| Xi visits Trump on his home turf: Who will strong-arm whom? Posted: 06 Apr 2017 02:00 PM PDT ![Xi visits Trump on his home turf: Who will strong-arm whom?]( "Xi visits Trump on his home turf: Who will strong-arm whom?") When President Trump invited China's President Xi Jinping to two days of informal discussions at his exclusive Mar-a-Lago golf club, the Chinese leader was on board – up to a point. Recommended: Asia's troubled waters: What's going on in the South China Sea? While White House officials insist the subject is still on the agenda, some analysts say it is more likely to be downplayed.
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| She’s leading efforts to restore an iconic castle in Transylvania Posted: 06 Apr 2017 01:56 PM PDT ![She's leading efforts to restore an iconic castle in Transylvania]( "She's leading efforts to restore an iconic castle in Transylvania") Documents dating back to the 1640s make reference to a fortified castle in the quaint village of Bonțida, Romania – just a short drive from one of the nation's largest cities, Cluj-Napoca. Over time, Bánffy Castle was expanded, deconstructed, and otherwise altered amid periods of siege and peace in this region, the storied Transylvania. The team at the Transylvania Trust, a nongovernmental organization founded in 1996, adopted Bánffy Castle in 2001.
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| If Trump visits China, here’s what he should see Posted: 06 Apr 2017 01:42 PM PDT ![If Trump visits China, here's what he should see]( "If Trump visits China, here's what he should see") After his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, President Trump will no doubt be invited to visit China, assuming the two men are making progress on difficult issues such as trade and North Korea. The World Bank recently designated the multi-city delta zone in southern China as the world's largest urbanized area. More important, as The Economist magazine points out, this urban corridor is China's most dynamic, open, and innovative region.
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| Face-to-face at Mar-a-Lago, Trump and Xi will put their chemistry to the test Posted: 06 Apr 2017 12:09 PM PDT ![Face-to-face at Mar-a-Lago, Trump and Xi will put their chemistry to the test]( "Face-to-face at Mar-a-Lago, Trump and Xi will put their chemistry to the test") Chinese President Xi Jinping has ample reason to arrive at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Thursday with confidence. Despite some early scares from President Trump – to say nothing of his campaign rhetoric – China has largely managed to maintain the upper hand in what is arguably the world's most important bilateral relationship. Mr. Xi stared down Mr. Trump when he appeared to waver on support for the One China policy, and the White House appears to have backed off trade-related threats, like levying a heavy tariff on Chinese imports.
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| Susan Rice, Michael Flynn, and the politics of surveillance Posted: 06 Apr 2017 10:16 AM PDT ![Susan Rice, Michael Flynn, and the politics of surveillance]( "Susan Rice, Michael Flynn, and the politics of surveillance") Rep. Trey Gowdy (R) of South Carolina leaned forward and addressed FBI director James Comey in a pointed manner. The congressman – a booster of the military, a former prosecutor, and reliable conservative – said he was concerned that the United States isn't doing enough to protect the privacy of citizens inadvertently swept up in the government's vast counterterrorism surveillance operations. Voters allow the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency great powers to protect the nation.
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| Briefing: Trump, Russia, Rice – and now Nunes Posted: 06 Apr 2017 10:02 AM PDT ![Briefing: Trump, Russia, Rice – and now Nunes]( "Briefing: Trump, Russia, Rice – and now Nunes") According to a US intelligence report, individuals connected to Russian intelligence hacked into Democratic Party computers during the 2016 election campaign and leaked information in an effort to damage Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. Russian President Vladimir Putin himself ordered the operation, the report concluded. At the same time, a growing number of Trump associates have been found to have connections to Russia (see this Washington Post graphic).
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| Inquiry into chemical weapons attack should leave from Damascus, not Turkey, says Syrian minister Posted: 06 Apr 2017 08:05 AM PDT ![Inquiry into chemical weapons attack should leave from Damascus, not Turkey, says Syrian minister]( "Inquiry into chemical weapons attack should leave from Damascus, not Turkey, says Syrian minister") The Syrian government set conditions on Thursday for any international inquiry into a suspected chemical attack that killed scores of people, saying it must not be "politicized" and should set out from Damascus and not Turkey. Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said Syria's past experience with international inquiries had not been encouraging. Mr. Moualem also reiterated the government's strong denial that it was behind the attack on Tuesday in Khan Sheikhoun in the northwestern province of Idlib, an area mostly controlled by rebel groups at the border with Turkey.
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| Is French presidential hopeful Macron the Clinton to Le Pen's Trump? Or is he actually an Obama? Posted: 05 Apr 2017 02:28 PM PDT ![Is French presidential hopeful Macron the Clinton to Le Pen's Trump? Or is he actually an Obama?]( "Is French presidential hopeful Macron the Clinton to Le Pen's Trump? Or is he actually an Obama?") Frederic Chanterelle clearly feels like a loser of globalization. On a drab day this week outside the Whirlpool offices here, the union leader is seething about the Michigan-based company's decision to close down the appliance factory and relocate to Poland. "Globalization means always more for the strong and less for the weak," he says, as employees who will lose their jobs by next year file out from their morning shift.
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