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Russia

Khodorkovsky Freed, North Korea Threats, Space Robot

Mikhail Khodorkovsky was freed after spending more than 10 years in jail
Mikhail Khodorkovsky was freed after spending more than 10 years in jail
Worldcrunch

KHODORKOVSKY FREE
Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was freed from prison this morning, after Thursday’s surprise announcement by Vladimir Putin that he would sign a decree pardoning him of his convictions for fraud, tax evasion and embezzlement, Ria Novosti reports.
The international cause célèbre spent a total of 3,709 days in prison.

ROOF COLLAPSE AT LONDON’S APOLLO THEATER
At least 76 people were injured as part of the ceiling of London’s Apollo Theater collapsed in the middle of a performance Thursday evening, with more than 700 people inside, the BBC reports. An investigation was launched into the causes of the incident, which happened after a heavy rainstorm.

THREE PEACEKEEPERS KILLED IN SOUTH SUDAN
Three United Nations peacekeepers from India were killed in South Sudan, after rebels attacked their base,The Times Of India reports. Barack Obama announced Thursday the United States had sent 45 military personnel to protect American citizens in the country, saying that “South Sudan stands at the precipice.” Read more from AP.

NORTH KOREA WARNS SOUTH OF STRIKES
The President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, received threats from North Korea of “retaliatory strikes without warning” if the country didn’t stop anti-Pyongyang rallies in Seoul,The New York Times quotes officials as saying. Earlier this week, demonstrators in the South Korean capital burned posters of Kim Jong-un and described him as a “devil.”

PHILIPPINES MAYOR AMONG 4 DEAD IN MANILA AIRPORT ATTACK
The mayor of a southern Philippine town was shot dead along with his wife and two other people, including an 18-month-old baby, in an attack in the airport of Manila, The Inquirerreports. According to the chief of police, the gunmen were riding motorcycles and wearing police uniforms under black jackets. The motive for the killing is still unknown.

A WARM CHRISTMAS

While snow hits northern hemisphere, Argentinian authorities hold heatwave alert as temperatures reach 32 °C in Buenos Aires.

S&P DOWNGRADES EU
Credit-rating agency Standard & Poor’s stripped the European Union of its AAA rating, citing disagreements among the 28 countries and an increasingly fragile financial profile, theFinancial Times reports.

SPACE SANTA
What does a space robot wish for Christmas? Read it here.

A LOOK BACK ON THE YEAR
Revisit this year’s main events around the world, from the horsemeat and NSA scandals to a papal transition, Typhoon Haiyan and Canada’s singing astronaut: It’s our compilation of top stories from 26 countries.

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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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