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On September 9, 2025 local time, a loud noise suddenly came from a high-end residential area close to the royal family in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and a blatant air raid broke the peace here.

Israel later publicly admitted that the target of this operation was Khalil Haya, the leader of the Hamas Politburo who was meeting in the building, with the intention of completing a precise "beheading". This cross-border attack occurred in the core area of ​​the Middle East mediation, which directly shook the entire regional structure and brought the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks that had just turned around to a complete standstill.

As a core ally of the United States in the Middle East, Qatar not only hosts the largest overseas air force base of the US military, but also invested heavily in building a US-made air defense system based on Patriot-3 and NASAMS. It has successfully intercepted incoming targets many times before, and its defense capabilities are highly recognized.

However, in this Israeli air strike, this tight air defense network was "misfired" throughout the entire process. It neither issued an early warning nor implemented any interception. Qatar's official explanation is difficult to convince the public, and it also allows the outside world to see clearly the US's connivance and acquiescence in Israel's military actions.

When the attack occurred, Haya was leading the Hamas negotiation team to carefully study the ceasefire plan and draft peace agreement proposed by the United States. A dialogue related to the future of the region instantly turned into a bloody assassination scene.

Hamas confirmed that the air strike killed five members, including Haya's son and office director, while the number one target Haya miraculously escaped. This attack went far beyond the scope of ordinary military operations. It was a blatant trampling on the international mediation mechanism and completely cut off the most critical communication bridge between Palestine and Israel.

Khalil Haya was born in Gaza in 1960 and holds a doctorate in philosophy. He joined Hamas in 1987 and is a core figure with deep qualifications and high prestige within the organization.

He has long been responsible for foreign affairs and negotiation affairs, and won the trust of the late leader Sinwar. In 2017, he served as deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau. After Sinwar's death, he became a key member of the five-person interim leadership committee. As the core representative of Hamas in its foreign negotiations, he has a firm stance and outstanding negotiation skills, making him naturally the number one target that Israel is eager to eliminate.

For Haya personally, this air raid was another indelible pain in his life. All three of his sons died in Israeli military attacks. In 2007, seven relatives were killed in an attack on his home. In 2008 and 2014, he lost his son, daughter-in-law and grandson one after another.

Now that he has lost another son, the hatred of the country and the family is piling up on him. Even though he was in desperate situations many times and his family members left one after another, Haya still did not back down and remained at the forefront of negotiations and resistance.

Hamas has permanently located its Politburo in Doha, which is a special arrangement under the multi-party game in the Middle East. As a key mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Qatar maintains good communication with both parties and provides Hamas with a relatively safe space for activities. The United States also acquiesces to this and maintains informal contact channels.

Over the years, Doha has hosted many rounds of key negotiations and is a rare peace buffer zone in the region. However, this Israeli attack undoubtedly destroyed this important platform with its own hands.

Israel's desperate risk this time is essentially the result of the Netanyahu government's domestic political calculations and the bottomless support of the United States. Israel hopes that by clearing out the core leadership of Hamas, it will completely dismantle the negotiating power and continue the war.

Although Qatar strongly condemns and reserves the right to counterattack, it does not have the ability to substantively confront, and the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks have basically collapsed. Haya's survival and pain are a true reflection of the long-term conflict between Palestine and Israel, and it also allows the world to see clearly that military adventures can never bring true peace and tranquility.

According to Xinhua News Agency, on February 20, a vehicle carrying eight Chinese tourists sank when the ice broke near Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal, Russia. One Chinese tourist escaped and the other seven Chinese tourists drowned.

According to CCTV news, the remains of seven victims have been found, and divers are currently planning to launch salvage operations. The Irkutsk Region Procuratorate has opened a case for investigation into this incident and will investigate the specific cause of the accident. Relevant officials will verify whether the parties involved complied with safety regulations. Crossing a frozen lake in winter is inherently dangerous, especially when the ice is unstable.

