It is not just Tibetans and India but also China’s own scientists that are seriously concerned about the world’s largest hydropower dam that is being built, reportedly at a speeded up pace in recent times, towards the end of the run of the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet’s Metog County, just 50km before it enters India. Chinese geologists have determined that an active fault line directly beneath the project poses a threat to the mega-dam, reported scmp.com Jul 9, citing a paper published last month in the Chinese-language journal Sedimentary Geology and Tethyan Geology.
The scientists have not called for the project to be scrapped, although this would be the best sensible recommendation, as this was obviously beyond their term of reference. They have, instead, called for strengthened safeguard measures to hopefully minimise the risks.
mandag 20. juli 2026
Can AI Preserve a Homeland in Exile? Tibetan Memory in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
In the Sonamling Tibetan Settlement outside Leh in Ladakh, I found that the most venerable memories were not to be had in any museum or archive. They were to be found in conversation. My fieldwork there put me in the company of elderly Tibetan refugees who would talk of the monasteries from their youth, the villages they put behind them and the Himalayan crossings that altered the course of their lives. Younger members of the family would be seated about them, keenly listening. Now and then, one might subtly raise a mobile phone to put the exchange on record. An unremarkable thing to do, perhaps, but with no small import. In a sense, these were more than family tales, they were pieces of a homeland being put aside for the keeping of those who have never set eyes on it.
For Tibetans in exile, memory is never just an act of recollection, it is how culture endures. Before such things ever made it into an institution’s files, they made their way through the home and the prayer hall, in song and in the ordinary course of talk, conveying language and faith and an abiding connection to Tibet over the years.
For Tibetans in exile, memory is never just an act of recollection, it is how culture endures. Before such things ever made it into an institution’s files, they made their way through the home and the prayer hall, in song and in the ordinary course of talk, conveying language and faith and an abiding connection to Tibet over the years.
“China launches new demolitions at Larung Gar Buddhist centre as its ‘ethnic unity’ law came into force”
Apparently in order to implement its post-Ethnic Unity Law order, which officially came into force on Jul 1, China is reported to have launched a new round of demolitions at what was until not long ago one of the world’s largest centre for Buddhist learning, located in eastern Tibet’s Kardze Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The centre already stands greatly diminished due to several rounds of expulsions of large numbers of its monk, nun, and lay-students, and the demolition of their residences, carried out since 2001.
A new round of demolitions that will impact at least 1,060 residences of monks and nuns has begun at Serthar Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Academy, popularly known as Larung Gar, in eastern Tibet in Serthar (Chinese: Seda) County, said Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) Jul 17, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.
A new round of demolitions that will impact at least 1,060 residences of monks and nuns has begun at Serthar Larung Five Sciences Buddhist Academy, popularly known as Larung Gar, in eastern Tibet in Serthar (Chinese: Seda) County, said Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) Jul 17, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.
Iran war, Myanmar crisis and South China Sea rifts under the spotlight in ASEAN ministerial talks
Southeast Asia’s top diplomats will express alarm over renewed hostilities in the Middle East when they gather in the Philippine capital Tuesday for talks to be joined by Western and Asian counterparts, including from the United States, China, Russia and the European Union.
Some of the world’s most intractable conflicts, including the latest fighting in Iran, will be high in the agenda of the annual talks held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines holds the 11-nation regional bloc’s chairmanship this year and is hosting the three-day talks in Manila.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are among the attendees. Ukraine’s top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, has been invited to attend a Friday ceremony commemorating a 1976 nonaggression treaty of ASEAN but is not a participant in the ASEAN meetings Lavrov and Rubio will attend.
Some of the world’s most intractable conflicts, including the latest fighting in Iran, will be high in the agenda of the annual talks held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Philippines holds the 11-nation regional bloc’s chairmanship this year and is hosting the three-day talks in Manila.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are among the attendees. Ukraine’s top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, has been invited to attend a Friday ceremony commemorating a 1976 nonaggression treaty of ASEAN but is not a participant in the ASEAN meetings Lavrov and Rubio will attend.
