Elon Musk clashes with Trump’s Maga allies over H-1B visas, immigration
By Agence France-Presse
Donald Trump has yet to move back into the White House and already fissures are opening in his coalition, amid squabbling between Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley “tech bros” and his hardcore Republican backers.
At the heart of the internecine sniping is Trump’s central election issue – immigration – and the H1-B visas that allow companies to bring foreigners with specific qualifications to the United States.
The permits are widely used in Silicon Valley, and Musk – who himself came to the US from South Africa on an H1-B – is a fervent advocate.
The world’s richest man, who bankrolled Trump’s election campaign and has become a close adviser, posted on X on Thursday that welcoming elite engineering talent from abroad was “essential for America to keep winning”.
Vivek Ramaswamy, appointed by Trump as Musk’s co-chair on a new advisory board on government efficiency, suggested that companies prefer foreign workers because they lack an “American culture,” which he said venerates mediocrity.
“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he posted, warning that, without a change in attitude, “we’ll have our asses handed to us by China”.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Agence France-Presse
Donald Trump has yet to move back into the White House and already fissures are opening in his coalition, amid squabbling between Elon Musk and his Silicon Valley “tech bros” and his hardcore Republican backers.
At the heart of the internecine sniping is Trump’s central election issue – immigration – and the H1-B visas that allow companies to bring foreigners with specific qualifications to the United States.
The permits are widely used in Silicon Valley, and Musk – who himself came to the US from South Africa on an H1-B – is a fervent advocate.
The world’s richest man, who bankrolled Trump’s election campaign and has become a close adviser, posted on X on Thursday that welcoming elite engineering talent from abroad was “essential for America to keep winning”.
Vivek Ramaswamy, appointed by Trump as Musk’s co-chair on a new advisory board on government efficiency, suggested that companies prefer foreign workers because they lack an “American culture,” which he said venerates mediocrity.
“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he posted, warning that, without a change in attitude, “we’ll have our asses handed to us by China”.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
No stereotypes please, overseas Chinese students are a wonderful mix
By Shzr Ee Tan
In the late 1990s, I came to the United Kingdom as one of those overseas Chinese students with delusions of grandeur, thinking I would become a concert pianist with a career in Europe.
I was one of four young women with “yellow skin” in the class – two from Singapore, one from Hong Kong, a fourth from Taiwan holding an Australian passport. The Hongkonger was called Cindy, and for some of my classmates who could not figure out our names, we were all “The Cindys”. I found this funny – even laughed along and considered starting a band – before I was socialised into reckoning with the racist undertones of such behaviour.
Decades on – after a few wake-up calls and a detour into journalism – I am an academic myself, teaching people from all over the world at an elite UK university, and especially working with students who might rally to the label of “yellow” with both pride and nonchalance.
Some things haven’t changed. A year ago I called out a piano teacher at a posh UK school for quipping on social media about the single-syllable names of her students from East Asia. She bragged that she wouldn’t bother to distinguish between individuals, and would call everyone “darling” instead.
Yet, things have moved on in other directions. Today, East Asian students are subject to aggressive recruitment campaigns by universities in the UK, Europe and the United States looking to expand their revenue source – high fee-paying international students. In fact, I’ve been sent by my institution on trips for this purpose.
Do I feel ambivalent about this? Yes, not least as a member of the Chinese diaspora who wonders about the neoliberal politics of prioritising any kind of growth in precariously underfunded higher education – or relying on Chinese students who face challenges writing essays in English as a second language, with or without help from artificial intelligence.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Shzr Ee Tan
In the late 1990s, I came to the United Kingdom as one of those overseas Chinese students with delusions of grandeur, thinking I would become a concert pianist with a career in Europe.
I was one of four young women with “yellow skin” in the class – two from Singapore, one from Hong Kong, a fourth from Taiwan holding an Australian passport. The Hongkonger was called Cindy, and for some of my classmates who could not figure out our names, we were all “The Cindys”. I found this funny – even laughed along and considered starting a band – before I was socialised into reckoning with the racist undertones of such behaviour.
Decades on – after a few wake-up calls and a detour into journalism – I am an academic myself, teaching people from all over the world at an elite UK university, and especially working with students who might rally to the label of “yellow” with both pride and nonchalance.
Some things haven’t changed. A year ago I called out a piano teacher at a posh UK school for quipping on social media about the single-syllable names of her students from East Asia. She bragged that she wouldn’t bother to distinguish between individuals, and would call everyone “darling” instead.
