Australian farmer confidence has improved marginally thanks to easing concerns about commodity prices and input costs. However, it remains in negative territory overall. The latest quarterly Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, released on Sept. 13, saw confidence lift nationally from -25 percent in the first quarter of 2023 (the lowest level since late 2018) to now sit at -22 percent. While around half of the farmers expected no change to how the Australian agricultural economy would perform in the next 12 months, about 13 percent expected conditions to improve (up from 11 percent in the previous survey) and slightly less expected conditions to worsen (35 percent, down from 36 percent previously)....Read more https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/farmers-more-positive-as-commodity-prices-rise-5491370
Anti-CCP activist and political commentator Drew Pavlou has formally appealed fines issued to him by Brisbane City Council for protesting outside the Chinese Consulate-General’s office. Appearing before Brisbane Magistrates Court on Sept. 12, he fought multiple fines for supposedly disobeying directives of a local council employee. The ordeal began on May 17 last year when Mr. Pavlou took to the consulate to demonstrate against the Chinese Communist Party’s prolonged record of human rights abuses and suppression of free speech. He brought two signs, one satirically referencing the CCP’s concealment of the Tiananmen Square massacre from the Chinese public, and another promoting his campaign for a position in the Senate for the Katter Australia Party (KAP) at the time. ...
Huawei’s recent launch of its latest smartphone, which uses an advanced 7-nanometer chip made in China and an unidentified South Korean chip, has raised questions about whether Beijing has broken through U.S. sanctions. Chinese telecom equipment company Huawei unveiled its new smartphone Mate 60 Pro late last month as U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo wrapped up her visit to China. The new Kirin 9000s chip used in the Mate 60 Pro is equipped with advanced 7 nanometer chips developed by Chinese company SMIC International. Although it has not reached the most advanced level, the launch of the Huawei Kirin 9000s chip still raises questions about whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has breached U.S. sanctions....
Taiwan on Thursday reported a total of 68 Chinese warplanes and 10 Chinese vessels near its territory within 24 hours. “68 [People’s Liberation Army] aircraft and 10 [People’s Liberation Army] vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today,” Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense announced in a statement, referring to China’s army and navy. The Taiwanese ministry added that its armed forces have “monitored the situation” and “tasked [combat air patrol] aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond [to] these activities.” The ministry later added that 40 of the Chinese aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest or southeast Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)—an area in the airspace primarily over the East China Sea but extending beyond Taiwan’s national airspace....