Explainer: Why China’s neighbours are worried about its new mega-dam project
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US House Speaker Johnson sees no immediate Russia sanctions action
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson says he does not think Congress should consider sanctions on Russia until after President Donald Trump’s 50-day deadline. Johnson: “We need peace, over there. It’s gone on too long. Too many innocent people are dying” Some members of Congress have been pushing for stiff sanctions, including a Senate bill that would impose 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.
WASHINGTON, July 22 (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on Tuesday he does not think the U.S. Congress should consider sanctions on Russia until after President Donald Trump’s 50-day deadline for Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
“We were talking about sanctioning Russia,” the Louisiana Republican said at a weekly news conference.
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“But I think the House and the Senate agree that the White House having given that deadline of 50 days, we need to allow the commander-in-chief and the administration and the secretary of defense and the Pentagon to do what they’re going to do, and we’ll see how that plays out,” Johnson said.
Some members of Congress have been pushing for stiff sanctions on Russia, including a Senate bill with 85 co-sponsors from both parties that would impose 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. China and India account for about 70% of Russia’s international energy business, which helps fund its war effort.
However, the Republican leaders of the Senate and House have said they will not bring any sanctions legislation up for a vote without Trump’s approval.
Trump on July 14 threatened stiff sanctions on Russia and countries that buy Russian oil, but gave Moscow 50 days to agree to a ceasefire deal.
Johnson called for an end to the war.
“We need peace, over there. It’s gone on too long. Too many innocent people are dying. And we don’t want further American involvement in this at all,” he said.
Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Paul Simao
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Explainer: Why China’s neighbours are worried about its new mega-dam project
China has published little information about how it intends to build the world’s largest building project. China has also conducted necessary communication with downstream countries regarding the construction of the project. The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. It is hoped that the project will be the start of a new era in the world of business and technology. It will also be the beginning of the end for the current generation of business leaders. It could be the first step in the creation of the next generation of world’s most successful and successful business people. It may also be a catalyst for a new wave of innovation in the field of business. It has the potential to be a game-changer in the fields of business, technology and science. It can be used to create a new generation of leaders and a new way of thinking about business and industry. But it could also have a negative impact on the future of the industry as a whole, as it could lead to a decline in the number of people in the industry.
SINGAPORE, July 22 (Reuters) – China has broken ground on what it says will be the world’s largest hydropower project, a $170 billion feat capable of generating enough electricity each year to power Britain.
The scheme dwarfs the mighty Three Gorges Dam, currently the world’s largest, and Chinese construction and engineering stocks surged after Premier Li Qiang unveiled it on the weekend.
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For Beijing, the project promises clean power, jobs and a jolt of stimulus for a slowing economy. For neighbours downstream, it stirs old anxieties about water security: the Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra in India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions.
WHAT EXACTLY DID CHINA APPROVE?
The plan involves five dams along a 50‑km stretch where the river plunges 2,000 metres off the Tibetan Plateau. First power is expected to be generated in the early‑to‑mid 2030s, but beyond that and the price tag, China has published little information about how it intends to build the project.
WHY ARE NEIGHBOURS CONCERNED
That lack of information is compounding fears about water security in India and Bangladesh, which rely on the Brahmaputra for irrigation, hydropower and drinking water.
The chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China, said earlier this year that the dam could dry out 80% of the river passing through the Indian state while potentially inundating downstream areas such as neighbouring Assam state.
In addition to water, the dam will also mean less sediment flowing downstream, according to Michael Steckler, a professor at Columbia University. That sediment carries nutrients essential for agriculture on floodplains downstream.
India and China fought a border war in this region in the 1960s, and the lack of transparency from Beijing has helped fuel speculation it might use the dam to cut off water in another conflict, according to Sayanangshu Modak, an expert on the India-China water relationship at the University of Arizona.
“The construction of the Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project is a matter within the scope of China’s sovereign affairs,” Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday, adding the dam would provide clean energy and prevent flooding.
“China has also conducted necessary communication with downstream countries regarding hydrological information, flood control, and disaster mitigation cooperation related to the Yarlung Zangbo project,” the ministry said.
India’s foreign and water ministries did not respond to requests for comment.
WILL IT STARVE INDIA OF WATER?
But the impact of the dam on downstream flows has been overstated, in part because the bulk of the water that enters the Brahmaputra is from monsoon rainfall south of the Himalayas, and not from China, said Modak.
He added that China’s plans are for a “run of the river” hydropower project, which means the water will flow normally along the usual course of the Brahmaputra.
India itself has proposed two dams on the Siang river, its name for the Yarlung Zangbo. One, an 11.5-gigawatt project in Arunachal Pradesh, will be India’s largest if it goes ahead.