Yet, things have moved on in other directions. Today, East Asian students are subject to aggressive recruitment campaigns by universities in the UK, Europe and the United States looking to expand their revenue source – high fee-paying international students. In fact, I’ve been sent by my institution on trips for this purpose.
Do I feel ambivalent about this? Yes, not least as a member of the Chinese diaspora who wonders about the neoliberal politics of prioritising any kind of growth in precariously underfunded higher education – or relying on Chinese students who face challenges writing essays in English as a second language, with or without help from artificial intelligence.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Survivors recall moment of Azerbaijani jet crash: ‘I thought the plane was going to fall apart’
By Reuters
Two passengers and one crew member on the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan said that they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia.
Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian attack drones. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
“After the bang … I thought the plane was going to fall apart,” Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers, said from hospital.
He said he had begun to recite prayers and prepare for the end after hearing the bang.
“It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way,” he said. “It was as if it was drunk – not the same plane any more.”
Another passenger on the plane said that she also heard a loud bang.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Reuters
Two passengers and one crew member on the Azerbaijan Airlines plane that crashed in Kazakhstan said that they heard at least one loud bang as it approached its original destination of Grozny in southern Russia.
Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from an area of southern Russia where Moscow has repeatedly used air defence systems against Ukrainian attack drones. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
“After the bang … I thought the plane was going to fall apart,” Subhonkul Rakhimov, one of the passengers, said from hospital.
He said he had begun to recite prayers and prepare for the end after hearing the bang.
“It was obvious that the plane had been damaged in some way,” he said. “It was as if it was drunk – not the same plane any more.”
Another passenger on the plane said that she also heard a loud bang.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
China’s growing appetite for durian spurs market innovations
By He HuifengRalph Jennings
China’s middle class consumers have been tightening their purse strings, but their appetite for durian – pungent, spiky fruit mostly imported from Southeast Asia – continues to grow.
In Chinese cities, durians have transcended their status as a fruit to become a fashionable choice for young consumers. The catering sector has responded with “everything can be + durian” promotions that have spawned a proliferation of durian-themed restaurants with offerings ranging from drinks and desserts to hotpots and buffets.
On Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, topics such as “durian barbecue” and “durian buffet” have amassed more than 1.24 billion views.
One brand in Guangdong province that specialises in durian chicken hotpots has sold more than 2.22 million of them, and its durian burger has gained widespread attention on social media.
A durian buffet restaurant in Shenzhen, Guangdong, went viral online recently when it offered diners their choice of more than 200 dishes featuring Malaysian durian – including porridge, pancakes and cakes – for 199 yuan (US$27.39) a head.
The Chinese market consumes over 90 per cent of the world’s durian supply, with imports surging from 430,000 tonnes, worth US$1.1 billion, in 2018 to 1.38 million tonnes, valued at US$6.2 billion, from January to September this year, according to official data.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By He HuifengRalph Jennings
China’s middle class consumers have been tightening their purse strings, but their appetite for durian – pungent, spiky fruit mostly imported from Southeast Asia – continues to grow.
In Chinese cities, durians have transcended their status as a fruit to become a fashionable choice for young consumers. The catering sector has responded with “everything can be + durian” promotions that have spawned a proliferation of durian-themed restaurants with offerings ranging from drinks and desserts to hotpots and buffets.
On Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, topics such as “durian barbecue” and “durian buffet” have amassed more than 1.24 billion views.
One brand in Guangdong province that specialises in durian chicken hotpots has sold more than 2.22 million of them, and its durian burger has gained widespread attention on social media.
A durian buffet restaurant in Shenzhen, Guangdong, went viral online recently when it offered diners their choice of more than 200 dishes featuring Malaysian durian – including porridge, pancakes and cakes – for 199 yuan (US$27.39) a head.
The Chinese market consumes over 90 per cent of the world’s durian supply, with imports surging from 430,000 tonnes, worth US$1.1 billion, in 2018 to 1.38 million tonnes, valued at US$6.2 billion, from January to September this year, according to official data.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Famed China hotel mocked for charging US$40 for coffee and cake, says price includes tour
By Alice Yan
Complaints regarding the steep prices for tea sets at a luxury hotel in Shanghai have sparked a lively debate about the historic establishment.
