Day: November 22, 2025

India earlier this month inaugurated a high-altitude airbase near its disputed border with China, prompting analysts to suggest the development capped long-term efforts to upgrade infrastructure there rather than posing a threat to Beijing. Advertisement According to reports from multiple media outlets, the base, named Mudh-Nyoma Air Force Station, is perched at a height of about 13,700 feet (4,176 metres) and only 30km (19 miles) from the Line of Actual Control, the de facto boundary separating the two sides. On November 13, India’s chief of the air staff, Air Chief…

For homeowners in mainland China, selling a property has become so difficult that some are turning to xuanxue, a neo-Taoist philosophy that has morphed into internet slang for any superstitious ritual meant to enhance luck, from feng shui tweaks to cyber talismans. Advertisement Praying in temples, buying ‘quick-sale’ talismans, or simply writing the word “sold” on a piece of red paper are just a few examples. When a homeowner in Shanghai recently claimed on social media that she found a buyer after praying at Shanghai’s Jing’an Temple and touching the…

China has loosened its civil service medical rules so that sufferers from three chronic diseases will no longer be barred, a move hailed by campaigners and legal groups as a landmark in the fight against unfair employment practices. Advertisement The updated rules were issued on November 14 by the General Office of the Central Committee’s Organisation Department, which oversees the recruitment process, and the National Health Commission. Compounding the issue, these standards were adopted in other sectors such as education and technology, heightening concerns about discrimination in the workplace. Carriers…

When Russian forces rolled into Ukraine in early 2022, one of the first moves by Kyiv was sending a post to Elon Musk on X: Ukraine needs satellite internet. Advertisement Within days, thousands of Starlink terminals arrived, restoring command and control across the battlefield despite Russia’s best efforts to black out communications. Moscow initially tried to jam the signals – and reportedly had some success. But when SpaceX quietly updated its software and reconfigured the constellation, many Russian jammers went silent. The battlefield advantage shifted. That episode sent shock waves…

Marilyn-Joy Cerny has challenged the US government thousands of times during her 35-year career as a trade lawyer, enjoying an enviable record of recovering tariff money for importers whom Washington wrongfully charged. Advertisement “I have filed so many protests in my day, I joke with my team that Customs might be saying, ‘me think she doth protest too much’,” said Cerny, managing partner with law firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg. “Of my protest cases that I’ve had to take to court? I would say 95, 96 per cent [were successful].…

The G20 summit in Johannesburg opened on Saturday with a firm call from the host nation to safeguard the group’s credibility and role, despite the shadow cast by the first-ever US boycott in the forum’s history. Advertisement South Africa has, however, secured crucial diplomatic backing from China for the assembly of the world’s wealthiest and leading emerging economies. Members should “not allow anything to diminish the value, stature and impact of the first African G20”, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told the opening session, in what was seen as a…

A tiny piece of debris triggered the most serious mishap at China’s Tiangong space station since it became operational three years ago. Advertisement Earlier this month, a crack discovered on the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft’s window forced three Chinese astronauts to remain on board Tiangong for nine extra days and eventually borrow their newly arrived colleagues’ ship to return to Earth. The event underscores the growing threat posed by Earth’s ever-expanding cloud of orbital junk – a scare that could push China, as well as other countries including the United States, to…