China sends first civilian into orbit as Xi pursues ‘eternal dream’

China launches Shenzhou-16 manned spaceship© Reuters China has sent its first civilian into orbit as it prepares to launch a manned mission to the Moon by 2030 and achieve what President Xi Jinping has described as the country’s “eternal dream” of becoming a space power. Gui Haichao, an aerospace engineering professor who studied in Canada, was one of a crew of three “taikonauts”, as China’s astronauts are known, who blasted off from north-west China’s Gobi Desert on Tuesday, bound for the country’s space station. The launch of the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft,…

China sends first civilian on crewed mission to space station

China has sent its first civilian into orbit as it prepares to launch a manned mission to the moon by 2030 and achieve what President Xi Jinping has described as the country’s “eternal dream” of becoming a space power.  Gui Haichao, an aerospace engineering professor who studied in Canada, was one of a crew of three “taikonauts”, as China’s astronauts are known, who blasted off from north-west China’s Gobi Desert on Tuesday, bound for the country’s space station. The launch of the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft, China’s 11th crewed space mission, was…

Japan Court Rules That a Bar on Same-Sex Marriage is Unconstitutional

Tokyo —  A Japanese court ruled on Tuesday that not allowing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, a decision activists welcomed as a step towards marriage equality in the only Group of Seven nation with no legal protection for same-sex unions. The ruling by the Nagoya District Court was the second to find a ban against same-sex marriage unconstitutional, out of four cases over the past two years, and is likely to add to pressure to change the law in a country in which the constitution says marriage is between a man…

Myanmar military arrests civil disobedience movement teacher in Ayeyarwady

Junta troops have arrested a teacher in Myanmar’s southwestern Ayeyarwady region claiming she has links to the shadow National Unity Government, according to pro-junta Telegram messaging channels. Residents of Bogale township told RFA Tuesday that 30-year-old Theint Theint Soe was arrested on May 23. She has been working as a teacher for eight years and participated in the civil disobedience movement following the February 2021 military coup, the locals said. “Her husband was arrested a week earlier. The teacher was arrested on the same day that her husband was released,”…

China plans 6-nation drills with Southeast Asian countries

China is planning a large six-nation military exercise later this year to boost engagement and build mutual confidence with Southeast Asian partners, the Chinese military has said. The expanded Aman Youyi-2023 (Peace and Friendship -2023) drills, however, would “remain a far cry from the more established slate of engagements by the U.S.” in the region, said an analyst. Military delegations from China, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam had an initial planning conference for Exercise Aman Youyi-2023 in Guangzhou last week, said the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation…

China stocks in Hong Kong enter bear market territory

Chinese stocks fell into bear market territory but Wall Street futures moved higher on Tuesday, as traders were encouraged by a long-awaited agreement on the US debt ceiling.  The Hang Seng China Enterprises index was down during Asian trading on Tuesday, pushing it 20 per cent lower from its peak in January. That temporarily placed it in bear market territory, although it later rallied to close up 0.5 per cent. China’s benchmark CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks was also down more than 10 per cent from its…

Australian Lawmakers Start Probe into Tax Scandal at Consulting Giant

Sydney —  The Australian parliament has begun an investigation into the local arm of the global consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), over the leak of confidential government tax plans. The company has ordered nine directors to take leave with immediate effect. The heads of PwC’s Governance Board and its risk committee are stepping down. For years, confidential information about planned Australian federal tax changes allowed PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia to tailor its advice to clients, earning the company millions of dollars. PwC has insisted that none of its clients were involved in any…

Malaysia investigates Chinese barge suspected of links to looting of British WW2 wrecks

Malaysia’s maritime agency has said it found a cannon shell believed to be from the second world war on a Chinese-registered vessel and was investigating if the barge carrier was involved in the looting of two British warship wrecks in the South China Sea. The agency said it detained the vessel registered in Fuzhou, China, on Sunday for anchoring without a permit off southern Johor state, and that an inspection revealed scrap metal and a cannon shell it suspected dated from the second world war. It said there were 32…

Goldman’s China dealmaker stops tapping US investors

The head of Goldman Sachs’s private equity business in Asia has said she has stopped trying to raise money in the US because of geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing. Stephanie Hui, who runs the Asia-Pacific private and growth equity arm of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with investments that include deals in China, made the comments at a private equity conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday. “I’ve been asked to do observations of what we’re seeing in the marketplace . . . [one is] the geopolitics,” she said. “I used to go to the…

Delay in Security Treaty With Australia as PNG Consults ‘Domestic Processes’

Sydney —  Papua New Guinea said a proposed security treaty with neighbor Australia would be delayed as it consults “domestic processes,” a week after signing a defense agreement with the United States that sparked student protests. Papua New Guinea (PNG), a few kilometers to Australia’s north, is being courted by China and the United States amid rising tensions between the two major powers. Washington and its allies are concerned at Beijing’s security ambitions in the strategically located Pacific Islands region, after Beijing struck a security pact with Solomon Islands. PNG…