A video clip shared by a female tourist at the Peace Hotel highlighted a cup of coffee and a small piece of cake priced at 298 yuan (US$40), with customers required to take their orders away rather than enjoying them on site.
This footage quickly gained traction on mainland social media, as reported by Shanghai Radio Station.
“They only gave me a brief tour of the hotel and handed me the takeaway coffee and cake. Did I really spend money to buy something inferior?” the woman expressed in the video.
Situated in the iconic Bund area, the Peace Hotel is renowned as the “Number One Mansion in the Far East” due to its rich history and opulent art deco architecture.
The hotel opened in 1929 under the name Cathay Hotel, or Sassoon House, named after its owner, Jewish tycoon Elias Victor Sassoon. It was renamed the Peace Hotel in 1956 and is currently operated by a state-owned tourism group.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Alice Yan
Complaints regarding the steep prices for tea sets at a luxury hotel in Shanghai have sparked a lively debate about the historic establishment.
A video clip shared by a female tourist at the Peace Hotel highlighted a cup of coffee and a small piece of cake priced at 298 yuan (US$40), with customers required to take their orders away rather than enjoying them on site.
This footage quickly gained traction on mainland social media, as reported by Shanghai Radio Station.
“They only gave me a brief tour of the hotel and handed me the takeaway coffee and cake. Did I really spend money to buy something inferior?” the woman expressed in the video.
Situated in the iconic Bund area, the Peace Hotel is renowned as the “Number One Mansion in the Far East” due to its rich history and opulent art deco architecture.
The hotel opened in 1929 under the name Cathay Hotel, or Sassoon House, named after its owner, Jewish tycoon Elias Victor Sassoon. It was renamed the Peace Hotel in 1956 and is currently operated by a state-owned tourism group.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
The economic legacy of India’s Manmohan Singh: transformative reforms, but hurdles remain
By Biman Mukherji
Manmohan Singh, the soft-spoken economist who rescued India from near-bankruptcy to make it one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, has died, leaving behind what analysts call an unfinished blueprint for reform.
Singh, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 92, spent five years as finance minister between 1991 and 1995 under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s minority government, guiding the economy during a critical time when India was on the brink of a sovereign default, with barely enough foreign exchange reserves to cover a month’s worth of imports.
The former central bank governor, who studied economics at Oxford and Cambridge, took advantage of his free rein to dismantle Soviet-style economic controls, reduce a maze of permits and attract foreign investment into a market that had long been regarded as off-limits.
Since then, India’s economy has grown sevenfold, becoming Asia’s third-largest. Singh later served two terms as Prime Minister after Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, picked him for the job after the Congress party’s 2004 election victory.
During Singh’s premiership from 2004 to 2010, India achieved an impressive average economic growth rate of 8.3 per cent. However, the technocrat struggled to extend his market-opening policies of the 1990s, due to resistance within the Congress party, which was also battling corruption accusations. This contributed to the party’s loss to current Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Biman Mukherji
Manmohan Singh, the soft-spoken economist who rescued India from near-bankruptcy to make it one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, has died, leaving behind what analysts call an unfinished blueprint for reform.
Singh, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 92, spent five years as finance minister between 1991 and 1995 under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s minority government, guiding the economy during a critical time when India was on the brink of a sovereign default, with barely enough foreign exchange reserves to cover a month’s worth of imports.
The former central bank governor, who studied economics at Oxford and Cambridge, took advantage of his free rein to dismantle Soviet-style economic controls, reduce a maze of permits and attract foreign investment into a market that had long been regarded as off-limits.
Since then, India’s economy has grown sevenfold, becoming Asia’s third-largest. Singh later served two terms as Prime Minister after Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, widow of assassinated Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, picked him for the job after the Congress party’s 2004 election victory.
During Singh’s premiership from 2004 to 2010, India achieved an impressive average economic growth rate of 8.3 per cent. However, the technocrat struggled to extend his market-opening policies of the 1990s, due to resistance within the Congress party, which was also battling corruption accusations. This contributed to the party’s loss to current Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2014.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
For Hong Kong special effects make-up artist, ‘gross’ is a compliment
By Ambrose Li
One of the most memorable scenes from The Last Dance, the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Hong Kong, unfolds with funeral director played by Dayo Wong Tze-wah injecting a pocket of air into the eyelid of a dead woman, causing her half-opened eye to finally close.
The sunken face with its darkened lips is not the visage of an actress, but an expertly crafted prosthetic head with movable eyelids, created with 3D scanning and printing technology by special effects make-up artist Wilfred Wan Chi-kit.
