against facial-recognition company ClearviewAI.

Peter Mattis, a former CIA analyst and president of The Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based think tank, said there were at least two publicized cases in which Chinese agents seduced American diplomats stationed in China, though he hasn’t heard of such a case in recent years.Mattis added that another issue is that Chinese state security doesn’t gather intelligence just through spies, but also by pressing ordinary Chinese people for information, often through threats or intimidation. That, Mattis said, means any Chinese citizen who dates an American diplomat could be vulnerable to coercion.

“The MSS is willing to leverage any human connection that a target has to collect intelligence,” Mattis said, using an acronym referring to China’s Ministry of State Security. “This rule change suggests the MSS has gotten a lot more aggressive at trying to access the embassy and U.S. government.”The Chinese foreign ministry did not comment on the ban, saying in a faxed statement that it was “more appropriate to ask the U.S. about this question.”China also has been tightening already strict controls on its personnel overseas, according to Chinese regulations, news reports and four people familiar with China’s bureaucracy who spoke on condition of anonymity so they could discuss a sensitive topic. In recent years, Beijing began strictly enforcing regulations that bar promotions for Chinese civil servants with spouses who acquired foreign citizenship and restrict diplomats from spending an extended period of time in one country, forcing some to return to China.

China’s foreign ministry and many other government bodies bar their officials and staff from sexual or romantic relations with foreign citizens, while members of the Chinese military or police are generally barred from leaving China altogether without express approval from their supervisors.Kang reported from Beijing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five Microsoft employees were ejected from a meeting with the company’s chief executive for protesting contracts to provide artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military.

The protest on Monday came after an investigation by The Associated PressA spectator walks through a water mist sprayer on her way to Eiffel Tower Stadium to watch a beach volleyball at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Gabriel Medina, of Brazil, kicks off of a wave as he warms up prior to the quarterfinals round of the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)Gabriel Medina, of Brazil, kicks off of a wave as he warms up prior to the quarterfinals round of the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Rebeca Andrade, of Brazil, is reflected on a surface as she performs on the balance beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)Rebeca Andrade, of Brazil, is reflected on a surface as she performs on the balance beam during the women’s artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)