Category: World News

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Table tennis in film – from Forrest Gump to Marty Supreme

Source: Radio New Zealand

Table tennis and film have a surprisingly entangled history. Both depended on the invention of celluloid – which not only became the substrate of film, but is also used to make ping pong balls.

Following a brief ping pong craze in 1902, the game largely disappeared and was widely assumed to have been a passing fad. More than 20 years later, however, the British socialite, communist spy and filmmaker Ivor Montagu went to great lengths to establish the game as a sport – a story I explore in my current book project on ping pong and the moving image.

He founded the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and codified the rules of the game in both a book and a corresponding short film, Table Tennis Today (1929).

Timothee Chalamet makes it hard not to laugh at Marty Mauser’s wildly offensive claims and believable conviction.

Central Pictures / A24

Montagu presided over the ITTF for several decades. In 1925, the same year he founded the ITTF, Montagu also co-founded the London Film Society. The society helped introduce western audiences to experimental and art films that are now considered classics.

The game of table tennis has subsequently appeared at a number of moments when filmmakers and artists were experimenting with new technologies. An early example appears in one of the first works of “visual music”: Rhythm in Light (1934) by Mary Ellen Bute.

Meanwhile, an early work of expanded cinema, Ping Pong (1968) by the artist Valie Export, invited audiences to pick up a paddle and ball and attempt to strike a physical ball against the representation of one moving on the cinema screen. Atari’s adaptation of the game into the interactive Pong (1972) is often considered the first video game.

Perhaps the most familiar cinematic example of all, however, is the digital simulation of a photorealistic ping pong ball – made possible by a then-new regime of computer-generated imagery. It helped Tom Hanks appear to be a ping pong whiz in the Academy-Award-winning Forrest Gump (1994).

There are a number of other fascinating moments in which the game surfaces meaningfully: in Powell and Pressburger’s A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Jacques Tati’s M Hulot’s Holiday (1953), Michael Haneke’s 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994), and Agnes Varda and JR’s Faces Places (2017).

And every day for more than two years, from 2020 to 2022, one of the world’s most beloved filmmakers, David Lynch, uploaded YouTube videos in which he pulled a numbered ping pong ball from a jar and declared it “today’s number”. It was a fittingly Dada-esque gesture that stands among the last mysterious works he shared with the world.

Enter Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. The title sequence alone discovers a new way of visualising the game’s iconography, as we see a sperm fertilise an egg, which then transforms into a ping pong ball (the digital effects first witnessed in Gump are now fully integrated into popular cinema).

Why Marty Supreme is different

Marty Supreme is very loosely based on the real-life player Marty Reisman (here Marty Mauser, played by Timothée Chalamet). What sets it apart from earlier cinematic appearances of table tennis is that it centres the game as a sport.

When table tennis has previously appeared in film, it is usually to help show off new special effects or as a brief plot device. Or it frequently appears in the background, helping to furnish the mise-en-scene of an office, basement, or bar. In these instances, we might not notice the game or its materials at all. When it does have a narrative function, it usually occupies a single scene, frequently serving to stage or resolve fraught interpersonal relations between the characters who are playing.

In Marty Supreme, however, table tennis seems neither tethered to special effects nor, certainly, to the game’s “background” status. Chalamet trained extensively over the seven years he spent preparing for the role, even taking his own table to the desert while filming Dune (2021). And despite the film’s sometimes compelling eccentricities, Marty Supreme in many senses follows the generic blueprint of a sports film.

Safdie has made a sports film, coincidentally or not, like his frequent collaborator and brother Benny Safdie, whose wrestling film The Smashing Machine was also released this past year. Marty Supreme, though, revolves around an athlete who plays a game that generally has been assumed to not have enough gravitas to command a place in the genre or to hold an audience’s interest.

The absence of sports films about ping pong certainly speaks to ways in which it is perceived as something not worth taking too seriously, for reasons that are surely at least partially linked to the same reasons for which the game is often celebrated. It is perceived to be what I refer to as an “equalising” sport, open to people and bodies of all backgrounds and types.

As actor Susan Sarandon, who founded her own chain of ping pong bars, puts it: “Ping pong cuts across all body types and gender – everything, really – because little girls can beat big muscley guys. You don’t get hurt; it is not expensive; it is really good for your mind. It is one of the few sports that you can play until you die.”

This perception of the game has perhaps also led it to appear in more comedic contexts, with athletes embodied by actors we might more readily laugh at, as source material for visual and sonic gags, from a slapstick scene in You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man (1939) to the widely panned Balls of Fury (2007).

The tension between the game’s perceived triviality and Mauser’s extreme dedication lends Marty Supreme a vast blank canvas – or ping pong table – onto which its oscillations can be painted, or played… and in turn felt by the audience, with its high highs and low lows.

While it’s great that a talented director has poured his heart into a cinematic treatment of Reisman for the screen, I’m holding out hope for an Ivor Montagu film, which could be even more beholden to its real-life character – and even more wild.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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3 Doors Down singer Brad Arnold dies after cancer diagnosis

Source: Radio New Zealand

Brad Arnold, a founder and lead singer of American rock band 3 Doors Down, died on Saturday, nine months after disclosing that he had kidney cancer, the group said. He was 47.

Arnold said in a May 2025 social media video that he had been diagnosed with advanced-stage clear cell renal carcinoma that had spread to one of his lungs. 3 Doors Down cancelled their planned 2025 summer tour because of his illness.

3 Doors Down, formed in 1996 in Escatawpa, Mississippi, rose to popularity in 2000 with the Arnold-penned single ‘Kryptonite’, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other hits included ‘When I’m Gone’ and ‘Here Without You’, both top-five singles on the Billboard Hot 100. The band has been described as post-grunge, alternative rock and hard rock.

“As a founding member, vocalist and original drummer of 3 Doors Down, Brad helped redefine mainstream rock music, blending post-grunge accessibility with emotionally direct songwriting and lyrical themes that resonated with everyday listeners,” the band said in a statement posted on its official Instagram account.

Arnold died peacefully surrounded by loved ones including his wife Jennifer, according to the statement. The statement did not state where Arnold died.

“Above all, he was a devoted husband to Jennifer, and his kindness, humor and generosity touched everyone fortunate enough to know him,” the band’s statement said.

“Those closest to him will remember not only his talent, but his warmth, humility, faith and deep love for his family and friends.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Two common phrases that don’t help when a child is in pain

Source: Radio New Zealand

It happens in slow motion. Your six-year-old daughter is sprinting across the playground at school drop-off time when her toe catches on uneven ground. She goes down hard.

The playground goes silent. She freezes and looks up, straight at you. In that split second, she scans your face for data. Should she be terrified?

I’ve been there. I’d like to tell you that my pain scientist brain kicks in immediately. But honestly, it’s usually my panicked parent brain that gets there first. My stomach drops and my instinct is to gasp or rush in to fix it.

Easing children back into movement after an injury teaches them our bodies are designed to heal.

Jayson Hinrichsen / Unsplash

This reaction is typical because we want to protect our kids. However, these moments are opportunities to teach children that their bodies are adaptable. Our reactions teach them whether pain is a disaster to be feared, or a feeling that’s safe to feel.

When adults are the volume knob

Children look to adults and even borrow our nervous system to gauge danger. They read our tone and posture as clues to determine how worried they should feel.

Research into everyday pain shows incidents such as bumps, cuts and scrapes happen frequently. For active toddlers in daycare, they occur about once every three hours. In these moments, adults often respond to the child’s distress, such as crying, rather than the actual severity of the injury.

When we panic, we turn the child’s pain volume knob up. When parents are highly distressed and protective about their child’s pain, it can make children more fearful. They may avoid activity or have more trouble with pain over time.

On the other hand, remaining calm helps children turn the volume down. We teach them that the alarm can be loud without the threat being catastrophic.

Two phrases that can backfire

It’s tempting to try to switch the alarm off immediately. However, two common phrases can shut down a child’s signal for help too quickly.

“You are OK”

It’s a common assumption that pain is only real when there is visible damage. Telling a child they’re fine when they’re clearly hurting can feel dishonest. It suggests their internal signals are wrong.

“Don’t cry”

Crying is a healthy signal for help. Asking a child to suppress it suggests the sensation is too scary to be acknowledged, cutting communication without resolving the underlying feeling of threat.

The internal scan versus the spoken message

A better approach is to separate what you do in your head from what you say out loud. Staying calm doesn’t mean ignoring genuine warning signs. The goal is calibrated concern, which is a middle ground between panic and dismissiveness.

Before saying anything, do a rapid risk scan. If they’re safe, responsive and breathing, you have confirmed it’s not an emergency. (Parents should still watch for red flags such as vomiting, confusion, unusual sleepiness, or pain that worsens rather than improves.)

If the injury is a minor scrape, you can shift to validation: “that looked sore”, “you got a fright”, or “I am here”. You are confirming verbally that they’re safe.

Age matters

Toddlers (2 to 5 years) rely on your facial expressions to know how to feel. Keep words simple and use physical comfort.

Primary school-aged kids (6 to 12 years) may want to be more involved in the solution, such as helping clean a scrape.

Teens can need a mix of validation and space. Ask what they need from you instead of doing everything for them.

From protection to movement

Once the tears settle, the recovery phase shapes the child’s relationship with movement. For years, the standard advice was RICER (rest, ice, compression, elevation, referral). Now, emerging evidence suggests that complete rest may delay healing.

Updated guidelines have shifted to the soft tissue injuries assessment maxim PEACE & LOVE.

PEACE applies immediately: protect, elevate, avoid anti-inflammatories, compress, educate. LOVE follows after a few days: load, optimism, vascularisation (promoting blood flow via cardio), exercise.

The big shift here is optimism and load. This approach teaches children their bodies are designed to heal and guides them back to gentle movement.

Three tiny experiments to try

1. Name it to tame it

Help your child turn a scary feeling into a piece of data. We found that even children without chronic pain have average pain ratings that fluctuate by up to 6 points out of 10 over six weeks. This volatility is typical. For tweens and older, you can ask, “What number is your pain right now on a scale from 0–10?”. This implicitly shows them that pain is changeable and usually drops quickly.

2. Calm, then choose

Your calm nervous system helps soothe theirs. Try getting down to their level and take three slow breaths together. Depending on their age, you can then offer a choice to regain control: “Do you want to sit with me a bit longer or try walking to the slide?”

3. Retell the story later

Research confirms children can change their concept of pain through stories. Later that night, try parent-child reminiscing, which is where you retell the story of the fall together.

Focus on personal strengths: “You were brave. You took deep breaths and then you got back up and played again”. This accurately reframes the memory from “I got hurt” to “I got hurt and I coped”.

Good enough is enough

If you overreacted to a recent mishap, be kind to yourself. Kids benefit from “good enough” patterns where their pain is taken seriously and their bodies are seen as capable.

So, let’s take a breath when bumps happen. Your child is looking at you. You have an opportunity to show them they’re safe and that their capable body knows how to heal.

Joshua Pate is a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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House Minority Leader Jefferies unleashes furious response to Trump ‘racist’ post

Source: Radio New Zealand

US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images / AFP

US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has ripped into the US president, saying “f***k Donald Trump” in a social media clip, responding to a racist video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes that was shared on Trump’s Truth Social account.

Jeffries said the post, which sparked bipartisan outrage for its racist messaging, was intentional and launched a blistering personal attack on the president.

“This disgusting video posted by the so-called president was done intentionally,” Jeffries said. “F**k Donald Trump, and his vile, racist and malignant behaviour.

“This guy is an unhinged bottom feeder.”

The video Trump’s account shared late Thursday night – before it was removed hours later – briefly showed former president Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama with their faces superimposed on the bodies of apes, at the end of a longer clip promoting false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Jeffries praised the Obamas as “brilliant, caring and patriotic Americans”, and said they “represent the best of this country”.

He also called on senior Republicans to publicly break with Trump, naming Senate Republican leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, and urging them to denounce what he described as Trump’s repeated racist conduct.

“It’s time for John Thune, Mike Johnson and Republicans to denounce this serial fraudster who’s sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave pretending to be the president of the United States,” Jeffries said.

The White House initially defended the post, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissing criticism as “fake outrage”, before later blaming a staffer for sharing the video and confirming it had been removed. Trump has not apologised.

The post prompted swift backlash from across the political spectrum. Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina called the video racist and urged Trump to remove it.

At the same time, New York Republicans Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota also publicly condemned the post and called for an apology.

Jeffries’ outburst comes against the backdrop of previous incidents in which Trump or members of his administration shared racially offensive or digitally altered content targeting Democrats, including imagery of Jeffries himself wearing a fake moustache and sombrero, which Jeffries has previously described as racist.

While Trump has a long history of reposting conspiratorial or inflammatory material online, he really deletes a post or acknowledges responsibility for it.

The Obamas have not commented publicly on the video. CNN has contacted their office for comment.

– CNN/RNZ

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Marty Supreme is sociopathic in his pursuit of glory. Why do we want him to win?

Source: Radio New Zealand

Marty Supreme is a frenetic tale inspired by Marty Reisman, the charismatic American table tennis champion of the 1950s.

Charged by Timothée Chalamet’s electric lead performance – alongside a stellar supporting cast (including Gwyneth Paltrow), and director Josh Safdie’s signature, anxiety-inducing aesthetic – the film captures a young man’s all-or-nothing quest for greatness.

Marty Mauser is a morally ambiguous protagonist with a sociopathic, self-obsessed pursuit of glory. But Safdie invites the audience to champion his quest. In this, Marty emerges as a particularly compelling entry into Hollywood’s longstanding tradition of unlikable heroes.

Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme.

A24

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Suicide bomber kills 31 in Shi’ite mosque in Pakistan’s capital

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Asif Shahzad, Reuters

Security personnel and locals gather at a blast site inside a mosque in Islamabad on February 6, 2026. GHULAM RASOOL / AFP

An attacker opened fire at the gates of a Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Islamabad on Friday (all times local) before setting off a suicide bomb and killing at least 31 people, in the deadliest attack of its kind in Pakistan’s capital in over a decade.

More than 170 others were wounded in the explosion, detonated after guards challenged the attacker as he made his way into the Khadija Tul Kubra Imambargah compound on the outskirts of the city, officials said.

Images from the site showed bloodied bodies lying on the carpeted mosque floor surrounded by shards of glass, debris and panicked worshippers. Dozens more wounded were lying in the gardens of the compound as people called for help.

The man blew “himself up in the last row of worshippers,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif wrote on X.

He said the bomber had a history of travelling to Afghanistan and blamed neighbouring India for sponsoring the assault, without providing evidence.

There was no immediate response from New Delhi, which has dismissed Pakistan’s accusations of backing militants in the past.

Capital already on alert for visit

The attack was the deadliest suicide bombing in Islamabad in more than a decade, according to conflict monitor ACLED, which said it “bears the hallmarks of the Islamic State”.

Shi’ites, who are in the minority in the predominantly Sunni Muslim nation of 241 million, have been targeted in sectarian violence in the past, including by Islamic State and the Sunni Islamist group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Bombings are rare in the heavily guarded capital, although Pakistan has been hit by a rising wave of militancy in the past few years, particularly along the border with Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s foreign ministry condemned the attack. Kabul has repeatedly denied charges that it provides safe haven to militants carrying out attacks in Pakistan.

“A total of 31 people have lost their lives. The number of wounded brought to hospitals has risen to 169,” Islamabad’s Deputy Commissioner, Irfan Memon, said in a statement.

The capital was already on high alert on Friday for the visiting President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, with roads around the capital blocked by checkpoints and security forces posted across the city.

“We are giving every possible help to the families of those killed and those injured,” Pakistan’s parliamentary affairs minister Tariq Fazal said after visiting the wounded at Islamabad’s Polyclinic hospital.

Week of violence

Pakistan has also blamed India for assaults by militants in the restive Balochistan province over the weekend, accusations that have fanned smouldering tensions between the nuclear-powered neighbours who engaged in their worst conflict in decades in May.

New Delhi has denied any involvement in the violence in Balochistan where Pakistan’s military has battled a decades-long insurgency.

That region was brought to a standstill after separatist militants stormed government buildings, hospitals and markets in a coordinated attack, killing 58 civilians and security officials. The military said it killed 216 militants in targeted offensives across the province.

The military said earlier on Friday that another 24 militants linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan were killed in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The last major attack in Islamabad was a suicide bombing on 11 November that killed 12 people and wounded 27 others. Pakistan said it was carried out by an Afghan national. No group claimed responsibility for that attack.

