May 18th Qingqiao News | Trump announces lifting of sanctions on Syria-清桥资讯-清桥国际安保集团

May 18th Qingqiao News | Trump announces lifting of sanctions on Syria

Release time：2025-05-18 Source: Qingqiao Number of views：

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Today in history:153 years ago, Bertrand Russell was born. This cross disciplinary thinker constructed the rational palace with "A History of Western Philosophy" and paved the humanistic path with "The Road to Happiness". He proved throughout his life that the most profound wisdom is to blend the sharpness of logic with the warmth of poetry in a higher dimension.

Political Dynamics

01Trump announces lifting of sanctions on Syria

Recently, the US government announced the lifting of sanctions against Syria. This adjustment comes at a time when the United States and Saudi Arabia are deepening economic cooperation.

Qingqiao's viewpoint:

In June 2020, the US government implemented the Caesar Syrian Civil Protection Act, imposing comprehensive sanctions on Syria. Any foreign companies or individuals involved in Syria's reconstruction will face asset freezes and visa restrictions. This is the most severe sanction ever imposed by Washington on the Assad regime in Syria, aimed at preventing more capital from supporting Iran and Russia's reconstruction plan for Syria.
On December 8, 2024, Syrian opposition forces captured the capital Damascus, ending the Assad regime.
Trump's lifting of sanctions on Syria is essentially a strategic adjustment by the United States in the geopolitical game in the Middle East. It is not only a compromise with allies such as Saudi Arabia, but also a "political test" for the Syrian transitional government.

Military strategy and tactics

01North Korea synchronously promotes the construction of new destroyers along its east and west coasts

Significant progress has been made in the construction of the North Korean navy. On April 25th, the first 5000 ton "Cui Xian" class destroyer successfully completed its launch ceremony at Nanpu Port. It is worth noting that the ship is equipped with a composite air defense weapon system similar to the Russian made "Panther" air defense system. At the same time, the Qingjin Port Shipyard located on the east coast has recently seen a segmented structure for ships of the same class, indicating that the construction of the second destroyer of the same class has entered a substantive stage.

Qingqiao's viewpoint:

North Korea has been advancing simultaneously along its east and west coasts recentlyThe construction of the 5000 ton "Choi Hyun" class destroyer marks a strategic shift in North Korea's naval development from coastal defense to long-range combat capabilities. The new destroyer is equipped with a replica model of the Russian made "Panther" air defense system, indicating North Korea's breakthrough in modernizing naval equipment. The introduction of this composite air defense system significantly enhances the North Korean Navy's regional air defense capabilities.

Economic Observation

01SoftBank turns losses into profits, AI track investment becomes the core driving force

SoftBank Group's recently released performance shows that its net profit for the fourth quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, ending in March this year, jumped 124% to 517.2 billion yen, and its full year net profit also turned from loss to profit compared to the same period last year, reporting 1.15 trillion yen, marking the first annual profit in four years. Among them, SoftBank's Vision Fund has significantly turned losses from the same period last year, achieving a quarterly profit of 26.1 billion yen.

Qingqiao's viewpoint:

In recent years, Vision Fund has vigorously invested in the field of artificial intelligence, not only investing in the AI autonomous driving platform Wayve, but also acquiring Graphcore, a UK company specializing in AI and semiconductor chip design. On April 15, 2025, OpenAI received its first round of funding of $10 billion, of which $8.5 billion came from the Vision Fund.
SoftBank Group is one of the most influential multinational investment holding companies in Japan, founded by Masayoshi Son in 1981. Son Masayoshi is known for his "high-risk, high return" investment style, but in the past few years, due to the failures of projects such as WeWork and Didi, SoftBank has been deeply mired in losses. In the short term, the AI boom has indeed turned SoftBank around, but its long-term success is still closely linked to the global technology wave.

safety warning

01Mexican mayoral candidate killed in attack at election site

Recently, Yesenia Lara, the candidate for mayor of Textopec, Veracruz state, Mexico, was attacked during a campaign event, resulting in four deaths, including herself, and three injuries.

Qingqiao's viewpoint:

According to statistics from the Mexican Public Safety Agency, over 150 politicians have been killed in Mexico since 2021, with at least 30 candidates killed in the 2024 election cycle alone. The report shows that 83% of the murdered candidates had publicly refused to negotiate with drug lords, while those who accepted bribes had a survival rate 47% higher. In 2022-2023, 34 prosecutors and 12 judges were killed while investigating drug cases in Mexico.

Financial News

Tether's gold token XAUT (Tether Gold) has officially landed on Maxbit, a Thai cryptocurrency trading platform.

Qingqiao's viewpoint:

Tether is the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin USDT, established in 2014. The core product USDT has a market value of over 110 billion US dollars, accounting for more than 70% of the stablecoin market share.
XAUT, as one of the world's largest gold tokens, has a total market value of over 800 million US dollars and is supported by 7.7 tons of physical gold. Each token is anchored with 1 ounce of London qualified delivery gold. Users can achieve digital circulation of gold ownership through blockchain technology without dealing with complex processes such as storage and transportation of physical gold. It is worth noting that XAUT settles in USDT and is directly tied to the US dollar.

Today's Sharp Review

The dramatic easing of US sanctions on Syria, North Korea's military industry tempered by heavy blockades, SoftBank's billion dollar bet on an AI empire, Mexico's election stained votes, and the resurgence of gold tokens always carry similar rhymes - as memories of the 2008 financial tsunami fade away, the "gray rhino" of global governance is accelerating in the trio of technological revolution, geopolitical conflicts, and financial innovation. The eternal revelation from history to humanity may be that in a disruptive era, the greatest adventure is not to change too quickly, but to reflect too slowly.

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