Many makers of PPE and surgical instruments are based in China, where about 100,000 people may be trapped in forced labour
Over a fifth of NHS suppliers providing items including surgical instruments, gloves, gowns and face masks are at “high risk” of using modern slavery, according to a government review.
Nearly half of all NHS suppliers of gowns and uniforms are based in China, which also provides the bulk of all masks.
Continue reading...Gracell Biotechnologies acquisition marks China’s growing importance to the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker
AstraZeneca has struck a deal to buy a Chinese cancer therapy company for up to $1.2bn (£950m), as Britain’s biggest drugmaker expands its footprint in its second-largest market.
The Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical firm announced on Tuesday it would acquire Gracell Biotechnologies, which is focused on a type of cancer therapy known as CAR-T that modifies a patient’s cells to fight the disease.
Continue reading...‘Frog seller’ trend sparks debate on intellectual property amid concerns over copyright infringement
An anthropomorphised frog has joined celebrity live-streamers and social media commentators among China’s ranks of influencers, as a trend that began with street sellers in Chinese cities takes on a new life online – and raised questions over who, if anyone, owns the intellectual property rights to a dancing amphibian.
Alternatively known as a “frog seller” or “frog influencer”, the meme involves a person in a frog suit with a blue neckerchief selling frog-themed products such as balloons and toys.
Continue reading...Program – under scrutiny after imprisonment of Canadians in China – said to lack safeguards to protect officers overseas
A controversial intelligence-gathering program run by Canada’s foreign affairs ministry operates in a “distinctly grey zone”, puts its officers at risk and breaches global diplomatic conventions, says a damning watchdog report.
Canada’s global security reporting program (GSRP), a critical part of the foreign ministry’s security and intelligence footprint overseas, places officers in countries with “poor human rights records” including Ethiopia, India, Egypt, Turkey, Israel and China.
Continue reading...Temperatures are as low as -16C in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, where the magnitude-6.2 quake struck on Monday
The death toll from China’s earthquake has risen to 134, with almost 1,000 people injured, as rescuers dig through rubble in below freezing conditions.
The magnitude-6.2 earthquake struck shortly before midnight on Monday, in Jishishan county near the border of Gansu and Qinghai provinces, destroying or damaging more than 150,000 homes, according to state media. The quake, which was followed by several strong aftershocks, caused mud and landslides, and damaged power lines and other local infrastructure “to varying degrees”.
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Just circling back to QFES assistant commissioner Kevin Walsh, who mentioned the state of the roads and reminded people in the area to be very careful when driving around.
Walsh said:
Monday afternoon was the first opportunity that we had to send in rotary aircraft, so we got rotary-wing aircraft in large numbers up in Far North Queensland at the moment through private contractors and also Australian Defence Force. So they’re very busy in the air and relocating people.
And I think the other message also is to have a look at those roads and the damage that they have sustained. There are many roads still under water where you can not see that damage. So it’s really important for the local people to realise that it’s still very, very dangerous to be driving through flooded waters because you can’t see the damage of the roads underneath it. That’s one of our key messages we’d like the local communities to heed.
So far we’ve only been able to assess about 60 properties. I think throughout today though, we’ll get a better sense of how many properties are affected, and then we’ll be looking for further packages of disaster assistance that will put together or put together with the commonwealth.
But just judging from the other emergencies that I’ve been a part of, we’re talking billions not millions [of dollars].
Continue reading...US congressional commission has called for Li Qiaochu’s release, citing reports she needs urgent medical treatment
Li Qiaochu, a human rights activist detained for nearly three years in China, has gone on trial in Shandong province charged with “inciting subversion of state power”.
On the eve of the trial, the chairs of the US congressional commission on China called for Li’s unconditional release, citing reports that the labour rights and feminist activist needed urgent medical treatment.
Continue reading...Australian pilot accused of training Chinese military denies he is a flight risk in letter requesting NSW home detention
An Australian pilot accused of accepting cash to illegally train Chinese military personnel has denied he is a flight risk and described himself as a model prisoner in a formal request to be released into home detention.
Daniel Duggan has written to the acting New South Wales corrections commissioner from Lithgow maximum security prison where he is being held in isolated custody while he fights extradition to the US.
Continue reading...Officials say at least 126 killed and more than 500 injured after 6.2-magnitude quake in Gansu and Qinghai provinces
Cold weather is hampering rescue efforts after an earthquake in China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces that killed at least 126 people and injured more than 500.
The strong shallow earthquake struck shortly before midnight on Monday, sending residents fleeing outside into below-freezing temperatures. Thousands of houses have been reported damaged, and state media said public infrastructure had been damaged “to varying degrees”.
Continue reading...Media mogul and pro-democracy activist accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and faces life in prison
The media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has gone on trial at a heavily guarded Hong Kong court on national security charges that could lead to life imprisonment.
