In what appears to be an astonishing revelation, a US-based scientist who worked at a controversial research lab in China's Wuhan, has said that Covid-19 was a "man-made virus" that leaked from the facility.
Republican Kevin McCarthy was elected as the new speaker of the United States House of Representatives in a dramatic post-midnight ballot on Saturday, after days of intense negotiations and a series of humiliating defeats to finally capture the gavel on a historic 15th attempt.
Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping was on Monday promoted and made vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission of the ruling Communist party, in clear indications that he will succeed Chinese President and party chief Hu Jintao in 2012.
'We must acknowledge China will use Pakistan against India.' 'We all need to know that these two countries are ready to destabilise India at all times.'
After the Ladakh fiasco where Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics, he has to save face before his colleagues in the Communist party.' To bring the threat of a mega-dam to the northern Indian border is a clever move, observes Claude Arpi.
It is not without significance that the vigorous campaign of the leftist parties has coincided with the beginning of the Chinese campaign against the so-called quadrilateral strategic interaction involving India, Japan, the US and Australia
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.
Chinese President Xi Jinping told FIFA boss Gianni Infantino he hoped the Asian nation could host a World Cup "in the future", the world soccer governing body said on Wednesday, after the two met in Beijing.
Thimpu apparently didn't think it necessary to take Delhi into confidence. Bhutan is loathe to getting dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between India and China. And for Beijing, this was too good an opportunity to be missed to thumb its nose at the powers-that-be in Delhi, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Rahul Gandhi is raising the issue of a caste census though his party has been doing injustice on this front from the 1950s.'
Rights group vowed to continue the struggle for human rights in the Communist nation.
Britain and China have clashed over the offer of British National Overseas passports to Hong Kong residents, observes Rup Narayan Das.
With adoption of the new method the size of China's economy last year was about $130 billion larger than previously estimated.
The military preparations underway show that the PLA may undertake operations this summer to achieve whatever objectives they could not achieve last May, asserts Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RA&W officer.
Xi, the most powerful leader in recent decades heading the ruling Communist Party and the military, will now be the first Chinese leader after the founder chairman Mao Zedong to remain in power lifelong.
'China's latest defence White Paper has been issued against the backdrop of the upgraded Sino-Pakistan strategic relationship which has impinged on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and Beijing's continuing intransigence on tackling the issue of the disputed border or intrusion by PLA troops,' says Jayadeva Ranade.
The latest round of WikiLeaks disclosures published by the UK's Guardian newspaper claimed that Li Changchun, who is ranked fifth in the Chinese Communist Party politburo, became hostile to Google after he searched his own name and found articles criticising him.
'The Congress party hated him because he had not gone to jail, he was not lathi charged, he had not gone on hunger strike.' 'They felt he had lived in London all his life and then he came to India and became an MP and a minister.'
Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping on Wednesday met visiting US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, in the first public meeting with a visiting foreign dignitary since his mysterious disappearance early this month that sparked rumours about his health.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is at the helm of managing the country's economy for a decade, said that he will be stepping down this year, setting in motion the once-in-a-decade sweeping leadership change in the Communist country.
The purpose of the strolls is not to indulge in any noticeable protest activity, but just to get out into the streets in large numbers and take a stroll as a silent mark of their demands.
The over 3,800-km-long Brahmaputra, one of the longest rivers in the world passes through China, India and Bangladesh and has several tributaries and sub-tributaries.
Will China's new military reforms endanger Xi Jinping's rule?
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.
A top United States senator has unveiled an 18-point plan, including enhancing military ties with India, to hold the Chinese government accountable for its "lies, deception, and cover-ups" that ultimately led to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The talks took place in a beach resort in Benaulim on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
An international tribunal in the Hague has ruled in favour of the Philippines.
Pakistan People's Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will make his first public appearance in an international arena as a representative of the party by leading a delegation to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games.Bilawal, 19, reached Beijing on Thursday as the head of the PPP delegation, invited by the Chinese Communist Party to the inauguration of the Olympics on Friday.Earlier, his father, PPP chief Asif Ali Zardari, was to lead the delegation.
'India finds itself in an unenviable situation today with its prospects diminished by acutely polarised domestic politics and the setbacks suffered during the pandemic,' notes Ambassador Shyam Saran, the former foreign secretary.
'The mood in Beijing is already nervous and feverously watchful.' 'Developments in China will be scrutinised as intensely and nervously as the ones in Washington,' says Claude Smadja.
The "bumper" 40 per cent increase followed a number of sweeping reforms intended to transform the "bloated People's Liberation Army, into a more modern, nimble fighting force".
In an embarrassing disclosure for Pakistan, Chinese official media reported that the "spy" drone Pakistani army shot down along the Line of Control, claiming it belonged to Indian security forces, was made in China.
As the virus continued to spread at an alarming rate, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday warned officials of punishment if they shirked responsibility in tackling the virus outbreak.
China punishes 27 officials after deadly ultramarathon
We have seen great strides in all-around cooperation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said.
China, the world's most populous nation, will relax its controversial decades-long one-child population policy which restricted most couples to have only a single child, the ruling Communist Party announced on Friday.
The US hopes that the differences will be resolved peacefully, officials said in Washington.
Mike Pompeo has said that among the dozens of world leaders he met as the United States Secretary of State he found the 'most unpleasant' was Chinese President Xi Jinping, who threatened to stop sending PPE kits to America if it kept asking for accountability from Beijing on COVID-19.
Xi arrived at the Nyingchi Mainling Airport on Wednesday and was warmly welcomed by local people and officials of various ethnic groups, Xinhua news agency reported.
