- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
'Graft probes and power games': Xi's corruption drive turns to cash trail
China's President Xi Jinping has his sights on domestic critics' riches as a corruption crackdown gathers pace to consolidate his power and secure an unprecedented third term.
The anti-graft campaign has already taken down big-name detractors but experts say Xi will use the crucial months ahead of a key leadership summit this autumn to cement his grip.
"This period is the closest thing President Xi has to a campaign season and the graft probes and power games have already begun," said Willy Lam, political analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The ruling Communist Party is currently holding its annual parliamentary session -- a week of highly choreographed meetings laying out policy for the year.
But the main event is the 20th Party Congress this autumn -- a twice-a-decade conclave of top brass where Xi will likely be anointed leader again.
And China's corruption watchdog has trained its sights on the cash lining pockets of critics inside the party.
Zhao Leji, head of the anti-graft agency and a staunch Xi ally, warned in January: "We will focus on investigating and punishing corruption... and cut the link between power and capital."
Regulatory chiefs, insurance giants, security officials and financiers are just some of the bigwigs to recently face censure or prosecution.
The new phase of the campaign comes alongside a sweeping crackdown on China's private sector.
"The focus is now on big companies whose patrons are party elders or princelings who do not see eye-to-eye with Xi," Lam said.
"Princelings" are the children of powerful Communist Party founders who now hold top positions in government or business.
Xi -- a princeling himself whose father was deputy premier under Mao Zedong -- is trying to wrestle control from these vested interests.
"Earlier princelings saw Xi as just one of them," said Lam.
"But now some have trouble accepting the fact that he has revived a Mao-style personality cult and closed the gates on orderly succession."
- Loopholes and links -
Chinese politics -- despite the facade of unity -- is deeply factional with different groups vying for influence.
"Some princelings want to subvert state power and some not, some want leverage over the party, some not," said Alex Payette, chief executive of consultancy Cercius Group.
Beijing's focus on the relationship between business and party cadres was illustrated by the downfall of a former Communist Party chief in the city of Hangzhou -- home to tech titan Alibaba.
Since late 2020, Chinese regulators have launched a wide-ranging crackdown on alleged anti-competitive practices by tech giants including Alibaba, which had a record-breaking IPO by its financial arm Ant Group pulled at the last minute.
Zhou Jiangyong is being investigated for corruption after allegedly taking pay-offs from unnamed companies and property as bribes, and had been charged with "supporting the disorderly expansion of capital", the first time China has listed such an offence.
The same phrase was used by Xi when he announced the sweeping tech crackdown.
- 'Common prosperity' -
Xi is portraying his ruthless graft campaign -- which has netted more than 1.5 million officials over the past decade -- as an attempt to steer the country towards socialist ideals.
China's rapid growth over the past four decades has led to yawning inequalities, and Beijing's "common prosperity" drive launched last year promises to tackle that divide.
But disruptions caused by the political and economic crackdowns have ratcheted up the risks in the world's second-largest economy. Nearly $1 trillion was wiped off the value of the tech sector last year and the upheaval threatens to suck money out of the country.
"Many in the wealthy class already have foreign passports and will make an exit if the pressure becomes too great," said Victor Shih at the University of California San Diego.
Others warn that the Marxist propaganda is just a veil to bring swathes of the economy under party control.
"The idea here is to take back large sections of the private sector on the cheap and to make sure data collection remains in the hands of the party," Payette said.
"Of course, if Xi can, amidst all this, cut the revenue streams of (rivals), then it's even better."
Y.Kobayashi--AMWN