According to Red Star News, the accident occurred at around 7:30 am GMT (around 3:30 pm Beijing time). At the time of the accident, the bus was driving on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal. The ice suddenly broke, causing the vehicle to fall into the lake.

Igor Kobzev, the governor of Irkutsk Region, said through social platforms that one passenger successfully escaped and the Lake Baikal rescue team sent five rescuers to carry out search and rescue operations. Kobzev said that the vehicle fell into the ice at the ice passage to Olkhon Island, which was not open and closed to vehicles.

The local area has confirmed the identities of four tourists (including one survivor). They are a family from China, including a husband and wife, a 14-year-old child, and a female relative. The identities of the remaining four Chinese tourists are still being verified.

Mr. Chen, a staff member of the Chinese Consulate General in Irkutsk, said in a telephone interview with reporters: "According to what we have learned so far, the rescued compatriot is a man from Jiangsu Province. Currently, his health is stable. We cannot disclose other follow-up matters for the time being because they involve personal privacy."

On February 20, a Chinese tourist in Russia told a Jimu News reporter that she happened to be at the scene when the accident occurred. The accident was a local "small steel cannon" vehicle, which sank into the lake in just two or three minutes. A young man in the car opened the door at the last moment before the vehicle sank into the lake, and other tourists used ropes to pull him up from the crevasse to the ice.

According to the above-mentioned eyewitnesses, the incident occurred at a blue ice viewing spot with several ice crevasses nearby. In addition to the vehicle involved in the accident, there were several other vehicles carrying tourists nearby. When the accident occurred, most of the men in nearby vehicles went to the rescue. Among the people involved in the rescue were Chinese tourists, but the vehicle sank too fast and there was nothing that could be done. She was so frightened when she witnessed this scene that her hands and feet were weak at night.

According to Southern Metropolis Daily, a reporter who was traveling in St. Petersburg, Russia, interviewed this incident after the incident. A Chinese tourist revealed that he was planning to cancel his original trip to Lake Baikal on the 22nd and "did not dare to take risks again."

Xiao Ou (pseudonym), a Chinese tourist in St. Petersburg, told reporters that he felt very sad and scared about the accident. Affected by this, his originally planned trip to Lake Baikal from St. Petersburg to Irkutsk on February 22, local time, was to be cancelled. Xiao Ou said, "I heard that there was a rollover accident in Lake Baikal a while ago, and now there is another drowning incident of tourists. I no longer dare to take risks."

On January 28, a "small steel cannon" overturned on the ice near Olkhon Island in Lake Baikal, killing a 75-year-old Chinese female tourist and causing minor injuries to four Chinese tourists. According to Red Star News, the car did not fall directly into the icy lake at that time, but drove into an ice crevice and rolled over. Moreover, the "little steel cannon" did not have handrails and seat belts to ensure safety.

The scene of the accident on January 28

Public information shows that Olkhon Island is the largest island in Lake Baikal. It is located north of the middle of the lake, 27 kilometers away from the lake shore, covering an area of ​​about 730 square kilometers, and is near the deepest part of the lake. Since Russia exempted China from visa last year, Lake Baikal has also become a popular destination for Chinese tourists. There are two routes around Olkhon Island, the northern route and the southern route.

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Once again, he forced himself into a desperate situation, and once again saved the day. This may be the script that Gu Ailing is most familiar with.

In the women's U-shaped field preliminaries of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics Winter Olympics held on the night of February 19, local time, Chinese player Gu Ailing failed in the first jump and scored 86.50 points in the second jump, qualifying for the finals in fifth place. The remaining three Chinese players Li Fanghui (90.00 points, second place), Zhang Kexin (82.75 points, sixth place), and Liu Yishan (76.00 points, 11th place) also advanced successfully.

In the third preliminaries of this Winter Olympics, Gu Ailing was once again forced into a last-ditch situation.

