It was only a few months ago that Liz Truss, perhaps best known until recently for her strong feelings about the “disgrace” that is imported cheese, was appointed foreign secretary. Some had questioned Truss’s suitability for the role given a patchy record in the cabinet, but the liberty-loving minister has seemingly already made a mark on the global stage. While Downing Street was battling further claims over alleged lockdown-breaching parties, Truss was the recipient of two eye-catching reviews of her performance at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Over…
Month: January 2022
I.M.F. Forecasts U.S. and China Slowdowns Will Hold Back Growth
The pandemic has changed the way people in many parts of the world spend their money, shifting funds that might have been used for dining, travel and entertainment to goods they can play with, sit on or consume at home. That increased demand, combined with persistent difficulties in moving goods from one city or continent to another, skyrocketing energy prices and labor shortages, has driven up costs. Some of those pressures are expected to wane toward the end of the year — but not everywhere. “In the United States the…
The Dilemma of Hong Kong’s Fixation on Zero COVID
Advertisement In the past couple weeks, Hong Kong’s battle against the COVID-19 pandemic made international headlines in a strange and unexpected way. Facing a virus outbreak in recent weeks, Hong Kong officials implemented a range of measures in response to what was labelled a “fifth wave,” but the one that caught the most attention must be the culling of more than 2,200 hamsters after a COVID-19 case was traced to workers of a pet shop, and traces of the virus were found on 11 hamsters out of the 178 tested.…
U.S. Navy Fighter Jet Accident in South China Sea Injures 7
An accident aboard an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea injured seven American sailors and led to the pilot ejecting from his F-35 fighter jet on Monday, the Navy said in a statement, calling it a “landing mishap.” The combat aircraft, a F-35C Lightning II, had been conducting routine flight operations before getting into difficulties on the deck of the carrier Carl Vinson, the statement said. The cause of the accident was unclear, but the Navy said it was being investigated. Though such incidents are unusual, it comes months…
Breezy Johnson Will Miss the Olympics With Injured Knee
The American ski racer Breezy Johnson, a top contender for a gold medal at next month’s Beijing Olympics in the women’s downhill, said on Monday that she would not compete in the Games because of torn right knee cartilage she sustained in the second of two high-speed training crashes this month. Saying she was heartbroken, Johnson conceded that she contemplated trying to race despite the condition of her injured knee. “But the doctors told me I could do a lot more damage,” Johnson said in a telephone interview from Germany.…
Fight Club gets a new ending in China – and the authorities win
The ending to David Fincher’s 1999 cult classic film Fight Club has been changed in China, sparking outrage among fans. Film fans in China noticed over the weekend that a version of the Brad Pitt and Edward Norton movie, newly available on streaming platform Tencent Video, was given a makeover that transforms the anarchist, anti-capitalist message which made the film a global hit. In the closing scenes of the original, Norton’s character The Narrator kills off his imaginary alter ego Tyler Durden – played by Pitt – and then watches…
Beijing takes to the ice as Winter Olympics approach
Unlike a lot of other winter sports, ice skating has long been a popular sport across the north of China. The country’s capital Beijing, which is also hosting the Winter Olympics, is no exception. With just about a week to go before the Games begin, the BBC’s China correspondent Stephen McDonell spent a day on the ice with some residents from the city. He asked them about their love for ice skating and how they felt about the upcoming Games, which are taking place under strict coronavirus restrictions. BBC
Behind China’s Intervention in Vermont’s Electronic Waste Recycling Bill
Advertisement An earlier article detailed the PRC’s attempt to intervene in a Maryland legislative proposal introduced in October 2007 to ban lead in children’s toys through the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO TBT) commenting mechanism. But this was far from the only case of its kind. This article will explore how Beijing became involved in a Vermont draft bill related to environmental regulation in 2008, again using the TBT process, and the series of events that followed. On January 8, 2008, Vermont State Senator Virginia (Ginny) Lyons…
Covid live: testing for fully vaccinated travellers to UK to be scrapped; new vaccine pass rules in France
The UK’s transport secretary, Grant Shapps, has confirmed that post-arrival testing requirements will be lifted for travel to the UK from 4am on 11 February, ahead of the half-term break for schools in the country. All fully vaccinated people will have to do is verify their status via a passenger locator form. He told the House of Commons: Our international travel regime will also now be liberalised as part of our efforts to ensure that 2022 is the year that restrictions on travel, lockdowns and limits on people’s lives are…
‘Sheer fiction’: China denies Xi asked Putin not to invade Ukraine during Beijing Winter Olympics
During a phone call last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, told China’s President Xi Jinping, left, he would attend the Beijing Winter Olympics Games opening ceremony on February 4. But China says a report suggesting Xi asked Putin to refrain from invading Ukraine during the Games attempts to undermine the Olympics. Photo: Tass South China Morning Post