Chinese weather authorities successfully controlled the weather ahead of a major political celebration earlier this year, according to a Beijing university study. On 1 July the Chinese Communist party marked its centenary with major celebrations including tens of thousands of people at a ceremony in Tiananmen Square, and a research paper from Tsinghua University has said an extensive cloud-seeding operation in the hours prior ensured clear skies and low air pollution. The Chinese government has been an enthusiastic proponent of cloud-seeding technology, spending billions of dollars on efforts to manipulate…
Day: December 5, 2021
Peng Shuai: ITF ‘does not want to punish a billion people’ by suspending China tournaments
Chinese player Peng Shuai has accused a top Chinese official of sexual assault The governing body of tennis says it has not followed the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in suspending tournaments in China because it “does not want to punish a billion people”. The WTA has halted tournaments in the region because of continued concern for Chinese player Peng Shuai, who has accused a top government official of sexual assault. “As the governing body of tennis, we stand in support of all women’s rights,” said David Haggerty, president of the…
US seeks Russian and Chinese support to salvage Iran nuclear deal
The US is hoping pressure from Russia, China and some Arab Gulf states may yet persuade Iran to moderate its negotiating stance in regards to the steps the Biden administration must take before both sides return to the 2015 nuclear deal. Talks in Vienna faltered badly last week, when the new hardline Iranian administration increased its levels of uranium enrichment and tabled proposals that US officials said at the weekend were “not serious”since they had gone back on all the progress made in the previous round of talks. US officials…
Chinese Tourists Aren’t Coming Back Any Time Soon
On Jeju Island in South Korea, the markets have gone dark. In Bangkok, bored hawkers wait around for customers who never come. In Bali, tour guides have been laid off. In Paris and Rome, the long lines of people with selfie sticks and sun hats are a distant memory. This was supposed to be the year travel came back. In Europe and Asia, many countries reopened their airports and welcomed tourists. But they are confronting a new reality: Variants such as Omicron are causing global panic, leading governments to shut…
Just for once, ethics, not sponsors’ millions, have spoken with the loudest voice in sport | Tim Adams
You can’t put a price on principles, but there have always been plenty of people willing to try. In the 1980s, when the sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa was holding relatively firm, the casino operators of Sun City would try to lure global sports stars to play one-off exhibition matches that broke the ban. John McEnroe, then at the height of his rebellious powers, turned down one such pay cheque, aged 24, with the memorable observation that “I’ve got better ways of earning a million bucks.” In the context…