Scientists in eastern China find 24 out of 28 water samples have plastic particles commonly seen in synthetic fibers and packaging
Air, water, soil, food and even blood – microplastics have found their way virtually everywhere on Earth, and now that list includes clouds.
Bits of plastic particles were recently discovered above eastern China, with new research showing that these microplastics could influence cloud formation and the weather.
Continue reading...Foreign ministry says US and China have ‘most important bilateral relationship in the world’ after leaders’ talks
China has praised the “warm” meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in California, in a marked shift of rhetoric after months of negotiations aimed at restabilising what has been a testy relationship.
A readout from China’s foreign ministry said the US-China relationship was “the most important bilateral relationship in the world” and that “a stable and growing China is good for the United States and the whole world”.
Continue reading...Account of the summit from China’s foreign ministry was mixed, portraying Xi as having taken a tough line, telling Biden to stop arming Taiwan
Joe Biden has claimed that his summit meeting with Xi Jinping has brought substantial progress, including agreements on limiting narcotics trafficking, restoring militaries lines of communication, and to start talking about the global risks posed by artificial intelligence.
However, it was clear that after more than four hours of talks in a mansion outside San Francisco, the meeting had not brought the US and China any closer on the fate of Taiwan, which Xi reportedly told Biden was “the biggest, most potentially dangerous issue in US-China relations”.
Continue reading...US and Chinese presidents meet in San Francisco to discuss the economy, climate, military relations and Taiwan
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in California on Wednesday, exchanging handshakes and smiles as they embarked on face-to-face dialogues that both sides hope will stabilise US-China relations.
The US president opened his remarks by saying that tensions between the two countries should “not veer into conflict”.
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Despite the US and China’s joint climate plan being welcomed by experts, the plan lacks specific emission reductions or a commitment to phase out fossil fuels.
The Guardian’s Oliver Milman reports:
Continue reading...Critics raise concerns that PM during ‘golden era’ of UK-China relations has maintained ties with Beijing
Chinese state media have welcomed the appointment of the former prime minister David Cameron as the UK’s foreign secretary, as opponents of Beijing raised concerns about the return of a figure closely associated with the “golden era” of UK-China relations.
In an editorial published on Tuesday, the Chinese state tabloid the Global Times said Cameron “could potentially play a constructive role, both in mending the UK’s relations with China and in rebuilding and advancing the UK’s post-Brexit diplomatic landscape”.
Continue reading...Announcement after Central’s Austrian partner Signa Group was placed in hands of restructuring expert
Thailand’s largest department store owner, Central Group, has announced it has taken control of Selfridges department stores.
Central Group and Rene Benko’s Austrian real estate company Signa Group bought Selfridges in 2021 in a deal worth $5bn.
Continue reading...Announcement fuels hope rivals can use Apec summit as a chance to reduce tensions
China and the US have pledged to work together more closely to fight global heating, declaring the climate crisis “one of the greatest challenges of our time”, hours before a key meeting in San Francisco between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.
The announcement further fuels hopes that the two nations can mend relations after years of turmoil over issues including trade, human rights and the future of Taiwan.
Continue reading...Annual competition inundated with a record number of votes after comedian took the Australasian crested grebe under his wing
New Zealand has crowned a bird that grunts, pukes and has a highly unusual repertoire of mating rituals as its bird of the century.
The threatened Australasian crested grebe, or pūteketeke, was thrown into the global spotlight by a powerful backer, British-American comedian and talkshow host John Oliver.
Continue reading...Research in 21 countries suggests a growing ‘a la carte’ approach where states ‘mix and match’ partners on different issues
As the US and Chinese presidents meet on Wednesday in high-stakes diplomacy intended to reduce tensions between the world’s two superpowers, a survey of 21 countries shows that geopolitical alliances no longer fit a “west v the rest” frame.
Many in the west think it is in decline, many outside it want China to be more active in their economies and believe Russia will win its war against Ukraine, and many beyond Europe reckon the EU will not last another 20 years, according to the research, which concludes that global relations are becoming increasingly “a la carte”.
Continue reading...Under deal, China will go after chemical companies to halt flow of fentanyl while US will lift restrictions on forensic police institute
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are set to announce an agreement for China to crack down on the manufacture and export of fentanyl, the primary culprit in a synthetic drug epidemic blamed as the leading killer of Americans between 18 and 49.
Bloomberg reported that under the deal – which the US and Chinese presidents are still finalizing – China would go after chemical companies to halt the flow of fentanyl and the source material used to make it.
Continue reading...Timothy Owen, who in May was blocked from representing the activist Jimmy Lai, was due to give a talk on law and democracy
A lecture in Hong Kong by the British barrister embroiled in a legal battle over whether he can represent the pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been cancelled without explanation, raising concerns about the diminishing space for free speech in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
Timothy Owen KC was due to give a talk entitled “Judges, Democracy and the Criminal Law” at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) on 17 November. But on Tuesday, the lecture was cancelled without explanation, with the university citing “unforeseen circumstances”. The website for the law faculty appears to be offline.