– Reuters

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Lower pollution during Covid boosted methane: study

Source: Radio New Zealand

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By Julien Mivielle and Laurent Thomet, AFP

Methane levels rose at a record pace in the wake of the pandemic, research has found. 123RF

In an ironic twist, lower air pollution during Covid lockdowns fuelled an unprecedented surge in the powerful greenhouse gas methane in the early 2020s, a study said Thursday.

Methane levels rose at a record pace in the wake of the pandemic as the super pollutant’s main natural “cleaning agent” weakened during that period, the research found.

The rise was also partly attributed to an increase in emissions from wetlands, lakes, rivers and agriculture, the result of wetter-than-average conditions in tropical areas, according to the study published in the journal Science.

Methane, the second biggest contributor to climate change, stays in the atmosphere far less longer than CO2, but its warming effect is roughly 80 times more potent over a 20-year period.

The greenhouse gas is scrubbed from the atmosphere over time by hydroxyl radicals (OH), molecules that act as natural “cleaning agents” and have a very short lifespan.

As Covid lockdowns limited travel and kept businesses shut, it caused a decline in a key ingredient – nitrogen oxide – which is needed to produce hydroxyl radicals.

“These drops in OH are partly linked to the fact that we emitted less nitrogen oxide,” Philippe Ciais, the study’s lead author, said in a press briefing.

“It seems paradoxical: We pollute less but it’s not good for methane [levels],” said Ciais, associate director at the Laboratory of Climate and Environment Sciences outside Paris.

The sharp drop in hydroxyl radicals in 2020 and 2021 explains roughly 80 percent of the annual variation in methane accumulation, the study said.

Methane levels had been rising steadily since 2007 but their growth accelerated during the pandemic, peaking at 16.2 parts per billion per year in 2020 before declining by half by 2023.

“The impressive increase in methane in the air at the beginning of the 2020s is mainly due to a reduction in the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere,” Ciais said.

The paradox raises questions about how to ensure that clean air policies and efforts to cut pollution from cars, planes and ships do not have a negative effect on climate.

Marielle Saunois, a co-author of the study, described it as “collateral damage”.

“For me, this means we need to improve air quality and, even more importantly, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, to offset these negative effects linked to the chemical-climate relationship,” Saunois said.

The methane pledge

The paper also linked the rise in methane levels to exceptionally wet conditions due to the cooling La Niña weather phenomenon between 2020 and 2023, especially in tropical Africa and southeast Asia.

Some 40 percent of methane emissions come from natural sources, mainly wetlands.

The rest are from human activities, particularly agriculture and the energy sector.

“As the planet becomes warmer and wetter, methane emissions from wetlands, inland waters, and paddy rice systems will increasingly shape near-term climate change,” said Hanqin Tian, a Boston College professor and co-author of the study.

The scientists said these effects need to be better understood and factored into global efforts to reduce methane emissions.

Under the Global Methane Pledge, launched at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, nearly 160 countries have committed to cutting global methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030 compared with 2020 levels.

– AFP

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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How an ancestry DNA test can potentially blow up your life

Source: Radio New Zealand

If you unwrapped an online ancestry DNA test for Christmas, you might be feeling curious – even excited – about discovering your cultural heritage and family tree.

But did the accompanying card warn it could also blow up your life?

Before you join the more than 26 million people globally who have undertaken ancestry DNA testing through direct-to-consumer companies, there are some important things to consider.

Public health genomics expert Dr Jane Tiller categorises ancestry testing as “recreational genetics” and says accuracy is not guaranteed.

Google DeepMind / Pexels

Why do some people live to 100?

Getting more than you bargained for

For people who know they are adopted or donor-conceived, genealogical DNA testing may be useful and necessary to connect with their biological family when records are otherwise inaccessible.

But if you’re taking these tests as just “a bit of fun”, know there is the risk of uncovering more than you are prepared for, explains Dr Jane Tiller.

“People don’t always expect [their results] can have a dark side — the family tree might not be what they expect,” says Tiller, an ethical, legal and social adviser in public health genomics at Monash University.

Uncovering unexpected family connections can be “life-altering”, says Dr Jo-Ann Sparrow, leading to feelings of betrayal and identity confusion.

She is the president at Jigsaw Queensland, an organisation that provides information, support and referrals for people affected by past adoption practices, including those who discover they are adopted later in life.

