Briefly

UNITED STATES

Toughness against China 'not smart'

The United States' attempt to get tough on China is not smart, the Newsweek magazine said in a recent opinion article. "Tough, however, is not necessarily smart－and not all (US') China policy options flouting around the ether should be treated as equally brilliant," the article said. The article also noted that the US' overly concern or anxiety about the rise of China can eventually lead to its own "misplaced spending, overly-reactive policy choices and tunnel-vision", where other emerging threats or opportunities are neglected. It is unfortunate that some US officials wake up in the morning thinking about China and fall asleep at the end of the day with "nightmares" about China, the article added.

Kevin Spacey to pay over House of Cards

Disgraced movie star Kevin Spacey will have to pay $31 million to the production company that made the series House of Cards in which he starred until he was fired over allegations of sexual harassment, legal documents showed on Monday. MRC, the production company that made the popular tale of political intrigue that was broadcast on Netflix, had sought damages for lost revenue attributed to Spacey's abrupt exit after allegations of harassment and sexual abuse emerged. An arbitration judge made the ruling on Oct 19.

IRAN

IAEA seeks 'common ground' before talks

The United Nations' nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday that it was seeking "common ground" with Iran days after reporting that the Islamic republic had increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi made the remarks following talks with officials in Teheran ahead of negotiations next week aimed at salvaging the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Xinhua - Agencies