Posts

Joseph Wu, Taiwan’s minister of foreign affairs, said on Wednesday that his country would have to prepare regardless. “No matter if or when China decides to attack us, we must always be ready to defend ourselves,” he told reporters in Taipei. During a defense committee hearing in the island’s legislature, Wu told lawmakers that he was aware of media reports about the document said to be written by an anonymous analyst with Russia’s Federal Security Service calling themself “Wind of Change....

The station’s Tianhe core module currently is hosting a three-person crew. Among the launches planned this year are Mengtian and Wentian, the other two modules, which will weigh about 66 tons, or about a quarter of the International Space Station’s (ISS) weight. According to Xinhua News Agency, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation said two Shenzhou crewed missions and two Tianzhou cargo spacecrafts are also among the planned launches....

There’s only one problem: work has stalled. Along the railroad line at least 16 camps that once bustled with Chinese workers and equipment have been abandoned or shut down completely. In those that remain, row upon row of front-loading bulldozers, steamrollers and forklifts sit unused under the sleepy eyes of Angolan soldiers. And the Chinese? “They’re gone,” says a scrawny guard at the entrance to Catumbela’s paper mill, as he stares disconsolately at the tracks....

The Chinese government is in discussions with its state-owned firms about potentially buying up underpriced energy and commodities, or increasing their stakes in Russian companies such as gas giant Gazprom or aluminum producer Rusal, Bloomberg News reported. They are the respectively the largest publicly listed natural gas company in the world and the second-largest aluminum trader by output. Officials in Beijing have reportedly spoken with representatives of the China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Aluminum Corporation of China and China Minmetals Corporation about investment opportunities in Russian companies, although nothing has been finalized....

“Let me be direct about the competition between the United States and China,” Biden told the 77th session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. “We do not seek a Cold War. We do not ask any nation to choose between the United States or any other partner. “We seek to uphold peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” he said. “We remain committed to our ‘one China’ policy, which has helped prevent conflict for four decades....

The Broncos are coming off a brutal QB-less performance against the Saints, losing at home to lose momentum from an upset over the Dolphins. The Chiefs are riding high with thrilling road wins over the Raiders and the Buccaneers. The Chiefs have eyes on a fifth straight AFC West title. The Broncos are just looking to not get embarrassed in prime time with Drew Lock set to return at QB....

Man Utd must make Griezmann their next Pogba-esque signing Juve have been the dominant force in Italy since the 2010-11 season under the leadership of Antonio Conte and more recently Massimiliano Allegri. Last season Juve claimed a fifth successive Scudetto for the second time in their history, having previously done it from 1931 to 1935, while Torino - from 1942 to 1949, a run disrupted by World War II - and Inter - from 2006 to 2010 - have also achieved the same feat....

Deportes Vallenar opted not to show up for Wednesday’s shoot-out against Deportes Melipilla at La Portada Stadium in La Serena, with the latter granted promotion as a result. Vallenar won 5-4 on penalties last week after the two legs of the Segunda Division play-off failed to produce a winner. During the shoot-out at the end of the second leg, match referee Eduardo Gamboa allowed an illegal Vallenar penalty to be retaken - Juan Silva stopped his run-up and feinted before striking the ball into the bottom-right corner....

Chilean tennis player Daniela Seguel, ranked 223 in the WTA standings, was up against Brazilian star Paula Goncalves in the finals of the Copa Las Condes. The player would sadlybe in for a day that she would always remember with a teary eye. Playing at the finals of the WTA Santiago Open, the 24-year-old saw her father, Jorge Seguel, pass out and lose consciousness in the stands as he watched his daughter play in the finals....

The 4-year-old female ape, named Baran, had been relocated from Eram Zoo in Iran to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary in central Kenya in August. The sanctuary is in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, which covers 220 square miles in Laikipia County. According to a statement posted on Facebook by the organization, the new arrival had an unexpected encounter with some of the other chimpanzees, who reacted aggressively to her “The caregivers quickly intervened to stop the aggression, however, within the short space of time, Baran had already suffered severe injuries and required urgent medical intervention,” the statement said....