“The character died of cancer, leaving her a bit gaunt. I manipulated the data from the 3D scan of the actress to create a thinner version of her,” the 39-year-old told the Post.
“I then designed the scaffolding and mechanism for the 3D-printed head, which is made from resin.”
Wan concealed himself beneath the faux corpse during the filming of the scene, deftly activating a trigger attached to the back of the prosthetic head while the actor performed the scene.
Wan is one of the top practitioners among a small handful of special effects make-up artists in the Hong Kong film industry.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Ambrose Li
One of the most memorable scenes from The Last Dance, the highest-grossing Chinese-language film in Hong Kong, unfolds with funeral director played by Dayo Wong Tze-wah injecting a pocket of air into the eyelid of a dead woman, causing her half-opened eye to finally close.
The sunken face with its darkened lips is not the visage of an actress, but an expertly crafted prosthetic head with movable eyelids, created with 3D scanning and printing technology by special effects make-up artist Wilfred Wan Chi-kit.
“The character died of cancer, leaving her a bit gaunt. I manipulated the data from the 3D scan of the actress to create a thinner version of her,” the 39-year-old told the Post.
“I then designed the scaffolding and mechanism for the 3D-printed head, which is made from resin.”
Wan concealed himself beneath the faux corpse during the filming of the scene, deftly activating a trigger attached to the back of the prosthetic head while the actor performed the scene.
Wan is one of the top practitioners among a small handful of special effects make-up artists in the Hong Kong film industry.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Azerbaijani and US officials suggest plane that crashed may have been hit by weapons fire
By Associated Press
Russian air defence systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week, a US official said on Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts.
Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House National Security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defence systems responding to a Ukrainian attack.
These statements raised pressure on Russia, where officials said a drone attack was under way in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading for a landing. They did not address statements blaming air defences.
Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US has “seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defence systems”, but refused to elaborate, citing a continuing investigation.
Pressed on whether the US has intelligence that helped lead to that conclusion, or was simply relying on informed speculation from experts based on visual assessments of the crash, Kirby characterised the short answer as “yes” but said he would “leave it at that”, without providing further details.
The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on Wednesday when it turned towards Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Associated Press
Russian air defence systems may have brought down an Azerbaijani airliner this week, a US official said on Friday after an Azerbaijani minister also suggested the plane was hit by a weapon, citing expert analysis and survivor accounts.
Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House National Security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defence systems responding to a Ukrainian attack.
These statements raised pressure on Russia, where officials said a drone attack was under way in the region where the Azerbaijan Airlines flight was heading for a landing. They did not address statements blaming air defences.
Kirby told reporters on Friday that the US has “seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defence systems”, but refused to elaborate, citing a continuing investigation.
Pressed on whether the US has intelligence that helped lead to that conclusion, or was simply relying on informed speculation from experts based on visual assessments of the crash, Kirby characterised the short answer as “yes” but said he would “leave it at that”, without providing further details.
The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on Wednesday when it turned towards Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
TikTok filing to US Supreme Court seeks law requiring its sale declared unconstitutional
By Khushboo Razdan
In a brief filed with the US Supreme Court on Friday, TikTok reiterated its position that a law requiring the Chinese-owned short video app to be banned by January 19, 2025, unless sold to a non-Chinese buyer, was unconstitutional and should be blocked.
The argument by the platform was unexpectedly supported in its effort to pause the ban by US president-elect Donald Trump, who filed an amicus brief asking the court for a halt on the ban so he could officially take office and “resolve” the dispute through “political means”.
“Shuttering the platform will silence the speech of petitioners and the more than 170 million monthly American users that communicate there about politics, arts, commerce, and other matters of public concern – as illustrated by the massive interest expressed during the recent presidential election,” TikTok argued in its filing.
It contended that “Congress targeted TikTok based on disagreement with the substance of the content posted by TikTok’s users and TikTok Inc’s alleged editorial choices in disseminating that content”.
In the filing, TikTok described itself as a US company, though it is owned by ByteDance, which was started in Beijing in 2012. According to TikTok, ByteDance was “founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, but today, roughly 60 per cent of the company is beneficially owned by global institutional investors”.
