Day: November 26, 2025

A test train crashed into railway workers in China’s southwestern Yunnan province early on Thursday morning, killing 11 people and injuring two, state media said. The test train No 55537, which was used to test seismic equipment, collided with construction workers entering the railway line on a curve at Luoyangzhen Station in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Railway and local government authorities immediately activated their emergency response to manage rescue efforts after the incident. Station operations had since resumed, and the injured were receiving medical…

A Chinese biomedical researcher whose academic trajectory included years at the University of California, Berkeley, and collaborations with pioneering chemical engineers has died at the age of 44. Xie Hongxue, who had been working as a lecturer for nearly five years at the school of materials science and engineering at West Anhui University, a small regional college in central China, died in Wuhan on November 16 from an unnamed illness, according to Shanghai-based news site ThePaper.cn. Xie’s journey reflects a growing paradox in Chinese higher education. Despite elite overseas training…

A report published on Wednesday highlighted examples of behind-the-scenes manipulation where subordinates were told how to vote in advance, and of collusion between corrupt officials or sham public consultations. “In recent years, to standardise collective decision-making, systematic procedures and requirements were introduced in many places, including mandating public hearings and transparency mechanisms for matters closely related to the public interest,” the report by Banyuetan, a magazine run by state news agency Xinhua, said. Advertisement “However, these rules and procedures are either ignored or deliberately bent in some individuals’ hands.” Advertisement…

On the 32nd anniversary of New Oriental, a private Beijing-based education services provider, the company’s founder, Yu Minhong, wrote an internal letter to his staff about his trip to the South Pole. “I am standing in the icy world of Antarctica, surrounded by vast expanses of pure white, emerald-like icebergs and boundless tranquillity,” he wrote. “The glaciers shimmer with a captivating glow under the sunlight, as if to silently declare the power of time and the meaning of perseverance.” He went on to reminisce about his difficult journey from the…

The dust has yet to settle despite the conclusion of the 47th Asean Summit under Malaysia, which remains the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the remainder of the year. There are two main takeaways from the Kuala Lumpur meetings. First, by most objective measures, Malaysia has successfully pulled off not only the summit but its year-long chairmanship, steering several initiatives long in the making past the finish line. One of the most consequential is the formal admission of East Timor to Asean after 14 grinding years…