Day: July 23, 2023

China school collapse: city authorities under fire for failing to tell parents what was going on

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Officials said rescue efforts were complete. They did not reveal details of the victims but several Chinese media outlets reported that most were school children. A widely circulated video filmed inside one of the hospitals where the injured were treated showed a man claiming to be the father of a dead pupil who said no one from the local government, the hospital or police had updated parents about the rescue progress for five hours. Advertisement Other parents in the video echoed his complaints about the lack of transparency. The father’s…

Morocco Player Set to Make Women’s World Cup History in Game Against Germany

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melbourne, australia —  When Nouhaila Benzina steps onto the field for Morocco’s first match of the Women’s World Cup against Germany, she will make history — and not just as a player for the first Arab or North African nation ever in the tournament. The 25-year-old defender will be the first player to wear the Islamic headscarf at the senior-level Women’s World Cup. She and the Atlas Lionesses face two-time World Cup champions Germany in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday. “Girls will look at Benzina (and think) ‘That could be me,’”…

China sounds out foreign buyout groups over boosting inward investment

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Receive free Chinese business & finance updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese business & finance news every morning. Beijing’s finance regulator has been courting some of the world’s largest private equity groups to keep investing in China, as the authorities seek to ease foreign investors’ concerns over faltering growth and unpredictable policymaking.  Fang Xinghai, vice-chair of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, addressed executives from more than 30 global venture capital and private equity firms at a rare symposium on Friday to discuss investment…

5 Dead, 1,500 Evacuated as Seasonal Floods Hit Eastern China

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Beijing —  Floods caused by heavy rain hit eastern China, leaving at least five dead and three missing while over 1,500 people were evacuated, state media reported Sunday. China National Radio said the massive floods swept through a village in the Fuyang district of the city of Hangzhou, engulfing many houses Saturday afternoon. The rain later led to a partial mountain collapse and mudslide, affecting multiple areas in the district and more than 1,600 households suffered power outage, CCTV said. Over 1,500 people were evacuated, the state news agency Xinhua…

FirstFT: US consultancies lose business in China after national security raids

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Receive free Chinese business & finance updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest Chinese business & finance news every morning. Good morning. Work is drying up for top US consultancies in China as Beijing’s national security raids scare away local clients and global investors pull back from dealmaking in the country. Management consultancy Bain is telling new China hires to wait until as late as 2025 to start their jobs, while roughly half of McKinsey staff do not have paid client projects to work…

Russia, China End Military Exercises in Sea of Japan

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Moscow —  Russia and China have ended joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan, the Russian defense ministry announced Sunday, as the two allies seek to deepen their military ties. The two massive countries, which share a common desire to counter what they see as American hegemony, have grown closer in the military sphere since Russia launched its Ukraine offensive last year, a move China has not condemned. The Russian defense ministry previously said the main goal of the latest exercises, which began on Thursday, was to “strengthen naval…

Bangkok Protesters Call on Senators to Approve Coalition’s PM Choice

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Hundreds of people gathered Sunday in the Thai capital of Bangkok to demand that conservative senators stop blocking the naming of a prime minister belonging to a winning coalition formed from May’s general election, a stance that risks a potentially destabilizing political deadlock. Protesters braved heavy rain to show their anger and frustration toward the members of the Senate, who were appointed by the military and pride themselves as defenders of traditional royalist values, which they believe are under threat. The surprise election winner, the Move Forward Party, failed in…

China Sends Warplanes Toward Taiwan as Island Preps for Military Drills

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TAIPEI, Taiwan —  China sent dozens of warplanes, including fighter jets and bombers, toward Taiwan, the island’s Defense Ministry said Saturday, marking a forceful display days before the democracy plans to hold military exercises aimed at defending itself against a possible invasion. Taiwan is due to hold its annual Han Kuang exercise next week, during which its military will hold combat readiness drills to prevent an invasion. It will also conduct the annual Wan’an exercises aimed at preparing civilians for natural disasters and practicing evacuations in case of an air…

Polls close in Cambodia as Hun Sen’s ruling party expected to roll to victory

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Cambodians have finished voting in a one-sided parliamentary election that’s expected to be an easy victory for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party as Prime Minister Hun Sen prepares to hand over power to his eldest son in the coming weeks. Preliminary results show the CPP winning 120 seats in the National Assembly, with the royalist Funcinpec party securing five seats, according to a message posted by the prime minister on Telegram. Hun Sen’s CPP has neutralized the political opposition over the last six months by either threatening or co-opting activists. …

‘You can’t say whatever you want – there’s no freedom’

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Taiwanese students who enrolled in Hong Kong universities since a 2020 national security law banned public criticism of the government say they have no freedom to talk about politics, with some engaging in self-censorship for fear of getting themselves or others into trouble. They talked about what what it’s like to study at a Hong Kong university amid an ongoing program of patriotic education in schools and universities since the national security law was imposed on the city in 2020. They said they are very careful not to make any…