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Peak electricity demand may increase by as much as 140 million kilowatts (12%) compared with winter 2022/23, the National Energy Administration (NEA) forecast on Oct. 31. Planners have been anxious to avoid a repeat of the fuel and power shortages that occurred in the autumn and winter of 2021/22. Chartbook: China electricity generationIn the first ten months of 2023, domestic coal production increased by 144 million tonnes (11%) and imports by 154 million tonnes (67%) compared with the prior year. The NEA said power generators’ inventories should be maintained at 200 million tonnes, up from 170 million tonnes a year ago. In the same period, domestic gas production increased by 8 million tonnes (6%), while liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports rose by 6 million tonnes (12%) and pipeline imports increased by 2 million tonnes (5%).

Persons: Tingshu Wang, John Kemp, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, National Energy Administration, Planners, NEA, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Yanqing district, Beijing, China, Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Chartbook, Guangdong, Hainan

☆ Mongolia urges Russia, other nations to return cultural artefacts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Two Gallimimus dinosaur skeletons are on display during a repatriation ceremony at the United States Attorney's Office of Southern District in New York July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Mongolia on Monday called for more support from Russia, Britain and other countries to repatriate hundreds of cultural artefacts, some dating back over two millennia. In recent decades, many countries, including former colonies of European empires, have requested the return of cultural and historical artefacts taken away years ago, many of which are housed in museums reluctant to surrender their collections. Mongolia has made some headway in claiming back its cultural artefacts. Earlier this year, the United States returned dinosaur fossils taken out of Mongolia, including the skull of an alioramus, a smaller version of a tyrannosaurus rex that lived 70 million years ago.

Persons: Eduardo Munoz, Mongolia's, Rashid al, Din, Nomin Chinbat, Pyotr Kozlov, Chinbat, Ryan Woo, Miral Organizations: United States Attorney's Office, Southern, REUTERS, Rights, British Library, Museum of Edinburgh, Mongolia's, Thomson Locations: Southern District, New York, Rights BEIJING, Mongolia, Russia, Britain, China's, London, Persian, Persia, United States, Russian

☆ Rare fossil reveals behavior dinosaurs may have had in common with birds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That’s what scientists have interpreted from the pose of the dinosaur’s fossil skeleton. The study authors identified it as an alvarezsaurid, a type of small theropod (bipedal meat-eating dinosaur) with a long tail and legs and short front limbs. Alvarezsaurids are part of a larger dinosaur group called maniraptorans, which includes birds and birdlike dinosaurs that were their closest relatives. (A) A photo of the fossil skeleton found in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Kohta KuboThe new fossil suggests that this sleeping behavior may have been more common than expected among the non-avian relatives of the earliest birds, the researchers reported.

Persons: Sinornithoides, Jaculinykus yaruui, Kohta Kubo, “, ”, Dr, Jingmai O’Connor, ” O’Connor, ” Kubo, Jaculinykus, Shuvuuia deserti, Kubo, Kobu, ” Mindy Weisberger Organizations: CNN, Field, Paleobiology Research, Hokkaido University, Scientific Locations: Mongolia, Chicago, Jaculus, yaruu, Japan, alvarezsaurs

☆ Miss Universe 2023 preliminary: Highlights from the national costume competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Alex Rees | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

That’s a serious question, but with a delightfully nonsensical answer: All served as inspiration for national costumes on display during the 2023 Miss Universe pageant’s preliminary competition. (Specifically, those were the looks donned by Miss Great Britain, Miss Philippines, Miss Dominican Republic and, yes, Miss Switzerland.) Eighty-four countries are represented at this year’s Miss Universe, which is taking place in the El Salvadoran capital of San Salvador. Miss Nepal, Jane Garrett, is one of the first “curvy” women to compete at Miss Universe; Erica Robin, meanwhile, is the first woman to represent Pakistan at the pageant. Hector Vivas/Getty ImagesTrue to form for the competition, Miss France ventured into Moulin Rouge's costume department.

