
-
Mexico says to sue Google if it insists on using 'Gulf of America'
-
Top Russia, US officials to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday
-
Europe leaders battle for unity after Trump shock
-
Djokovic calls for overhaul of 'unfair' anti-doping system
-
Rio swelters in heatwave in run-up to Carnival
-
Israel says committed to Trump plan for Gaza displacement
-
Argentine prosecutors to probe Milei over 'cryptogate'
-
Turkey seals hotel spa illegally set up inside ancient cistern
-
France hosts emergency meeting on Europe response to Trump
-
Revamped Finnish museum says 'Good Bye, Lenin!'
-
Bayern hopeful Kane fit for Celtic clash
-
European leaders meet on response to US Ukraine shift
-
Muhsin Hendricks: S.Africa's gay imam who broke the mould
-
WHO chief urges pandemic accord action after US withdrawal
-
Italy probing Amazon over 1.2b euros in third-party seller VAT
-
Russell, Graham in Scotland squad to face England in Six Nations
-
Israeli military set to miss Lebanon withdrawal deadline despite pushback
-
France cuts prison activities to smooth facial massage outcry
-
Kenya's HIV patients victims of US aid freeze
-
Starmer to meet Trump 'next week': UK govt
-
US tensions add fire to final stretch of German election campaign
-
Italy's Milan upstages Pogacar in UAE Tour first stage
-
Pope's condition 'complex', hospital stay extended: Vatican
-
Liverpool can cope with title nerves: Van Dijk
-
Greece to open museum of ancient undersea treasures
-
European markets rise ahead of Ukraine war talks
-
'Now or never' for pandemic accord, says WHO chief after US pulls out
-
New Zealand's Williamson makes joint move to Middlesex and London Spirit
-
Hollywood should resist Trump pressure, says director Todd Haynes
-
Ukraine war death toll: huge but not fully known
-
Ex-Tour de France winner Thomas to retire at end of season
-
African players in Europe: Marmoush wreaks havoc in 14 minutes
-
Sri Lanka budget banks on car taxes to boost coffers
-
Singapore opposition leader fined for lying to parliament
-
Stock markets start week on mixed note
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to US tax system: reports
-
Champions Trophy set for liftoff after India-Pakistan row, boycott calls
-
US tensions plague final phase of German election campaign
-
Rodgers urges Celtic to be bold against Bayern
-
Chatbot vs national security? Why DeepSeek is raising concerns
-
Court finds Singapore opposition leader guilty of lying to parliament
-
DeepSeek removed from South Korea app stores pending privacy review
-
Rights groups slam Australian plan to transfer criminals to Nauru
-
End of the road for Kolkata's beloved yellow taxis
-
S. Korea says DeepSeek removed from local app stores pending privacy review
-
Navalny's widow seeks to rally divided Russian opposition
-
Taiwan bounty hunters kill invading iguanas as numbers soar
-
Japan 2024 growth slows despite stronger fourth quarter
-
Most Asian markets start week on positive note
-
UK ready to send troops to Ukraine as European leaders to hold war talks

Rubio says China cheated its way to power, rejects 'liberal world order'
Marco Rubio, Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of state, charged Wednesday that China cheated its way to superpower status and vowed to cast aside the "liberal world order" long promoted by the United States.
Rubio faced fellow senators at a confirmation hearing that, other than expected interruptions by protesters, was set to be among the least contentious appearances for Trump's motley array of nominees.
The longtime hawk opened by taking aim at China -- which outgoing President Joe Biden has also called a competitor but nevertheless sought to engage.
Rubio rejected a key tenet of Biden's foreign policy -- prioritizing a rules-based, US-led "liberal world order" -- in favor of Trump's belief in "America First."
"The postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us," Rubio said.
"We welcomed the Chinese Communist Party into this global order. And they took advantage of all its benefits. But they ignored all its obligations and responsibilities," Rubio said.
"Instead, they have lied, cheated, hacked and stolen their way to global superpower status, at our expense."
While highlighting China, Rubio's remarks said that in "Moscow, Tehran and Pyongyang, dictators sow chaos and instability."
He also said that the next US administration would seek "bold diplomacy" with a goal of ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Rubio called for a foreign policy driven solely by whether decisions make the United States safer, stronger and more prosperous.
"While America far too often continued to prioritize the 'global order' above our core national interests, other nations continued to act the way countries always have and always will, in what they perceive to be in their best interest."
Rubio, the son of working-class Cuban immigrants, would become the first Hispanic and first fluent Spanish speaker to be the top US diplomat.
- Expected to coast to confirmation -
Other nominees facing Senate hearings Wednesday include Pam Bondi, tapped for the top law enforcement job of attorney general, who served the same role in Florida and personally defended Trump in his first impeachment trial.
Trump named her after his first choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew following allegations that he paid for sex, including with an underage girl, at drug-fueled parties.
Little controversy surrounds Rubio, a three-term senator generally well-liked by his colleagues and known for his ease in public appearances.
He clashed bitterly with Trump when he challenged him for the 2016 nomination -- with the future president mocking him as "Little Marco" -- but he has come back into good graces.
He is expected to get to work quickly, with sources saying preparations are underway for an immediate four-way meeting on Tuesday in Washington with Rubio's counterparts from the Quad -- Australia, India and Japan.
The Quad has long been seen by China as a US-led platform for the four democracies to encircle it, despite Quad leaders' denials.
Rubio's appearance comes a day after the Biden administration announced it was removing Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism as part of a deal that will free imprisoned protesters.
The move comes almost exactly four years after Trump, on leaving office, put Cuba back on the blacklist.
Rubio, whose parents fled Cuba before Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution and strongly opposed the communists, for years has pushed for tough action against Cuba and other leftist-run Latin American nations such as Venezuela.
Another nominee set for a senate hearing on Wednesday is Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary.
As the governor of South Dakota, Noem raised her profile among Trump supporters with her opposition to Covid pandemic restrictions, but later raised controversy by revealing in a memoir how she killed her family's dog.
Pentagon nominee Pete Hegseth faced a grueling hearing Tuesday, including questioning over his views on women in combat and allegations of sexual abuse, which he denies.
Some of the most potentially fiery hearings are yet to be scheduled, including for vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health and human services director and Trump stalwart ally Kash Patel to head the FBI.
K.Thomson--BTB