Review7

  The top US general has said China's suspected hypersonic missile test is close to a Sputnik moment, referring to the Soviet satellite launch that sparked a Cold War arms race. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said in an interview with Bloomberg News that the Chinese military was "expanding rapidly". The Financial Times reports that the test stunned the US military. Beijing denies any missile test, saying instead it was a spacecraft. "What we saw was a very significant event of a test of a hypersonic weapon system. And it is very concerning," Gen Milley told Bloomberg. "I don't know if it's quite a Sputnik moment, but I think it's very close to that. It has all of our attention." His comment is the first official acknowledgement by the US of claims that China conducted two missile tests over the summer. Reports indicate that it was a nuclear-capable missile that could evade US air defence systems. The 1957 Soviet satellite...

Petrol stations in many parts of China have begun rationing diesel amid rising costs and falling supplies. Some truck drivers are having to wait entire days to refuel, according to posts on social media site Weibo. China is currently in the midst of a massive power crunch, as coal and natural gas shortages have closed factories and left homes without power. And this latest issue is only likely to contribute to an ongoing global supply chain crisis, say analysts. "The current diesel shortages seem to be affecting long distance transportation businesses which could include goods meant for markets outside of China," said Mattie Bekink, China Director at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "Depending on the duration and intensity of this crunch, we could well see this contribute to the global supply chain challenges." The global supply chain crisis has been largely driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, with demand surging as economies re-open. In China, trucks are only being al...

  Iran has agreed to resume crucial nuclear talks   before the end of November," the country's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani said in a tweet on Wednesday. Bagheri Kani was meeting Enrique Mora, the EU's External Action Service Deputy Head, in Brussels on Wednesday, to discuss the resumption of talks that were suspended in June after six rounds. Iran had been holding the talks in Vienna with China, Germany, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and indirectly the United States. The negotiations aim to resurrect the nuclear deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, under which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Iran stopped complying with the deal after former US President Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement in 2018 and imposed a maximum pressure campaign on Iran with stiff new sanctions. Under the Biden administration, the US has continuously called for Iran's return ...