Persons: Miss Great, Miss Nepal, Jane Garrett, Erica Robin, R’Bonney Gabriel, Hector Vivas, Miss Brazil, El Salvador's, Alex Peña, Ireland's, carnations, Miss Nigeria's, Miss Curaçao's, Marina Machete, Miss Malaysia, Serena Lee, Jordanne Levy, Moulin, Anntonia Porsild, Bryoni Natalie Govender, Miss Mongolia's Organizations: CNN, Swiss Guard, Miss, El, Oxford English, Miss Netherlands, Games, country's Air Force, Images Locations: Miss Great Britain, Miss Philippines, Miss Dominican Republic, Miss Switzerland, El Salvadoran, San Salvador, Netherlands, Portugal, Miss, Pakistan, USA, Miss Iceland, Venezuelan American, Costa Rica, Miss Portugal, Honduras, Jamaica, Thailand, South Africa

☆ An Epic Pilgrimage Across Three Great Religions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Aatish Taseer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +111 min

Before there was tourism, there was pilgrimage: a trip of endurance, hardship and ecstasy in celebration of one’s faith. On an epic pilgrimage of his own, one writer ventures into the heart of three great religions in Bolivia, Mongolia and Iraq. The Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala the day after Ashura. “They’re poor, but they come thousands of kilometers for the love of Imam Hussein.” PILGRIMAGE WAS A great equalizer. “Labaik ya Hussein,” came the solemn chorus of surrounding voices.