Gu Ailing competed in three events at this Winter Olympics, and encountered the same situation in all three preliminaries—failed the first jump in the slope obstacle preliminaries and relied on her performance in the second round to qualify for the finals; failed the first jump on the big platform B and relied on the third round to pass. Even she herself couldn't explain this state: "Why is it always like this? It's like this for three projects. I really can't explain the reason."

"This is the sixth Olympic preliminaries that I have participated in. It is not easy to compete in six times and reach the finals six times. It is really difficult to maintain the condition continuously." Gu Ailing said frankly that she had to take care of three items in the limited training time. Although the U pool is the main event, the training time allocated is extremely limited. "I haven't skated in the U pool for two months. After the competition in Genting in December, I haven't touched the U pool because I have been training for slope obstacles. But there is no way. This is my own choice."

Gu Ailing admitted that she was a little tired

As a rare athlete who can compete in both U-shaped field and slope obstacle/big platform (the latter two events share Olympic qualifications), Gu Ailing does have to face the practical problem of too tight schedule and training time.

According to her, after the big platform finals on the evening of the 16th, she accepted media interviews and doping tests. It was already around 1 a.m. on the 17th when she returned to her place of residence. She trained until 10 a.m. that night, and arranged an early morning public training on the 18th, followed by today's competition.

The successive heavy snowfalls in Livigno also brought surprises. Gu Ailing could only participate in two U-shaped field open trainings in total (the other one completely conflicted with the big platform finals), and one of them happened to catch up with the heavy snow. She said frankly: "At that time, I couldn't fly out of the U pool, and I couldn't do the moves. So it felt like I hadn't skated in the U pool for two months, and I came directly to participate in the Olympics. It was quite difficult."

After entering the finals, Gu Ailing is still the favorite to win the championship.

In the short interview, Gu Ailing talked about being "exhausted" and hoped to finish the final safely. At the same time, she also did not forget to comfort herself: "It's okay, there is only one day left, and then you can lie down."

Although he only advanced to the finals in fifth place in the preliminaries, in order to ensure the success of the second jump, Gu Ailing chose safe low-difficulty moves for the last three moves after completing the first three difficult moves. Despite her reservations, Gu Ailing still scored 86.50 points, which shows that she will still be the favorite to win the championship in the finals on the 21st. What will be the result of the sixth event final of the two Olympic Games? The strong Gu Ailing will never lower her demands on herself, provided that she can get sufficient rest in the day and a half before the game.

(This newspaper’s special dispatch from Livigno on February 19)

According to reports from World Wide Web citing Reuters and other media, on February 19, local time, when U.S. President Trump presided over the first meeting of the so-called "Peace Commission" in Gaza, he boasted that with his support, Japan's Liberal Democratic Party had won a big victory in the House of Representatives election.

However, Trump's remarks about the Japanese election were questioned by public opinion as interfering in other countries' internal affairs. Some Japanese netizens ridiculed, "No one will refuse an ATM machine (Japan) that can withdraw money at will."

Trump said that day: "I supported the Prime Minister of Japan. She was in a fierce election contest at the time, but she had a high probability of winning. In the end, she won the most votes in Japanese history, so she liked me very much."

Trump also claimed that Japan promised to convene a conference of Asian donors to raise more funds for the "peace commission." However, Tokyo Broadcasting Corporation of Japan stated that as of now, the Japanese government has not officially decided to join the "Peace Committee" led by the Trump administration.

Trump's remarks sparked controversy online in Japan. Some Japanese netizens said they felt "ashamed" of this; some Japanese netizens commented, "No one will refuse an ATM machine (Japan) that can withdraw money at will", and mentioned that the US-Japan trade agreement includes Japan's large-scale investment in the United States. Some Japanese netizens mentioned Takaichi Sanae's "cheering" performance when she met Trump before, accusing Takaichi of being "beautiful".

According to CCTV news reports, the United States held the first leadership meeting of the so-called "Peace Commission" in Washington on the 19th. The agenda included discussions on financing for reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

However, the committee has received a cold reception since its inception. Many countries are cautious. France, Norway, Spain, New Zealand and other countries have expressed their intention not to join. Some public opinion believes that the United States wants to build an institution parallel to the United Nations, which will further undermine the authority and working mechanism of the United Nations.

