Despite Beijing reporting just 51 new cases on Wednesday, China's capital tightened Covid restrictions as it battled an outbreak.
China has cancelled drone shows and suspended drone flights across several provinces following a small plane crash in Beijing that raised significant security concerns, especially near top leadership compounds. This move signals a tightening of low-altitude aviation regulations, impacting the burgeoning "low-altitude economy" and civilian drone use, with new laws classifying illegal drone use as a public security threat.
Beijing on Wednesday shut down 40 subway stations -- about 10 per cent of the total -- and 158 bus routes metro stations besides schools, restaurants and businesses and ordered daily COVID-19 testing of its 21 million residents as the Chinese capital ramped up measures to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant which has brought the financial hub Shanghai to halt for over a month.
A new study reveals that despite China's significant control over global rare earth mining and processing, its dominance has a critical weakness: the US and Japan hold the majority of core patents for advanced rare earth functional material technologies. This technological gap means China lags in higher-value applications, impacting its strategic advantage in the industry.
The Beijing summit may have reduced immediate diplomatic uncertainty, but it did not resolve the deeper structural contest between the United States and China. That contest appears likely to define the coming decade, notes Varun Arya.
While tensions have eased at several friction points and mechanisms for managing the boundary have been reactivated, underlying differences persist. Disputes over naming practices in Arunachal Pradesh, continued infrastructure development on both sides, and unresolved questions regarding patrolling rights indicate that the structural gap remains, notes Dr Kumar.
The intriguing bit is that Trump is likely to attend the talks in Islamabad this weekend -- if he does, it will be the clearest signal yet that the US is ready to exit the war with some sort of win to show, since he cannot afford to go for the talks and return empty-handed, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
China's export curbs on critical minerals crucial for India's electronics sectors are no longer mere warnings but a wake-up call for New Delhi, underscoring the need for urgent measures like reverse-engineering of low- to mid-tech imports to cut overreliance on Beijing, think tank GTRI said on Thursday.
The 17 rare earth elements that are at the centre of the current crisis are critical components of everyday products -- from cars to jet engines to electronics like smartphones and flat-screen TVs.
Why not stream all the data in real time to multiple recipients? It would make the investigation of aviation incidents much easier and far more transparent, recommends Devangshu Datta.
People in a Beijing district with some 2 million residents were ordered Sunday to undergo mass coronavirus testing following a series of infections as China tightened anti-disease controls ahead of the Winter Olympics.
'What signal would we be sending -- that we don't stand by our friends?'
With 100 days until the start of the Winter Olympics, Beijing is promising a "simple and safe" 2022 Games - although preparations are anything but simple as China readies to host thousands of athletes and personnel as it battles COVID-19 flare-ups.
Olympic organisers vowed to tighten security in central Beijing on Sunday after a US tourist died in a stabbing attack.
The Chinese Communist party's central committee on Thursday, November 11, adopted a landmark resolution on the party's 'major achievements and historic experiences', effectively consolidating CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's lifelong hold on power.
China has reported 66 new coronavirus cases, the largest since the disease was controlled in its first epicentre Wuhan in April, prompting the authorities to go into a 'wartime' mode to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the capital Beijing which has seen a sudden spike in the number of infections, health officials said on Sunday.
The Sensex opened at 17,537, down 22 points, and soon extended losses and finally ended with loss of 172 points at 17,386. The NSE Nifty ended at 5,222 down 55 points.
In the wake of the crash of flight MH370, Malaysian authorities have issued new security instructions ordering that the pilot and co-pilot are not allowed to be left alone in the cockpit, even when one of them is taking a toilet break.
China which rejected the verdict initiated by the Philippines petition has stepped up air and naval patrols to assert its controls over the region.
Sixteen police were killed and another 16 wounded in a militant attack in China's Xinjiang region.
Hurkacz, Swiatek win as Poland march into United Cup final
The Canadian government announced that this new requirement will come into effect on January 5, at which point travellers aged two and older will need to provide proof of a negative test before leaving for Canada.
United States President Joe Biden and Chinese's wannabe supreme leader Xi Jinping met virtually a few hours ago.
Xi has called on Chinese border troops to enhance their capabilities in border defence and control to forge a "great wall of steel" along the country's borders, it said.
Seeking to address international concerns, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said China has been adjusting the zero-COVID policy based on the changing circumstances.
China has smothered most outbreaks within its borders, keeping new case numbers low.
Xi's ascent to power and the quick consolidation of his leadership of the party with a shock anti-graft campaign securing the title of the "core leader" of the party bequeathed only to Mao has indeed forced his rivals in the party to submission and caught the attention of the world.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is all set for an unprecedented third five-year term as he was 'elected' to the powerful Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party on Saturday while several top leaders including Premier Li Keqiang have been left out in the major shake-up at the top.
'Even though as Xi will seemingly continue to stay in power beyond his third term, competitions for the post-Xi leadership would be inevitably unfolded beneath the surface of water, and that will be a big headache for Xi the dictator.'
'We will likely never know why Xi decided not to travel to New Delhi. One possible explanation could be his desire to avoid a meeting with US President Joe Biden.'
Amid China's economic slowdown, the country's economic challenges may increase manifold and its economy may be hit harder in the wake of the Ukraine-Russia crisis.
Reports from Tokyo said the Dalai Lama while speaking at an online press conference hosted by the Tokyo Foreign Correspondents Club on Wednesday said, 'I prefer to remain here in India, peacefully', praising the country as a centre of religious harmony.
'The world is finally recognising that China is pushing a form of government that many only now are beginning to recognise as problematic'
The ineptness of successive American presidents, from Bush the Younger to Joe Biden the Old, combined with the cluelessness that Americans demonstrate in foreign lands, contrasts with the Chinese leadership's seemingly singular focus on the accumulation of wealth and power, asserts T N Ninan.
China's GDP grew by 4.9 per cent in the third quarter, down from 7.9 per cent in the second, confirming the slowdown of the world's second-largest economy which was under pressure from the crisis-hit property sector, curbs on energy and tardy recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Xi, 68, holds China's all three power centres -- General-Secretary of the CPC, Chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission which is the overall high command of the military, and the Presidency is set to complete his second five-year tenure next year.
The death toll in China's coronavirus rose sharply to 425 with 64 deaths on Monday and the number of those infected with the deadly disease rose to 20,438, Chinese health authorities said on Tuesday.
Trump also announced that the US will end special treatment of Hong Kong in response to Chinese imposition of new controls.
While enjoying long-awaited economic good times - and hoping they will last as long as possible - some caution and some prudence might be the best protection against bad surprises, says Claude Smadja.
