Tag Archives: China

The United Nations Security Council on Saturday approved aid deliveries to Syria through one border crossing from Turkey, a day after its authorization for the six-year-long humanitarian operation ended, leaving millions of Syrian civilians in limbo. The United Nations describes the aid delivered from Turkey as a “lifeline” for Syrians …

Russia on Thursday failed in a second U.N. Security Council bid to cut aid access to Syria from Turkey, diplomats said, and the council will now vote on a last-ditch attempt to extend approval for cross-border aid deliveries before it expires on Friday. The 15-member council has been split, with …

A Russian bid to halve access for humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria from Turkey to just one border crossing failed at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, garnering just four votes in favor from the 15-member body. Russia and China cast vetoes on Tuesday to block the council from …

The coronavirus outbreak may not have originated in China and instead lay dormant around the globe waiting for the right conditions to activate, a university expert has suggested. Rather than the city of Wuhan being the centre for Covid-19, the disease might have been lying in wait in several countries …

OPEC leader Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC Russia have agreed a preliminary deal to extend existing record oil output cuts by one month while raising pressure on countries with poor compliance to deepen their cuts, OPEC+ sources told Reuters. However, there was no agreement yet on whether to hold an OPEC+ …

In the 1951 science fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still, an alien in human form visits the planet accompanied by a giant metallic robot and delivers an ultimatum: change your warlike ways or face obliteration. The movie ends with world leaders pondering their choice. By Aaron David Miller …

By Hazem Samir | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2020-05-15 11:38 After China won its fierce battle with coronavirus epidemic, it joined other countries in fighting their own outbreaks of the deadly virus. Driven by moral commitment, China shipped a huge amount of medical aid to more than 80 countries around the …

The Covid-19 pandemic has been dominating the global news for months now. Almost half of the world’s population is under social or economic corona lockdown. People are afraid. In the background, an unprecedented global crisis that could lead to a dramatic international systematic transition from a Pax Americana to a …

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered meat processing plants to stay open to protect the nation’s food supply even as workers got sick and died. Yet the plants have increasingly been exporting to China while U.S. consumers face shortages, a Reuters analysis of government data showed. Trump, who is in an …

The Covid-19 pandemic captivates us all with unprecedented social and economic repercussions. Roughly half of the world remains under corona lockdown eagerly awaiting some positive news on the crisis. All eyes are pointed towards the World Health Organization (WHO), the institute created to handle global crisis situations. Instead of helping …

Just when China influence over Europe seemed to expand into full blast, the Covid-19 crisis seems to have put a serious stop to it. The biggest geopolitical prize in the raising USA – Chinese challenge is the European Union, formerly anchored securely in the Western side but in recent years …

Kim Jong-un finally emerged back onto the world stage earlier this week after a 20-day absence, which led to much speculation about his health and well-being. The weeks of speculation about the North Korean dictator’s health brought home an alarming fact: no one really knows who will control North Korea …

Although the crisis precipitated by the new coronavirus pandemic is still in its very early stages, it is clear that it has vastly accelerated the ongoing processes around the world. The most consequential is the intensification of Sino-American rivalry and the emergence of new global bipolarity. By Dmitri Trenin It is …

In his book Plagues and Peoples historian William Hardy McNeill uses two concepts to describe the impact of diseases on humankind. One are the micro-parasites: the bacteria, viruses and other invisible lifeforms that cause disease. The other are the macro-parasites: the rulers, states and conquerors that impose taxes on subjects, …

African leaders are asking what China can do for them as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to destroy economies and wipe out some 20 million jobs across a continent where Beijing is both the top trading partner and top lender. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have announced immediate …

An online petition calling for the immediate resignation of World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus over his handling of the Coronacrisis has reached more than 1 million signatures. By Arthur Blok The petition states that the WHO chief is “unfit” for his role as head of the organization …

The EU denied Monday bowing to Chinese pressure to water down a report on coronavirus disinformation to soften criticism of Beijing. Various international media said that, under pressure from Beijing officials, the EU had delayed publication of a regular report on disinformation trends last week, and toned down the final …

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has died, according to a leading Hong Kong television channel Hong Kong Satellite Television (HKSTV). A vice director of HKSTV reported the news on Saturday, citing a “solid source”. Her post first appeared on the Chinese messaging app Weibo, according to the International Business …

North Korean media hasn’t mentioned Kim’s health or whereabouts, even though other media have sparked international speculation about his well-being. Kim Jong Un may be dead, according to a Hong Kong broadcast network, while a Japanese magazine is reporting that the North Korean dictator is in a “vegetative state” after …

Leading Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Friday asked the United Nations to conduct an independent review of the World Health Organization response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying the body appeared to have shown “remarkable deference” to China. In a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the senators – led …

A U.S. warship has sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait for the second time in a month, Taiwanese and U.S. militaries said on Friday.Taiwan and US militaries are on heightened alert amid increased activity by China’s armed forces near the island, and a Chinese aircraft carrier passed near the island …