Recently, the U.S. Treasury Secretary officially announced that his team completed a closed-door meeting with China in Beijing last week. As soon as the news came out, the global market breathed a sigh of relief. This seemingly low-key contact was actually extraordinary.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce responded quickly, clarifying the true weight of this interaction: This was not a chance meeting, but a concrete action to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and a normalized communication under the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism. In other words, both sides are using practical actions to pave the way for the upcoming high-level economic and trade talks.

Anyone familiar with Sino-US relations knows that economy and trade have always been the "ballast stone" of the relationship between the two countries. This is not a slogan, but a real bond of interests. Data show that in 2025, China will be the third largest export destination of the United States. The soybeans and cotton exported by the United States to China account for more than half of its total global exports, directly supporting 860,000 jobs; and the United States is also China's largest export market for goods. The two countries have already formed a community of interests in which we are among you and you are among us.

Because of this, Sino-US economic and trade has never been a zero-sum game, and mutual benefit and win-win are the basis. This time, grassroots teams are connected first to put each other's concerns on the table, clarify problems, eliminate misunderstandings, and lay a solid foundation for high-level dialogue. Compared with empty statements, this kind of pragmatic contact shows the most sincerity.

It is worth noting that Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong emphasized six words in his response: "equality, respect, and reciprocity." This is not only China’s consistent position, but also a key prerequisite for whether China-US economic and trade dialogue can be stable and go far. China has never shied away from negotiations, but has always taken the initiative to maintain communication through channels at all levels. From the heads of state meeting in Busan, to the economic and trade consultations in Kuala Lumpur, to the phone call between the heads of state at the beginning of spring this year, China has been fulfilling its commitment to "do one thing at a time and accumulate mutual trust."

But cooperation is not about unilateral concessions. China's sincerity has limits, and this limit is equal treatment. If the United States really wants to negotiate cooperation, it should take concrete actions: cancel the extremely high tariffs on China and relax export controls on high-tech products. We cannot want to make money from the Chinese market while at the same time we are busy building walls and barriers, decoupling and breaking links.

The global economy is already under pressure, with expected growth of only 2.8%. The stability of industrial and supply chains urgently requires the joint support of the two largest economies, China and the United States. The stabilization of Sino-US economic and trade relations will not only benefit the companies of the two countries, but also benefit the whole world. On the contrary, if we return to the old path of confrontation, fight trade wars, and engage in technological blockades, we will only lose-lose in the end. The Great Depression of the 1930s has already taught painful lessons.

What is even more worth looking forward to is that there is huge room for cooperation between China and the United States in emerging fields such as new energy, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and climate change. Rather than expending energy on creating differences, it is better to lengthen the list of cooperation and shorten the list of problems. This is the truly pragmatic approach.

Of course, a grassroots meeting is only a good start. The health and stability of Sino-US economic and trade relations cannot be achieved overnight by just one or two meetings. The next high-level talks require real actions from both sides, rather than perfunctory words. China has shown its sincerity through continuous communication. Now it is the US's turn to answer: Is it willing to truly "meet each other halfway?" Can the heads of state’s consensus be implemented? Can you let go of your prejudices and confrontational thinking?

As the world's top two economies, differences between China and the United States are inevitable, but the key lies in how to resolve them. History has repeatedly proven that dialogue and negotiation are always more effective than pressure and confrontation; equality and reciprocity are always more sustainable than zero-sum games. This secret meeting in Beijing paved the way for high-level communication. It is hoped that the United States will seize the opportunity and work with China to make good use of the economic and trade consultation mechanism, manage differences, expand cooperation, and build a stronger "ballast stone" for Sino-US relations, so as to benefit the two peoples and reassure the world.

