Day: August 6, 2023

Chinese archaeologists find first complete panda burial in 2,000-year-old Han dynasty tomb

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Hu Songmei, an archaeologist at the Shaanxi Academy of Archaeology, said this was the first time that a complete panda skeleton had been found in an emperor’s tomb. She said archaeologists had found the skull of a giant panda in the tomb of Emperor Wen’s mother Consort Bo in 1975 but the body was missing. Advertisement Archeologists have found a large variety of wild animals, which they believe were a status symbol for the Han rulers, in Shaanxi’s royal tombs. Hu said her team had also found the skeleton of…

China floods: at least 14 killed after torrential rain in north-east

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At least 14 people are dead after torrential rain hit China’s north-eastern Jilin province, state media has reported, in the latest fatalities from more than a week of weather-related disasters across the country. China has been hit with record heavy rains in recent weeks, with Beijing saying on Friday that natural disasters had caused 147 deaths or disappearances last month. A further 14 deaths and one missing person were reported on Sunday by state-run broadcaster CCTV, citing local authorities, after heavy rain in the north-eastern city of Shulan. Rescuers transfer…

Cambodian King to Appoint Hun Sen’s Son as New Prime Minister

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia —  Cambodia’s king on Monday will appoint Hun Manet the country’s new leader after his father Hun Sen calls time on nearly four decades of hardline rule. Days after a landslide victory in July’s election, Hun Sen — one of the world’s longest-serving leaders — announced he was stepping down as prime minister and handing power to his eldest son. The polls were widely decried as a sham after the opposition challenger Candlelight Party was barred from running over a technicality, with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party…

Tropical Storm Hits Japan’s Okinawa Islands Again, Unleashing Torrential Rain

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Tokio —  A meandering storm was headed again toward southwestern Japan on Sunday, prompting fresh warnings about dangerously heavy rainfall after the same area was hit several days ago. Tropical Storm Khanun, which means jackfruit in Thai, was returning to the southernmost group of islands of Okinawa moving slowly northward, packing winds of up to 30 meters per second (67 miles per hour) and hovering over Okinawa through Monday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki warned residents to brace for torrential rains and mudslides. “This could…

China TV Documentary Showcases Army’s Ability to Attack Taiwan

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Taipei, Taiwan —  China has released a new documentary about the army’s preparation to attack Taiwan and showcasing soldiers pledging to give up their lives if needed as Beijing continues to ramp up its rhetoric against the self-ruled island. “Chasing Dreams,” an eight-part docuseries aired by state broadcaster CCTV earlier this week to mark the People Liberation Army’s 96th anniversary, features military drills and testimonials by dozens of soldiers, of which several express their willingness to die in a potential attack against Taiwan. China claims Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy, as…

FirstFT: China’s ‘constructive’ participation at Jeddah talks boosts Ukraine allies

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Receive free China updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest China news every morning. Good morning. China has signalled that it is willing to attend further international talks on resolving the conflict in Ukraine, according to European officials who hailed its “constructive” participation in a Saudi Arabian forum that excluded Moscow. The weekend talks in Jeddah, which were attended by dozens of countries and focused on a 10-point peace plan proposed by Kyiv, were expected to conclude on Sunday without concrete developments. But the…

US dispatches warships after China and Russia send naval patrol near Alaska

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The US dispatched four navy warships as well as a reconnaissance airplane after multiple Chinese and Russian military vessels carried out a joint naval patrol near Alaska last week. The combined naval patrol, which the Wall Street Journal first reported, appeared to be the largest such flotilla to approach US territory, according to experts that spoke to the outlet. “It’s a historical first,” Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain and senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the Journal. He also said the flotilla’s proximity to Alaska was a…

UK government split over listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terrorists

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Receive free UK foreign policy updates We’ll send you a myFT Daily Digest email rounding up the latest UK foreign policy news every morning. Tensions are rising between Suella Braverman, home secretary, and James Cleverly, foreign secretary, over whether to proscribe Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, as concerns grow over the threat posed by the force to UK national security. Braverman is increasingly concerned that Iranian agents are plotting to kill British citizens, including prominent Jewish figures, or others based in the UK. “It’s something that keeps the…

Two community centers in Turkey are changing young Uyghurs’ lives for the better

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For young Uyghurs from China’s Xinjiang region, Istanbul’s East Turkistan Youth Center has been a godsend during a difficult time.   One 25-year-old who arrived in Turkey in 2016 turned to the center for counseling after struggling with a drug habit. “When I heard about this center and the support they were providing to Uyghur youth for free, I couldn’t believe my ears,” he said. “Before joining the center, I was involved in negative activities and used drugs like heroin.” Abdusami Hoten, 30, co-founded the center in 2021 in Istanbul’s Safakoy…

Thailand Bans Book on King Before Publication

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Bangkok —  Thailand has banned a forthcoming book on the country’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn, claiming it mocks the monarchy, a topic of growing political friction in a nation with one of the toughest royal defamation laws in the world. Rights groups have joined the book’s exiled Thai editor, a vocal critic of Thailand’s monarchy and conservative political elite, in panning the move as an affront to the free speech and expression rights the country claims to uphold. The government announced its ban on the order and import of the book,…