“You [Jinping], your government and your scientists had to know long ago that coronavirus is highly infectious, but you left the world in the dark about it.” Julian Reichelt, the editor-in-chief of Germany’s largest paper Bild on Thursday launched a full frontal attack on China’s communist President Xi Jinping for …

US President Donald Trump warned that China could face consequences if it was “knowingly responsible” for the coronavirus pandemic, as he ratcheted up criticism of Beijing over its handling of the outbreak. “It could have been stopped in China before it started and it wasn’t,” Trump said at a White …

The world is so focussed on the latest figures of Covid-19 deaths and infection statistics, only few people realize what is pending in the background; a new global systematic war. Dutch political scientist Ingo Piepers (PhD) expects a new systematic war to erupt in the nearby future: “It has not …

Chinese scientists identified a ‘wet market’ – where live and dead animals, including many endangered wildlife species, are sold for consumption – as the chief suspect for the origin of the coronavirus. The virus is closely related to the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which transmitted to …

The Heritage Foundation sees the US as the winner in the current situation in Syria, with conflict between Turkey, Russia and Syria.  They conclude, “That leaves the U.S. sitting in not-the-worst position of all the players. We still have some small teams in Syria conducting anti-ISIS operations, but no one …

The United States should lift sanctions if it wants to help Iran to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday, adding that Iran had no intention of accepting Washington’s offer of humanitarian assistance. Iran is the Middle Eastern nation worst hit by coronavirus, with over 1,800 …

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem   On March 12, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic after more than three months of its spread in China and many countries all over the world. The coronavirus is affecting 167 countries and territories around the world, with 199,339 cases …

For the first time in living history, the headlines after a major presidential primary night weren’t focused on the election.  Instead, they were focused on the coronavirus and its spread across the nation. Even the election news focused on the fact that both Biden and Sanders were cancelling their post-primary …

Countries around the world on Saturday continued to close borders, impose strict entry and quarantine requirements and restrict large gatherings in efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) said it will close all its retail stores worldwide, outside Greater China, until March 27. Apple reopened …

Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Wednesday that more than two-thirds of Germany’s nearly 83 million people could be infected by the coronavirus. “The virus has arrived,” she said, speaking at a news conference in Berlin, the first time she had addressed the public on the issue. She urged the whole country …

US hospitals are preparing for 96 million coronavirus infections and nearly half a million deaths from the outbreak, leaked documents have revealed. The spread of the deadly disease could be far worse than officials claim, with 480,000 Americans expected to die from the virus and 4.8 million hospitalized, according to …

Iraq reported its first coronavirus death on Wednesday, an elderly man in the Kurdish province of Sulaimaniya, the local health department said. Iraq has so far has recorded 31 cases of the new coronavirus, one Iranian student who has since been sent home and 30 Iraqis who had all visited …

G7 finance officials will on Tuesday discuss ways to bolster their economies against the impact of the spreading coronavirus outbreak, but are not expected to specifically call for new spending or coordinated interest rate cuts, a G7 official said. Finance ministers and central bank governors from the group will hold …

Australia’s chief medical officer said on Monday it was no longer possible to completely prevent people with the coronavirus from entering the country, citing concerns about outbreaks in Japan and South Korea. Australia, one of the first countries to put restrictions on its borders in a bid to limit the …

U.S. intelligence agencies are monitoring the global spread of coronavirus and the ability of governments to respond, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday, warning that there were concerns about how India would cope with a widespread outbreak. While there are only a few known cases in India, one …

The United Arab Emirates, a major air transit center, is ready for “worst case scenarios” as the coronavirus spreads in the Middle East and has the facilities to quarantine patients and screen new arrivals, a government official said on Wednesday. It was too early to ban public gatherings in the …

The United States is not concerned by the prospect of further output cuts by OPEC and its allied oil producers, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said on Tuesday. A technical panel that advises the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, led by Russia, have proposed an additional …

Iran supports deeper crude oil cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) if a majority of members agreed with it, Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh was quoted as saying by the Iranian energy news website Shana. A technical panel, known as the JTC, that advises OPEC and its …

By Sarah Safa   A new phase of reconciliation could finally begin to define the US relations with China after nearly two years of commercial and economic tensions. Those tensions have been shaking the balance and stability of the international system, what brought on the surface divergences for the first time …

China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, China’s defense ministry said on Thursday, amid heightened tension in the region between Iran and the United States. China will send the Xining, a guided missile destroyer, to the drills, …

“Who Lost Turkey?” Graham E. Fuller (grahamefuller.com) 5 August 2019 Here we go again, another phase of witch-hunting over “Who lost —-(fill in the blanks) country.” It was once who lost China in 1949, then Cuba in 1959, then Iran in 1979, and others. The latest iteration is now “Who …

The Ministry of Economy has said that the two proposals by the United States of America to the World Trade Organisation, WTO, related to developing Member countries and the benefits granted to countries with the special status will not affect the UAE’s current obligations to the organisation. It also noted …

The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) revealed the winning logo from the design competition held for the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2020. IAC, which will be hosted in Dubai for the first time in the Arab world, is a global event that brings together leading space specialists and decision-makers …