China is set for the return of more heatwaves over the next 10 days, with temperatures set to start spiking in parts of the country on Saturday. Some coastal cities are already on their highest alert level and inland regions warning of dam failure risks because of melting glaciers. This Saturday is the day of the “big heat” in the Chinese Almanac based on the lunar calendar. The hot spell was expected to be similar in scope as heatwaves from 5-17 July, but more regions could be hit by temperatures…
Day: July 22, 2022
China’s Military Aid Is Probably Less Than You Think
Advertisement The central role of Western military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia has highlighted military aid as a critical part of broader U.S. security cooperation efforts. Amid strategic competition with China, one might assume that Beijing would have a large military aid program as part of its own approach to winning friends and influence through military diplomacy, its somewhat analogous version of security cooperation. That might not be a safe assumption. A new RAND report explores security cooperation by the United States, China, and Russia amidst strategic competition and finds…
Weather tracker: record-breaking heat continues to scorch western Europe
Record-breaking heat continued to affect parts of western Europe during the past week, with UK temperatures exceeding 40C (104F) for the first time since records began. On Tuesday, several weather stations across London, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire broke the 40C barrier, with a top temperature of 40.3C in Coningsby, Lincolnshire. A further 39 stations across central and southern England also broke the previous highest temperature of 38.7C, which was set in July 2019. The central England temperature (CET), which is a daily temperature record dataset dating back to 1772, recorded the…
Japan sees increasing threat to Taiwan amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Japan’s defence ministry has said it is alarmed at fresh threats from Russia and has growing worries about Taiwan, in an annual report that comes as Tokyo considers significantly increasing military spending. The document includes a chapter on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it says risks sending the message “that an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force is acceptable”. The paper, released on Friday, surveys the global security landscape and specific threats to Japan, and says there was concern Russia could “further enhance and deepen relationships with…