tends to have a short attention span. If things are not going his way, and it looks likely that he won’t turn out to be the winner, he quickly moves on and blames someone else.

So, is there a danger of that with this? Let’s check in on it all six months from now (I am willing to be proved wrong – the Trump-show is truly hard to chart), but my judgement right now is that he will stay the course with this one for several reasons.

First, precisely because of the show he has created around this. Surely, he won’t want it all to fall apart now?

He has invested so much personal reputation in all this, I’d argue that even he wouldn’t want to drop it, even when the going gets tough – which it will.

Second, the Abraham Accords. They represented his signature foreign policy achievement in his first term – the normalisation of relations between Israel and the Muslim world.

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How a huge day for the Middle East unfolded

Back in his first presidency, he tried to push the accords through without solving the Palestinian question. It didn’t work.

This time, he’s grasped the nettle. Now he wants to bring it all together in a grand bargain. He’s doing it for peace but also, of course, for the business opportunities – to help “make America great again”.

Peace – and prosperity – in the Middle East is good for America. It’s also good for Trump Inc. He and his family are going to get even richer from a prosperous Middle East.

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Then there is the Nobel Peace Prize. He didn’t win it this year. He was never going to – nominations had to be in by January.

But next year he really could win – especially if he solves the Ukraine challenge too.

If he could bring his coexistence and unity vibe to his own country – rather than stoking the division – he may stand an even greater chance of winning.

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French PM Sebastien Lecornu shelves Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform in bid for political survival

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French PM Sebastien Lecornu shelves Emmanuel Macron's pension reform in bid for political survival

France’s reappointed prime minister has offered to suspend controversial reforms to the country’s pension system, days after returning to the top role.

Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform, which gradually raises the age at which a worker can retire on a full pension from 62 to 64, was forced through without a vote in parliament after weeks of street protests in 2023.

Sebastien Lecornu said on Tuesday he would postpone the introduction of the scheme, one of Mr Macron’s main economic policies, until after the 2027 presidential election.

With two no-confidence votes in parliament this week, Mr Lecornu had little choice but to make the offer to secure the support of left-wing MPs who demanded it as the price of their support for his survival.

Mr Lecornu in parliament on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters
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Mr Lecornu in parliament on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters

The prime minister will hope it is enough to get a slimmed-down 2026 budget passed at a time when France’s public finances are in a mess.

It will be seen as a blow to Mr Macron, leaving him with little in the way of domestic achievements after eight years in office. But it reflects the reality that giving ground on the landmark measure was the only way to ensure the survival of his sixth prime minister in under two years.

Mr Lecornu told MPs he will “suspend the 2023 pension reform until the presidential election”.

“No increase in the retirement age will take place from now until January 2028,” he added.

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The move will cost the Treasury €400m (£349m) in 2026, and €1.8bn (£1.5bn) the year after, he said, warning it couldn’t just be added to the deficit and “must therefore be financially offset, including through savings measures”.

Mr Lecornu, 39, was reappointed as prime minister by Mr Macron on Friday, four days after he resigned from the role just hours after naming his cabinet – and after political rivals threatened to topple his government.

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French PM returns to role days after quitting

On re-taking office, he pledged to “put an end to this political crisis, which is exasperating the French people, and to this instability, which is bad for France’s image and its interests”.

Economists in Europe have previously warned that France – the EU’s second-largest economy – faces a Greek-style debt crisis, with its deficit at 5.4%.

Mr Lecornu is hoping to bring that down to 4.7% with an overall package of cuts totalling €30bn (£26bn), but his plans were dismissed as wishful thinking by France’s independent fiscal watchdog.

Mr Macron has burned through five prime ministers in less than two years, but has so far refused to call another election or resign.

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Freed Palestinian prisoner alleges torture and deaths in Israeli detention

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Freed Palestinian prisoner alleges torture and deaths in Israeli detention

A freed Palestinian prisoner, one of about 1,700 detainees from Gaza who had been held by Israel without charge, has described scenes of systematic torture, humiliation and death inside Israeli detention.

Akram al Basyouni, 45, from northern Gaza, says he was detained on 10 December 2023 at a shelter school in Jabalia and spent nearly two years in custody, including at the Sde Teiman military base.

“Many of our fellow prisoners were beaten to the point of death,” he told Sky News. “When we cried out to the guards for help, they would answer coldly, ‘Let him die’. Five minutes later they would take the body away, wrap it in a bag, and shut the door.”

Al Basyouni said detainees were routinely tortured, beaten with batons and fists, attacked by dogs and gassed during what guards called a “reception ceremony”.

“They beat us so savagely our ribs were shattered. They poured boiling water over the faces and backs of young men until their skin peeled away. We sat on cold metal floors for days, punished even for asking for help.”

Sky News has contacted the Israel Prison Service (IPS) and the Israel Defense Forces for comment but has not yet received a response.

Al Basyouni claimed prisoners were forced to remain on their knees for long hours, deprived of clothing and blankets, and subjected to religious and psychological abuse.

More on Gaza

“They cursed the Prophet, tore up the Koran in front of us, and insulted our mothers and sisters in the foulest language,” he said. “They told us our families were dead. ‘There is no Gaza,’ they said. ‘We killed your children.'”

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Palestinian prisoners released

Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons in past exchanges have reported frequent beatings, insufficient food and deprivation of medical care.

A 2024 UN report said that since 7 October 2023, thousands of Palestinians have been held arbitrarily and incommunicado by Israel, often shackled, subject to torture and deprived of food, water, sleep and medical care.

Israel has maintained that it follows international and domestic legal standards for the treatment of prisoners and that any prison personnel violations are investigated.

Its National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the country’s prisons, has on multiple occasions boasted about making conditions for Palestinians as harsh as possible while remaining within the law.

Al Basyouni claimed many detainees, including doctors, died from beatings or medical neglect.

“I heard about Dr Adnan al-Bursh, may God have mercy on him,” he said. “He was struck in the chest by a prison guard, over his heart. He lost consciousness immediately and died five minutes later.”

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Sky News’ own investigation found that Dr al-Bursh, one of Gaza’s most respected surgeons, died after being tortured in Israeli custody, sustaining broken ribs and severe injuries while being held at Ofer Prison.

Al Basyouni said he also met Dr Hossam Abu Safiya at Ofer and heard that Dr Akram Abu Ouda had been “subjected to severe and repeated torture.”

“Even the doctors were beaten and denied treatment,” he said. “Many reached the brink of death.”

In response to our investigation into Dr al-Bursh’s death, a spokesman for the Israel Prison Service said at the time: “We are not aware of the claims you described and as far as we know, no such events have occurred under IPS responsibility.”

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