State media said that 84 homes in an apartment complex in Guangzhou city’s Liwan district had been opened in an effort to find any “close contacts” hiding inside and to disinfect the premises. The doors were later sealed and new locks installed, the Global Times newspaper reported. The Liwan district government apologized Monday for such “oversimplified and violent” behavior, the paper said. An investigation has been launched and “relevant people” will be severely punished, it said....

It puts into the spotlight legislation enacted under the Trump administration that aimed to curb students connected to what it described as Beijing’s “military-civil fusion strategy.” China Daily, a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece, accused Washington of playing a “hypocritical” role by encouraging American universities to enroll Chinese students, but then not granting visas to over 500 students who got offers in majors in so-called “STEM” (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects....

In an op-ed published in The Guardian on Tuesday, Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang called Taiwan a “touchstone issue” for all parties involved. Britain would face similarly “serious consequences” if, like its transatlantic ally, it chose to raise its level of support for the island, he said. China claims democratic Taiwan as its own, but the island nation’s 23.5 million people, who elect their own president and lawmakers, see themselves as citizens of a functionally independent state....

At a nomination hearing in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Admiral John Aquilino said capturing Taiwan is China’s “number-one priority,” and that the prospect is “much closer to us” than most believe. Aquilino, who currently heads the U.S. Pacific Fleet, awaits Senate confirmation as President Joe Biden’s pick to lead U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. It operates in “the most consequential region for America’s future,” the top Navy official said....

The two sides have a long history of conflict over the porous border, even fighting an extended war there in 1962 which killed thousands of soldiers. Though confrontations and even skirmishes are common, the outbreak of violence in June marked the first deadly clash since 1962. Both sides accuse the other of violating the Line of Actual Control—the disputed demarcation line that marks the border. Satellite images and Indian media reports suggest that Chinese troops have moved beyond their previous posts along the LOAC, establishing new forward positions in what India considers its territory....

In case you didn’t know… Having played competitive sides such as Norway and the United States of America during India’s tour of Spain at the Sport Chain Cup, the next destination for the U-16 boys is Serbia as a part of the exposure tour. The blue colts will face the U-16 teams of Tajikistan as well as the hosts, Serbia. Heart of the matter The AIFF was amid talks with China to organize a series of football matches between the nations’ under-16 sides, however, the neighbours have refused the Indian offer to host the Colts’....

China is likely seeing 2.42 million daily infections and 15,850 deaths a day to the virus, the company said in an updated report on Thursday. It estimates 192,400 cumulative deaths in the country since December 1, in what is the latest private sector attempt to gauge developments in China in the absence of comprehensive data out of Beijing. In America, COVID fatalities peaked at 23,387 for the week of January 13, 2021, or an average of 3,341 per day, CDC figures show....

“While the U.S. continues to monitor reports surrounding the health of the North Korean Supreme Leader, at this time, there is no confirmation from official channels that Kim Jong Un is deceased,” a senior Pentagon official not authorized to speak on the record told Newsweek. “North Korean military readiness remains within historical norms and there is no further evidence to suggest a significant change in defensive posturing or national level leadership changes....

Beijing’s attempts to shift these core paradigms are playing out on three fronts: at the United Nations; in its promotion of surveillance technologies abroad; and through an escalating information component on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, according to Washington national security analyst Lindsay Gorman. Part of what she described as a “broader strategy” was apparent this week when Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi addressed the U.N. on Monday and put forward his country’s “people-centered” human rights philosophy, in which the notions of security and peace came before democracy and freedom....

After briefly trying to tough it out, he headed to the sideline and then eventually the locker room for treatment. Veteran backup Chad Henne took the field to try to hang onto the Chiefs’ slim lead. Henne delivered, leading a 12-play, 98-yard touchdown drive to send the hosts into halftime at Arrowhead with a seven-point advantage. It was a crucial moment in the game, and it kept the home team in the driver’s seat just when it looked as if the momentum was starting to shift toward the Jags....