Day: May 13, 2023

China opens blockchain research centre with plans to train 500,000 industry professionals

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In January, the Beijing government put information from more than 80 government departments on Chang’an Chain to “effectively improve the security and order of government affairs and social data”. The launch of the new centre is the latest development in the Chinese government’s plans to boost the industrial use of blockchain, which it has sought to separate from digital assets, its most popular use case. Advertisement Blockchain development became a focus for the government after President Xi Jinping endorsed the technology in 2019. In 2021, the Chinese State Council issued…

Two Thai Opposition Parties Score Big Election Victories

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Bangkok —  Two pro-democracy opposition parties secured a stunning victory Sunday in Thailand’s general election, as millions cast their votes on who should lead the country’s government. With more than 99% of votes counted early Monday local time, the Election Commission forecast the Move Forward Party (MFP) to win 113 out of a total of 400 constituency seats, and the Pheu Thai party 112 seats. A further 100 seats will be allocated to parties on a proportional basis. Prayuth’s United Thai Nation Party held the fifth spot with 23 House…

Thai National Election Seen as Test of Military’s Hold on Power

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Voters in Thailand head to the polls Sunday in national elections seen as a pivotal test of the military’s hold on power and the chance for political change in a country where victory at the ballot box is often thwarted by coups and court rulings. Tens of thousands of polling stations opened at 9 a.m. local time (0100 UTC). About 52 million eligible voters are choosing among progressive and conservative parties, with the military seeking to preserve its hold on power after nearly a decade of a government led or…

Platypus Returns to Australian National Park for First Time Since 1970s

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SYDNEY —  The platypus, a species unique to Australia, was reintroduced into the country’s oldest national park just south of Sydney on Friday in a landmark conservation project after disappearing from the area more than half a century ago. Known for its bill, webbed feet, and venomous spurs, the platypus is one of only two egg-laying mammals globally and spends most of its time in the water at night. Because of its reclusive nature and highly specific habitat needs, most Australians have never seen one in the wild. The relocation…

G7 Plans New Vaccine Effort for Developing Nations

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TOKYO —  The Group of Seven (G-7) rich nations is set to agree on establishing a new program to distribute vaccines to developing countries at next week’s summit of leaders, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper said Saturday. In addition to the G-7, G-20 nations such as India and international groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank will participate, it added, citing Japanese government sources. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVAX facility, backed by WHO and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), delivered nearly 2 billion…

DMG Mori tracks use of its machine tool products to prevent military application

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DMG Mori, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of advanced machine tools, has started tracking the use of its products to ensure they are not applied to military purposes at a time of rising geopolitical tensions. The German-Japanese company asked clients worldwide from April to install a remote management system that would switch off equipment if it were removed or dismantled. In a letter sent in late March and seen by the Financial Times, DMG said the installation of the system was aimed at preventing its equipment from being “illegally…

China’s EV industry braced for shakeout as prices plunge

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Amy Liu is unsure whether she should trade in her five-year-old electric sport utility vehicle for a newer model with a longer range or wait a bit longer. “If I place an order now, I’m afraid the price might drop next month,” said the property agent in Shenzhen. Automakers in China’s highly competitive market for new energy vehicles (NEVs), which include all-electric and hybrid models, have been aggressively cutting prices since late last year as demand softened and the government cut back on subsidies. Local players in the world’s largest…

For US to counter China in Indo-Pacific, it must prioritise Indian Ocean island nations: analysts

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The region, stretching from the Pacific to the Indian Oceans, represents a geostrategic zone of mounting importance. But even as the US tries to make headway with Pacific island nations, smaller Indian Ocean nations remain largely absent from America’s regional strategy. During a US House Foreign Affairs hearing in April on China’s influence in the Indian Ocean region, experts testified that Washington’s vision of the Indo-Pacific downplays the significance of the region in its great power competition with China. Advertisement Most nations of the Indian Ocean are excluded from policy…

Rohingya must stay at camps despite approaching cyclone, Bangladesh govt says

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Bangladeshi authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people Saturday from coastal areas near the projected path of a monster storm, but Rohingya refugees would be prevented from leaving their camps in Cox’s Bazar, the home minister said. As of late Saturday, Bangladeshi state media reported, the government had moved as many as 400,000 people into 1,030 cyclone shelters in Chittagong division, which covers Cox’s Bazar and other districts near Bangladesh’s southeastern border with Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where Cyclone Mocha is expected to make landfall on Sunday. During a public event…

Thousands on Bangladesh, Myanmar Coasts Told to Seek Shelter Ahead of Cyclone Mocha

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DHAKA, Bangladesh —  Volunteers in Bangladesh’s coastal districts were using loudspeakers to urge people to seek shelter on Saturday as the delta nation braced for an extremely severe cyclone, which is expected to slam ashore in Bangladesh and Myanmar in the next 24 hours. U.N. agencies and aid workers prepositioned tons of dry food and dozens of ambulances with mobile medical teams in sprawling refugee camps with more than 1 million Rohingya who fled persecution in Myanmar. The camps at Cox’s Bazar are in the path of Cyclone Mocha, which…