Ex-Interpol chief accepted bribes, claims China

China has announced a 7 per cent increase in its 2026 defence budget to roughly USD 277 billion. Amidst regional conflicts and military purges, Beijing is prioritising modernisation and "sovereign rights." While feeling vulnerable due to energy dependencies, China is choosing diplomatic engagement over direct military involvement in current global wars.

The estimates were as per the government work reports submitted by Chinese Premier Li Qiang to the annual meeting of China's top legislature- the National People's Congress, which opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing this morning.

The 62-article draft Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress was submitted to the National People's Congress on September 8, 2025. An official explanatory document states that the law "implements General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thinking" on ethnic affairs and promotes "the common prosperity and development of all ethnic groups, along the path of rule of law."

One by one, Chairman Xi Jinping's political leader friends abroad are being whittled down by US military action. First there was President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, and the latest is Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran after he was eliminated by Operation Epic Fury. Yet China can do nothing but wring its hands and lament unilateral American military action.

Ahmad Vahidi, a former Quds Force commander wanted by Interpol since 2007 for the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people, was appointed deputy chief of Iran's armed forces general staff in October 2025. Vahidi has previously served as Iran's Minister of Defense and Interior.

US Senators Tim Kaine and Pete Ricketts have urged the Trump administration to prioritise the meeting between QUAD leaders ahead of US President Donald Trump's planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April later this year.

Official Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Lin Jian posted on X about their meeting.

Trump, while addressing the reporters, said, "I'll be visiting President Xi Jinping in April. He's coming here later in the year, and I look forward to it. Our relationship with China is very good right now."

Xu Feihong, Chinese Ambassador to India, in a post on X wrote, "Ma Zhaoxu noted that President Xi Jinping has put forward the important concept of the high-quality development of greater BRICS cooperation and the five cooperation layouts of building a BRICS committed to peace, innovation, green development, justice and closer people-to-people exchanges. These have charted the course for the future development of the BRICS mechanism."

Trump said, Xi is "coming to the White House, toward the end of the year. We have a very good relationship. And, you know, it's important that I have a good relationship and for him, that he has a good relationship with me. We have to have a good -- these are the two most powerful countries in the world and we have a very good relationship."