Year: 2023

China and Russia test ‘hack-proof’ quantum communication link for Brics countries

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Bridging the vast distance is possible with the help of China’s quantum satellite Mozi, which has opened pathways to develop national and international quantum communication networks. 04:33 Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port Satellite imagery suggests North Korea is supplying Russia with weapons through Rason port With the advent of advanced supercomputers and quantum computing, there were now more avenues for information systems to be attacked, the researchers at RQC, Moscow-based QSpace Technologies and MISIS University wrote in a paper published on the…

3, 2, 1 … Chinese New Year holidaymakers head off for far horizons

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Chinese tourists are on the move over the New Year’s Day long weekend, with high hopes of a return to pre-pandemic levels of travel despite the sluggish economy. And while the break is just three days and haze may be blanketing much of China, travellers appear keen to venture beyond their provincial borders to soak up the sights in other parts of the country. Holidaymakers were expected to take more than 15 million domestic rail trips on Saturday, the first day of the break, up 60 per cent on the…

US, China Try to Ease Tensions as Taiwan Remains a Flashpoint

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A turbulent year in U.S. and China relations culminated in talks between the country’s two leaders on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco in November. There, Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden that Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in their bilateral ties. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching reports on how the island factors into relations between the superpowers. Voice of America

China launches test runs for world’s largest plant that can convert coal to ethanol

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The world’s largest coal-based ethanol production plant has started test runs in southeastern China, state media reported. The plant, which has an annual capacity of 600,000 tonnes, uses coal rather than crops as raw materials to produce ethanol – a petrol additive and valuable basic chemical. This is expected to ease the pressure on China’s food sources while reducing its dependence on fuel ethanol imports. Ethanol is a clean, renewable energy source with a density similar to petrol. Anhydrous ethanol, with a concentration of over 99.5 per cent, can be…

Taiwan prepares to pick new president amid growing threat from China

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Taiwan’s election on 13 January is the first of more than 40 national elections to be held around the world in 2024. It will determine the presidency and legislature governing 23.5 million people on an island that is similar in size to Belgium. But it has major implications for the world. There are a host of issues for Taiwan’s voters, including the cost of living, housing and labour rights, energy, education, and elderly care. Taiwan has an ageing population and there is a significant wealth gap, with low minimum wages.…

China removes nine PLA generals from top legislature in sign of wider purge

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Two of the rest served in equipment development departments, including for the Central Military Commission (CMC), while one is a naval commander. The CMC is the top military command body in China’s political hierarchy, and is chaired by President Xi Jinping. The ousted military men include Li Yuchao, commander of the Rocket Force from January last year before being replaced in July, and his former deputy, Zhang Zhenzhong. Zhang was the force’s deputy commander from 2016 to 2022 and then deputy chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department.…

An ambitious Mumbai museum project sets Indian history in a world context

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The domed entrance hall of the great museum in Mumbai, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), is an exhilarating anthology of India’s architectural styles — Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic, combined with just a dash of British railway gothic. Built around 1910, it sums up in stone much of the history of South Asia. Normally it leads the visitor swiftly into the neighbouring gallery of Indian sculpture. But for most of next year, it will have a different role. It now houses fragments of two of the seven wonders of…

Chinese medicine ejiao facing blow to supply as Africa, Brazil move to end donkey trade

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With donkeys stubbornly difficult to breed – the gestation period can last more than a year – any obstacle to China’s import of their skins is likely to pile on the pressure for the booming ejiao industry. Last month, the 55-member African Union endorsed a report calling for a 15-year ban on the slaughter of donkeys and export of their skins. 02:17 Traditional Chinese medicine-infused food becomes new fad among young Chinese Traditional Chinese medicine-infused food becomes new fad among young Chinese The report’s recommendations will be put to the…

North Korean Reactor Likely to Be Operational Next Summer, Seoul Says

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SEOUL, South Korea —  A light-water reactor at North Korea’s main nuclear complex will likely be formally operational by next summer, South Korea’s defense minister said. There are fears the North may use the new reactor as a new source of fissile materials for nuclear weapons. Concerns about North Korea’s nuclear program deepened recently when the U.N. atomic agency and foreign experts said they have detected signs indicating that North Korea had begun operating its light-water reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said last week that…