Category: China

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed “the close cooperation” between Tokyo and Washington in a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, hours after Trump spoke by phone with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Takaichi said her conversation with Trump covered the strengthening of the Japan-US alliance along with the various challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Fuji News Network. “During the conversation, President Trump explained the current state… Source link

Brief, controlled bouts of oxygen deprivation – essentially moments of safe suffocation – can alleviate severe depression as effectively as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and ketamine, two of the most powerful treatments known to psychiatry, Chinese scientists have concluded. This radical new approach, called acute intermittent hypoxia, harnesses a natural mechanism triggered by a temporary drop in oxygen in the brain and activates a naturally occurring compound known as adenosine, which acts… Source link

As the Philippines prepares to take over the rotating Asean chairmanship next year, Manila faces the daunting task of managing a protracted civil war in Myanmar while pushing for progress on a long-delayed code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea. Analysts say Manila must navigate an Asean agenda crowded with difficult trade-offs, balancing the crisis in Myanmar where progress is expected to remain incremental with a COC process facing a 2026 deadline, even as internal divisions within the… Source link

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and Xi told Trump that its return was an ‘integral part of the post-war international order’ Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told Donald Trump that Beijing’s claims to Taiwan remain unchanged, in a phone call that came amid rising tensions over the self-governing island. Xi told Trump on Monday that Taiwan’s return to China was an “integral part of the postwar international order” forged in the joint US-China fight against “fascism and militarism”, according to the Chinese foreign ministry. Continue reading… Source link

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr refused to respond on Monday to an allegation by his estranged sister, a senator, that he has been a long-time drug addict whose cocaine dependence has undermined his governance, saying with a sombre tone that he did not want to discuss a family rift in public. Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro has said that Senator Imee Marcos’ accusations against her own brother before a huge religious rally in Manila last week were “a web of lies”, and may… Source link

A Japanese woman who became a rickshaw driver in Tokyo to improve her speaking skills has ended up falling in love with the job while realising her dream of becoming a radio DJ. Arisa Sekimori, 29, has been a rickshaw driver in the city’s Asakusa old town for eight years. She is a pioneer among the growing number of women rickshaw drivers in the area and recently became her company’s first female manager. Sekimori also has another job. She drives a rickshaw four days a week and works the rest as… Source link

A former editor-in-chief of a Chinese nationalist tabloid has called upon official media to manage public expectations properly and refrain from using “harsh language that does not reflect the actual situation” when criticising Japan. Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, affiliated with Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily, said some social media accounts run by official media had used “harsh language that does not reflect the actual situation” when criticising Japanese… Source link

New satellite imagery suggests North Korea has spent the past year steadily enlarging and modernising its main fissile material site, in what analysts call a concrete response to leader Kim Jong-un’s demand for his nuclear arsenal’s “exponential growth”. Commercial satellite images of the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre from October and November show renovation and large-scale expansion across the complex, according to 38North, a website from US think tank the Stimson Centre devoted… Source link

China has announced plans to consolidate the cruise operations of four central state-owned enterprises into a single entity that will reportedly operate the largest fleet in Asia, as part of a broader efficiency drive. China Tourism Group – one of the four companies – was designated as the operator of the venture at a signing ceremony hosted by China’s state-owned enterprises watchdog on Friday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. After the deal goes through, the venture will operate Asia’s… Source link

The Justice Department on Monday renewed its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex-trafficking cases, arguing they should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his long-time confidante. US Attorney Jay Clayton cited the Epstein Files Transparency Act – passed by Congress last week and signed into law by US President Donald Trump – in court filings asking Manhattan federal Judges… Source link

Former British prime minister David Cameron has revealed he was successfully treated for prostate cancer as he backed a targeted screening programme for the United Kingdom’s most common cancer in males. Cameron was urged to get tested by his wife, Samantha, after the pair heard the founder of Soho House, Nick Jones, speaking about his experience with cancer during a radio interview a year ago, The Times reported. The politician had a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, an MRI scan and then a… Source link

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that a proposed peace plan now under discussion with the United States and Europe has incorporated “correct” points, but sensitive issues were to be discussed with US President Donald Trump. “As of now, after [talks in] Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “Our team has already reported today on the new draft of steps… Source link