Chinese company demands compensation from the UK over British Steel nationalization
The Chinese company that formerly owned British Steel demanded Sunday compensation from the U.K. government for investment losses following the nationalization of the manufacturer last week. The British government took operational control of the company last year after Jingye Group said that it was considering closing the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant in northern England, the last in the United Kingdom to make “virgin steel” from raw materials.
Jingye Group said in a WeChat statement that the nationalization move tarnished the credibility of the British government, spooked international investors and caused great losses to the company’s operation and British taxpayers’ funds. It also demanded that the U.K. government stop “trampling on international investment rules.”
Jingye Group said in a WeChat statement that the nationalization move tarnished the credibility of the British government, spooked international investors and caused great losses to the company’s operation and British taxpayers’ funds. It also demanded that the U.K. government stop “trampling on international investment rules.”
India’s Cockroach movement supporters gather to attempt a march to Parliament
Thousands of supporters of the youth-led Cockroach movementgathered Monday to march to India’s Parliament, demanding the resignation of the education minister despite police denying permission for the protest, as the government appeared to open its first talks with movement leaders.
Scores of police surrounded the barricaded protest site in the heart of New Delhi, raising the prospect of a confrontation if demonstrators pressed ahead with the march. Television footage showed police striking some protesters with batons after they tried to breach security barricades.
The crowd at Jantar Mantar, a designated site for protests just a few kilometers from Parliament, included students, professionals, and families with young children. Many carried backpacks with water and food, expecting a long day, while others waved Indian flags. Police urged protesters to disperse over loudspeakers, as the crowd chanted slogans against the education minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Scores of police surrounded the barricaded protest site in the heart of New Delhi, raising the prospect of a confrontation if demonstrators pressed ahead with the march. Television footage showed police striking some protesters with batons after they tried to breach security barricades.
The crowd at Jantar Mantar, a designated site for protests just a few kilometers from Parliament, included students, professionals, and families with young children. Many carried backpacks with water and food, expecting a long day, while others waved Indian flags. Police urged protesters to disperse over loudspeakers, as the crowd chanted slogans against the education minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Indonesia’s telling empty chair on the South China Sea
The most significant development at this week’s Conference Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the South China Sea Arbitration Award in Jakarta was not what was discussed. It was who failed to appear.
Every Indonesian government representative scheduled to participate reportedly withdrew before the conference began on July 13. According to the organizers, the event had secured commitments from senior government officials, including a director general from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officers from the Indonesian National Armed Forces.Several had agreed to deliver keynote addresses or participate as panelists. Yet, shortly before the conference opened, organizers were informed that approval for their participation had been withdrawn. The conference ultimately proceeded without a single representative from the Indonesian government.
Every Indonesian government representative scheduled to participate reportedly withdrew before the conference began on July 13. According to the organizers, the event had secured commitments from senior government officials, including a director general from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and officers from the Indonesian National Armed Forces.Several had agreed to deliver keynote addresses or participate as panelists. Yet, shortly before the conference opened, organizers were informed that approval for their participation had been withdrawn. The conference ultimately proceeded without a single representative from the Indonesian government.
søndag 19. juli 2026
Whither ASEAN? A decade of silence on the South China Sea
July 12 marked the 10th anniversary of the arbitral tribunal ruling in favor of the Philippines on its South China Sea submission — a ruling China ignored, and one that has become a footnote in the gradual degradation of the rules-based order.
Ten years on, we live in a very different world: one in which Russia has invaded and occupied parts of a major European nation, and one in which China has built a string of heavily militarized islets, bristling with weapons, across one of the world’s most consequential maritime corridors — a corridor that carries roughly one-third of all global shipping.
