Solomon Islands parliament on Friday elected opposition leader Matthew Wale as prime minister, after incumbent Jeremiah Manele was ousted from power last week in a no-confidence vote. Wale defeated Peter Shanel Agovaka by 26 votes to 22 in a ballot of the country's members of parliament, governor general David Tiva Kapu, told a news conference.
The urge to visit Beijing has gotten stronger lately among allies of the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who referred to China last year as his country's biggest security threat, made the trip last month, as did his British counterpart, Keir Starmer. Next week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who heads the largest economy in Europe, plans to meet with Xi Jinping during a three-day visit packed with discussions of security and trade.
Reality check: That last threat to "keep the ships" could be complicated in the case of one of the seized vessels, Centuries, which was not under sanction when it was boarded Saturday by the U.S. Coast Guard. Centuries was carrying at least 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude estimated at more than $90 million. China's government condemned the interdiction of the ship, which is owned by a Hong Kong-based company but flew a Panamanian flag.
It includes lots of detail relating to the specific allegations against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, who have always denied the allegations against them and who are not facing any criminal proceedings. Mr Cash, through his solicitor, has already put out a statement reiterating his innocence and reflecting that he hadn't had "the daylight of a public trial" and adding that he shouldn't have to take part "in a trial by media."
The government's national security adviser Jonathan Powell made no decisions about the content of any evidence provided in the collapsed case against two men accused of spying for China, a minister has said. Prosecutors unexpectedly dropped charges against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry - who deny the allegations - in September. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch claimed the case collapsed because the government had refused to give the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) "vital information" as it wanted to "curry favour" with China.
The four countries said in a joint statement that they were establishing the Quad Critical Minerals Initiative, aimed at collaborating on securing and diversifying supply chains.
