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The US Power Shift US-China Relations
China Attends Trump's Ceremony – Despite Tariff Threat

For the first time, China is sending a government representative to an inauguration of a US president, writes the Washington Post.

Vice President Han Zheng has announced that he will attend Donald Trump's ceremony on Monday. Normally, only China's ambassador to the US attends.

"We are ready to work with the new US administration to improve dialogue and communication," the Chinese Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement.

Trump has already signaled that he plans to take a tough line towards China and threatened strong tariffs on Chinese imports. Concerns about escalating trade tensions between the countries have prompted China to push for an early trade deal. At the same time, Beijing has made it clear that it will respond in kind if Trump makes good on his threats.

Putin's Russia
Part of British Parliament Infiltrated by Russians

Before Christmas, Russian diplomats managed to get into parts of the British Parliament that only politicians and civil servants have access to, according to information from The Guardian.

- We suspect that they just wanted to brag to the Kremlin that they had infiltrated the British Parliament. It is not ideal, but they were exposed before any damage could be done, says a source.

The newspaper writes that the incident raises questions about the security of the parliament, which according to information is often put to the test.

Russian diplomats have been banned from visiting the parliament since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. During the infiltration before Christmas, however, the diplomats managed to get into the protected area during a guided tour.

US Elections Trump's Team
Trump Appoints Movie Stars as "Ambassadors"

US President-elect Donald Trump wants to build a bigger and stronger Hollywood. That's why he's appointing three movie stars as special ambassadors to promote domestic film production, writes AP.

"It's my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone as special ambassadors for a distinguished but very troubled place, Hollywood, California," Trump writes on his social media platform Truth Social.

According to Trump, Hollywood has "lost a lot of business to foreign countries" over the past four years and needs to return to its glory days.

What the actors will do in their new roles is still unclear. In addition, the AP points out that this type of envoy is normally appointed in conflict zones such as the Middle East, not California.