China’s Xi Jinping grabs more power, pushing Asia closer to war

The Chinese economy is already struggling because of the nation’s “Zero-Covid” policy, which continues to enforce absolute shutdowns because of small Covid-19 outbreaks.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Band of Brothers” writer Bruce McKenna is teaming with David Broyles (“Six”) and Nick Jones Jr. (“Yasuke”) to write and produce a limited TV series “Buffalo Rangers” about the 2nd Ranger Company, the only all-Black special operations combat unit in U.S. history. They were notable for their efforts in the Korean War. The series is being produced by South Korea-based Moving Pictures Company, which has a growing English-language slate. No broadcaster or streamer has been announced. Producing alongside Broyles, Jones and McKenna are Thomas Suh (through his production company Système D Entertainment), Paul Merryman (“The Outpost”), Debra Martin Chase (“Harriet,” CBS’s “The Equalizer”) and Jariko Denman (“The Outpost”), a retired master sergeant with 15 combat deployments.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Homecoming, a patriotic rescue movie, dominated the mainland China box office for the third successive weekend. Overall numbers remained anemic in the first full week after the National Day holiday period, sometimes referred to as a ‘Golden Week’. “Homecoming” garnered $12.1 million (RMB85.6 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy and research firm Artisan Gateway. That gave the film a 64% share of the nationwide weekend aggregate. Accordingly, it was far ahead of second-placed film “Give Me Five,” which released on Sept. 9, 2022. “Give Me Five” earned just $1.9 million over the weekend, for a six-week cumulative of $63.8 million.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. ambassador on Saturday to express their "disappointment and concern" after President Joe Biden called Pakistan "one of the most dangerous nations in the world."  The president made the remark at a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Los Angeles while discussing Chinese President Xi Jinping.  "This is a guy who understands what he wants but has an enormous, enormous array of problems.

Saturday Night Live (SNL) when he was nine years old.Green claims that Murray was so incensed by him sitting on the arm rest of “his chair” backstage and the child’s refusal to move that he “picked me up by my ankles” and dropped him into a trash can outside.The Austin Powers actor is the latest to accuse Murray of inappropriate behaviour after Geena Davis made claims of a “bad” experience with him while filming 1990’s Quick Change.Since then, a report confirming that Murray reached a monetary settlement with a female accuser whom he was physically inappropriate with on the set of the currently suspended film Being Mortal has been released, and Rob Schneider has also alleged that Murray “hated” various SNL cast members, specifically Chris Farley and Adam Sandler.On a recent episode of the Good Mythical Morning YouTube show, Green accused Murray of placing him upside down in a trash can – a move that left him in tears.“When I was nine years old, I did a spot on Saturday Night Live when Mary Gross was one of the on-the-scene anchor people for the news, and she did a whole thing about what kids think about the Christmas holiday,” Green said, adding that he passed time backstage by watching television. Murray was the host of that particular SNL episode.“[Murray] saw me sitting on the arm of this chair and made a big fuss about me being in his seat,” Green said.

Zack Sharf Seth Green is the latest actor to come forward with a story accusing Bill Murray of inappropriate behavior. The Robot Chick co-creator and “Austin Powers” actor revealed on the “Good Mythical Morning” YouTube show (via Uproxx) that he was only nine years old when he had a physical altercation with Murray backstage at “Saturday Night Live.” “When I was nine years old, I did a spot on ‘Saturday Night Live’ when Mary Gross was one of the on-the-scene anchor people for the news, and she did a whole thing about what kids think about the Christmas holiday,” Green said, adding that he killed time backstage by watching television. Murray was the host of that particular “SNL” episode.

Rob Schneider claimed during an interview on SiriusXM's show that Bill Murray was difficult to work with and he «hated us» when the famed actor returned for one of his several hosting stints on Norton was in the middle of discussing rumors of an actor being difficult on the set of, when the 58-year-old actor and comedian interjected and mentioned he had a similar experience with Murray, who was an  cast member from 1976 to 1980 and served as a host five times. «That's the same thing with Bill Murray,» said Schneider on Thursday while promoting his new comedy, Daddy Daughter Trip. «I won't say who the filmmaker was, but 'Bill Murray is gonna come, he's gonna change the dialogue. He's gonna change things, and it's gonna be great but you don't know who you're gonna get.

Rob Schneider claimed during an interview on SiriusXM's show that Bill Murray was difficult to work with and he «hated us» when the famed actor returned for one of his several hosting stints on Norton was in the middle of discussing rumors of an actor being difficult on the set of, when the 58-year-old actor and comedian interjected and mentioned he had a similar experience with Murray, who was an  cast member from 1976 to 1980 and served as a host five times. «That's the same thing with Bill Murray,» said Schneider on Thursday while promoting his new comedy, Daddy Daughter Trip. «I won't say who the filmmaker was, but 'Bill Murray is gonna come, he's gonna change the dialogue. He's gonna change things, and it's gonna be great but you don't know who you're gonna get.

is the latest woman in Hollywood to call out comedy actor Bill Murray for inappropriate behavior. While he hasn't been accused of anything, let's say, evil, Davis does recall him crossing a professional and personal boundary in a hotel room in 1989, when the two were filming Quick Change.In her new memoir, according to , Davis writes that she met Murray in a hotel suite where he “insisted” on using some kind of “massage device” on her.