Continue reading...Amnesty says heritage body has ‘fallen short’ in its responsibility to thousands of families thrown off the complex in Cambodia
Unesco has “fallen short of its responsibility to uphold and promote human rights” amid mass evictions at Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex, Amnesty International has claimed in a new investigation.
The Cambodian government has used “intimidation, harassment, threats and acts of violence” to remove about 10,000 families from the world heritage site, the report said. In an unusual move, Amnesty also named Unesco as a “responsible actor”, arguing that the UN body was made aware of alleged human rights abuses for months but did not investigate or acknowledge them.
Additional reporting by Keat Soriththeavy
Continue reading...Incoming PM Christopher Luxon must bring together the libertarian Act party and populist New Zealand First, parties that have major differences
One month on from New Zealand’s general election, the country is still waiting for three parties to reach an agreement on the makeup of the next coalition government.
On 14 October, the conservative National Party beat the current centre-left Labour party government, winning a razor-thin majority to govern in a coalition with the ring-wing Act Party. That majority disappeared once additional voting results were announced three weeks later, forcing National to rely on a third party, the nationalist New Zealand First, to reach the 61-seat majority needed to form a government.
This story was amended on 14 November to correct the date of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi
Continue reading...Whistleblower claims hospital director colluded with ‘online intermediaries’ to sell birth certificates for about £10,750
Six people have been arrested in central China’s Hubei province over alleged involvement in a baby-trafficking ring linked to a hospital in one of the province’s biggest cities.
The allegations about Xiangyang Jianqiao hospital first came to light on 6 November via a Weibo user by the name of Shangguan Zhengyi, who describes himself as an “anti-trafficking volunteer”. Shangguan posted a series of claims about the hospital’s director, Ye Youzhi, whom he accused of colluding “with online intermediaries” to sell birth certificates for 96,000 yuan (£10,750).
Continue reading...Beijing says labour transfers are poverty alleviation tool, but research raises concerns schemes are not voluntary
Xinjiang, a region of north-west China that is about three times the size of France, is an area that has become associated around the world with detention camps. The facilities are referred to by Beijing as vocational education and training centres. But critics say they are used to indoctrinate Uyghurs and other minority ethnic groups with the goal of transforming them into devotees of the Chinese Communist party.
After unrest in the region and a series of riots and violent attacks by Uyghur separatists between 2014 to 2017, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, launched his Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism, leading to the establishment of the camps. The UN has estimated that since then about 1 million people have been detained in these extrajudicial centres.
Continue reading...Former senator was arrested after launching inquiry into ex-president’s brutal war on drugs
The most prominent critic of the former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs” has been granted bail, after more than six years in jail on what rights groups condemned as trumped-up charges.
Leila de Lima, 64, a former senator and human rights commissioner, emerged from court on Monday to cheers from supporters, who chanted “Justice” and “Leila will soon be free”.
Continue reading...Chinese and US presidents meeting amid a deteriorating geopolitical climate, with the countries on opposing sides of two major conflicts
One year after their last in-person talks, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden will come face to face once again on Wednesday in San Francisco, in an encounter that will dominate events at the Apec summit as the Chinese and US presidents seek to stabilise relations in an increasingly fraught geopolitical climate.
The meeting, which could last several hours, is the culmination of months of lower level dialogues which took place over the summer, with Washington sending more delegates to China than Beijing did to the US.
Continue reading...Activists have secured a string of legal victories in Hong Kong but it is a very different story on the mainland
After months of pandemic-related delays, Asia’s first Gay Games was held in Hong Kong last week, with nearly 2,400 athletes competing. At the opening ceremony, Regina Ip, the convenor of Hong Kong’s executive council, said the competition represented the city’s commitment to “equal opportunity and non-discrimination”, and praised Hong Kong’s courts for the “numerous judgments” handed down in favour of the LGBTQ+ community in the past decade.
This was met with bemusement by activists and lawyers, who pointed out that Ip’s government has opposed each of those judgments, losing in nearly every single case. Since 2018, there have been at least seven cases relating to LGBTQ+ rights heard by Hong Kong’s courts, with many reaching the Court of Final Appeal, the city’s highest bench. “Why are they still wasting taxpayers’ money fighting these tooth-and-nail litigations when they’re recycling the same arguments and losing?” said Mark Daly, a human rights lawyer who has worked on a number of the cases.
Continue reading...‘Everything is on the table,’ US official says of first face-to-face interaction between leaders in a year, on Wednesday
The US president, Joe Biden, will meet the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, face to face for the first time in a year on Wednesday, the White House said, in high-stakes diplomacy aimed at curbing tensions between the world’s two superpowers.
The closely watched interaction, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in the San Francisco Bay Area, could last hours and involve teams of officials from Beijing and Washington.
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