Month: August 2026

Zelensky urges China to use its diplomatic weight to end Russia’s war with Ukraine

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“We count on further cooperation and on China playing a strong diplomatic role in bringing Russia’s war against our country to an end,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on the social media platform X on Wednesday. “Peace can be our shared achievement.” In his X posts on Monday, Zelensky attached copies of Chinese and Ukrainian versions of a congratulatory letter Xi sent to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day. Trump, Zelensky say trilateral with Putin may follow It is the second consecutive year Beijing has sent Kyiv such a public congratulatory message following…

Around the world, people are rejecting divisive and dangerous politics. We can – and must – build on that | Gordon Brown

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Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, is already having to make one of his gravest decisions. He has to issue the instructions that he alone gives to the military, setting out the UK response in a doomsday scenario of a nuclear weapons attack on us. He will, as I did two decades ago, sign a piece of paper telling commanders whether or not to retaliate and, if so, whether through targeting civilian conurbations or military sites. These instructions are written down in the aptly named “letter of last resort”. Now,…

China’s coastal regions on high alert as Typhoon Saudel cancels flights, ferries

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Airports in China’s Zhejiang and Fujian provinces remained on high alert for potential delays and cancellations as Typhoon Saudel approached landfall on Wednesday, after multiple flights were cancelled in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Saudel, which entered the East China Sea early on Wednesday morning, led to 16 cancelled flights at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport. Affected carriers included Peach, China Airlines, EVA Air, Starlux and Thai Lion Air. Hong Kong Airlines fully cancelled its HX658/HX659 flights between the city and Japan’s Okinawa, while HK Express rescheduled its Okinawa-bound services to August…

Ming dynasty work shows how Chinese understood the world in the 1600s

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Long before the digital age, a Ming dynasty scholar made it his mission to map human knowledge from a Chinese perspective. The result was an encyclopaedia spanning 127 volumes known as the Tushu Bian, or Compendium of Illustrations and Texts. The work – published in 1613 – was compiled by Neo-Confucian scholar Zhang Huang and drew on more than 200 printed sources across several decades to document the concepts of heaven, Earth and humanity. “His goal was to gather all the illustrations and texts an educated person needed to understand…

Why Tesla has been caught up in a massive car recall in China

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Hidden door handles are widely used in modern cars in China, with around 60% of the top 100 best-selling new energy vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, having them. The minimalist design gives vehicles a “sleek look and reduces wind drag” but can be confusing to use, car industry analyst Stephen Dyer from consultancy AlixPartners told the BBC. “Even I often find it difficult to locate the switch to open the door from the inside of an unfamiliar vehicle,” said Dyer, who is based in Shanghai. But beyond their usability, the…

Chinese artist jailed over satirical Mao sculptures, say rights groups

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A Chinese artist known for his satirical sculptures of Mao Zedong has been handed a maximum three-year jail term for “slandering China’s heroes”, according to rights groups. A court in Hebei province had ruled on Tuesday that Gao Zhen’s work “infringes upon the hero’s reputation and harms public interest”. Among the 70-year-old’s most famous pieces, produced with his brother Gao Qiang, is a sculpture comprising a squad of Mao-like figures holding Jesus Christ at gunpoint. Gao has been in detention for the past two years, and the UN and many…

Typhoon Narra: record flood waters submerge homes and force mass evacuations in China

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Widespread flooding triggered by Typhoon Narra has submerged homes and forced mass evacuations in southern China, as another storm system tracked towards Japan and Taiwan. Authorities in Chongzuo, in China’s Guangxi region – famous for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains – on Tuesday evacuated more than 15,000 people after water ⁠levels surpassed a record high set in 2008. Rising flood waters have prompted China to relocate a total of 54,000 people in Guangxi, state television said. Narra made landfall as a tropical storm on Tuesday evening ⁠in China’s…

Trump pick Darline Graham wins election despite struggling over Taiwan question

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South Carolina Senator Darline Graham won the Republican nomination in seeking a full term on Tuesday, overcoming a rocky moment in last week’s debate, when she struggled to answer questions about Taiwan and the South China Sea. Graham, a political newcomer, was appointed to the seat in July following the unexpected death of her brother, Lindsey Graham, one of the Senate’s most senior and influential Republicans. Backed by US President Donald Trump, she was required to contest a special primary to secure the party’s nomination for a full term. According…

China event asks if Apec’s rules can close growing AI gap between rich and poor

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A “widening” AI gap between advanced economies and developing countries has sparked calls to use the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation framework to develop an open, fairer and culturally sensitive governance system. Although the technology is often hailed as a great leveller in an era of sluggish economic growth, a conference held in southern China last weekend heard that many Global South countries lacked the critical infrastructure and talent required to harness artificial intelligence effectively. Speakers at the event warned there was a risk innovation could largely benefit a few countries and…