
China opposes Czech president's visit to Dalai Lama, World News
China's embassy in the Czech Republic posted the notice late on Sunday and said China firmly opposes any form of contact between officials of any country and the Dalai "clique".
Pavel met with the Dalai Lama on July 27, it said.
"China urges the Czech side to abide by its one-China political commitment, take immediate and effective measures to eliminate the bad influence," the statement said.
It added that the Czech side should stop sending "any wrong signals to 'Tibetan independence' separatist forces."
The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in India since 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule in Tibet, and Indian foreign relations experts say his presence gives New Delhi leverage against China.
India is also home to about 70,000 Tibetans and a Tibetan government-in-exile.
[[nid:720162]]

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
6 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Appeals court allows Trump order that ends union protections for federal workers
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A ruling by a federal appeals court on Aug 1 authorises a component of US President Donald Trump's sweeping effort to assert more control over the federal workforce to move forward. WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court on Aug 1 allowed US President Donald Trump to move forward with an order instructing a broad swath of government agencies to end collective bargaining with federal unions. The ruling authorises a component of Mr Trump's sweeping effort to assert more control over the federal workforce to move forward, for now, while the case plays out in court. It is unclear what immediate effect the ruling will have: the appeals court noted that the affected agencies had been directed to refrain from ending any collective bargaining agreement until 'litigation has concluded', but also noted that Mr Trump was now free to follow through with the order at his discretion. Mr Trump had framed his order stripping workers of labour protections as critical to protect national security. But the plaintiffs – a group of affected unions representing over 1 million federal workers – argued in a lawsuit that the order was a form of retaliation against those unions that have participated in a barrage of lawsuits opposing Mr Trump's policies. The unions pointed to statements from the White House justifying the order that said 'certain federal unions have declared war on President Trump's agenda' and that the President 'will not tolerate mass obstruction that jeopardizes his ability to manage agencies with vital national security missions.' But a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a famously liberal jurisdiction, ruled in Mr Trump's favour, writing that 'the government has shown that the president would have taken the same action even in the absence' of the union lawsuits. Even if some of the White House's statements 'reflect a degree of retaliatory animus', they wrote, those statements, taken as a whole, also demonstrate 'the President's focus on national security'. The unions had also argued that the order broadly targeted agencies across the government, some of which had no obvious national security portfolio – including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency – using national security as a pretext to strip the unions of their power. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 60 years of building Singapore World Trump deploys nuclear submarines in row with Russia Singapore Sheng Siong to open first store in Orchard by end August Asia 'This isn't some concubine selection': Why matchmaking events for rich Chinese have drawn flak Life Tastemakers: Burnt-out serial entrepreneur cooks up $16m success with Lau Wang Claypot Delights Sport Spurs captain Son Heung-min says he is leaving the English Premier League club Life The story of you: What might Singapore look like for those born today? Singapore Man in army uniform allegedly vaping on bus released from SAF custody; investigations ongoing The panel sidestepped that claim, writing in the 15-page ruling that 'we question whether we can take up such arguments, which invite us to assess whether the President's stated reasons for exercising national security authority – clearly conferred to him by statute – were pretextual'. The order, they continued, 'conveys the President's determination that the excluded agencies have primary functions implicating national security'. NYTIMES

Straits Times
6 minutes ago
- Straits Times
New Zealand will make it easier to run businesses in conservation areas
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Foreign visitors will also be charged between NZ$20 and NZ$40 (S$15-$30) to access some popular sites, while locals will continue to go free. NEW ZEALAND - New Zealand will make it easier to run businesses in conservation zones and charge foreign tourists to enter some areas in an effort to create jobs and increase economic growth, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Aug 2. The decision by the centre-right government, elected in 2023, is part of its efforts to boost New Zealand's tourism industry and stimulate a limp economy. It also comes at a time when people in countries around the world are protesting what they see as excessive numbers of tourists. 'We're going to fix the Conservation Act to unleash a fresh wave of concessions – like tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure, in locations where that makes sense,' Mr Luxon said in a statement. Business activities from guided walks and skiing to livestock grazing and infrastructure construction already take place in conservation areas, but permission takes too much time and effort to obtain, he said. 'Unleashing economic growth on one-third of New Zealand's land will create jobs and increase wages across the country,' the statement said. Foreign visitors will also be charged between NZ$20 and NZ$40 (S$15-$30) to access some popular sites, while locals will continue to go free. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 60 years of building Singapore World Trump deploys nuclear submarines in row with Russia Singapore Sheng Siong to open first store in Orchard by end August Asia 'This isn't some concubine selection': Why matchmaking events for rich Chinese have drawn flak Life Tastemakers: Burnt-out serial entrepreneur cooks up $16m success with Lau Wang Claypot Delights Sport Spurs captain Son Heung-min says he is leaving the English Premier League club Life The story of you: What might Singapore look like for those born today? Singapore Man in army uniform allegedly vaping on bus released from SAF custody; investigations ongoing 'Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy, and no one wants that to change. But I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free,' said Conservation Minister Tama Potaka. REUTERS