“Congress has no legitimate interest in disrupting the US operator of a US speech platform to alter editorial choices about the mix of content to disseminate – whether or not Congress deems some aspect of that content mix foreign propaganda,” the brief said.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Khushboo Razdan
In a brief filed with the US Supreme Court on Friday, TikTok reiterated its position that a law requiring the Chinese-owned short video app to be banned by January 19, 2025, unless sold to a non-Chinese buyer, was unconstitutional and should be blocked.
The argument by the platform was unexpectedly supported in its effort to pause the ban by US president-elect Donald Trump, who filed an amicus brief asking the court for a halt on the ban so he could officially take office and “resolve” the dispute through “political means”.
“Shuttering the platform will silence the speech of petitioners and the more than 170 million monthly American users that communicate there about politics, arts, commerce, and other matters of public concern – as illustrated by the massive interest expressed during the recent presidential election,” TikTok argued in its filing.
It contended that “Congress targeted TikTok based on disagreement with the substance of the content posted by TikTok’s users and TikTok Inc’s alleged editorial choices in disseminating that content”.
In the filing, TikTok described itself as a US company, though it is owned by ByteDance, which was started in Beijing in 2012. According to TikTok, ByteDance was “founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, but today, roughly 60 per cent of the company is beneficially owned by global institutional investors”.
“Congress has no legitimate interest in disrupting the US operator of a US speech platform to alter editorial choices about the mix of content to disseminate – whether or not Congress deems some aspect of that content mix foreign propaganda,” the brief said.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Donald Trump files US Supreme Court brief in TikTok case
By Khushboo Razdan
US president-elect Donald Trump on Friday filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court in the TikTok ban case, urging the top court to temporarily halt a law requiring the Chinese-owned app to be banned by January 19, 2025, unless sold to a non-Chinese buyer.
“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump’s incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case,” the submission said.
It added that the “case presents an unprecedented, novel and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side and foreign policy and national-security concerns on the other”, Trump’s filing said.
The filing further stated that Trump “has a particularly powerful interest in and responsibility for those national-security and foreign-policy questions and he is the right constitutional actor to resolve the dispute through political means”.
More to follow...
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Khushboo Razdan
US president-elect Donald Trump on Friday filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court in the TikTok ban case, urging the top court to temporarily halt a law requiring the Chinese-owned app to be banned by January 19, 2025, unless sold to a non-Chinese buyer.
“President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case, thus permitting President Trump’s incoming administration the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case,” the submission said.
It added that the “case presents an unprecedented, novel and difficult tension between free-speech rights on one side and foreign policy and national-security concerns on the other”, Trump’s filing said.
The filing further stated that Trump “has a particularly powerful interest in and responsibility for those national-security and foreign-policy questions and he is the right constitutional actor to resolve the dispute through political means”.
More to follow...
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Ukraine’s Zelensky urges China to put pressure on North Korea over troops in Russia
By dpa
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on China to exert influence on North Korea in response to the deployment of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian troops in the Ukraine war.
“The Korean nation should not lose its people in the battles in Europe. And this can be influenced, particularly by Korea’s neighbours, especially China,” Zelensky said in his evening video address.
“If China is sincere in its statements that the war should not escalate, it must exert appropriate pressure on Pyongyang,” he added. China is the closest ally of the isolated communist country.
Moscow is mainly using the North Korean troops in its attempts to regain the Russian area of Kursk, which is partly occupied by Ukrainian troops, Zelensky said.
“We can see that the Russian military and the North Korean enforcers have no interest in the survival of these Koreans at all,” Zelensky continued.
Everything is being done to avoid the Ukrainian military capturing the North Korean soldiers, he said, claiming that the North Korean troops would rather kill each other than be taken prisoner.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By dpa
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on China to exert influence on North Korea in response to the deployment of North Korean soldiers alongside Russian troops in the Ukraine war.
“The Korean nation should not lose its people in the battles in Europe. And this can be influenced, particularly by Korea’s neighbours, especially China,” Zelensky said in his evening video address.
“If China is sincere in its statements that the war should not escalate, it must exert appropriate pressure on Pyongyang,” he added. China is the closest ally of the isolated communist country.
Moscow is mainly using the North Korean troops in its attempts to regain the Russian area of Kursk, which is partly occupied by Ukrainian troops, Zelensky said.
“We can see that the Russian military and the North Korean enforcers have no interest in the survival of these Koreans at all,” Zelensky continued.
Everything is being done to avoid the Ukrainian military capturing the North Korean soldiers, he said, claiming that the North Korean troops would rather kill each other than be taken prisoner.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
What will China’s new mega dam mean for India ties and fragile Tibetan ecosystem?