Puck.The 72-year-old comedian allegedly began “kissing” the “much younger” staffer’s body and “straddling” her, according to Puck, and she claimed she was unable to move because of his weight.The Post has reached out to Murray’s rep for comment.Witnesses claimed to Puck that Murray tried to kiss the woman, but they were both wearing masks.However, the accuser claimed to Puck that Murray defended his actions, allegedly saying they were meant to be playful, but the unnamed staffer “interpreted his actions as entirely sexual” and was “horrified.”In April after Page Six revealed that he got “handsy” on set, Murray went on CNBC and was asked about what happened, to which he said: “I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn’t taken that way. As of now, we are talking and we are trying to make peace with each other.”“The world’s different than it was when I was a little kid. Things change, times change,” he added at the time.A source told Puck that Murray felt remorse, especially considering it caused people to lose their jobs on set.The woman reportedly filed an official complaint and her allegations were backed up by another staffer who saw it happen, the report claimed.

Geena Davis' first interaction with her "Quick Change" co-star Bill Murray involved being greeted with a device she calls "The Thumper." In an interview with The Times on the precipice of her new book release, "Dying of Politeness," Davis recounted meeting Murray for the first time in a hotel suite. She alleges the "Ghostbusters" actor introduced himself with "a massage device he insisted on using on her, despite her emphatically refusing.

“Dying of Politeness,” claiming that the now-72-year-old Murray allegedly greeted her in a hotel suite with a massage device that he insisted on using on her, even though she refused. “That was bad,” Davis told the Times. “The way he behaved at the first meeting… I should have walked out of that or profoundly defended myself, in which case I wouldn’t have got the part.“I could have avoided that treatment if I’d known how to react or what to do during the audition,” she said.

Zack Sharf Geena Davis writes in her new memoir, “Dying of Politeness,” about a “bad” experience she had with Bill Murray when the two were making their 1990 crime comedy “Quick Change,” which Murray co-directed with Howard Franklin. Davis details an uncomfortable first meeting with Murray in a hotel suite, followed by a time on set when Murray repeatedly screamed at her in front of the crew. As summarized by The Times UK (via NME): “She’s introduced to [Murray], she writes, in a hotel suite, where Murray greets her with something called The Thumper, a massage device he insists on using on her, despite her emphatically refusing; later, while they’re filming on location, Murray tracks Davis down in her trailer and begins screaming at her for being late (she’s waiting for her wardrobe), continues to scream at her as she hurries onto the set and even as she gets there, in front of hundreds of cast, crew, curious passers-by.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong multi-hyphenate Peter Chan Ho-sun is far too intellectual to call himself an “arms dealer,” as Sony Pictures has in casting itself as an unattached supplier to streaming platforms. But politeness and Bob Dylan references aside, Chan’s new company, Changin’ Pictures, aims to become a major independent purveyor of premium Asian TV content for the streamers. The company is using this week’s Busan International Film Festival as its launchpad and will unveil the first five series of its 20-title pan-Asian slate.  Chan’s thesis is that global audiences are hungry for Asian content but have not been able to access it easily under legacy film and TV distribution systems. With streaming making everything accessible everywhere, and audiences no longer balking at subtitles, quality Asian drama can and will travel.

China still has much to gain from its current relationship with Russia even as the invasion of Ukraine drags on, turning Russia into an international pariah and threatening to rub off on China’s reputation as well.  "China has, in effect, doubled down on its support for the Putin war effort, and we saw this, for instance, last month when China's third rank leader went to Moscow, spoke to the State Duma, and in very clear terms, expressed Beijing's support for Russia," Gordon Change, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," told Fox News Digital.  "Then, [we] see Jinping himself when he was in Uzbekistan for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, actually confirmed that endorsement," Chang added. "The only conclusion that we can come to is that Beijing is not backing away from Russia."  The China and Russia dynamic has remained a troubling one for the United States since even before the invasion of Ukraine started in March 2022.

North Korea fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Thursday morning local time, just two days after Pyongyang sent an intermediate-range ballistic missile flying over Japan, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.  About 40 missiles have been launched by North Korea this year, including six in the past two weeks, but Tuesday's test marked the first time in five years that the country has sent a missile over Japan.  The U.S. and South Korea staged joint drills on Wednesday in response, with the USS Ronald Reagan moving into waters east of South Korea.