Day: January 23, 2024

Palau Becomes First Nation to Ratify UN High Seas Treaty

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united nations —  The island nation of Palau made history this week when it became the first country to ratify last year’s historic United Nations treaty for the protection of the Earth’s oceans. The so-called High Seas Treaty was adopted by U.N. member states in June, after more than 15 years of discussions. It can go into effect 120 days after being ratified by 60 countries — a goal activists hope to reach by 2025. The official U.N. website listing international treaties shows the tiny Pacific archipelago nation of Palau…

S Korea ramps up pressure on N Korea, China in EU, UN diplomacy

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South Korea has intensified its diplomatic efforts against North Korea and China, strengthening its alliance with the European Union in Brussels to counter threats from Pyongyang, while confronting Beijing at the United Nations over the repatriation of North Korean defectors.  Kim Gunn, South Korea’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, visited the E.U. headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday and emphasized the necessity of collaborative responses to Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threats, the South’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Kim, who participated in the E.U. Political…

As US-China tech war heats up, scientists find new material to cool quantum computers

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Liquid helium – through cryogenic technology – has been used as a coolant for nearly a century in research and applications that require extreme cold, from medical equipment to deep space exploration. But helium is a scarce resource, and demand is growing for its use in hi-tech industries. That is especially true for helium-3, a rare isotope that is more effective as a coolant in extreme conditions and mainly comes from ageing nuclear warheads. What is quantum computing and how does it work? Driven by the need to find an…

South Korea Says North Korea Fired Several Cruise Missiles Into the Sea

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SEOUL, South Korea —  South Korea’s military says North Korea fired several cruise missiles into waters off its western coast, adding to a provocative run of weapons demonstrations in the face of deepening nuclear tensions with the United States, South Korea and Japan. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday that the U.S. and South Korean militaries were analyzing the launches. It did not immediately confirm the exact number of missiles fired or their specific flight details. The launches marked North Korea’s second known launch event of the year,…

Jack Ma, Joe Tsai replace SoftBank as Alibaba’s largest shareholders by scooping up tech giant’s tumbling shares in Hong Kong, New York

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Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, the co-founders of Alibaba Group Holding, have emerged as the two largest shareholders of the e-commerce giant by aggressively scooping up its tumbling shares in New York and Hong Kong. Ma, who retired as Alibaba’s executive chairman in 2019, bought about US$50 million of stock in the fourth quarter, raising his stake beyond the 4.3 per cent reported at the end of 2021, to become the largest single shareholder, according to sources familiar with the matter. Joe Tsai, who took over Alibaba’s chairmanship from Daniel…

2 strong earthquakes hit western China in a month: is the Earth getting restless?

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Instead, they say more quakes are being recorded due to better monitoring equipment and people may be more aware of strong earthquakes today because of the ease with which news can travel around the world quickly. Tuesday’s quake in Xinjiang’s Aksu prefecture was felt across the border in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and was followed by around 40 aftershocks but there were no immediate reports of casualties. What living on the fault line means for China’s Sichuan province The country has been struck by some of the most devastating earthquakes ever…

After Widodo: Indonesia votes on president for next chapter of nickel boom

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When Joko Widodo assumed Indonesia’s presidency in 2014, the country’s exports of nickel, the silver-white mineral vital to electric vehicle batteries, totalled just $1bn. A decade later, that figure has soared to $30bn — just one sector transformed under his tenure by a boom in demand for next-generation energy. As Widodo — who is widely known as “Jokowi” — prepares to step down at the end of his second term in October, investors are keenly watching for signs of how his successor will manage south-east Asia’s biggest economy, which the…

After Widodo: Indonesia to elect president for next chapter of nickel boom

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When Joko Widodo assumed Indonesia’s presidency in 2014, the country’s exports of nickel, the silver-white mineral vital to electric vehicle batteries, totalled just $1bn. A decade later, that figure has soared to $30bn — just one sector transformed under his tenure by a boom in demand for next-generation energy. As Widodo — who is widely known as “Jokowi” — prepares to step down at the end of his second term in October, investors are keenly watching for signs of how his successor will manage south-east Asia’s biggest economy, which the…

A crash test scandal is prompting changes at Toyota

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Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. A scandal over safety testing at Japanese carmaker Daihatsu is shaping up as a pressure point for change at its parent Toyota. After Daihatsu revealed last year widespread problems with crash safety testing dating back more than three decades, the world’s biggest carmaker by sales has been scrambling to deal with the fallout. Following a Transport ministry raid on Daihatsu headquarters late last year, the subsidiary suspended all worldwide vehicle…