Persons: Eduardo Quintela Gonzáles, ” Quintela, JAN, “, ”, Quintela, Victor, Edith Turner, Chaucer, ferne, sondry londes, Vaishno Devi, Lyra Skinner, Lyra, Victoria Preston’s, —, Prophet Muhammad, Virgin Mary, Bath, Naipaul, Augustus, Ryan, garret, Virgin, Monica Machicao, Nicholas Casey, ” Monica, Casey, Evo Morales, sloughing, Columbus, Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, Monica, glitzy cholets, Peru —, Viracocha, it’s, Pablo Quisbert, Leandro Chitarroni, Eichmann, Father Chitarroni, Father Chitarroni’s, Conquistadores ”, Fernando Cervantes, Bernabé Cobo, Quisbert, Edgar Quispe, Tatiana Huayhua, Francisco Tito Yupanqui, Mary, Yupanqui’s, su, Yupanqui, Chitarroni, she’s, Friar Abelino Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori, Friar Yeguaori’s, Irene, Juana, hajji, Waka, Aracely Alcón, Santiago, Alcón, ‘, don’t, ” Alcón, Tito Yupanqui, Uma Marka, Pachamama, haggard, Amaru Fiorilo Barrios, he’d, ” Fiorilo, Fiorilo, who’d, Valeria Alcón, Laureano Jose Quisbert, Elena Ticona Flores, Eduardo Quintela’s, Ensamble, pang, padre, consolations, Sincrético, El, Rodrigo Paz Pereira, Axel, amauta, strode, La, Aatish Taseer, Saint Helena —, Constantine I, La Paz, Orgilbaatar Tsolmon, Orgil, Genghis Khan, Edward Gibbon, ” Orgil, Araniko’s, Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan’s, Kubla Khan, Coleridge, Kublai, Stalin, sybarite, Khamar, Dalai Lama, Lama, Christopher Kaplonski, ger, I’d, banshtai tsai, Prim, Egi, Munkhdul, Gandantegchinlen, Haidav, herder, “ Um sain, boltugai, Danzanravjaa, Zanabazar’s, Erdene, Mandakhtsog Monkhbaatar, Monkhbaatar’s, Dalai Lamas, prostrated, He’d, Zuu, she’d, Santiago de, L.K, Advani, Emperor Babur, Ram, kar sevaks, Ayodhya, Narendra Modi, Munkhbaatar Batchuluun, Henry Wallace, Franklin D, Potemkin, Munkhbaatar, Gerelmaa, Giimaa, She’d, Eduardo Quintela, Aracely, Santiago’s, Joseph Brodsky’s, Muhammad’s, Hussein, William Keo, ” Khuder, pillion, Labaik, Hussein ”, O Hussein, hearkened, Prophet, Ali —, Ali, Yazid, Imam, crackling, chickpeas, Imam Ali, Imam Hussein, Saddam Hussein, Tusi, Qasim, Imam Hussein’s, Khuder, “ Will, Najaf, prestes, — I, Yasir Yaseen, Ashura, Ali Akbar, Abbas, Ali Asghar, “ We’re, Francisco Goya’s, Hussein’s, Groom, Joseph, ” Wissam, Turfi, Saddam —, Arbaeen, Saddam, “ Imam Hussein, WE, Muhammad, Barnaby Rogerson, Prophet Muhammad ”, ” Ali, Muhammad — Muhammad, formlessness, Muqtada al, Abrams, chiding, Abu Musab Al, Zarqawi, Al Qaeda, William, “ They’re, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, flagellants, ruddy, stylishly, Hussein — shahid —, Farman Ahsan, Syed Salman Raza —, Saddam’s, ” Raza, William “, Ali Zayn al, Abidin, Labaik ya Hussein, thrall —, Lloyd, Susanne Rudolph — Organizations: CITY LA, LA, LA PAZ, Virgin, Crusaders, Dolorosa, Sun, The New York Times, Bolivian, Spain, La, Cordillera, Universidad Mayor de, Catholic, Good, La Paz, Dominican, Pakistan, Caesars, Nissan, Coke, Communists, Communism, ardor, Communist, Hyundai, flails, sacra, Apache, Mahdi Army, Al, ISIS, Karachi —, Princeton Locations: Bolivia, Mongolia, Iraq, Aatish Taseer Bolivia Mongolia Iraq, CITY LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, NAJAF, IRAQ, ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, LA PAZ, La Paz, Bolivian, Copacabana, Lake Titicaca, New York, Christian, British, sondry, India, Delhi, Varanasi, Europe, American, Mecca, Arabia, Long, Vino Tinto, Chile, Peru, Monica, Plurinational State, Bolivia —, Americas, Spain, Columbian, Aztec Mexico, Inca Peru, Calvary Hill, Virgen del Cerro, South America, Puerto Rico, Huatajata, ”, Argentine, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Mexican, revelry, Spanish, “, morena, La, “ India, multilayered, Potosí, Argentina, Warisata, Scotch, Santiago de Compostela, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Nations, El Alto, Buenos Aires, Bombay, Tibet, Bolivia’s, Yamuna Rivers, United States, Buddhist Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolian, Istanbul, Asia, Islam, China, Beijing, Dadu, Erdene Zuu, Soviet, Gobi, Los Angeles, gers, Qing China, Karnataka, Töv Province, Karakorum, Khamar, Erdene, Ukraine, Korea, Golden, Bayankhongor, Lhasa, Dalai, Inner Mongolia, Mongol, Nalaikh, Santiago, Santiago de Compostela and Canterbury, Bulgan Province, Somnath, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, ger, East German, Uvs Province, Pakistani, Indian, Tennessee, Najaf, Baghdad, Khuder, —, abayas, KARBALA, Kufa, Medina, Saudi Arabia, Karbala, Imam Ali, Bab, Kuwaiti, Bohras, South Asia, Tajikistan, Zaydis, Yemen, Alawites, Anatolia, Syria, Iran, Bahrain, Azerbaijan, Sadr, U.S, Jordanian, Al Qaeda, Mesopotamia, Al, Multan, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan’s, Islamabad, Lahore, Kuwait, Karachi, Doha, Qatar

☆ China's truck industry is buying more driver-assist technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Huanqiu.com | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China's truck industry is finding more reasons to buy vehicles with assisted-driving technology. The companies trying to sell trucks to fleet operators are including driver-assist tech as a way to make the vehicles more attractive, Gui said. In addition, Chinese authorities require all newly manufactured trucks since 2022 to come with basic driver-assist tech for warning against forward collision and lane departure, Gui said. The startup claims its trucks cost about 5% less than traditional options, on top of safety and environmental benefits. PlatooningOther startups are testing out different forms of driver-assist trucks in China.

