Advertisement China began its most extensive coronavirus lockdown in two years Monday to conduct mass testing and control a growing outbreak in Shanghai as questions are raised about the economic toll of the nation’s “zero-COVID” strategy. Shanghai, China’s financial capital and largest city with 26 million people, had managed its smaller previous outbreaks with limited lockdowns of housing compounds and workplaces where the virus was spreading. But the citywide lockdown that will be conducted in two phases will be China’s most extensive since the central city of Wuhan, where the…
Day: March 28, 2022
Shanghai begins locking down millions as China’s Covid cases surge
Shanghai has begun its phased lockdown as an Omicron-fuelled Covid-19 wave spreads through mainland China’s most significant financial hub, resulting in the highest caseloads in the country since the early days of the pandemic. The eastern side of the Huangpu River, which divides Shanghai, would be under lockdown between Monday and Friday, officials said, followed by similar restrictions across its western side from 1 April. Massing Covid testing across the city is also under way. The metropolis of 25 million people has in recent days become the leading hotspot in…
What Did China’s Flurry of African Engagements Have to Do With Ukraine?
Advertisement While much of the world’s gaze has been fixed upon developments in Ukraine, China’s leadership has been meeting with a number of African counterparts. This has been interpreted by some to suggest that China is looking to shore up its own position on the Russia-Ukraine war. But this is a simplistic and one-sided interpretation. These meetings, organized prior to the crisis and not because of it, met African goals as much as they met China’s. In addition, evidence suggests they were not conditioned on African governments’ positions on Ukraine…
China’s Huawei Says 2021 Sales Down, Profit Up
Advertisement Six months after being released by Canadian authorities following a diplomatic standoff involving Washington and Beijing, Huawei’s chief financial officer said Monday the telecom equipment giant may be emerging from a “black zone” of business disruptions due to U.S. sanctions. Huawei Technologies Ltd. reported its 2021 profit rose 75.9 percent while sales fell under pressure from curbs on access to most U.S. technology that crippled its smartphone business and led to an overhaul of its global operations. Sanctions have “significantly affected our business,” but Huawei might be recovering as…
Turning Cities Into Sponges to Save Lives and Property
Imagine a sponge. Swipe it over a wet surface and it will draw up water; squeeze it and the water will trickle out. Now imagine a city made of sponges, or spongelike surfaces, able to soak up rainwater, overflowing rivers or ocean storm surges and release stored water during droughts. Engineers, architects, urban planners and officials around the world are seeking ways to retrofit or reconstruct cities to better deal with water — basically, to act more like sponges. While water management has always been an essential service in cities,…
Australia’s lost influence in Pacific on display in Solomon Islands-China deal, Anthony Albanese says
Australia has lost influence in the Pacific by failing to act on climate and cutting foreign aid, Anthony Albanese says, amid concerns about China’s proposed security deal with Solomon Islands. Australia and New Zealand are worried the draft agreement could jeopardise regional stability, with China having the opportunity to base navy warships in the Pacific less than 2,000km off the Australian coast. The prime minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, is due to address parliament in Honiara on Tuesday about security cooperation with China. But the leaking of the draft…