China Urges ‘Practical’ US Action on Sanctions After Yellen Talks 

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reacts as she leaves a press conference at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, 09 July 2023. (EPA)
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reacts as she leaves a press conference at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, 09 July 2023. (EPA)
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China Urges ‘Practical’ US Action on Sanctions After Yellen Talks 

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reacts as she leaves a press conference at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, 09 July 2023. (EPA)
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reacts as she leaves a press conference at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, 09 July 2023. (EPA)

China on Monday called on the US to take "practical action" in response to its "major concerns" about sanctions on Chinese firms, after US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrapped up more than 10 hours of meetings with senior officials in Beijing.

China agreed to "maintain high-level exchanges and communication at all levels in the economic field", its finance ministry said in a statement.

But China also "required" the US to "cease the suppression of Chinese enterprises, lift bans on Xinjiang-related products, and take concrete steps to respond to China's major concerns in economic relations between the two countries" the ministry said.

The United States has imposed sanctions on some companies for using forced labor in the far-western region of Xinjiang.

Beijing denies the use of forced labor and any other abuses there.

The ministry said China believed its development was an opportunity rather than a risk to the US and that "strengthening cooperation between China and the United States is a realistic need and the correct choice of the two countries".

Yellen left Beijing on Sunday after a four-day visit, describing her bilateral meetings with senior Chinese officials as "direct, substantive and productive", sentiments echoed in China's summary of the talks.



Manchester Bombing Survivors Awarded Damages for Harassment by Conspiracy Theorist

Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, speaks to media outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the trial of his lawsuit against Richard D. Hall for alleged harassment, in London, Britain July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin/File Photo
Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, speaks to media outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the trial of his lawsuit against Richard D. Hall for alleged harassment, in London, Britain July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin/File Photo
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Manchester Bombing Survivors Awarded Damages for Harassment by Conspiracy Theorist

Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, speaks to media outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the trial of his lawsuit against Richard D. Hall for alleged harassment, in London, Britain July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin/File Photo
Martin Hibbert, who was paralysed in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, speaks to media outside the Royal Courts of Justice after the trial of his lawsuit against Richard D. Hall for alleged harassment, in London, Britain July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Sam Tobin/File Photo

Two survivors of a bombing that killed 22 people at the close of an Ariana Grande concert seven years ago were on Friday awarded 45,000 pounds ($58,184) in damages after successfully suing a conspiracy theorist who claimed the attack was staged.

Martin Hibbert was paralysed from the waist down and his daughter Eve, then 14, suffered a catastrophic brain injury in the bombing at Manchester Arena in northern England in 2017, Reuters reported.

They sued Richard Hall – a self-styled journalist who claimed without evidence that the attack was orchestrated by British government agencies – for harassment.

Their case bears some similarities to defamation lawsuits brought against US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones by relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.

Judge Karen Steyn ruled last month that Hall's conduct in publishing a book and videos about the Manchester Arena bombing and filming Eve Hibbert and her mother outside their house in 2019 amounted to harassment.

The judge awarded Martin and Eve Hibbert a total of 45,000 pounds following a further hearing on Friday, British media reported.