Persons: Gui Lingfeng, Gui, Julian Ma Inceptio, Inceptio, Julian Ma, That's, Ma, Didi, Junqing Wei Organizations: Visual China, Getty, BEIJING, Kearney, it's, Industry, SF Holdings, CNBC's East Tech West Locations: Shanghai, China, Tianjin, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Nansha, Guangzhou

☆ China’s northeast hit by unseasonable blizzard as heavy snow causes mass disruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

In Heilongjiang, China’s northernmost province, the railway operator halted 51 passenger trains on Tuesday due to the snowstorm. Heavy snow falls in Xiangfang district of Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on November 6, 2023. Harbin issued a red blizzard alert – the highest in China’s four-tier warning system – on Sunday and Monday. In the neighboring province of Jilin, more than 200 expressway entrances were closed on Monday due to heavy snowfall. China’s national weather forecaster issued an orange blizzard alert – the second highest level after red – on Saturday and renewed it on Monday for parts of Jilin, Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Xie Jianfei Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, National Meteorological Center, CCTV, Xinhua Locations: China, Hong Kong, Heilongjiang, China’s, Harbin, Jiamusi, Xinhua, Xiangfang, Heilongjiang province, Qiqihar, Jilin, Inner Mongolia

BEIJING, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Unseasonably cold weather and blizzards hit northeast China on Monday, forcing hundreds of flights to be rescheduled and closing schools as several cities issued heightened weather alerts and warned people to stay indoors. China's weather authority warned of a drastic drop in temperature in coming days, along with blizzards, anticipated to substantially affect several cities, state media reported. Provinces and cities upgraded weather response protocols as heavy snowfall is expected in parts of Inner Mongolia, and Hebei, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, China Daily reported. Chinese weather forecasters kept orange alerts for blizzards in several areas, while China's National Meteorological Center issued an orange alert for blizzards and a blue alert for cold waves and strong wind, Global Times reported. China has a four-tier colour-coded weather alert system, with red the highest, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Persons: Bernard Orr, Ella Cao, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Harbin Taiping International Airport, China Daily, Central Meteorological Observatory, Meteorological Center, Global Times, Central Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Heilongjiang, Harbin, Jilin, Liaoning, Mongolia, Weibo, Provinces, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai

While freezing temperatures are not uncommon for the time of year, the sudden change is unusual. A few days ago, uncharacteristically warm weather saw parts of northern China post record high temperatures exceeding 30C. Winter this year, however, could be warmer due to a moderate El Nino, Jia Xiaolong, deputy director of China's National Climate Centre, told a press conference on Friday. El Nino is a natural climate pattern associated with warming of the ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific. But statistics showed that winter temperatures could fluctuate greatly during El Nino, Jia warned.

Persons: REUTER, Tingshu Wang, Doksuri, El, Jia Xiaolong, El Nino, Jia, Ethan Wang, Ryan Woo, Simon Cameron, Moore, Robert Birsel Organizations: Business, Rights, El, China Meteorological Administration, CMA, Authorities, El Nino, Climate Centre, 0.5C, Thomson Locations: China, Rights BEIJING, El Nino, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Mohe, Pacific, El

☆ China Set for Abrupt Switch From Warm to Freezing Weather in Year of Extremes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING (Reuters) - Temperatures in northern China are set to plunge as much as 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) after summer-like conditions in the final days of autumn, state forecasters said on Friday, extending a year-long trend of unusual swings in the weather. Parts of northern China posted record high temperatures of more than 30C earlier this week, while also suffering widespread smog. Extreme weather has become more pronounced in China this year, destroying urban infrastructure as well as farmland, leading to hefty economic losses. In the summer, typhoons dumped historic rainfall in parts of inland China less used to tropical storms. Earlier in spring, northern China basked in unseasonal heat with temperatures reaching summer-levels.