The estate of American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has agreed to pay up to $35 million to settle claims from dozens of potential victims. The settlement marks an important step in the high-profile case, but it still needs to be approved by a New York federal judge before it can take effect.

Settlement details

According to court documents filed on February 19, 2026, the settlement covers victims of sexual assault, abuse or human trafficking by Epstein between January 1, 1995, and August 10, 2019. The amount of compensation will be based on the number of eligible victims: if there are 40 or more victims, the estate will pay $35 million; if there are fewer than 40, the estate will pay $25 million.

The settlement was co-executed by Epstein's former lawyer Darren Indyke and former accountant Richard Kahn. Both men have denied any inappropriate ties to convicted sex offender Epstein and have never been charged with sexual abuse crimes or witnessed related acts.

Litigation background

The settlement, if confirmed by the court, will end the original lawsuit filed in 2024. In the lawsuit, Indyk and Rikarn are accused of facilitating Epstein's illegal activities through the legal and business services they provided. However, the settlement agreement does not represent an admission of fault by the co-executors, nor does it mean they will be held liable for further legal action that the victim may initiate, according to court documents.

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, the law firm representing the victims in the class-action lawsuit, has not yet responded to a specific number of people involved in the lawsuit. But Bloomberg News reported that the firm is confident that at least 40 victims have yet to reach settlements with Epstein’s estate. Daniel H. Weiner, an attorney representing the estate, also declined to comment.

The impact of the Epstein case

The Epstein case has attracted global attention not only because of the heinous nature of his crimes, but also because he established a network of powerful people around the world. He has close contacts with a large number of political and business figures in the United States and Europe, including political dignitaries, business executives, scholars and celebrities from all walks of life. Many had their reputations tarnished by associating with him, and some had their political careers damaged as a result.

After Epstein was arrested on suspicion of sex crimes in August 2019, he died in prison, which was officially determined to be a "suicide." However, this conclusion has always been controversial, and many people have questioned whether there is a hidden meaning in it.

file disclosure process

In December 2025, under tremendous public pressure, the U.S. Department of Justice began to release documents involved in the case. The latest batch of materials released in January 2026 is massive, including more than 3 million pages of documents, more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 pictures. The release of these documents provides more evidence for victims seeking justice and allows the public to more fully understand the truth of this case.

social significance

The settlement agreement is an important milestone for the victims. While money can't make up for the harm they've suffered, it at least shows that their voices are being heard and their pain is being recognized to some extent.

For society, this case has also triggered widespread discussions about the accountability of powerful people, the effectiveness of the judicial system, and the protection of victims' rights. Many people hope that this case will promote the reform of relevant laws and systems to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

future outlook

As the settlement awaits court approval, further developments in the Epstein case remain in focus. Regardless of the final outcome, this case will become an important case in the history of American justice and will have a profound impact on similar cases in the future.

For the victims, the long road to rights protection has finally dawned. For the public, the gradual revelation of the truth also restores confidence in the fairness of the judicial system. The final conclusion of the Epstein case may bring a relatively satisfactory conclusion to this controversial case.

Peru was scheduled to hold general elections in two months, but the political situation has become turbulent again. Congress passed the censure motion with 75 votes in favor and 24 votes against, removing interim President Jose Herri from office after only four months in office. This country, which has changed eight national leaders in the past ten years, has once again fallen into a power vacuum.

After the Peruvian Congress voted on February 17 to remove interim President Herri, who was facing corruption charges, demonstrators outside the Congress in the capital Lima cheered and celebrated. Associated Press

According to CNN, the 39-year-old Hurry will succeed the impeached Dina Boruart as president in October 2025 after serving as Speaker of Congress. Boruarte previously took over power after former President Pedro Castillo was impeached and arrested in 2022, and Castillo only lasted about a year and a half.

Hurry's resignation stemmed from accusations of inappropriate behavior – he had met with Chinese businessman Yang Zhihua in private. According to reports, on December 26, 2025, Hurry met with Yang Zhihua at a Chinese restaurant in the capital Lima. At that time, he was photographed wearing a hood, which caused controversy. On January 6, 2026, he met the other party again in a Chinese merchandise store and wore sunglasses. Neither meeting was included in the president's itinerary according to law.

