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Geopolitics

Hacker Attack On Sarkozy's Facebook Page

Internet hackers sabotage French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Facebook page, falsely announcing he will not run for a second term in office in 2012

PARIS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has again been targeted by Internet hackers, who posted a false announcement Sunday night on his Facebook page that he'd decided not to run for reelection next year. Sarkozy later responded good-humouredly on the same FB fan page that the "slightly hasty conclusions' of the message were not actually his.

For 15 minutes Sunday evening, Sarkozy's Facebook fans were reading a message in an approximate and abbreviated French that read: "Dear Fellow Countrymen, given the exceptional circumstances that our country faces, and after having searched my soul and good conscience, I have decided not to stand for office when my term ends in 2012." Though it was quickly removed, the hacker's work prompted hundreds of responses on both Facebook and Twitter.

The message recalled another real Facebook page, which counts 200,000 fans, announcing "Nicolas Sarkozy's farewell drinks' on May 6, 2012, the date he would leave office if not elected to a second term.

A few hours later, the Head of State posted a new message to reassure his supporters. He explained that he was hacked, evidence that "no system is foolproof."

Sarkozy has been a frequent target on the Internet, including repeated instances of "Google bombing", where the search engine is triggered to change where a visitor is directed when searching for a term or name. As for Facebook, the French president was at the center of controversy when he had recounted on the site his supposed first-hand memories of witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall. The authenticity of his testimony had been questioned.

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Economy

How A Xi Jinping Dinner In San Francisco May Have Sealed Mastercard's Arrival In China

The credit giant becomes only the second player after American Express to be allowed to set up a bank card-clearing RMB operation in mainland China.

Photo of a hand holding a phone displaying an Union Pay logo, with a Mastercard VISA logo in the background of the photo.

Mastercard has just been granted a bank card clearing license in China.

Liu Qianshan

-Analysis-

It appears that one of the biggest beneficiaries from Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to San Francisco was Mastercard.

The U.S. credit card giant has since secured eagerly anticipated approval to expand in China's massive financial sector, having finally obtained long sought approval from China's central bank and financial regulatory authorities to initiate a bank card business in China through its joint venture with its new Chinese partner.

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Through a joint venture in China between Mastercard and China's NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, dubbed Mastercard NUCC, it has officially entered mainland China as an RMB currency clearing organization. It's only the second foreign business of its kind to do so following American Express in 2020.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the development is linked to Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting on Nov. 15 with U.S. President Joe Biden in San Francisco, part of a two-day visit that also included dinner that Xi had with U.S. business executives.

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