Persons: Doksuri, Ethan Wang, Ryan Woo, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: National Meteorological Administration, CMA Locations: BEIJING, China, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei province, Mohe

☆ Lonely Planet’s top places to go in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Maureen Ohare | Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Get your wishlist fired up, Lonely Planet just revealed its 50 top travel destinations for the year ahead. The travel publishing empire turns 50 this year, and its bumper Best in Travel 2024 list is expanded across five categories: top countries, regions, cities, sustainable travel destinations and best-value locations. The “wild beauty” of South Africa also gets a nod, with Lonely Planet recommending visitors check out the country’s “impressive crop of ecolodges” committed to protecting Earth’s biodiversity. The underrated American Midwest is the top tip here: in cities such as Chicago, Milwaukee and Detroit, “you’ll find old warehouses transformed into art studios, new eco design hotels and many Michelin-starred restaurants,” says Lonely Planet. Says Lonely Planet, “Here you’ll find the highest sea cliffs in Europe and miles of unspoilt coastal hiking trails.”Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2024India: A big country with a whole lot to love, including Gadisar lake in Rajasthan.

Persons: CNN —, Lucia, Torres del, ecolodges ”, Babanango, “, ”, you’ll, Ilan Shacham, Ireland País Vasco, Português, daniel Organizations: CNN, Lonely, Lonely Planet, Kenyan, Michelin, Getty, Mongolia India Morocco Chile Benin Mexico Uzbekistan Pakistan Croatia St, Regions, CNN Cities Nairobia, Chile Greenland, Lithuania Eco, France Egypt Ikaria, Greece Algeria Southern Lakes, Central Otago , New Zealand Locations: Mongolia, Mexico, Croatia, St, Benin, Uzbekistan, City, Nairobi, Paris, Prague, Czech, “, Patagonia, Torres del Paine, Spain, Valencia, Barcelona, South Africa, South, KwaZulu Natal, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Algeria, Northern Africa, Europe, Balkans, Slovenia, Bosnia, Hercegovina, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Adriatic, Donegal, Ireland’s, India, Rajasthan, Mongolia India Morocco Chile Benin Mexico Uzbekistan Pakistan Croatia, Lucia Macedonia, South Australia Donegal, Ireland, Spain Southern Thailand Swahili, Tanzania Montana, USA, Austria, Kenya Paris, France Montreal, Canada Mostar, Herzegovina Philadelphia , Pennsylvania Manaus, Brazil Jakarta, Indonesia Prague, Czech Republic Izmir, Turkey Kansas City , Missouri, Spain Patagonia, Argentina, Chile, Chile Greenland Wales, Santiago Palau Hokkaido, Japan Ecuador Baltic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, South Africa Poland, USA Poland Nicaragua Danube Limes, Bulgaria Normandy, France Egypt, Greece Algeria Southern, Central Otago , New

☆ China and Russia take aim at US at Chinese military forum
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Chinese and Russian military chiefs targeted the United States for criticism at a security forum in Beijing on Monday, even as China's second-most-senior military commander vowed to boost defence ties with Washington. Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu warned the West that its involvement in the Ukraine war created grave danger. China's defence minister delivered the keynote speech in previous years. China and the U.S. have had no high-level military-to-military communications since the Washington-sanctioned former Chinese defence minister, Li Shangfu, was appointed in March. It is not yet known whether the U.S. team will meet separately with Chinese military officials.

Persons: Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Zhang Youxia, Xi Jinping, Zhang, Li Shangfu, Li, Cynthia Xanthi, Joe Biden, Wang Yi, Biden, Yew Lun Tian, Lidia Kelly, Laurie Chen, Greg Torode, Gerry Doyle, Tom Hogue Organizations: Washington, Beijing Xiangshan, Russia's, TASS, China's, Military Commission, Communist, U.S, Reuters, Defense, U.S ., Thomson Locations: BEIJING, United States, Beijing, Ukraine, Russia, China, Taiwan, South China, Washington, U.S, Cynthia Xanthi Carras, Singapore, Laos, Mongolia, Belarus, East Timor, Myanmar, Sydney

☆ Russia's weaker hand undermines case for Power of Siberia 2 gas link to China
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Vladimir Soldatkin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Russia currently exports gas to China through the Power of Siberia 1 pipeline, which began operating in 2019 and runs through eastern Siberia into China's northeastern Heilongjiang province. Moscow has not said how much the 2,600 km (1,616 miles) Power of Siberia-2 would cost or how it would be financed. Russia aims to increase supplies via Power of Siberia 1 to 38 bcm annually by 2025. If the plans for Power of Siberia 2 and another link from Russia's far eastern island of Sakhalin come to fruition, Russia's pipeline gas exports to China would rise to almost 100 bcm per year by 2030. "This fact will require CNPC to build on its own all the necessary gas transportation infrastructure in China," Kondratov wrote.