The New York Times quoted local media reports in Peru as saying that a store owned by Yang Zhihua was ordered to close for violating municipal regulations. However, only three days later, the relevant regulatory agencies overturned the regulations that led to the closure. The incident was dubbed "Chinese Food Gate" by the media because it involved Peru's "Qifa" cuisine, which integrates Chinese food culture. The matter has prompted the Attorney General's Office to launch an investigation into Hurry and Yang Zhihua.

In January this year, Hurley admitted that there had been a meeting and apologized for the inappropriate manner, but denied that there was any transfer of benefits, saying that the meeting was "accidental" and that Yang Zhihua did not make any special requests or seek favors from him. The Presidential Palace has not yet responded further.

With Hurry's dismissal as speaker of parliament, the post of president became vacant. Each political camp will negotiate to introduce a new candidate for the Speaker of the National Assembly and vote on the 18th to choose the next interim president.

Peruvian politics has been turbulent for a long time, which some commentators believe can be traced back to the period of former President Alberto Fujimori. Fujimori stepped down in 2000 due to scandals related to the intelligence services and was subsequently convicted of corruption, embezzlement and human rights violations. Since then, many of his successors have been embroiled in judicial troubles. Since 2000, at least seven former presidents have been charged or under investigation, and an eighth committed suicide when police approached. Herri became the latest national leader to be involved in a scandal, with public opinion even describing this phenomenon as a "curse" for the Peruvian president.

According to news on February 20, 2026, the estate administrator of Jeffrey Epstein has agreed to pay US$35 million (approximately RMB 242 million) to settle a related victim class action lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that two of Epstein's former advisers assisted him in sex trafficking young women and girls. Related settlement documents have been filed in Manhattan federal court and are awaiting approval by a judge.

The lawsuit began in 2024. The defendants are Epstein's former personal lawyer Darren Indyk and former accountant Richard Kahn, who are also co-executors of his estate. The plaintiff's attorney pointed out that the two men helped Epstein build a complex network of companies and bank accounts to cover up illegal activities, pay related expenses and profit from them. According to the settlement statement, neither party admitted wrongdoing, and the defendants stated that the settlement was for the final settlement of estate-related claims and was not an admission of the allegations. The settlement will provide a confidential avenue for financial relief for victims who have outstanding claims.

Epstein died in a New York prison in August 2019, and the cause of death was ruled suicide. His estate has previously established a victim compensation fund, which has paid a total of US$121 million (approximately RMB 836 million) and paid an additional US$49 million (approximately RMB 338 million) for other related settlements. Together with the $35 million reached this time, the total amount of money Epstein’s estate will spend on victim compensation has further increased.

Public information shows that Epstein has a long-term relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell, and his private island Little St. James Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands has also received widespread attention due to related scandals. The legal team responsible for the case also previously pushed JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank to reach a settlement on related negligence issues, involving an amount of US$365 million (approximately RMB 2.521 billion).

With the filing of this settlement agreement, the years-long ongoing claims of Epstein-related victims have taken another step forward. The case still needs to be formally approved by the judge, and subsequent compensation payments and related processes will be advanced in accordance with the court's ruling. This series of compensation and reconciliation has also allowed more victims to receive financial compensation and continues to push related incidents to a conclusion.

Financial News Agency, February 21 (Editor Zhao Hao) An executive from Apollo Global Management said that the private equity industry is facing a long period of pain in software investment because the industry failed to realize in time that new technologies such as artificial intelligence will subvert this long-term favorite track for private equity.

David Sambur, partner and co-head of private equity at Apollo, said in an interview, "People are only now starting to realize that there is going to be a multi-car pileup on the software investment highway. In fact, all the signs are there in 2022."

Sambur noted that the launch of OpenAI’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT about three years ago, along with a higher interest rate environment, were the initiators of the sell-off in technology stocks that has roiled the market in recent weeks.

Wall Street has been selling off software stocks recently, as investors worry that a new generation of AI tools from companies like Anthropic could eventually make existing software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers obsolete.

Earlier in the day, Anthropic introduced a new feature in its AI model that can scan the code base for security vulnerabilities. Affected by the news, CrowdStrike and Cloudflare both fell by more than 7%.

The private equity industry has greater exposure to SaaS because they value these software companies' stable, predictable revenue models that rely on a loyal customer base. Private equity firms have invested heavily in this area over the past few years, setting a record of $348 billion in 2021.

Sambur said, "Did we fall into groupthink, like 30% to 40% of M&A transactions are concentrated in the software field? In hindsight, this is actually a pretty big red flag. When people look back at this stage, they will see that this was a failure of risk management."

As many pandemic-era software investments near the end of traditional private equity holding cycles, concerns are growing about whether these companies can sell assets at desirable prices and realize returns. It could also harm private equity firms' fundraising plans and their ability to pursue new deals.

Sambur said the industry needs to prepare for a "much needed reset" in valuations as investors reassess software companies' economic models and future growth rates. "When you actually sell these businesses, you'll see the results, and that process will take time to fully unfold."

As of December 31 last year, Apollo had approximately US$938 billion in assets under management. According to Sambur, the company's private equity business has "zero exposure" to the software sector, and its exposure at the group level is less than 2%.

But even so, Apollo's stock price is still dragged down by the industry, and has fallen by more than 14% this year.

Apollo Private Equity management, which includes Sambur, said in a letter sent to clients this week that the company's decision to "avoid this area was based on investment and risk management considerations rather than a blanket rejection of the entire industry."

There are winners and losers in the software industry, but "among leveraged equity funds, we believe the potential returns are insufficient to match the risk," they wrote. The letter also stated that Apollo will continue to look for new opportunities brought about by market turbulence.

Other well-known M&A institutions have also recently reassured investors, emphasizing that their exposure to the software field is limited or controllable. Sources say Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners have met with investors to allay concerns.

(Zhao Hao, Financial Associated Press)

On February 18, definite news came from the White House that a US-Japan trade agreement involving a total amount of up to 550 billion US dollars had officially launched the first batch of investments. The U.S. government immediately announced on social media that this was a historic victory, and bluntly pointed out that the direct driver of all this was tariffs. This incident is not an isolated business investment behavior, but a symbolic node in the US government's radical reshaping of the alliance system by taking advantage of asymmetric security and market dependence.

Behind this huge number is Washington's precise economic blood pumping of Japan. Through extreme administrative intervention, the United States is forcing its allies to convert existing wealth into incremental US assets. This approach of sacrificing the long-term development potential of allies in exchange for the reconstruction of the domestic industrial base of the United States has completely torn off all the warm veil of mutual benefit in traditional diplomatic rhetoric.

Forced return of capital under the stick of tariffs

The core logic of this incident is extremely simple and crude, which is to use tariffs as a tool of geopolitical coercion. The U.S. government unabashedly placed the word tariff at the core of its statement. For Japan, which is mainly an export-oriented economy, the U.S. market is a lifeline that it cannot give up. Faced with the threat of high tariffs at every turn, the Japanese government and consortium lack strategic room for maneuver and can only choose to exchange huge amounts of direct investment for market access.

This US$550 billion commitment is essentially Japan’s submission to the United States. Different from the past financial model of simply purchasing U.S. Treasury bonds or investing in securities, this investment requires industrial implementation. This means that Japan must forcefully inject real money that might have been used for upgrading its own industry, research and development, or expanding into emerging markets into the real economy of the United States, and forcefully absorb Japanese capital in an attempt to fill the huge funding gap caused by the hollowing out of the U.S.'s own industry.

