Comment on Sinosphere Blog: Xi Jinping of China Makes Cartoon Appearance Before Meetings in Russia

MALMO, Sweden — It’s time for many people to don sequins and spangles — and for others to pick up protest banners and Palestinian flags — for Saturday’s final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. The competition that pits nations against one another for pop music glory is reaching its conclusion in the Swedish city of Malmo, with Croatia and Switzerland among those tipped to take the trophy, and Israel at the center of a political storm. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Hours before the final, Dutch contestant Joost Klein was dramatically booted out by organizers over a backstage incident.

Xi Jinping has changed China fundamentally. He has kept the same political system that Chairman Mao Zedong created when he founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Mao governed China with “Mao Zedong Thought,” which he introduced in 1945. Deng Xiaoping put that aside when he took power in 1978 and unleashed the “reform and opening up” era.

(WASHINGTON) A soon-to-be released Biden administration report to Congress does not conclude that Israel has violated the terms for its use of U. S. weapons. That’s according to three people who have been briefed on the national security memorandum to be submitted by Secretary of State Antony Blinken to lawmakers. All three requested anonymity to discuss the matter before the report’s release. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The report is expected to be sharply critical of Israel, even though it didn’t conclude that Israel violated terms of U.

(WASHINGTON) — The rate of guns stolen from cars in the U. S. has tripled over the last decade, making them the largest source of stolen guns in the country, an analysis of FBI data by the gun safety group Everytown found. The rate of stolen guns from cars climbed nearly every year and spiked during the coronavirus pandemic along with a major surge in weapons purchases in the U.

(ST. PETERSBURG, Russia) — A bus veered off a bridge and plunged into a river on Friday in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, killing seven people, officials said. The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigations body, reported the death toll. It did not state how many others were injured, but the emergencies ministry earlier said that six people removed from the bus were in critical or serious condition. Russian news reports said there were 15 people on the city bus when it broke through a barrier and plunged into the Moika River in central St.

A working paper from an independent body that gives economic advice to the Indian government has published controversial findings that critics say could sow communal discord between Hindus and Muslims during the ongoing parliamentary elections. The paper, titled “Share of religious minorities: A cross-country analysis,” was published on May 7 by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM).