Day: February 18, 2024

Australia Sends Asylum-Seekers Who Arrived by Boat to Pacific Processing Center

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SYDNEY —  A group of asylum-seekers has been flown from Australia to Nauru, after they were discovered in a remote part of Western Australia. Their arrival on the Australian mainland reignited the political debate about immigration policy and border protection. The Canberra government has been criticized by the conservative opposition of losing control of Australia’s maritime borders. About 40 men, reportedly from Pakistan and Bangladesh, were discovered near a remote Indigenous community near Beagle Bay in Western Australia. They have been flown to an Australian-sponsored offshore migrants processing center on…

China-led research team pinpoints smallest star and its ghostly lone companion

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A China-led team of astronomers has detected an exotic binary system which is home to the smallest star ever discovered. Known as a hot subdwarf, the star is just seven times the size of Earth and is smaller than Saturn, according to researchers from Tsinghua University, Yunnan Observatories as well as Australia, Europe and the US. The tiny star and its larger white dwarf companion are about 2,760 light years from Earth. It was detected with the Tsinghua University-Ma Huateng Telescope for Survey (TMTS), according to the study published last…

North Korean hackers use AI for more sophisticated scams

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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. North Korean cyber criminals are turning to artificial intelligence to help Pyongyang steal cutting-edge technologies and secure funds for its illicit nuclear weapons programme. The hackers have long targeted employees of global defence, cyber security and crypto companies, tricking users on LinkedIn and other networking platforms into revealing sensitive information or giving access to computer networks or crypto wallets. Their most notorious hacking operations include the theft of $951mn from…

North Korean hackers use AI to up their game

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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. North Korean cyber criminals are turning to artificial intelligence to help Pyongyang steal cutting-edge technologies and secure funds for its illicit nuclear weapons programme. The hackers have long targeted employees of global defence, cyber security and crypto companies, tricking users on LinkedIn and other networking platforms into revealing sensitive information or giving access to computer networks or crypto wallets. Their most notorious hacking operations include the theft of $951mn from…

53 Dead in Papua New Guinea Tribal Violence

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Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea —  Papua New Guinea police said 53 people have been killed in tribal violence in the country’s volatile highlands, the latest in a string of mass deaths linked to long-running feuds. Police Commissioner David Manning on Sunday said that officers and soldiers had retrieved the bodies of 53 men. They are believed to have been killed near the town of Wabag, 600 kilometers northwest of the capital Port Moresby. The exact circumstances of the deaths were not immediately clear, but police said there had been…

China’s Lunar New Year holidaymakers head overseas to release pent-up post-Covid demand for travel

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According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, domestic tourists collectively spent 632.7 billion yuan (US$87.7 billion) during the holiday, or about 50 per cent more than they did during the 2023 Lunar New Year break. A total of 474 million domestic trips were made across the country, marking a 34.3 per cent year-on-year increase and a 19 per cent rise compared with 2019, according to ministry data. In addition, about 6.83 million international trips were made, the ministry said. 02:01 Winter storms leave Chinese travellers in freezing rain and…

For Uyghur family, a legacy of rootlessness

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Tursun Muhammad was thirteen when political persecution forced his family to leave their prosperous farm in Yarkant, Xinjiang, and flee over the Pamir Mountains. Tursun’s father was targeted during the Cultural Revolution for his wealth and the fact that he was a landlord, Tursun told RFA. After attending Friday prayer at the local mosque he was locked up for three days. So, he packed up his family and left Yarkant to journey into Afghanistan.  It took 45 days to reach Kabul. So high are the Pamir ranges that they are…

China Tells Ukraine It ‘Does Not Sell Lethal Weapons’ to Russia

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Beijing —  China’s foreign minister has told his Ukrainian counterpart that Beijing does not sell lethal weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine, a statement said Sunday. Wang Yi told Dmytro Kuleba during a meeting on the sidelines of a major security conference in Munich on Saturday that China “does not take any advantage of the situation and does not sell lethal weapons to conflict areas or parties to the conflict,” according to a foreign ministry readout. China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict but…

China Agrees to Lift Ban on Spanish Beef Imports

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Cordoba, Spain —  China has agreed to lift a ban on imports of Spanish beef, the foreign ministers of both nations said Sunday after talks. Since 2000, Beijing has imposed a ban on the European Union from exporting beef products due to the emergence of several cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease, in several members of the bloc that year. “It is good news, especially for Spanish farmers,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a joint news conference with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares in Cordoba…

Thailand Braces for Refugee Influx After Myanmar Junta Announces Conscription Law

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Bangkok —  Thailand is bracing for an influx of refugees after Myanmar’s military recently announced a conscription law. Analysts say the Thai government should put those fleeing Myanmar into safe zones. Last week, Myanmar’s military activated the People’s Military Service Law, meaning men aged 18 to 45 and women aged 18 to 35 can be drafted into the armed forces for two years of compulsory service. Certain personnel in specialist professions, like doctors and engineers, must serve for three years. In the case of a national emergency, the military service…