This operating mode marks a fundamental change in the nature of the US-Japan alliance. In the past, the United States provided security protection in exchange for the political following of its allies. Now it further requires allies to directly pay for the domestic economic construction of the United States. This is a naked realization of hegemonic dividends, forcibly changing the direction of capital flow through political pressure, forcing global funds to concentrate in the United States to support its costly reindustrialization process.

The politics and energy calculations behind strategic site selection

A careful analysis of the locations and areas of the three core projects announced this time clearly reveals the extremely shrewd strategic calculations of the US government. Investments were not evenly distributed, but landed precisely in Texas, Ohio and Georgia. These three states are not only key political vote bases, but also the key to America's future energy and industrial strategy.

Oil and gas projects in Texas are aimed at further solidifying the United States' position as the world's largest oil and gas producer. The strategic intention of the expansion of LNG facilities in the Gulf of America is to control global energy pricing power. By upgrading infrastructure with Japanese funds, the United States can not only meet domestic demand, but also increase its export capabilities to the global market, thereby assuming absolute dominance in energy geopolitics. Japan paid for the construction, and the United States reaped the export dividends. This chicken-and-egg method was used to perfection.

The power plant project in Ohio is more symbolic. As the heart of the Rust Belt, it was a symbol of the decline of American manufacturing. Japan will build the largest natural gas power plant in history in the state, which will directly serve the cheap power supply that the United States is currently desperate for. As the demand for electricity from artificial intelligence computing centers and the reshoring of manufacturing industries surges, power infrastructure has become a strategic bottleneck. The injection of Japanese funds has solved the urgent need to upgrade the US power grid.

Reshaping supply chains in critical minerals

The key mineral projects in Georgia are the most geostrategic link in this investment list. Key minerals such as rare earths, lithium, cobalt, etc. are the food for modern defense industry, new energy and high-tech industries. For a long time, the United States has tried hard to get rid of its dependence on external supply chains in this field. This time forcing Japan to invest in key mineral facilities in Georgia shows that the United States is building a closed and exclusive secure supply chain.

The United States uses administrative means to force its allies to locate processing links in the United States, aiming to completely control upstream resources and midstream processing links through hegemonic means, so as to implement a bullying monopoly on the global strategic supply chain. For Japan, this is undoubtedly a painful divestment of the industrial chain. Originally, Japanese companies had certain world-leading technologies in the field of key materials. However, as production facilities are forced to move to the United States, Japan not only faces the risk of industrial hollowing out, but the dividends from its technology spillover will also be forced to be absorbed by the United States.

This approach not only undermines the principle of global free trade, but also grossly tramples on the global industrial collaboration system. The United States is using the technology and funds of its allies to build a strategic resource fortress that is completely controlled by Washington's will. This kind of behavior will not only fail to bring about common prosperity of the global economy, but will cause violent shocks to the global supply chain and increase costs because of its exclusivity, and global consumers will ultimately foot the bill.

Predatory symbiosis within the alliance system

This investment case of up to 550 billion US dollars reveals a cruel reality in the current international order: the US-Japan alliance is evolving into a predatory symbiotic relationship. The United States is no longer satisfied with harvesting seigniorage through dollar hegemony. Instead, it has begun to use the unequal power structure formed due to security dependence to carry out targeted killings of wealth from its allies.

As a country that is highly dependent on the United States for its security, Japan has almost lost its bargaining power in the face of U.S. economic blackmail. The U.S. government has accurately grasped this weakness and upgraded the form of protection fees from a simple sharing of military garrison costs to a comprehensive blood transfusion against the shortcomings of the U.S. national strategy. Although this approach can quickly boost U.S. economic data and create so-called high-quality jobs in the short term, it comes at the cost of completely overdrafting the economic vitality of its allies.

When allies are squeezed to the limit, the foundation of the entire alliance system will become fragile. For current decision-makers in Washington, the long-term health of the alliance is obviously not as important as immediate physical investment. Oil and gas derricks in Texas, turbine generators in Ohio and mineral refineries in Georgia are tangible industrial assets that they see as victory.