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The first wizard’s first invention

“HUNGRY? I HAVE SOMETHING to show you,” the white-haired man says to the young fellow hunter he is training. “Come.” They walk into a deep cave in a cliff wall jutting out of the forest and sit on the floor. The older man opens the leather pouch he uses as a bag and pulls out…

May 13, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news

China says NO to US ‘orders’ to stop buying Iranian oil

BREAKING NEWS: CHINA'S LEADERSHIP THIS WEEKEND said “no” to a global order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump—and today analysts worldwide are holding their breath to see if the mercurial leader will back down. The Trump administration last week again ordered the world, including specific firms in China, to stop trading with Iranians—the latest in…

May 4, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news Culture

Chinese legal system growing fast, with continuous refinements

THE LEGAL SYSTEM in China is maturing fast. Although the law in the country has a very long history, the system has recently been evolving rapidly in many ways, such as in dealing with international cases, using digital technology, and fostering the rise of women judges. The Supreme Court of China this week celebrated female…

March 12, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news

Ships are pretending to be Chinese to get through the Straits of Hormuz

THE "I'M TURNING CHINESE" viral trend on TikTok is being used by ships trapped in the Gulf by the US-Israel war on Iran, reports said today. “At least 10 ships over the past week have altered their destination signal to read ‘Chinese Owner’, ‘All Chinese Crew’ or ‘Chinese Crew Onboard’,” the Financial Times reported,…

March 10, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news Chinese history Opinion

Japan election: Recycling the past to ruin the future

Nostalgia for your country's past military adventures is a common tool used by politicians. But when those adventures included the killing of tens of millions of people in neighboring countries and the use of rape as a weapon, that's different. And when you propose reviving that army, that's a serious concern for the world. A…

March 7, 20260Comments ByRichard Cullen

China news Culture

Scientists in China create chip that bridges optic and wireless systems

SCIENTISTS IN CHINA found a way to transmit huge amounts of data instantly over distances at world record speeds, a paper published in Nature magazine said this week. They tested it by streaming a mega-high resolution 8k movie to 86 channels at once. Their success moves the world closer to the fabled 6G, not due…

February 25, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

News Opinion

The U.S. openly threatens judges around the world: sorry, but you just can’t do that

Threatening judges for simply doing their jobs is an extremely serious crime. Unfortunately, one nation is doing exactly that, and is getting away with it. Top legal mind Grenville Cross reports. THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JUDGES (IAJ) was founded in Salzburg, Austria, in 1953. It is a professional, nonpolitical organization that promotes judicial independence worldwide.…

January 29, 20260Comments ByGrenville Cross

China news

Japan to China: ‘Sell us gear to make weapons to use against you’

“SELL US WEAPONS parts we need to make missiles and drones to use against you.” A bizarre argument is running in East Asia. Japan’s war-thirsty new leader Sanae Takaichi announced her country would remilitarize and threatened to go to war with China. Then came an “oops” moment. Takaichi seemed to have not realized that to…

January 13, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

China news

China actions likely caused steep fall in US, Canada opioid deaths: scientists

BREAKING NEWS: The number of opioid deaths in the US and Canada fell dramatically as the Chinese government took action to make life difficult for international drug labs, scientists discovered. Deaths were rising to huge numbers before “the trend began to sharply reverse in mid-2023, dropping the annual rate of fentanyl overdose deaths by over…

January 10, 20260Comments ByNury Vittachi

Features News Opinion

War and peace

The surge in China’s military capacity, especially over the last decade, has been the focus of increasing Western commentary, some of it measured, much of it alarmist. Many alarmists believe it is a truth universally acknowledged that any large nation possessed of a significantly upgraded stockpile of advanced martial equipment will want to use it…

December 31, 20250Comments ByRichard Cullen