Taiwan's premier countersigns a US$7.5 billion budget bill for drone procurement development, with the Cabinet citing national security. A former Pentagon official visits a drone research and development hub in Chiayi to talk strategy for developing "non-red" supply chains free of Chinese components. And the appearance of a rat during a pro baseball game in Taipei reignites debates over the city's alleged rodent problem. Also:
- UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have their first official phone call, but the two sides put out different readouts of the discussion.
- Three more Hong Kong activists are sentenced to years in prison under the Beijing-imposed national security laws.
- Taiwan sees record bank lending to tech manufacturers amid the AI boom, but smaller firms in other industries are having a harder time securing financing.
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