Hostility From U.S. as China Lures Allies to New Bank

“But there is a strain in Washington that if the U.S. is not in the lead, then the U.S. should not be part of it,” he said.

Egg on Washington’s face in bank farce

Even as Washington is busy denouncing Britain for becoming a founding member of a new China-led development bank, key allies are ready to jump ship.

New Zealand spies on China, other Asian nations: Snowden papers

Electronic surveillance by New Zealand’s government extends from China, its biggest trading partner, to Antarctica and is shared with the United States and other international allies, according to documents released on Wednesday.

Hu Jintao’s weak grip on China’s army inspired President Xi Jinping’s military shake-up

President’s predecessor ‘isolated’ by deputies who acted as proxies for Jiang Zemin

German graffiti vandals ordered jailed, caned in Singapore

A Singapore court on Thursday sentenced two young German men to nine months in prison and three strokes of the cane for spray-painting a metro train in the city-state, which enforces hardline rules on vandalism.

AFP

New Zealand spying on Pacific allies for 'Five Eyes' and NSA

New Zealand is spying indiscriminately on its allies in the Pacific region and sharing the information with the US and the other “Five Eyes” alliance states, according to documents from the whistleblower Edward Snowden.

The Guardian

Singapore Porsche Club, former member in legal spat

An executive, whose company is suing the Porsche Club for copyright infringement, is now taking the same exclusive car club to court for terminating his membership.

Public corruption in China: Then and now

China has waged a campaign against public corruption for the past two years and there is no sign of abatement. At first, there was speculation it was a cover for a power struggle and therefore would be short-lived. Increasingly, it appears to be a means of forging a new social contract for the post-Deng era.

Film-maker files police report against MP Lam Pin Min

He accuses Lam Pin Min of making racially seditious comments online

Japan Crown Prince urges WW2 past not be forgotten as memories fade

Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito has made a call to remember Japan's wartime past and the horrors of World War Two - remarks that come as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to recast his country's wartime history in a less apologetic tone.

Reuters

Paris Metro CCTV shows Chelsea fans sought by police

Images of three men being sought by police in connection with an incident of alleged racism by Chelsea fans on the Paris Metro on Tuesday evening have been released.

BBC

NSA helped British steal cell phone codes

Britain’s electronic spying agency, in cooperation with the U.S. National Security Agency, hacked into the networks of a Dutch company to steal codes that allow both governments to seamlessly eavesdrop on mobile phones worldwide, according to the documents given to journalists by Edward Snowden.

The Guardian

Chelsea racist fans in Paris

In the video, a member of the French public is repeatedly seen to be pushed off a Metro train by fans while trying to board because he’s black, with the fans responsible chanting: “We’re racist, we’re racist, and that’s the way we like it, we like it, we like it.”

British white trash Benjamin Maybury charged with punching and abusing teen driver

Briton Alan Benjamin Maybury, 33, allegedly punched polytechnic student Lum Kwok Weng, 19, in his face causing mild swelling and a small superficial cut. He is also accused of using abusive words by shouting expletives at the teen.

Russian researchers expose breakthrough U.S. spying program

The U.S. National Security Agency has figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba and other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means to eavesdrop on the majority of the world's computers, according to cyber researchers and former operatives.

Reuters

A taste of Yunnan in Thailand

The tiny northern town of Mae Salong bears a distinctive Chinese past - and present

The numbers game: mathematicians and NSA

Snowden’s revelations unsettled many mathematicians - but not enough to sever ties with NSA

China ‘not ready to win wars’, says US report

Corruption, poor-quality personnel and outdated command structure among problems faced by the PLA, according to a study commissioned by a US congressional committee

Beijing and US poised to join forces in hunt for rich Chinese fugitives

Senior US officials will meet in August with their Chinese counterparts to discuss the possibility of repatriating Chinese officials who have fled to America with billions of dollars of allegedly stolen government assets, according to a State Department official.

US historians protest against Japan’s attempt to censor US publisher’s textbook over sex slaves

A group of American history scholars have protested against Japan’s attempts to pressure US publisher McGraw-Hill that references World War II sex slaves, saying no government should have the right to “censor history”.