
-
Australian sprinting prodigy Gout Gout upstaged in 200m
-
'We need aid': rescuers in quake-hit Myanmar city plead for help
-
Protesters flock to mass opposition rally in Istanbul
-
Are women allowed their own dreams, wonders Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
-
Deadly earthquake forces Thai patients into sports hall
-
'Everyone was screaming': quake shocks Thailand tourists
-
Rallies grow in South Korea as court weighs president's fate
-
Scientists explain why Myanmar quake was so deadly
-
Turkey opposition calls mass rally in Istanbul
-
Chapman blasts ton as New Zealand win first Pakistan ODI by 73 runs
-
French chefs quake as Michelin prepares new guide
-
Mike Leigh on the 'hard truths' of film, happiness and World War III
-
Myanmar quake toll passes 1,000 as rescuers dig for survivors
-
Lights out: Bali guards protect island's day of silence
-
Myanmar-Thailand quake toll passes 700 as rescuers dig for survivors
-
UK gallery to return Nazi-looted painting to heirs of Jewish collector
-
UK dreams of US trade deal before Trump tariffs
-
'Blink of an eye': survivor tells of Bangkok skyscraper collapse horror
-
The hand of GOAT, Mensik wins with Messi touch
-
Partial solar eclipse to cross swathe of Northern Hemisphere
-
Tunisian startup turns olive waste into clean energy
-
Guinea ex-dictator sentenced for 2009 massacre pardoned: junta
-
Chapman ton lifts New Zealand to 344-9 in first Pakistan ODI
-
Myanmar quake: what we know
-
Vu fires 64 to seize lead at LPGA Ford Championship
-
Resurgent Liu wins women's figure skating world title
-
Djokovic to face Mensik with 100th title within reach
-
Rescuers dig for survivors after huge quake hits Myanmar, Thailand
-
South Korea firefighters deploy helicopters as wildfires reignite
-
'Defiant' Canada autoworkers vow to fight tariff layoffs
-
Performance, museums, history: Trump's cultural power grab
-
Russian-born 12-ranked Kasatkina says to play for Australia tennis
-
Wallabies back Jorgensen suffers serious ankle injury
-
Academy apologizes after stars say it 'failed to defend' Palestinian filmmaker
-
UN rights chief demands end to 'horrific suffering' in Ukraine
-
Djokovic oozing confidence ahead of century bid
-
US regulators to investigate Disney diversity efforts
-
Elon Musk says xAI startup buying X platform
-
'Jail or death': migrants expelled by Trump fear for their fate
-
Djokovic closing in on 100th title after Dimitrov downed in Miami
-
Leverkusen beat Bochum to stay hot on Bayern's heels
-
Global markets slide as fears over US tariffs intensify
-
Dorival Junior sacked as Brazil coach after Argentina humiliation
-
Djokovic cruises past Dimitrov into Miami Open final
-
No.1 Scheffler ties Houston Open record with 62 to grab lead
-
Trump auto tariffs strike at heart of North American trade
-
Vance says Denmark has 'under invested' in Greenland
-
Green light for Winter Olympics bobsleigh slope
-
Musk's DOGE team emerges from the shadows
-
Film stars blast Academy for 'failing to defend' Palestinian filmmaker

China, Beijing's ties with Russia main threats to US: intel report
China remains the main threat to the United States globally but of increasing concern is its closer cooperation with Russia, Iran and North Korea, said an annual US intelligence report released Tuesday.
China's rise in all areas of power has been identified for years by the US as its main threat, and was behind Barack Obama's strategic Asia-Pacific pivot.
But Beijing's "coercive pressure" against Taiwan and "wide-ranging cyber operations against US targets" were indicators of its growing threat to US national security, said the Annual Threat Assessment by the intelligence community.
"China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat to US national security," the report said.
Beijing was also making "steady" progress towards having the ability to seize the self-ruled island of Taiwan, it said.
The report, which compiles assessments from US intelligence agencies, warned that Beijing would keep expanding its "coercive and subversive malign influence activities" to weaken the US internally and globally.
And the Chinese government would seek to counter what it sees as a "US-led campaign to tarnish Beijing's global relations and overthrow" the Chinese Communist Party, the report said.
Beijing's military is gearing up to challenge US operations in the Pacific and "making steady but uneven progress on capabilities it would use in an attempt to seize Taiwan," it assessed.
But, it said, the Chinese leadership would seek to reduce tensions with the United States as it seeks to "protect its core interests, and buy time to strengthen its position."
China was more "cautious" than Russia, Iran and North Korea -- other key US adversaries -- about appearing "too aggressive and disruptive."
The report said that the autocratic style of President Xi Jinping -- China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong -- was affecting its ability to respond to challenges.
"Xi's focus on security and stability... and securing other leaders' personal loyalty to him is undermining China's ability to solve complex domestic problems and will impede Beijing's global leverage," the report found.
Beijing called the report "biased" and accused it of "exaggerating the China threat."
"The US publishes these kinds of irresponsible and biased reports year after year," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing.
"We have no intention of surpassing anyone or replacing anyone," he said Wednesday.
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Senate hearing Tuesday that "China is our most capable strategic competitor" based on current intelligence.
- Ukraine lessons -
In addition to China, the assessment analyzed threats to the United States posed by Russia, North Korea, Iran and "non-state transnational criminals," including Mexican drug cartels and Muslim extremist groups.
It warned countries grouped together under the acronym CRINK -- China, Russia, Iran and North Korea -- were stepping up cooperation and could pose new challenges to US power on a global scale.
"This alignment increases the chances of US tensions or conflict with any one of these adversaries drawing in another," it said.
But it called their cooperation "uneven and primarily motivated by a common interest in... weakening US power," moderated by a "desire to control escalation."
Within that group, cooperation between China and Russia posed the greatest and "most persistent" threat to the US.
The allies have drawn closer since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and subsequent Western attempts to isolate Moscow.
The war and Western sanctions have made Moscow "a catalyst for the evolving ties," the report said, as it becomes more reliant on other countries.
It has stepped up cooperation with Iran to acquire drones and North Korea for supplies and troops, all to be used in Ukraine.
The conflict has afforded Moscow an array of lessons in battling Western weapons and intelligence.
"This experience probably will challenge future US defense planning, including against other adversaries with whom Moscow is sharing those lessons learned," the report concluded.
C.Garcia--AMWN