The rules-based order is increasingly fractured, and as the July 12 joint statement from 14 nations showed, its defense is piecemeal by “coalitions of the willing.” But the statement’s signatory list is the more telling story here: of the 14 governments that commemorated the ruling, only one—the Philippines—is actually an ASEAN member state—something that Chinese trolls trumpeted on social media.
Ten years on, we live in a very different world: one in which Russia has invaded and occupied parts of a major European nation, and one in which China has built a string of heavily militarized islets, bristling with weapons, across one of the world’s most consequential maritime corridors — a corridor that carries roughly one-third of all global shipping.
The rules-based order is increasingly fractured, and as the July 12 joint statement from 14 nations showed, its defense is piecemeal by “coalitions of the willing.” But the statement’s signatory list is the more telling story here: of the 14 governments that commemorated the ruling, only one—the Philippines—is actually an ASEAN member state—something that Chinese trolls trumpeted on social media.
China hits out at British Steel nationalisation
China has hit out at the nationalisation of British Steel, saying it "firmly opposes and is strongly dissatisfied with the British government's decision". On Thursday, the UK government said that taking the loss-making firm into public hands would protect jobs and safeguard a "vital national capability".
The UK took control of British Steel's operations in Scunthorpe last year, though it was still owned by China's Jingye Group, limiting the government's ability to steer its future. China's commerce ministry said on Friday that the moves "seriously infringed upon Jingye's legitimate rights and interests and severely undermined the confidence of Chinese companies investing in the UK".
The UK took control of British Steel's operations in Scunthorpe last year, though it was still owned by China's Jingye Group, limiting the government's ability to steer its future. China's commerce ministry said on Friday that the moves "seriously infringed upon Jingye's legitimate rights and interests and severely undermined the confidence of Chinese companies investing in the UK".
More than 500 Rohingya vanished at sea - what happened?
Two boats carrying an estimated 530 Rohingya asylum seekers left Myanmar's Rakhine state on 29 June, and have not been heard from since. The equivalent of a jumbo jet full of people has vanished. It is very likely that they both capsized. The monsoon has started, the seas are rough, and the boats - usually old fishing trawlers converted to carry as many people as possible - are barely sea-worthy with unreliable engines.
It is also very likely that there were few, or no survivors. Half of them may have been women and children.
But we will never know for certain. Rakhine has been in a state of war for many years, with the insurgent Arakan Army driving the Myanmar military out of most of it and besieging its last stronghold in the state capital Sittwe, which is now accessible only by air and sea. Almost all telecommunications have been cut by the military.
It is also very likely that there were few, or no survivors. Half of them may have been women and children.
But we will never know for certain. Rakhine has been in a state of war for many years, with the insurgent Arakan Army driving the Myanmar military out of most of it and besieging its last stronghold in the state capital Sittwe, which is now accessible only by air and sea. Almost all telecommunications have been cut by the military.
Japan relaxes royal succession rules - but ban on female emperors remains
The Japanese parliament has approved a bill to relax imperial succession rules, amid concerns over the dwindling size of the imperial family. The bill, passed by the upper house on Friday, allows the imperial family to adopt distant male relatives over the age of 15 and lets women keep their royal status after marrying outside the family.
But it does not change the law barring women from ascending the throne despite wide public support for a female emperor, meaning Princess Aiko, the only child of the current emperor, is still not eligible to succeed the throne. The bill cleared the lower house last week, and will move through the final legal procedures before the changes take effect.
But it does not change the law barring women from ascending the throne despite wide public support for a female emperor, meaning Princess Aiko, the only child of the current emperor, is still not eligible to succeed the throne. The bill cleared the lower house last week, and will move through the final legal procedures before the changes take effect.
