Good morning. The US and China hold another round of high-level discussions. Australia’s renewables boom has managed to dodge a pullback across the broader sphere. And a Japanese anime film smashes records in the US and Canada. Listen to the day’s top stories.
— Samantha Stewart
From trade to TikTok. Day one of talks between US and Chinese officials in Madrid ran the gamut, with both superpowers addressing tariffs, security and US operations for the popular Chinese-owned social media platform. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are also preparing for a potential meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping as soon as next month. Ahead of the discussions, Beijing launched semiconductor probes targeting the US.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau expressed regret over the recent detention of hundreds of South Korean workers in Georgia. Landau said that the 316 individuals who returned home Friday on a chartered jet after being detained will face no disadvantage when re-entering the US, according to South Korea’s foreign ministry.
Just a day after saying he was losing patience with Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, Trump said he’s ready to impose “major” sanctions on Russian oil if NATO countries agree to do the same and stop buying Moscow’s crude. The US president is also proposing tariffs of 50% to 100% on China to help end the war in Ukraine.
Australia will pour A$12 billion ($8 billion) into a defense hub to build naval ships and dock nuclear submarines, as Canberra seeks to bolster US backing for the Aukus pact. Separately, the Philippines, Japan and the US deployed vessels and aircraft during a joint exercise in the South China Sea, the Philippine military said.
Deep Dive: Australia’s Renewables Boom
Australia has managed to duck a pullback in the broader renewables sphere, with the country already on track to overshoot its 2030 rooftop solar targets by more than 4%.
And the enthusiasm doesn’t end with solar. Residential batteries are having their moment, too. Sales almost tripled in the first half of 2025 from a year earlier in the lead up to a program the government launched back in July to cut upfront costs of home batteries.
But it’s not all sunshine and roses. A weak grid, limited interconnector capacity between states and the slow rollout of key transmission projects pose big risks for new large renewable energy developments, according to BloombergNEF.
Many flagship emissions-reduction projects in the country—including green hydrogen and offshore wind—have faced setbacks.
SoftBank’s foray into generative AI and investment in OpenAI bring back memories of WeWork, Shuli Ren writes. While for now Masayoshi Son is riding high, he’s once again late to the game and staring into a bottomless pit.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle.Source: Sony Pictures
Surging appeal of Japanese anime. Sony Pictures’ Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle was the top movie in US and Canadian theaters, setting an opening weekend record for the genre with a haul of $70 million.
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