By Shi Jiangtao
Beijing’s approval of a controversial mega dam in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which flows from Tibet autonomous region into India, has sparked concerns about the environmental impact of the project, as well as the effect it could have on China-India ties amid signs of a thaw between the two neighbours.
The dam is expected to be the world’s largest hydroelectric project and could generate three times the power of the Three Gorges Dam. Its construction will mark a major step in China’s plan to tap the hydropower potential of the Tibetan plateau.
But it could also intensify a dam-building competition between the Asian neighbours near their disputed Himalayan border, according to diplomatic and environmental experts.
State news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday that the Chinese government had recently approved the massive project, which was included in Beijing’s 14th Five-Year Plan for the 2021 – 2025 period.
The report did not specify the exact location of the project on Tibet’s longest river, which becomes the Brahmaputra River when it flows into the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, viewed by China as part of southern Tibet. The river also flows into Bangladesh, where it is called the Jamuna.
But what is known is that the project will be built on a section referred to as the Grand Canyon, or the “Great Bend”, on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo.
According to a 2020 estimate by state-owned Power Construction Corporation of China, the dam, located in one of the most hydropower-rich areas of the world, is expected to produce nearly 300 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Shi Jiangtao
Beijing’s approval of a controversial mega dam in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which flows from Tibet autonomous region into India, has sparked concerns about the environmental impact of the project, as well as the effect it could have on China-India ties amid signs of a thaw between the two neighbours.
The dam is expected to be the world’s largest hydroelectric project and could generate three times the power of the Three Gorges Dam. Its construction will mark a major step in China’s plan to tap the hydropower potential of the Tibetan plateau.
But it could also intensify a dam-building competition between the Asian neighbours near their disputed Himalayan border, according to diplomatic and environmental experts.
State news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday that the Chinese government had recently approved the massive project, which was included in Beijing’s 14th Five-Year Plan for the 2021 – 2025 period.
The report did not specify the exact location of the project on Tibet’s longest river, which becomes the Brahmaputra River when it flows into the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, viewed by China as part of southern Tibet. The river also flows into Bangladesh, where it is called the Jamuna.
But what is known is that the project will be built on a section referred to as the Grand Canyon, or the “Great Bend”, on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo.
According to a 2020 estimate by state-owned Power Construction Corporation of China, the dam, located in one of the most hydropower-rich areas of the world, is expected to produce nearly 300 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
US teacher jailed in Russia is designated by State Department as wrongfully detained
By Associated Press
An American teacher arrested in Russia on drug charges more than four years ago has been designated by the US government as wrongfully detained, the State Department said on Friday.
Marc Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport and possessing what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana.
After Fogel was omitted from a massive prisoner swap last August that resulted in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan, among others, his family’s lawyers made another push for the Biden administration to secure his freedom, including by designating him as wrongfully detained.
The State Department considers a range of factors in deciding whether to designate an American jailed in a foreign country as wrongfully detained, including if there is credible information that the person is innocent. The factors also include if they are being held for the primary purpose of influencing US policy or securing concessions from the US government.
Officials confirmed on Friday that Fogel had now received that designation.
“The United States has been working to secure Marc Fogel’s release for some time. We have long called for his humanitarian release and tried to include him in the August 1 deal, but were unable to. The Secretary determined Marc is wrongfully detained in October,” the State Department said in a statement.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Associated Press
An American teacher arrested in Russia on drug charges more than four years ago has been designated by the US government as wrongfully detained, the State Department said on Friday.
Marc Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport and possessing what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana.
After Fogel was omitted from a massive prisoner swap last August that resulted in the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and corporate security executive Paul Whelan, among others, his family’s lawyers made another push for the Biden administration to secure his freedom, including by designating him as wrongfully detained.
The State Department considers a range of factors in deciding whether to designate an American jailed in a foreign country as wrongfully detained, including if there is credible information that the person is innocent. The factors also include if they are being held for the primary purpose of influencing US policy or securing concessions from the US government.
Officials confirmed on Friday that Fogel had now received that designation.
“The United States has been working to secure Marc Fogel’s release for some time. We have long called for his humanitarian release and tried to include him in the August 1 deal, but were unable to. The Secretary determined Marc is wrongfully detained in October,” the State Department said in a statement.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
With South Korea in crisis, what black swans lurk for East Asia in 2025?