“Some learn they were adopted, or donor-conceived [through DNA testing],” explains Sparrow.

“Common reactions include shock, disbelief, anger, confusion, and a sense of betrayal — especially if the truth was hidden by loved ones.”

While sometimes surprising results can lead to positive outcomes, experts warn it’s important to be prepared for the potential impact of uncovering a “family secret”.

In more extreme cases, people may discover they are linked to something criminal or distressing, explains Andelka Phillips, an associate professor in the law school at the University of Leicester and an academic affiliate with the HeLEX Centre, University of Oxford.

For example, a fertility doctor using their own sperm to inseminate patients, or IVF companies using the “wrong sperm” to conceive children.

There can also be cultural implications, Phillips explains.

“Ethnicity [testing] is not standardised, and it might impact your view of your cultural or ethnic identity.”

What will happen to your data?

Where your DNA sample is stored and how your data is used are other considerations.

In 2023, hackers stole the profile and ethnicity information of millions of people from one such company — 23andMe.

Philips says most people don’t read the fine print of genealogical DNA testing.

“The price of these kits has dropped a lot … the profit [these companies] make is from the data and partnerships that emerge from having a large database.

“23andme did have partnerships with pharmaceutical companies; there’s always been this tendency to reuse the data for research.”

In Australia, genetic data is protected as “sensitive information” under the Privacy Act, but that doesn’t mean it’s untouchable.

And if you are sending your DNA to another country, as often is the case with these tests, “you have to know your country’s laws cease to have any impact”, says Tiller.

As more of us use ancestry websites and DNA testing as a bit of harmless fun, experts warn that many people are unprepared for what they might find.

Phillips says people should think about privacy issues and be aware that data leaks are possible.

Data breaches can also affect children, grandchildren and so on, she says.

“Taking any of these tests, you need to think about how comfortable you are with the privacy of your data.

“Would it matter to you if your data was leaked in a breach? Would it be a problem for you if you couldn’t get insurance coverage because of having a test?”

Is ancestry testing accurate?

There is a spectrum of direct-to-consumer DNA testing available, including genetic testing for medical information.

Tiller categorises ancestry testing as “recreational genetics” and says accuracy is not guaranteed.

“There is a reasonable degree of evidence behind what you get back — but over time that might shift, as that evidence base is still developing.”

She says ancestry testing is not standardised, so results may vary from company to company.

Phillips says being informed is vital before taking this type of test.

“I’m not anti-industry, but this is an industry that really needs better oversight and standards.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Donald Trump, Xi Jinping discuss Taiwan and soybeans in call aimed at easing China, US relations

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Xiuhao Chen

US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping shake hands as they arrive for talks at the Gimhae Air Base on 30 October 2025. AFP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

China is considering buying more US-farmed soybeans, President Donald Trump says after what he called “very positive” talks with President Xi Jinping, even as Beijing warned Washington about arms sales to Taiwan.

In a goodwill gesture two months before Trump’s expected visit to Beijing, Trump said Xi would consider hiking soybean purchases from the United States to 20 million tons in the current season, up from 12m tons previously. Soybean futures rallied sharply.

Hours after Xi’s virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xi and Trump discussed Taiwan and a wide range of trade and security issues that remain a source of tension between the world’s two biggest economies. Both leaders publicly affirmed their personal stake in strong relations after the call, their first since November.

Trump said the call was “all very positive,” that his relationship with Xi is “extremely good” and that “we both realize how important it is to keep it that way.” An official Chinese government account said that Xi had said, “I attach great importance to Sino-U.S. relations.”

Though Trump has tagged China as the reason for several hawkish policy steps from Canada to Greenland and Venezuela, he has eased policy toward Beijing in the past several months in key areas from tariffs to advanced computer chips and drones.

“Both sides are signalling that they want to preserve stability in the US-China relationship,” said Bonnie Glaser, head of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a think tank.

Areas of tension and goodwill gestures

One key area of tension is on Taiwan policy. The United States announced its largest-ever arms sales deal with Taiwan in December, including $11.1 billion in weapons that could ostensibly be used to defend against an attack by China. Taiwan expects more such sales.