Kim Jong Un was meant to be their only idol - then North Koreans discovered K-pop
On a sunny Saturday in June, Lee Yeon-su took the day off from work and hopped on a train from Seoul to Busan for yet another concert by pop supergroup BTS. It was her third time in as many months. She had been in the crowds that poured into central Seoul in March, when the septet launched their comeback - but the stage was too far away. In April, on the first day of their world tour, the rain poured down, drowning out the singers' voices. But this time in Busan, it was "incredible".
"Every time I come to a BTS concert, I realise how happy I am that I can like and support someone of my own free will," Yeon-su, which is not her real name, says. "That would have been unimaginable in North Korea."
That's where she was born, in the so-called Hermit Kingdom, just north of the heavily fortified border with South Korea. The outside world was out of reach, cut off by a regime built on fear, surveillance and loyalty.
"Every time I come to a BTS concert, I realise how happy I am that I can like and support someone of my own free will," Yeon-su, which is not her real name, says. "That would have been unimaginable in North Korea."
That's where she was born, in the so-called Hermit Kingdom, just north of the heavily fortified border with South Korea. The outside world was out of reach, cut off by a regime built on fear, surveillance and loyalty.
The Life Project: Documenting the Chinese Woman Who Gave Birth at 60
In 2009, Sheng Hailin, a 59-year-old retired doctor living in Hefei, capital of eastern China’s Anhui province, lost her only daughter to carbon monoxide poisoning. In an instant, she became one of China’s “shidu” parents.
In China, “shidu” — literally “loss of only” — describes parents whose sole child has died. Beyond grief, the bereaved also face the collapse of the traditional family structure that promised emotional and financial support in old age. Many are past childbearing age and unable to have another child.
When photographer Wu Fang first began documenting shidu families, estimates from the 2010 China Health Statistics Yearbook, released by the former Ministry of Health, suggested there were 841,000 nationwide, with the number growing by roughly 76,000 each year. Some media reports, citing the same yearbook, placed the figure at more than 1 million.
In China, “shidu” — literally “loss of only” — describes parents whose sole child has died. Beyond grief, the bereaved also face the collapse of the traditional family structure that promised emotional and financial support in old age. Many are past childbearing age and unable to have another child.
When photographer Wu Fang first began documenting shidu families, estimates from the 2010 China Health Statistics Yearbook, released by the former Ministry of Health, suggested there were 841,000 nationwide, with the number growing by roughly 76,000 each year. Some media reports, citing the same yearbook, placed the figure at more than 1 million.
Deliver Rider Wins China’s Top Literary Prize for Poetry
Food delivery rider and poet Wang Jibing has won one of China’s highest literary honors, the Lu Xun Literary Prize, for his poetry collection “Low Flight.” The prize, announced July 15 and in its ninth edition, honored 35 works across seven categories. The award was established in 1996 in memory of the renowned Chinese writer Lu Xun and is given every four years.
Wang, a 57-year-old from the eastern Jiangsu province, is known as “a delivery rider by day and a poet by night.” Since becoming a food delivery rider in 2019 in the province’s Kunshan city, he has logged over 150,000 kilometers on the road and written more than 6,000 poems inspired by his deliveries and life.
Wang, a 57-year-old from the eastern Jiangsu province, is known as “a delivery rider by day and a poet by night.” Since becoming a food delivery rider in 2019 in the province’s Kunshan city, he has logged over 150,000 kilometers on the road and written more than 6,000 poems inspired by his deliveries and life.
China’s AI Summer Camps Tap Into Parents’ Worries
An increasing number of Chinese summer camps promising parents that their children can master AI and become “venture capitalists” within a week, and charging thousands of yuan to do so, have appeared in recent months.
As parents’ fears about their children being left behind in the AI era grow, companies are capitalizing on their anxieties, claiming they can teach kids how to use AI for business and finance in weeklong “study tours” or camps. But these summer programs often offer little more than unqualified instructors and a photo opportunity at a tech company, according to a recent report by domestic media outlet China Newsweek.
The rise of AI camps comes amid a national push to merge AI with education. Released in June, China’s national education plan integrates AI across all educational levels.
