Day: January 29, 2026

How China’s 5,100-year-old dams challenge Western narratives on despotism

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While some Western scholars have maintained that the development of large-scale water projects fostered what they called “Oriental despotism”, new archaeological evidence from China has presented a different story. According to the Key Laboratory of Archaeological Science and Cultural Heritage Protection at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the study has pushed the history of large-scale water conservancy in China back by nearly 3,000 years. Researcher Liu Jianguo said in Beijing on January 14 that ancient Chinese societies had been building hydraulic water systems as early as 5,000 years ago,…

China executes 11 people linked to Myanmar scam operation

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China on Thursday executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” involved in scam operations, state media reported. Scam compounds have flourished in Myanmar’s lawless borderlands, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry. The centres are typically staffed by foreigners – including many Chinese – with many saying they were trafficked and forced to swindle people online. Beijing has stepped up cooperation with Southeast Asian nations in recent years to crack down on the compounds, and thousands of people have been repatriated to China. The 11 people executed…

Japan’s market moment helps keep Nomura’s turnaround on track

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Arguably the standout slide in Nomura chief executive Kentaro Okuda’s year-end presentation to investors showed its legal expenses. Down from more than ¥60bn in 2022 to near zero over the past three years as it put a series of damaging legal woes behind it, the lower bills are a proxy for broader changes at Japan’s largest brokerage and investment bank. Since Nomura was badly stung by the collapse of Bill Hwang’s family office Archegos in 2021, losing $2.9bn, it has rebalanced its business — cutting risk and aiming for more…