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
India aghast at Donald Trump's ‘dead' economy jibe, 25% tariffs
[MUMBAI] Shock, dismay and angst swept across India as businesses, policymakers and citizens digested US President Donald Trump's sharp remarks and a surprise 25 per cent tariff rate earlier this week. While Indian government officials weighed a response and business groups tallied the cost of the trade barrier, the local social media flared up with users protesting Trump's comments and criticising Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not speaking up. It started with Trump saying that India's trade barriers were the 'most strenuous and obnoxious', in a Truth Social post on Jul 30. He added the US may also impose a penalty for New Delhi's purchase of Russian weapons and energy. Less than a day later, he ripped into India again for aligning with Russia, calling them 'dead economies' in another post. With no imminent trade deal, the 25 per cent tariffs kicked in as at Friday. India is hardly alone in facing Trump's trade wrath, and not the subject to the very highest rates, but the news left business and political leaders wondering how to cope with the fallout. 'Blunt-force' message 'Overnight, the US-India trade equation shifted from tense to turbulent,' said Akshat Garg, assistant vice-president at Choice Wealth, a Mumbai-based financial services firm. The levies 'feel less like structured policy and more like a blunt-force political message'. Complicating the narrative around the India trade deal, or the lack of it, was the US pact with its traditional rival Pakistan that came through on the same day. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up As the US released rates across the world on Aug 1, India's relative disadvantage to competitor exporting countries became more apparent, dampening moods and stoking tempers further. 'The biggest blow is that Pakistan and Bangladesh got a better rate than us,' V Elangovan, managing director at SNQS Internationals, an apparel maker in the southern Indian manufacturing hub of Tirupur, told Bloomberg News. 'We were expecting something in the 15 to 20 per cent range.' India's annoyance can be traced back in part to Trump declaring himself the peacemaker that helped broker a ceasefire in the armed conflict between India and Pakistan in May. The move was seen as an effort to upstage Modi and put the two South Asian neighbours on an equal footing, despite India's larger military and economy. The events of this week have cemented that impression further in the eyes of some Indian observers. When the tariff rate news first dropped in late Wednesday evening in India, Ashish Kanodia recalls being 'very disturbed'. A director at Kanodia Global, a closely held exporter that gets over 40 per cent of its revenue from the US selling home fabrics to toys, the entrepreneur already has two of its largest US customers seeking discounts to make up for the levy. 'The next six months are going to be difficult for everyone,' Kanodia said, adding that profit margins will be squeezed. If the pain continues for 'months and months', he said that he will have to start cutting his workforce. The US is India's largest trading partner, with the two-way trade between them at an estimated US$129.2 billion in 2024. Compared with India's 25 per cent, Bangladesh was subjected to a 20 per cent tariff, Vietnam got a 20 per cent levy and Indonesia and Pakistan each received 19 per cent duties. 'We know that we have got a deal that is worse than other countries,' said Sabyasachi Ray, executive director at The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council. 'We will take it up with the government.' Trump's actions mark a 180-degree turn for New Delhi's hopes of preferential treatment over regional peers. It was among the first to engage Washington in trade talks in February, confident of hammering out a deal sooner than others. Trump had called India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi 'my friend' in a Feb 14 post on X and the bond between the two countries 'special'. India is now weighing options to placate the White House, including boosting US imports, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, and many hope that the bilateral relationship and the tariff rate can still be improved. 'It is a storm in the India-US relationship at this moment, but I think there's a good chance that it will go away,' Vivek Mishra, deputy director of the Strategic Studies Programme at Delhi-based Observer Researcher Foundation, told Bloomberg News. Indian business and trade groups are supporting the government's stance on the deal as the negotiations for a US-India trade deal continue. Negotiating tactic Jewellery businesses 'are worried but they are not panicking' because they hope a more favourable deal can be worked out, said Ray of the gems export body. 'The negotiation that should be happening should be a win-win, not a win-lose.' The abrupt announcement by Trump over social media when negotiations with India were ongoing 'seems like a knee-jerk reaction', according to Rohit Kumar, founding partner at public policy research firm The Quantum Hub. 'This appears to be a negotiating tactic aimed at unresolved discussion points,' Kumar said. BLOOMBERG