China views Taiwan as its own territory, a position Taipei rejects. The United States has formal diplomatic ties with China, but maintains unofficial ties with Taiwan and is the island’s most important arms supplier. The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

“The United States must carefully handle arms sales to Taiwan,” China said in an official summary of the meeting. The dismissal or investigation into several senior military leaders in China has stirred concern about the implications for Chinese foreign policy. Trump downplayed the investigation into Central Military Commission vice-chairman Zhang Youxia, saying over the weekend that “as far as I’m concerned, there’s one boss in China,” and “that’s President Xi”.

The last nuclear treaty between Russia and the United States is soon to expire, raising the risk of a new arms race in which China would also play a key role with its own growing nuclear stockpile. Trump has said that he wants China to be part of arms control. The Kremlin said it was a topic between Xi and Putin.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment about whether arms control had been discussed between Xi and Trump.

Soybeans, airplanes and oil

Economic issues continue to be a flashpoint between the world’s biggest consumer and its biggest factory. Trump has made tariffs on imports a pillar of his strategy to revive domestic manufacturing jobs. US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday (local time) unveiled plans for a preferential trade bloc of allies for critical minerals, part of an effort to eliminate one key area of leverage that China has over the United States given its control of key metals. But the two sides are working to find areas of accord heading into an expected April state visit by Trump to Beijing. Trump and Xi last met in person in October in South Korea, where a fragile trade truce was struck.

Soybeans are a key issue because struggling US farmers are a major domestic political constituency for Trump, and China is the top consumer. Overseas sales of US soybeans this year slumped to the lowest in 14 years due to trade tensions with China. Benchmark Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures surged more than 3 percent to a two-month high after Trump’s post.

China’s commerce ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the soybean purchases Trump mentioned.

US Representative Ro Khanna, a House of Representatives Democrat who sits on a select committee focused on China, criticized Trump’s effort at dealmaking.

“He points to China’s soybean buying as proof of progress, despite volumes still trailing where they stood before he took office,” Khanna said in a statement. “He says nothing about China’s aggression towards Taiwan, support for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or human rights abuses.”

In addition to soybeans, the US and Chinese leaders discussed Iran, Russia’s war in Ukraine, airplane engines and oil and gas, Trump said.

China has been Venezuela’s top oil buyer for years, and the sales helped Caracas repay massive loans to Beijing in debt-for-oil deals. The United States removed President Nicolas Maduro last month, and it has suggested that China will have to buy Venezuelan oil on US terms.

– Reuters

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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A Harry Potter villain is now an unlikely new-year mascot in China

Source: Radio New Zealand

Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter’s privileged teen nemesis in J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful book series, is popping up in festive displays in the country ahead of the Lunar New Year.

The good fortune is in the name: “Malfoy” is transliterated as “Ma Er Fu” in Mandarin. The first word “Ma” means “horse” (马), while the third refers to good fortune (福). Read together, it sounds like horses are bringing good luck.

Videos on Chinese social media show people adorning their homes with red posters carrying well-wishing phrases, known as fai chun or chunlian, in an annual festive ritual.

Only this time, alongside messages wishing for wealth and health is the signature grin of the blond bully from Hogwarts school.

The Year of the Horse begins on 17 February with the end of the Year of the Snake (an animal equally apt for Malfoy, as the symbol of Slytherin, his house at Hogwarts).

The Harry Potter franchise has been a hit in China. Nearly 10 million translated copies of books were sold even before the last instalment was released in 2007, its Chinese publisher told state broadcaster CCTV that year.

When the re-mastered version of the first Harry Potter movie was released again in 2020, the film raked in US$27.6 million (NZ$46m) at China’s box office, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Tom Felton, who played Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series for a decade from 2001, marked his most famous role’s unlikely crossover.

He posted a picture on his Instagram of a giant banner hanging at the atrium of a Chinese shopping mall, featuring the character in a wizard costume.

A short clip on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, shows someone sticking their Malfoy-faced fai chun on their fridge. The video garnered more than 60,000 likes, with another user commenting: “You’re genius.”

Some in China have spotted an opportunity to make a few bucks, selling the posters on Chinese e-commerce platforms.

“The fu has arrived,” one customer wrote on Pinduoduo, another e-commerce platform.

“Bring me some fortune in 2026, young master,” they said.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand