[ NPR ] China is removing domes from mosques as part of a push to make them more ‘Chinese’

China is removing the domes and minarets from thousands of mosques across the country. Authorities say the domes are evidence of foreign religious influence and are taking down overtly Islamic architecture as part of a push to sinicize historically Muslim ethnic groups — to make them more traditionally Chinese. The campaign comes amid rising Islamophobia…

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China hit by flood again, 3rd time this year.

Dykes of the Yellow River breached, causing the 3rd flood of 2021 for China. Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, that are in the Yellow River basin are hit by severe flooding. More than 120,000 people had been evacuated thus far just in Shanxi alone. It is said to be the largest flood in nearly 40 years…

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[ TIME ] China, Isolated From the World, Is Now the Last Major Country Still Pursuing a ‘Zero COVID’ Strategy

Now, with the rise of the delta variant and the proliferation of vaccines, only one is still holding fast to that goal of eliminating Covid-19: China. With New Zealand preparing to shift away from the zero-tolerance strategy, China’s isolation is complete, raising the stakes on how long it can stick to a playbook that requires closed borders,…

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[ Nikkei ] U.S. set to resume trade talks with China

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai is expected to speak to Chinese vice premier Liu He by telephone over the next few days, calling on China to respect the “phase one” trade agreement it signed with Washington under former President Donald Trump. The U.S. also plans to resurrect partial exemptions on punitive tariffs to help curb the impact of…

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PLA Navy to build anime-inspired aircraft?

According to Georgio Zagkas (@GZakas) on twitter, an aircraft concept of China’s People Liberation Army – Navy (PLAN) is revealed at Zhuhai 2021 / Airshow China 2021. In the tweet, it explains that the aircraft is meant to replace the Shenyang J-15, a reverse-engineered Su-33. However, for fans of Japanese anime/manga/games, especially those interested in…

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[ ABC News ] Why World Bank is under fire over set of rankings

World Bank has long been accused of using sloppy methodology and of succumbing to political pressure in producing the rankings. This week, the bank dropped the report after investigators had reviewed internal complaints about “data irregularities’’ in the 2018 and 2020 editions of “Doing Business” and possible “ethical matters” involving World Bank staff members. In…

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