Those have been proposed, in part, to assert India’s claims on the river and bolster its case should China ever seek to divert the water, Modak added.
“If India can show that it has been using the waters, then China cannot unilaterally divert,” he said.
CONTROVERSY IS COMMON
Quarrels over dams and water security are not new. Pakistan has accused India of weaponising shared water supplies in the disputed Kashmir region after New Delhi suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty, which regulates water sharing between the neighbours.
In Egypt, a senior politician was once caught on camera proposing to bomb a controversial Nile river dam planned by Ethiopia during a long-running dispute over the project.
EARTHQUAKE AND EXTREME WEATHER RISKS
The dam will be built in an earthquake zone also prone to landslides, glacial‑lake floods and storms. A spree of dam building in the area sparked concerns from experts about safety following a devastating earthquake in Tibet earlier this year.
A much smaller hydropower project on a nearby tributary has been limited to four‑month construction windows because of engineering challenges in high altitudes and vicious winters.
Reporting by David Stanway in Singapore; Additional reporting by Colleen Howe in Beijing; Writing by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Saad Sayeed
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What is the Chinese-made F-7 jet that crashed into Bangladesh school?
A Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet on a routine training mission crashed into a college and school campus in the capital Dhaka on Monday. At least 31 people were killed, most of them children. The F-7 BGI is the final and most advanced version of China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 family, according to Jane’s Information Group. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran and North Korea are among the countries that have used or still use variants of the F-5, F-6 and F-8. There have been a number of other incidents with F- 7 jets in Pakistan that resulted in deaths of pilots, including two in 2022.
July 22 (Reuters) – A Bangladesh Air Force fighter jet on a routine training mission crashed into a college and school campus in the capital Dhaka on Monday after what the military said was a mechanical failure. At least 31 people were killed, most of them children.
Here’s what we know about the F-7 BGI jet that went down:
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WHAT ARE F-7/J-7 FIGHTER JETS?
The F-7 BGI, which crashed soon after take-off, is a lightweight fighter jet, the final and most advanced version of China’s Chengdu J-7/F-7 family, according to Jane’s Information Group.
The Chengdu J-7 is the licence-built version of the Soviet era MiG-21 and is used for training and limited combat roles. The F-7 is the export variant of J-7.
The South Asian country’s air force has operated F-7 variants since the 1980s. Dhaka signed a contract for 16 BGI version aircraft in 2011 and deliveries were completed by 2013 – the final batch of the manufactured jets.
PRODUCTION OF THE JETS
China manufactured the jets from 1965 to 2013, making it one of the longest-running fighter production lines there. Due to its affordability, the jet was widely exported, especially to developing nations.
The J-7 was fully decommissioned from the Chinese military by the end of 2023 but several countries still use the export variant.
WIDESPREAD USAGE OF F-7
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Egypt, Iran and North Korea are among the countries that have used or still use variants of the F-7.
Pakistan is the largest operator of F-7 aircraft and has 66 of them, according to the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies.
Pakistan also has one of China’s most advanced warplanes, the J-10, and used it to launch air-to-air missiles to bring down at least two Indian fighter jets during the recent conflict between the two countries.
PAST INCIDENTS INVOLVING THE JETS
May 2025 – An Air Force of Zimbabwe pilot died when a F-7 crashed during a routine sortie in the Southern African nation.
June 2022 – A J-7 crashed into residential buildings in the Chinese city of Xiangyang in central Hubei Province, killing at least one person on the ground.
May 2022 – Two Iranian pilots died after their F-7 crashed during a training mission near Anarak, 200 km (125 miles) east of the city of Isfahan.
January 2022 – Two Pakistani Air Force pilots were killed when a FT-7 aircraft, a variant of the F-7, crashed.
There have been a number of other incidents with F-7 jets in Pakistan that resulted in deaths of pilots.
Compiled by Sudipto Ganguly; editing by YP Rajesh and Mark Heinrich
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Philippines’ Marcos to meet Trump hoping to secure trade deal
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet U.S. President Donald Trump this week. He is hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally will secure a more favorable trade deal. Trump this month raised the threatened “reciprocal” tariffs on Philippine imports to 20% from 17% threatened in April. Marcos arrived in Washington on Sunday for talks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and later met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. During his trip, he will also meet U.,S. business leaders investing in the Philippines. The United States had a deficit of nearly $5 billion with the Philippines last year on bilateral goods trade of $23.5 billion. The Philippines and the United States hold dozens of annual exercises, including with the NMESIS anti-ship missile system, and more recently with the anti-missile system, the Typhon missile system. The alliance is helping preserve stability in the South China Sea, Marcos said. He said the mutual defense treaty between the countries is the “cornerstone” of the bilateral relationship.
