China

The Samoa Observer reports that Winston Peters made the suggestion during an exclusive interview at the recent Forum Foreign Ministers Meeting in Samoa.

Mr Peters said the level of debts that Pacific Island nations owed to the Chinese government should be addressed at the leadership level.

Last week, Tonga Prime Minister Akilisi Pohiva cautioned Pacific Island nations to "slow down" asking China for loans.

He referred to the experiences of his own country, which owes the Chinese government $US160 million.

In response to budget cuts, the ABC last year ceased shortwave broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region ahead of a switch to FM transmission.

Australia-based technology observer Peter Marks told Radio ABC's Tech Headprogramme that since that withdrawal, the space was swiftly being filled.

"Since Radio Australia has dropped off shortwave, many of the exact frequencies we used to use have been now taken over by Chinese stations targetting the Asia Pacific region," he explained.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported his comments following remarks by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop that the Australian government was concerned some Chinese financing arrangements in the Pacific would undermine the islands' sovereignty.

She said Australia would aim to offer alternatives to Chinese infrastructure development.

Ambassador Cheng Jingye said the idea China wanted to create debt-traps for the Pacific nations was "ridiculous".

China's relationships with Pacific nations were on an equal footing which was mutually beneficial, he said.

Social media users in the country noticed video clips of the cartoon were being removed on Saturday, and on Monday, state newspaper Global Times said that the #PeppaPig hashtag had been removed from the Douyin video website, while searches for "Peppa Pig" on the site produced no results.

Many papers also note that the platform appears to have added "Peppa Pig" to its list of blacklisted content.

The Peppa Pig cartoon is hugely popular in China, but despite being targeted at a pre-school audience, it has found mass appeal with Chinese adults in recent months.

But Mr Trump said maximum sanctions and pressure on North Korea would continue ahead of proposed talks in May.

He added that denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula was now a possibility.

The comments follow Mr Kim's meeting with China's President Xi Jinping, in his first known foreign trip since taking office in 2011.

Mr Kim and his wife were greeted with a banquet and a guard of honour, with the North Korean leader reportedly saying he was committed to denuclearisation. China is North Korea's main economic ally.

On Monday, Ardern pledged the government would dedicate almost $10 million in aid and support for Samoa.

She told Morning Report that regardless of what other countries were doing, New Zealand should exercise its duties and responsibilities as partners and friends in the Pacific.

Australian officials are increasingly worried by China's growing presence in the Pacific, and the way it is using concessional loans to bolster its influence.

They have also privately accused China of trying to win favour by funding projects which funnel money directly to leaders in the region.

Minister for International Development and the Pacific Concetta Fierravanti-Wells told The Australian newspaper that China was constructing "useless buildings" in the Pacific.

It is the highest profile Chinese deal to be rejected by Washington since Donald Trump came to power.

Regulators overseeing foreign investments in the US had refused to support the takeover, the firms said.

The geopolitical environment had "changed considerably" since the merger was announced last year, they added.

'Disappointed'

The collapse is a blow to the ambitions of Alibaba's billionaire executive chairman Jack Ma, who had promised President Trump that he would create a million US jobs.

Apple says it is one of several apps to have been removed after the government said it does not comply with local law.

Skype owner Microsoft told the BBC the app had been "temporarily removed" and the company was "working to reinstate the app as soon as possible".

The app is also no longer available for download on Android app stores in China.

Media reports suggest the disruption to Skype started in October.

Liu Xinting was driving on his lunch break from work when an oncoming car swerved off the road and into a lake.

Mr Liu dived in to the lake as the car sank, rescuing all four people inside including a pregnant woman.

Hearing of the rescue, a local company offered the unusual fish head reward.

"There was no time for me to think or be scared, the fastest thing I could do was save lives," Mr Liu told the local Hangzhou Daily.

"It is hazardous to jump into the water without taking off your shoes and clothes," he said. "But the situation was too urgent."