Plus: Biden and Trump's economic record, and Spain's pineapple-based dating craze ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. A former top aide to New York Governor Kathy Hochul has been charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government. Sam Cabral has all the details. In France, Andrew Harding reflects on how yet another migrant boat tragedy in the English Channel adds to French residents' frustration with the UK. Also, BBC Verify takes a closer look at US economic performance under the current and previous president - a hot election issue. Finally, Guy Hedgecoe reports on how pineapples have become a symbol of romantic hope in Spain. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Governor's ex-aide charged as China agent | | Ms Sun and Mr Hu were arrested at their $3.5m (£2.7m) Long Island home on Tuesday. Credit: Reuters | A former deputy chief of staff to New York Governor Kathy Hochul has been charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government. Linda Sun was fired from her role in 2023 after the governor's office discovered "evidence of misconduct" and reported it to the authorities. She and her husband Christopher Hu face 10 criminal counts, including violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. The couple pleaded not guilty to the charges. The indictment details a series of actions Ms Sun took "at the order, direction, or request" of Beijing, including preventing Taiwanese diplomats from speaking to New York officials. In return, prosecutors say Ms Sun was given rewards totalling millions of dollars, and the couple laundered large amounts of money to buy luxuries, including a Ferrari and property in Hawaii and New York.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines: Former Philippine mayor Alice Guo, who was on the run for weeks after being accused of spying for China, has been arrested in Indonesia.
Analysis: In May, BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera wrote about China's growing espionage threat, and how the West has struggled to keep up.
Not just China: In July, a prominent US expert on North Korea was accused of spying for South Korea in exchange for luxury goods and fancy meals. Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst, has denied the charges. | |
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WORLD HEADLINES | | Hamas leadership: The US has charged Yahya Sinwar and several other prominent figures in the Palestinian group in connection with the deadly 7 October attack in southern Israel. | | War in Ukraine: Seven people, three of them children, have been killed in the western city of Lviv, according to the mayor, during a fresh wave of Russian attacks. | | Grenfell inquiry: A damning final report on the 2017 tower block fire in London's Notting Hill area that killed 72 people has blamed failures by governments, the construction industry and the fire brigade. Get the latest. | | Branded a fugitive: A British national has said he is at a loss as to why the Nigerian police have accused him of planning to overthrow the country's government, placing a bounty on his head. | | Tim Burton: The film director was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, laid outside of his favourite childhood costume and toy store in Los Angeles. | |
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| Gap in perception of Channel deaths | | France's interior minister Gerald Darmanin has called for a new migrant treaty between Britain and the EU. Credit: AFP | The capsizing of a boat off the French coast in the English Channel has left 12 people dead, including six children and a pregnant woman. The tragedy has renewed a sense of frustration among French people who see this as a British-made crisis. |
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| | Andrew Harding, Paris correspondent |
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| | “It’s so upsetting,” said Frederic Cuvillier, Boulogne’s mayor, reflecting on the way this long, constantly evolving migrant crisis has reshaped - and traumatised - France’s northern coastline. “These people flee death and end up dying here. Mothers, children… convinced they will find a better life across the Channel,” said Cuvillier, gesturing west, towards a grey sea. In the immediate aftermath of such incidents there is - I have noticed, after witnessing several already this year - a widening gap between the way the French and British react. |
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BEYOND THE HEADLINES | Who can claim the best economic record? |
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| | | Both Biden and Trump claim record economic performances during their presidencies. Credit: BBC | The state of the US economy under President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is a major topic of contention in the White House race ahead of the November election. BBC Verify looks at key economic indicators to compare performance under the two presidencies. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Pasta masters | This Italian ghost town hosts an underground cooking school. | |
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And finally... | It started with a TikTok video and a fruit-based code well known among swingers' communities. Now Spain is in the throes of a pineapple frenzy, as singles around the country descend on supermarkets at 7pm in the hopes to find romance while carrying the tropical fruit. But their quest for love has brought on some disorderly scenes in shops across the country, reports Guy Hedgecoe. | |
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