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China's Xi Calls for Stronger Fintech Oversight, Security

File Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution which overthrew the Qing Dynasty and led to the founding of the Republic of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 9, 2021. (AFP)
File Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution which overthrew the Qing Dynasty and led to the founding of the Republic of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 9, 2021. (AFP)
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China's Xi Calls for Stronger Fintech Oversight, Security

File Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution which overthrew the Qing Dynasty and led to the founding of the Republic of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 9, 2021. (AFP)
File Photo: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution which overthrew the Qing Dynasty and led to the founding of the Republic of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 9, 2021. (AFP)

A high-level Chinese government meeting led by President Xi Jinping has called for stronger oversight and better security in financial tech, state media reported, with the sector hit hard by a regulatory crackdown.

The government action has pummeled some of China's biggest tech firms, wiping out hundreds of billions of dollars in market value since last year, AFP said.

But with the Chinese economy hammered by Covid lockdowns, the government has rolled out a series of support measures, including a call for "predictable" tech regulation.

"Regarding large payment and fintech platform enterprises, Xi called for efforts to improve regulations, strengthen institutional weak links, ensure the security of payment and financial infrastructure, and guard against and defuse potential systemic financial risks," according to a readout of the Wednesday meeting by the official Xinhua news agency.

The Chinese leader also "called for these enterprises to be better supported in serving the real economy", Xinhua said.

The officials at the meeting discussed promoting the "healthy development" of fintech companies, it added, and said "China will tighten oversight" of financial holding firms and internet financial services.

Investors have been heartened in recent weeks by similar statements by the Chinese government, with some perceiving them as signals that the tech crackdown is finally easing.

Hopes also soared this month when dozens of new video games were approved, and tech stocks rose on reports that authorities were wrapping up a cybersecurity probe into ride-hailing giant Didi.

But regulators this month denied reports that they were discussing the potential revival of Ant Group's scuppered IPO, which would have been the world's largest public offering at the time.

Ant Group -- the payments affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba -- had its share offering cancelled at the last minute in 2020.

Alibaba was later hit with a $2.75 billion fine over alleged unfair practices.

Ant Group is set to apply for a financial licence as soon as this month, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

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World

North Korea Nuclear Program 'Absolutely Non-negotiable', Says Leader's Sister

FILE - Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2, 2019. Kim Yo Jong alleged on Monday, July 10, 2023, that the North's warplanes repelled a US spy plane that flew above the country's exclusive economic zone, and warned of “shocking” consequences if the US continues reconnaissance activities in the area. (Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2, 2019. Kim Yo Jong alleged on Monday, July 10, 2023, that the North's warplanes repelled a US spy plane that flew above the country's exclusive economic zone, and warned of “shocking” consequences if the US continues reconnaissance activities in the area. (Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP, File)
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North Korea Nuclear Program 'Absolutely Non-negotiable', Says Leader's Sister

FILE - Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2, 2019. Kim Yo Jong alleged on Monday, July 10, 2023, that the North's warplanes repelled a US spy plane that flew above the country's exclusive economic zone, and warned of “shocking” consequences if the US continues reconnaissance activities in the area. (Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2, 2019. Kim Yo Jong alleged on Monday, July 10, 2023, that the North's warplanes repelled a US spy plane that flew above the country's exclusive economic zone, and warned of “shocking” consequences if the US continues reconnaissance activities in the area. (Jorge Silva/Pool Photo via AP, File)

North Korea's nuclear weapons program is "absolutely non-negotiable", the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un said in a statement carried by state media on Sunday, ahead of a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Pyongyang has long insisted on its right to a nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs although they are forbidden under the terms of UN Security Council sanctions. It enshrined its nuclear status in its constitution in 2023.

"Our status as a nuclear power is absolutely non-negotiable," Kim's sister Kim Yo Jong said in a statement published by North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun, adding that the North "will not tolerate any threats".

A key player in the country's communications and foreign policy, Kim Yo Jong's statement came on the eve of Xi's visit to North Korea, scheduled to take place from Monday to Tuesday, according to state media.

Beijing is a vital source of political and economic support to North Korea, which is one of the most diplomatically isolated countries in the world and under heavy international sanctions.

Xi's upcoming visit to Pyongyang would be his first in seven years, and comes after he hosted back-to-back summits with US President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin last month.

Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear state since Kim Jong Un's 2019 summit with Trump collapsed over the scope of denuclearization and sanctions relief.

North Korea's leader has since been emboldened by the war in Ukraine, securing critical support from Moscow after sending thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces.

He inspected a major munitions factory at the weekend and called for it to boost production capacity, according to a separate report by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday.

This was "in order to supply enough quantity of missiles", KCNA quoted him as saying.