Item 1 of 5 U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as he welcomes him at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 22, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
Summary Marcos hopes alliance helps get favorable trade deal from Trump
Analyst thinks Philippines may fare better than Vietnam, Indonesia
Philippines aims to strengthen economic, defense ties with US
Marcos is first Southeast Asian leader to visit US in Trump’s second term
Threatened tariffs on Philippines ‘very severe,’ Marcos says
WASHINGTON/MANILA, July 21 (Reuters) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will meet U.S. President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally will secure a more favorable trade deal before an August 1 deadline.
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“I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also on trade,” Marcos said before leaving Manila. “We will see how much progress we can make when it comes to the negotiations with the United States concerning the changes that we would like to institute to alleviate the effects of a very severe tariff schedule on the Philippines.”
The United States had a deficit of nearly $5 billion with the Philippines last year on bilateral goods trade of $23.5 billion. Trump this month raised the threatened “reciprocal” tariffs on Philippine imports to 20% from 17% threatened in April.
Although U.S. allies in Asia such as Japan and South Korea have yet to strike trade deals with Trump, Gregory Poling, a Southeast Asia expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Marcos might be able to do better than Vietnam, with its agreement of a 20% baseline tariff on its goods, and Indonesia at 19%.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see an announcement of a deal with the Philippines at a lower rate than those two,” he said, noting it is a treaty ally closely aligned with the U.S. on China.
Marcos, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, went to the Pentagon on Monday for talks with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and later met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. During his trip, he will also meet U.S. business leaders investing in the Philippines.
‘MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL’ DEAL
Philippine officials say Marcos will stress that Manila must become economically stronger if it is to serve as a truly robust U.S. partner in the Indo-Pacific.
Philippine Assistant Foreign Secretary Raquel Solano said last week trade officials have been working with U.S. counterparts seeking to seal a “mutually acceptable and mutually beneficial” deal.
Solano said the Philippine president would be looking to further strengthen their seven-decade-old defense alliance.
At the Pentagon, Marcos called the mutual defense treaty between the countries the “cornerstone” of the bilateral relationship and said the alliance was helping preserve stability in the South China Sea.
“I thank yourself and the United States government and President Trump for the continuing support that we feel – and that we need – in the face of the threats that we, our country, is facing,” Marcos said.
Hegseth noted deepening military cooperation with Manila, including the deployment of missiles and unmanned systems.
“Together, we must forge a strong shield of real deterrence for peace,” said Hegseth, who visited Manila in March.
With the Philippines facing intense pressure from China in the contested South China Sea, Marcos has pivoted closer to the U.S., expanding access to Philippine military bases amid China’s threats towards Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by Beijing.
The United States and the Philippines hold dozens of annual exercises, which have included training with the U.S. Typhon missile system, and more recently with the NMESIS anti-ship missile system, angering China.
Poling said it was notable that Rubio and Hegseth made sure their Philippine counterparts were the first Southeast Asian officials they met.
He said Trump also seemed to have a certain warmth towards Marcos, based on their phone call after Trump’s reelection.
Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington and Karen Lema in Manila; additional reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by William Mallard, Rod Nickel
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Argentina loosens visa requirement for Chinese citizens
Argentina to allow Chinese citizens to enter country without visas. Move comes after China extended visa-free policy to Brazil, Peru and Chile. Argentina is also part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which it will join in 2022. The move is expected to boost economic ties between the two countries, which have been at odds since the 1930s, when relations were at their lowest.
July 22 (Reuters) – Argentina said on Monday that Chinese citizens with valid U.S. entry visas would not need Argentine visas to enter the country for tourism or business, a loosening of requirements that comes amid warming ties between Beijing and Buenos Aires.
Argentina is a key supplier of products including beef, soy and lithium to the Chinese market and cooperation has deepened between the two countries in recent years.
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The decision by President Javier Millei was made to boost tourism and “deactivate” mechanisms which have “impeded the free development of Argentina’s economy, of which tourism is a strategic area,” according to a statement on the Argentine government’s website.
It comes after China in May extended its visa-free policy to citizens of Argentina as well as those of Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay, putting some of Latin America’s largest economies on equal footing with many European and Asian countries.
In line with the exemption adopted by China, it is “deemed appropriate to adopt equivalent measures for Chinese nationals holding ordinary passports who enter for tourism and business purposes,” the statement said.
China is Argentina’s second-largest trading partner after Brazil and a key investor in infrastructure, energy and mining projects in the country.
China has also extended a multi-billion dollar swap line to Argentina, mollifying billions of dollars in repayments that the Latin American nation needs to pay in the coming months.
Argentina is also part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which it joined in 2022.
Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Jamie Freed
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