By Hao Nan
On December 14, South Korea’s National Assembly successfully impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on its second attempt. The impeachment has headed to the Constitutional Court, which has up to six months to review it. On Friday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo who had assumed the role of acting president was also impeached.
If Yoon’s impeachment is upheld, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung could become the new president and recalibrate Yoon’s domestic and foreign policy directions with the backing of a legislative majority. If Yoon’s impeachment is overturned and he resumes office, his unpopularity would make it unlikely that any meaningful agenda would be advanced. Legal battles and political paralysis are expected to drag on until mid-2025, adding an unsettling layer of uncertainty to the region.
This unfolding saga is a textbook example of a black swan: a low-probability, high-impact occurrence that shocks a system and prompts recalibration. Although there were subtle signs in retrospect, the scale and timing of the crisis blindsided many. For a democracy as robust and economically powerful as South Korea, its descent into such turmoil is difficult to fathom.
As East Asia enters a 2025 in which Donald Trump returns for a second term as US president, South Korea’s crisis raises a pressing question: are there other black swan events lurking for the region?
Taiwan, another pillar of regional stability, offers early warning signs of an upheaval. Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is in a legislative deadlock with the opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party coalition, and grappling with mounting polarisation over cross-strait relations. With key elections in 2026 and 2028 looming, Lai faces growing pressure to unify a fractured electorate.
Earlier this month, a social media post swiftly deleted by the DPP appeared to show support for Yoon’s decision to declare martial law, sparking fears that Lai might consider a similar measure under the guise of countering mainland threats.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Hao Nan
On December 14, South Korea’s National Assembly successfully impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol on its second attempt. The impeachment has headed to the Constitutional Court, which has up to six months to review it. On Friday, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo who had assumed the role of acting president was also impeached.
If Yoon’s impeachment is upheld, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung could become the new president and recalibrate Yoon’s domestic and foreign policy directions with the backing of a legislative majority. If Yoon’s impeachment is overturned and he resumes office, his unpopularity would make it unlikely that any meaningful agenda would be advanced. Legal battles and political paralysis are expected to drag on until mid-2025, adding an unsettling layer of uncertainty to the region.
This unfolding saga is a textbook example of a black swan: a low-probability, high-impact occurrence that shocks a system and prompts recalibration. Although there were subtle signs in retrospect, the scale and timing of the crisis blindsided many. For a democracy as robust and economically powerful as South Korea, its descent into such turmoil is difficult to fathom.
As East Asia enters a 2025 in which Donald Trump returns for a second term as US president, South Korea’s crisis raises a pressing question: are there other black swan events lurking for the region?
Taiwan, another pillar of regional stability, offers early warning signs of an upheaval. Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is in a legislative deadlock with the opposition Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party coalition, and grappling with mounting polarisation over cross-strait relations. With key elections in 2026 and 2028 looming, Lai faces growing pressure to unify a fractured electorate.
Earlier this month, a social media post swiftly deleted by the DPP appeared to show support for Yoon’s decision to declare martial law, sparking fears that Lai might consider a similar measure under the guise of countering mainland threats.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
Israeli troops forcibly remove staff, patients from northern Gaza hospital, officials say
By Associated Press
Israeli troops stormed one of the last hospitals operating in northern Gaza on Friday, forcing many staff and patients outside to strip in winter weather, the territory’s health ministry said. The army denied claims it had entered or set fire to the complex and accused Hamas of using the facility for cover.
Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit multiple times over the past three months by Israeli troops waging an offensive against Hamas fighters in surrounding neighbourhoods, according to staff. The ministry said a strike on the hospital a day earlier killed five medical staff.
Israel’s military said it was conducting operations against Hamas infrastructure and militants in the area and had ordered people out of the hospital, but said it had not entered the complex as of Friday night.
It repeated claims that Hamas militants operate inside Kamal Adwan but provided no evidence. Hospital officials have denied that.
The Health Ministry said troops forced medical staff and patients to assemble outside and remove their clothes. Some were led to an unknown location, while some patients were sent to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which was knocked out of operation after an Israel raid this week.
Israeli troops during raids frequently carry out mass detentions, stripping men to their underwear for questioning in what the military says is a security measure as they search for Hamas fighters.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Associated Press
Israeli troops stormed one of the last hospitals operating in northern Gaza on Friday, forcing many staff and patients outside to strip in winter weather, the territory’s health ministry said. The army denied claims it had entered or set fire to the complex and accused Hamas of using the facility for cover.
Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit multiple times over the past three months by Israeli troops waging an offensive against Hamas fighters in surrounding neighbourhoods, according to staff. The ministry said a strike on the hospital a day earlier killed five medical staff.
Israel’s military said it was conducting operations against Hamas infrastructure and militants in the area and had ordered people out of the hospital, but said it had not entered the complex as of Friday night.
It repeated claims that Hamas militants operate inside Kamal Adwan but provided no evidence. Hospital officials have denied that.
The Health Ministry said troops forced medical staff and patients to assemble outside and remove their clothes. Some were led to an unknown location, while some patients were sent to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which was knocked out of operation after an Israel raid this week.
Israeli troops during raids frequently carry out mass detentions, stripping men to their underwear for questioning in what the military says is a security measure as they search for Hamas fighters.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
New bird flu mutation discovered in US as cat infections cause alarm
By Agence France-Presse
The continuing spread of bird flu in the United States has alarmed experts – not just because of human cases causing severe illness but also troubling new instances of infections in cats.
A sample of the virus found in a critically ill patient in the United States has shown signs of mutating to better suit human airways, although there is no indication it has spread beyond that individual, authorities report.
Earlier this month, officials announced that an elderly Louisiana patient was in “critical condition” with a severe H5N1 infection.
An analysis posted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday revealed that a small percentage of the virus in the patient’s throat carried genetic changes that could increase the virus’s ability to bind to certain cell receptors found in the human upper respiratory tract.
Importantly, the CDC noted that these changes have not been detected in birds – including in the back garden poultry flock believed to have been the source of the patient’s initial infection.
Instead, the agency said the mutations were “likely generated by replication of this virus in the patient with advanced disease”, emphasising that no transmission of the mutated strain to other humans had been identified.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Agence France-Presse
The continuing spread of bird flu in the United States has alarmed experts – not just because of human cases causing severe illness but also troubling new instances of infections in cats.
A sample of the virus found in a critically ill patient in the United States has shown signs of mutating to better suit human airways, although there is no indication it has spread beyond that individual, authorities report.
Earlier this month, officials announced that an elderly Louisiana patient was in “critical condition” with a severe H5N1 infection.
An analysis posted by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday revealed that a small percentage of the virus in the patient’s throat carried genetic changes that could increase the virus’s ability to bind to certain cell receptors found in the human upper respiratory tract.
Importantly, the CDC noted that these changes have not been detected in birds – including in the back garden poultry flock believed to have been the source of the patient’s initial infection.
Instead, the agency said the mutations were “likely generated by replication of this virus in the patient with advanced disease”, emphasising that no transmission of the mutated strain to other humans had been identified.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
US imposes sanctions on Georgian billionaire ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili
By Reuters
The United States on Friday sanctioned Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister widely seen as the country’s de facto leader, saying he was undermining democracy and allowing Russia to benefit.
Ivanishvili, who made billions in Russia in metals and telecoms in the 1990s, has spearheaded a turn away from the West in Georgia and accused foreign intelligence agencies of trying to drive it into war with Russia.
Critics say that under his Georgian Dream party, the country has become more authoritarian and pro-Moscow.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was sanctioning the reclusive Ivanishvili for “undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation”.
Blinken said Ivanishvili had implemented “actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the United States or abroad” for Russia.
The sanctions, which freeze any US assets belonging to Ivanishvili, follow years of souring relations between the West and Georgia, a former Soviet republic now a candidate for European Union membership.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
By Reuters
The United States on Friday sanctioned Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister widely seen as the country’s de facto leader, saying he was undermining democracy and allowing Russia to benefit.
Ivanishvili, who made billions in Russia in metals and telecoms in the 1990s, has spearheaded a turn away from the West in Georgia and accused foreign intelligence agencies of trying to drive it into war with Russia.
Critics say that under his Georgian Dream party, the country has become more authoritarian and pro-Moscow.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was sanctioning the reclusive Ivanishvili for “undermining the democratic and Euro-Atlantic future of Georgia for the benefit of the Russian Federation”.
Blinken said Ivanishvili had implemented “actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the United States or abroad” for Russia.
The sanctions, which freeze any US assets belonging to Ivanishvili, follow years of souring relations between the West and Georgia, a former Soviet republic now a candidate for European Union membership.
via SCMP Full Text Feed
