If 9/11 were to happen again, it would not take the same form. The United States has evolved, and so have our enemies. When the most significant terrorist attacks on U.S. soil occurred 22 years ago, communications were grounded to a halt. Cell towers were destroyed, and so were switching equipment for landline phones. People formed long lines outside pay phone booths in New York City, hoping to connect with their loved ones. Today, America’s infrastructure has grown robust enough to survive similar attacks as 9/11, but there are new vulnerabilities. “Imagine what is possible if the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] hacks our grid,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) asked, referring to the electricity network, during a hearing in July....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/22-years-on-is-the-us-ready-for-the-next-big-attack-5489422
Russian President Vladimir Putin could visit China after Beijing assigned disputed territories to China in its new map, casting doubt on the seemingly strong Sino–Russian relationship. President Putin has been invited to visit China and is expected to do so in October, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) hosts the Belt and Road Forum, his foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov said on July 25, Russian state media outlet Tass reported. However, at the regular meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Aug. 30, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin did not confirm whether President Putin would visit in October, but said China was in communication with its partners about the Belt and Road Forum and would release relevant information in due course....
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs James Paterson warned that the risk of a Chinese spy undermining Australia’s democracy processes is “very high.” This comes after a UK parliament researcher was arrested on suspicions of “spying for China,” and is alleged to have fed information to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through his position as a researcher for a member of parliament. The suspect, arrested and released on bail in March, is a male Briton in his late twenties who studied and worked in China, according to The Times newspaper. The report said the man had links with senior Conservative MPs, he had high-level security clearance, and had helped shape the UK’s China policy....
Commentary The announcement that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accepted an invitation to visit China raises questions about the complex relationships between the two countries. China is one of Australia’s major trading partners, a destination for much of our resources exports without which the economy would be in a more precarious situation. But the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime is also a significant threat to the international rules-based order upon which trading nations like Australia are reliant. Under Xi Jinping, the CCP has become increasingly externally aggressive, internally repressive, and bellicose in its nationalism. It threatens not just Taiwan—also a major trading partner of Australia—but many neighbouring nations. Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and India are just a few of the countries with which Beijing is in dispute....