Lai’s trial, expected to last months, is one of the most high-profile prosecutions in the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on opposition, and has been widely condemned by rights groups and other governments.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary’s plea made as publisher faces trial under national security law imposed by China
The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has called for the release of the British citizen Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy newspaper publisher facing a “politically motivated prosecution” in a high-profile trial in Hong Kong.
In a significant intervention, the former prime minister condemned the charges against Lai, 76, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law that China imposed after the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
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Up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs prevented from reaching Australia
Australian federal police and international law enforcement partners have prevented up to 49 tonnes of illicit drugs from reaching Australia throughout the past financial year.
The AFP cannot overstate the amount of harm that 29 tonnes of methamphetamine could have caused to the community if it had not been intercepted by law enforcement.
On average, close to 12,000 Australians are hospitalised from methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin use every 12 months.
Continue reading...Territory’s global reputation on the line as media mogul and democracy activist finally tried over alleged national security crimes
Hong Kong’s global reputation will be tested this week when the long-delayed trial of the pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai gets under way.
Lai, who turned 76 in jail this month, is charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as sedition. If convicted, which experts say is highly likely, the British national faces spending the rest of his life in prison.
Continue reading...Seven people sentenced to years in prison over 2021 race in Gansu province hit by extreme weather
Organisers of a 2021 ultramarathon in north-west China during which 21 runners died in extreme weather conditions have been sentenced to years in prison for their roles, state media reported.
Five individuals involved in planning the ill-fated event were given jail terms ranging from three to five and a half years by a court in Baiyin, a city in Gansu, the province where the deaths occurred, the state news agency Xinhua reported late on Friday.
Continue reading...Transport hit in Chinese capital as cold spell expected to continue across north of country through weekend
Heavy snowfall affected China last weekend in regions north of the Yangtze River, with Beijing experiencing its first snow of the season.
As a consequence of the snow and ice, more than 180 bus routes were suspended across the city on Monday, with several trains and flights delayed or cancelled. Henan province, south of Beijing, had big falls over the weekend, with many areas recording depths of 100mm and even, in some places, up to 150mm.
Continue reading...The rear-end collision happened in the Chinese capital, which has been hit by snow storms in recent days
An evening rush-hour accident on the Beijing metro left 102 people with fractures after a rear-end collision on an above-ground section of tracks, state media said.
The Chinese capital – where such incidents are rare – has been hit by snowstorms in recent days, affecting operating conditions and resulting in transport delays across the city.
Continue reading...US and UK criticise move while one of the five decries ‘transnational repression harassment tactics’
Hong Kong police have offered million-dollar bounties for information leading to the arrest of five overseas-based activists, as part of a crackdown on dissent under a China-imposed national security law.
The move, which adds to a list of eight overseas activists deemed fugitives by authorities in July, triggered criticism from the US and UK governments.
Continue reading...Boat from Philippines with gifts for fishers, troops and coastguard in South China Sea slipped past vessels that intercepted festive flotilla
It looked, for a time, as if Christmas had been cancelled. A Philippine mission by volunteers to bring the festive spirit to the fishers, troops and coastguard crew in the disputed South China Sea was forced to turn back on Sunday after organisers said they had been shadowed and intercepted by Chinese vessels.
But it later emerged that a smaller supply boat had managed to slip past the Chinese vessels.
Continue reading...BoM tracker map shows forecast path of category 2 cyclone will hit north of Cairns and Port Douglas on the Queensland coast at about 1pm with heavy rain, 140km/h winds and storm surge predicted. Follow the latest Australia news and weather updates today
Ceasefire ‘can’t be one-sided’
Emergency management minister Murray Watt is also speaking to ABC RN this morning, and was asked about the PM’s joint letter with his New Zealand and Canadian counterparts urging a ceasefire.
[It] shows that we want to work with like-minded countries towards what would be a just and enduring peace. I think the whole world has been pleased to see the release of hostages and the pause in hostilities that we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, but what we need to do is move towards a sustainable ceasefire …
I think everyone who watches this conflict unfolds on their television screens, is really disturbed about the loss of life that we’re seeing go on at the moment.
I think that’s the value that a country like Australia can play here by really taking that even-handed approach that does call out the abhorrent behaviour by Hamas, but also as a friend of Israel, calls on them to respect international humanitarian law.
We are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza. The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.
Continue reading...Number rose by almost 60% in a year to 49,691 stores, making China ‘a global coffee industry powerhouse’
The branded coffee chain craze may trace its roots to a single Starbucks in Seattle’s Pike Place market in 1971, but now China has toppled the US as the country with the most branded coffee shops.
The number of branded coffee shops in China increased by 58% over the past 12 months to a record 49,691 outlets, according to research by World Coffee Portal. That was more than 9,000 in excess of the 40,062 in the US, where the market grew by just 4%. The US had held the crown as the world’s biggest coffee shop market for the entire 20-year history of the research.
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