It was the stuff of Bond villains. Two ageing autocrats, their younger ally in tow, ambled down a red-carpeted ramp before a military parade in Beijing when a hot mic picked up a question that seemed to be on their minds: how long could they keep going – and, between the lines, might science allow them to rule for ever? With advances in technology, Russia’s Vladimir Putin assured Xi Jinping via his translator that “human organs can be constantly transplanted, to the extent that people can get younger, perhaps even…
Tag: World news
Taiwan accuses China of breaching international law over drilling
Taiwan’s government has accused China of breaching international law by drilling for oil and gas inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and immediately demanded it halt the activity. The statement from the office of Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, came after revelations first reported by the Guardian that several Chinese oil rigs and associated vessels had been detected inside Taiwan’s EEZ, near the disputed Pratas Islands, which are under Taiwanese control. A report published by the Jamestown Foundation, a US-based thinktank, said the assets had been there for up to five…
Weaponised ‘robot wolves’ make cameo at China military parade – video
Weaponised ‘robot wolves’ made a cameo at China’s military parade, perched on armoured vehicles as part of the country’s showcase of military might. The event, marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat at the end of the second world war, was largely shunned by western leaders, with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un – pariahs in the west due to the Ukraine war and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions – the guests of honour The Guardian
Thursday briefing: China flexes its muscle in the tussle for global dominance
Good morning. All eyes have been on China this week as the second biggest global economy flexed its muscles. Dozens of world leaders, including from the global south, authoritarian pariah states and the EU, attended China’s largest ever military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the war of resistance against Japanese aggression. China’s president, Xi Jinping, was flanked by the Russian and North Korean leaders, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, in what has widely been called a…
Venice’s Lion of St Mark’s Square was at least part made in China, study suggests
The great bronze statue of a winged lion perched atop one of two granite columns in Venice’s St Mark’s Square has watched over the city for centuries. But Italian scientists have now found evidence to suggest the iconic statue was at least in part made in China, and possibly ended up in Venice via the Silk Road after being brought back by the father and uncle of the merchant and explorer Marco Polo. In research due to be published in the journal Antiquity, scientists from the University of Padua found…
Strongmen assemble: Putin, Kim and Xi in Beijing – podcast
It has been a historic week of diplomacy in China. As senior China correspondent Amy Hawkins explains, it started on Sunday, with more than 20 heads of state attending the opening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Among them were strongmen from across Europe and Asia: presidents Putin of Russia, Erdoğan of Turkey, Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Lukashenko of Belarus and many others. Yet it was not just an array of autocrats – India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, also came to the summit, openly warm to both Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.…
Nuclear triad and ‘robot wolves’: parade shows off array of Chinese weapons
It was hardly a subtle attempt to project power. China showed off air-, sea- and land-launched nuclear weapons in its parade on Wednesday, a triad intended to demonstrate that Beijing’s long-term aspiration is to match US military might. Also on display were large underwater torpedo-like drones, intended to threaten western warships, as well as anti-drone lasers and four-legged “robot wolves”, all designed to be noticed, regardless of their actual military effectiveness. Though China last fought a war in 1979 – a month-long conflict with Vietnam – it has been pursuing…
Hot mic catches Putin and Xi discussing organ transplants and immortality – video
The authoritarian leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping mused on how organ transplants might lead to immortality during a brief exchange of small talk caught on a hot mic on Wednesday. The Russian president was in Beijing as a guest at a huge military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war The Guardian
‘He should come to Moscow,’ Putin says about peace talks with Zelenskyy – video
Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he would meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Moscow if the Ukrainian leader was ready. ‘It’s possible, I never rejected it, if this meeting is well-prepared and will lead to some positive, possible results,’ the Russian president said at a news conference after attending a big military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of world war two The Guardian
Trump’s belligerence is pushing Xi, Putin and Kim together – and tearing the old world order apart | Simon Tisdall
Donald Trump’s first reaction to the disconcerting spectacle of China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un marching side-by-side at a huge military parade in Beijing was, predictably, all about him. This show of solidarity and strength, he complained, was nothing less than an attempt to “conspire” against the United States. Trump likes military parades – his own, that is. Even more, he likes to be on the podium, at the centre of attention. He casts himself as world number one. The images coming out of the…