Tuvalu’s prime minister Feletei Teo said his country may pull out of the region’s top political meeting next month, after host nation Solomon Islands moved to block all external partners – including China, US and Taiwan – from attending. The Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting will be held in Honiara in September. On 7 August, Solomon Islands prime minister Jeremiah Manele told parliament that no dialogue partners would be invited to the annual gathering. Countries outside the Pacific, known as “dialogue partners,” have attended the forum since 1989, to work…
Tag: World news
Box, run, crash: China’s humanoid robot games show advances and limitations
A quick left hook, a front kick to the chest, a few criss-cross jabs, and the crowd cheers. But it is not kickboxing prowess that concludes the match. It is an attempted roundhouse kick that squarely misses its target, sending the kickboxer from a top university team tumbling to the floor. While traditional kickboxing comes with the risk of blood, sweat and serious head injuries, the competitors in Friday’s match at the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing faced a different set of challenges. Balance, battery life and a…
Robots run, punch and score at World Humanoid Robot Games in China – video
China is hosting the inaugural three-day World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing as it looks to showcase its advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. In total, 280 teams from 16 countries are taking part in the event, where humanoids compete in sports such as kickboxing, football and athletics. The Guardian
Weather tracker: Typhoon Podul pounds southern Taiwan
Typhoon Podul crossed southern Taiwan on Wednesday with wind speeds of up to 110mph (177km/h), equivalent to a category 2 hurricane. Podul had developed a week earlier, near the Northern Mariana Islands, and tracked west across the Philippine Sea, achieving typhoon status on Tuesday before making landfall in south-east Taiwan the following day. Podul whipped up high waves along the east coast, where a man died after being swept away while fishing. As the storm travelled overland, it dumped large amounts of rain across the south of the island, with…
China and Britain shared a mission to fight aggression and fascism. And we can work together today | Zheng Zeguang
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the world anti-fascist war. On Friday, there will be a two-minute silence at noon in the UK to honour the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. This is a moment not only for solemn remembrance, but also for reflection on the enduring bonds forged in the crucible of history – bonds that continue to resonate in our world today. At the darkest hour of the second world war, China and the…
US warships patrol South China Sea after two Chinese ships collide
The US has briefly deployed two warships in a disputed South China Sea shoal where two Chinese ships collided earlier in the week while trying to drive away a smaller Philippine ship in a high-seas accident that raised alarms about maritime safety. Both China and the Philippines claim Scarborough Shoal and other outcroppings in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay overlapping claims in the contested waters. The USS Higgins, a guided missile destroyer, and USS Cincinnati, a littoral combat ship, were shadowed by a Chinese…
Chinese firm a leading contender to buy Thames Water, reports say
A Chinese firm is reportedly a leading contender to buy Thames Water if the heavily indebted company collapses in coming weeks. Hong Kong’s CKI, which invests in power and other utility companies in the UK, is among those lining up to acquire the water and sewerage supplier if it enters a special administration regime (SAR), according to the Times. It has reportedly said it would be prepared to operate under tougher penalties for environmental breaches than Thames’s class A creditors, who have put together their own purchase bid. The creditor…
China’s crackdown on lavish civil servant perks will ‘harm’ the economy, experts warn
Updated regulations ban the country’s 40 million civil servants from lavish banquets, and restrict them from overseas travel for ‘personal leisure’ Adjacent to a municipal government building in Beijing, a normally bustling restaurant is now eerily quiet, at lunchtime most of its seats are empty. The recent crackdown on civil servants frequenting restaurants – part of a government austerity drive intended to crack down on corruption – has likely affected business and caused liquor sales to plummet, admits one waitress who works in the opulent establishment. Continue reading… The Guardian
A China-led global system alongside that of the US is Xi Jinping’s ultimate aim | Letters
For over a decade, China has been building an alternative to the US-led order, notes Andrew J Sinclair I enjoyed reading George Magnus’s article (Why Peak China may finally have arrived, 11 August). However, focusing on peak economic growth misses the bigger picture and underestimates China in ways that could weaken western policy responses. China’s central goal is national power, and we are far from its peak national power. The Chinese economic miracle has taken place under the US-led global system. China built factories along its coast, filled container ships,…
Trump’s China trade truce extension spurs market rally
Donald Trump’s decision to extend a truce in the trade war with China has triggered a stock market rally across the globe. On Monday night, the US president signed an executive order extending the deadline for higher tariffs on China until 10 November. Beijing said early on Tuesday it would suspend additional tariffs on US goods for a further 90 days. In response, markets in Japan and Australia hit record highs on Tuesday, as expectations grow that the US and China could secure a trade agreement before the end of…