-False information-

Kim Yo Jong, in her statement, went on to slam Washington over its comments that the goal of North Korea's denuclearization had been reaffirmed during last month's summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing.

The White House posted a fact sheet following the summit stating that "President Trump and President Xi confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea", which Kim Yo Jong said was false.

"Some officials in the United States still have yet to awaken from their escapist and anachronistic dream," she said.

"This is nothing more than Washington's habitual dissemination of false information."

She rejected Washington's attempts to deny or challenge the North's status as a nuclear power, saying it "carries no legal force".

"The policy of continuously strengthening the country's self-defensive nuclear deterrent, as set out by the nation's leader, is an irreversible course that must be implemented without fail," she added.

The statement underscores Pyongyang's "sensitivity" to any suggestion of a US-China agreement on North Korean denuclearization, Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.

"Kim's core message was a categorical rejection of reports of US-China discussions on North Korean denuclearization as 'false information'", he said.

It is possible that Pyongyang had "confirmed with Beijing" during the coordination process for the summit that such discussion had not taken place, Hong added.

World

A New Exchange of Fire with Iran in the Gulf Tests the Fragile Ceasefire

This handout photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket being fired from a boat during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz via AFP
This handout photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket being fired from a boat during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz via AFP
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A New Exchange of Fire with Iran in the Gulf Tests the Fragile Ceasefire

This handout photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket being fired from a boat during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz via AFP
This handout photo released by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)’s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows a rocket being fired from a boat during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz via AFP

Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones toward Bahrain and Kuwait that were intercepted early Saturday, Bahrain’s government said, and called on Tehran to halt attacks on Gulf neighbors that test a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East conflict.

Iran said that it targeted American military assets in both countries, after the US attacked surveillance facilities on Qeshm Island and near Sirik that Iran said were used to protect borders and “ensure the security of navigation in international waters." Tehran called the attack a ceasefire violation.

Later Saturday, US Central Command said US forces had shot down two Iranian attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest exchanges came as the Trump administration presses Iran to make a deal to end the war, which has strained the global economy and threatened a hunger crisis in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, The Associated Press reported.

Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of mediation efforts.

Meanwhile, the US is seeking to ratchet up economic pressure on Iran. The US Treasury Department is considering allowing Gulf allies to tap into frozen Iranian assets to pay for damages they sustained in the war, according to a person familiar with Secretary Scott Bessent's thinking who spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations.

Iran says it targeted US air base and Navy

The US military said earlier that it had shot down several Iranian missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf Arab allies, and struck some of the Iranian Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” US Central Command said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the Ali Al Salem air base, which hosts US forces in Kuwait, and the US Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The US military said there were no reports of harm to US personnel.

Earlier in the week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport, killing one person and wounding dozens.

The US military kept up its blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s grip on the strait, a crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments. Energy prices have spiked, posing political problems for US President Donald Trump's Republican Party before the midterm congressional election.

Deals remain elusive

Trump increasingly appears to be boxed in. US and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement a week ago to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Trump, however, has called for unspecified changes, and Iranian officials have shown no public sign of agreeing to the deal.

The fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south while saying it targets the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, also challenges efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has demanded that any lasting truce extends to Lebanon.

The Trump administration has touted the latest ceasefire agreed to earlier in the week by the Lebanese government and Israel after US-brokered talks in Washington. However, Hezbollah has rejected the agreement.

World

Iran Condemns 'Flagrant Ceasefire Violation' after US Strikes

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei (Iranian News Agency)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei (Iranian News Agency)
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Iran Condemns 'Flagrant Ceasefire Violation' after US Strikes

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei (Iranian News Agency)
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei (Iranian News Agency)

Iran condemned on Saturday a nighttime US attack on coastal radar installations in the Gulf, calling it a "flagrant" violation of the ceasefire in place since April.

The foreign ministry said it was an attack "on the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic republic", denouncing Washington's "hostile and provocative behavior".

It added that the United States would bear responsibility for any consequences arising from its unlawful actions and any further escalation.

Tensions between Iran and the United States escalated on Saturday after Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced attacks on US bases in the region following confrontations linked to shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on sites inside Iran.

While Tehran said it had launched missile attacks on US bases, Washington said it intercepted most of the projectiles and rejected Iranian claims that facilities associated with the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain had been hit.

The IRGC said on Saturday that it had carried out attacks on US bases in the region following an attack on the city of Sirik and Qeshm Island, as well as the targeting of four oil tankers that had attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz without coordination, according to dpa.

For its part, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement posted on X on Saturday that Iran had launched seven missiles toward Kuwait and Bahrain after US forces shot down four drones that had been launched toward the Strait of Hormuz.