California Gov. Gavin Newsom is “on the way” to Israel for discussions with locals and officials following recent incidents in the Middle East. “I’ll be meeting with those impacted by the horrific terrorist attacks and offering California’s support,” Mr. Newsom wrote Oct. 19 on X, formerly known as Twitter. Mr. Newsom’s office declined to comment, and other than the social media post, no official statement or press release was issued regarding the surprise trip. It is unclear how long the governor will be in the Middle East or if he will return to California before traveling to China for a week-long trip, where he is scheduled to lead a delegation starting Oct. 23....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/newsom-headed-to-israel-china-for-discussions-says-worlds-fate-at-stake-5513738
Commentary The decision by the Australian government not to cancel the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company is a worrying development. The Port of Darwin was leased to Landbridge Group by the Northern Territory Country Liberal government in 2015. The lease was priced at $506 million (US$320 million). The awarding of the contract to Landbridge came just a few years after the United States posted the first of an ongoing rotation of U.S. marines in Darwin. The U.S. presence in the Northern Territory has increased since then. The Northern Territory, Darwin in particular, is a critical element in Australia’s defence.... 
In August, foreign holdings of U.S. Treasury securities rose for the third consecutive month to their highest level since December 2021, according to new data from the Treasury Department. But China captured the attention as it continued dumping U.S. assets by vast amounts. Total holdings of U.S. debt increased nearly 3 percent year-over-year to $7.707 trillion. This was also up from July’s total of $7.655 trillion. China reduced its holdings by more than $16 billion to $805.4 billion, down approximately 15 percent from the same time a year ago and the lowest since 2009. Chinese investors also offloaded about $5.1 billion in U.S. stocks in August, the highest on record....
The Australian Labor government has decided to not overturn a contentious 99-year lease held by Chinese company Landbridge over the Port of Darwin. The decision comes after a review by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which said there were sufficient security measures to manage and protect the infrastructure. “The review found that there is a robust regulatory system in place to manage risks to critical infrastructure, including the Port of Darwin; existing monitoring mechanisms are sufficient and will be ongoing; and as a result, it was not necessary to vary or cancel the lease,” the Department said in a statement on Oct. 20....