As parents’ fears about their children being left behind in the AI era grow, companies are capitalizing on their anxieties, claiming they can teach kids how to use AI for business and finance in weeklong “study tours” or camps. But these summer programs often offer little more than unqualified instructors and a photo opportunity at a tech company, according to a recent report by domestic media outlet China Newsweek.
The rise of AI camps comes amid a national push to merge AI with education. Released in June, China’s national education plan integrates AI across all educational levels.
lørdag 18. juli 2026
Video apparently depicting Filipinos as monkeys on China media draws Manila’s protest
The Philippine government strongly protested to China what it said was the depiction of Filipinos as monkeys in an editorial video publicized by a Chinese state-owned media outlet, and demanded it be taken down.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said Friday that the series of opinion and editorial videos and cartoons, particularly an animated video posted by the China Daily on its Facebook page on July 10, centered on Beijing’s rejection of a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s expansive claims in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippines initiated the arbitration in 2013, after China seized a shoal west of the Philippines following a tense standoff. China questioned the jurisdiction of the tribunal in The Hague, refused to take part in the proceedings and rejected its ruling as a sham.
The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said Friday that the series of opinion and editorial videos and cartoons, particularly an animated video posted by the China Daily on its Facebook page on July 10, centered on Beijing’s rejection of a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s expansive claims in the disputed South China Sea.
The Philippines initiated the arbitration in 2013, after China seized a shoal west of the Philippines following a tense standoff. China questioned the jurisdiction of the tribunal in The Hague, refused to take part in the proceedings and rejected its ruling as a sham.
Chinese AI model takes US tech industry by surprise with abilities rivaling Claude and ChatGPT
Another powerful new artificial intelligence model from China took the U.S. tech industry by surprise Friday, the latest sign that Chinese startups that publicly release their “open-source” AI technology are making the California titans of AI sweat.
The newest Kimi K3 model from Beijing-based startup Moonshot, run by a Pink Floyd-loving entrepreneur who earned his doctorate in Pittsburgh, appears to be catching up to the best versions of Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. “This may be the single biggest release of the year,” and marks a moment when open-source Chinese models are surpassing closed U.S. models, said Anastasios Angelopoulos, co-founder and CEO of Arena, a platform for evaluating AI systems.
The newest Kimi K3 model from Beijing-based startup Moonshot, run by a Pink Floyd-loving entrepreneur who earned his doctorate in Pittsburgh, appears to be catching up to the best versions of Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. “This may be the single biggest release of the year,” and marks a moment when open-source Chinese models are surpassing closed U.S. models, said Anastasios Angelopoulos, co-founder and CEO of Arena, a platform for evaluating AI systems.
Trump says these documents prove his false claims of election fraud. Here’s what they really say
President Donald Trump released a trove of documents during a primetime address to the nation that allies had hyped as a smoking gun that would prove his long-debunked allegations of mass voter fraud.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday night, he described shocking revelations, like Chinese meddling to undermine his failed candidacy in 2020 and a cover-up by the “deep state.” He claimed, “Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure.”
But a review by The Associated Press found no such confirmation in the collection of newly declassified reports, investigation files, intelligence analysis and assorted correspondence. Many pages are so heavily redacted that their findings are unclear. Others outline vulnerabilities and assessments that have been well-documented for years. There’s no evidence that China or any other foreign entity manipulated the vote in 2020 or any other year.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday night, he described shocking revelations, like Chinese meddling to undermine his failed candidacy in 2020 and a cover-up by the “deep state.” He claimed, “Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure.”
But a review by The Associated Press found no such confirmation in the collection of newly declassified reports, investigation files, intelligence analysis and assorted correspondence. Many pages are so heavily redacted that their findings are unclear. Others outline vulnerabilities and assessments that have been well-documented for years. There’s no evidence that China or any other foreign entity manipulated the vote in 2020 or any other year.
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