Beijing has blasted Japan’s missile deployment on an island only 110km (68 miles) away from Taiwan as “extremely dangerous”, saying it stokes regional tensions and military confrontation amid deteriorating ties between the two Asian powers. But Shinjiro Koizumi, Tokyo’s defence minister, believed the deployment on Yonaguni Island would “reduce the likelihood of any armed attack on Japan itself”, a Japanese defence ministry readout stated on Sunday. During an inspection visit to Yonaguni on… Source link

Alibaba Group Holding’s logistics arm, Cainiao, has expanded its parcel delivery service to eight African countries – including Morocco, Ghana and Nigeria – as it races to give Chinese e-commerce merchants a cheaper, more reliable way to reach the fast-growing continent. The company planned to extend the service to South Africa and Egypt by the end of December, Cainiao said in a statement over the weekend. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Cainiao said underdeveloped logistics… Source link

As China’s traditional spirits and premium wines grapple with declining consumption, a significant shift is under way across the beverage landscape. This three-part series examines the challenges faced by Maotai town as its once-coveted baijiu loses its lustre, the impact of economic shutdowns on European wine imports, and the rise of craft beer as a budget-friendly alternative for consumers seeking quality without breaking the bank. On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, when the rainy… Source link

Earlier this month, the US Democrats, whom many had written off, swept the local and state elections. From Zohran Mandani becoming New York mayor and Abigail Spanberger becoming Virginia governor to two statewide wins in Georgia’s public service commissioner races, the Democrats had a good run. The winning message was, ironically, what lost them the last presidential election: affordability. President Donald Trump has since sounded the alarm that Republicans must reclaim the issue of… Source link

The Trump administration said on Monday it is ending temporary legal status for citizens of Myanmar in the United States, arguing they can safely return to the war-torn Southeast Asian country and citing the military junta’s planned elections as evidence of an improving situation. The move sparked concern for individuals who may be forced to return to Myanmar, which has been in political turmoil since the military seized power in a 2021 coup, ousting a civilian government and sparking a… Source link

The BBC’s chairman acknowledged on Monday that it was too slow in responding over a misleading edit of a speech by US President Donald Trump but rejected claims that the broadcaster’s impartiality was being undermined from within its own board. Senior BBC leaders were questioned by Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee amid a major crisis at the publicly funded corporation after its director general and head of news both quit earlier this month and Trump threatened to file a… Source link

A federal judge threw out the criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, ruling that the lawyer who brought the cases had been illegally appointed. The appointment of Lindsey Halligan – a Trump ally – as interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was unlawful, US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie said in rulings on Monday. She dismissed the charges against Comey and James without prejudice, meaning that prosecutors may… Source link

Chinese President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed Beijing’s steadfast support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, sending a congratulatory letter on the eve of the embattled leader’s birthday that pledged continued backing for the South American country’s sovereignty amid mounting regional tensions and US military pressure. In the message, released by Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry over the weekend, Xi described China and Venezuela as “intimate friends, dear brothers and good partners”. He vowed to… Source link

Guo Wei, the chief scientist of China’s top naval institute, has been suspended as a foreign academician to the Russian Academy of Engineering after he became the subject of a police probe over alleged academic misconduct. The Chinese headquarters of the Russian academy announced on its social media page on Friday that it had taken note of the case against Guo and was verifying information regarding his election as a foreign academician earlier this year. The Beijing News reported on Sunday that… Source link

Immigration authorities in Colombia have taken 17 children into protective custody after they were rescued from an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect whose members have been accused of sexually abusing and kidnapping minors in several countries. Gloria Esperanza Arriero, the director of Colombia’s national immigration service, said on Monday that her agency questioned nine members of the Lev Tahor sect during a hotel inspection on Sunday. “We will likely deport them,” Arriero said, “because there are no… Source link

A Singapore private-hire driver has denied responsibility for a vulgar anti-Chinese slur that was seen flashing across an LED panel on the back of his car, insisting the message was remotely altered by someone hacking into his display system. The footage, filmed on Thursday along Woodlands Centre Road – a route leading to the checkpoint connecting Singapore and Malaysia – went viral after being posted by the SG Road Vigilante Facebook page. The clip shows a Honda Stepwagon Spada repeatedly… Source link

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit last week amid speculation that he could visit Beijing early next year and the country’s controversial embassy in London will be approved. The two leaders are understood to have greeted each other only briefly during a “brush-by” rather than holding formal bilateral talks, after which a readout covering what was discussed would usually be expected from Starmer’s office. China was represented by Premier Li… Source link