Persons: Maxim, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Kondratov, Kondratov, Sergey Vakulenko, Vakulenko, Viktoria Abramchenko, Andrew Hayley, Chen Aizhu, Oksana Kobzeva, Mark Trevelyan, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, Russia, East, Power, Gazprom, Economics, Russian Academy of Science, Carnegie Endowment, International, Soyuz, Thomson Locations: Siberia, Svobodny, Amur, Russia, East Power, Turkmenistan, MOSCOW, China, Europe, Yamal, Mongolia, Baltic, Moscow, Ukraine, Beijing, China's, Heilongjiang, Russian, Power, Russia's, Sakhalin, That's, Nord, Turkey, Japan, United States, Qatar, Australia, Singapore

☆ Opinion: My country abolished the death penalty. So can yours
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Opinion Elbegdorj Tsakhia | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

He is commissioner of the International Committee against Death Penalty (ICDP). When I entered office in 2009, I quickly came to realize that use of the death penalty in Mongolia had been arbitrary, secretive and cruel. By the end of 2022, more than two-thirds of the world’s nations had done away with the practice, according to the Washington, DC-based Death Penalty Information Center. Research from Amnesty International found no evidence that the death penalty deterred crime more than life imprisonment. When I became Mongolia’s president, five crimes were eligible for the death penalty: two forms of terrorist attacks, sabotage, rape and aggravated murder.

Persons: Tsakhia, Read, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, it’s, who’s, Elbegdorj, –, Lui Tuck Yew, Tharman Organizations: International, CNN, International Covenant, Civil, Political, Amnesty, Central African, Research, Amnesty International Locations: Mongolia, Singapore, Washington, DC, Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Thailand, Malaysia, United States

☆ China kickstarts Xiangshan Forum in absence of defence minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China's biggest annual show of military diplomacy, started on Sunday although the Asian power is still missing a defence minister, who typically hosts this event. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is listed in the forum's agenda as the first guest speaker at Monday's opening ceremony. This year's forum takes place at an awkward time for China when it is without a defence minister, whose main role is to engage with foreign militaries. On Tuesday, Beijing sacked its defence minister Li Shangfu but did not name a replacement. Chinese military leaders more senior than the defence minister have filled in for Li.

Persons: Xi, Sergei Shoigu, Li Shangfu, Li, Zhang Youxia, Weidong, Zhao Yufei, Wendin Smith, Yew Lun Tian, Laurie Chen, Philip Blenkinsop Organizations: Beijing Xiangshan, Russian, Xanthi, China, Defense, Reuters, Xinhua, NATO, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China, United States, Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Xanthi Carras, Li, State, Laos, Mongolia, Vietnam, Singapore, France, Brussels

☆ China Kickstarts Xiangshan Forum in Absence of Defence Minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Yew Lun TianBEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China's biggest annual show of military diplomacy, started on Sunday although the Asian power is still missing a defence minister, who typically hosts this event. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is listed in the forum's agenda as the first guest speaker at Monday's opening ceremony. This year's forum takes place at an awkward time for China when it is without a defence minister, whose main role is to engage with foreign militaries. On Tuesday, Beijing sacked its defence minister Li Shangfu but did not name a replacement. Chinese military leaders more senior than the defence minister have filled in for Li.

Persons: Lun Tian, Xi, Sergei Shoigu, Li Shangfu, Li, Zhang Youxia, Weidong, Zhao Yufei, Wendin Smith, Yew Lun Tian, Laurie Chen, Philip Blenkinsop Organizations: Beijing Xiangshan, Russian, Xanthi, China, Defense, Reuters, Xinhua, NATO Locations: Lun Tian BEIJING, Beijing, China, United States, Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Xanthi Carras, Li, State, Laos, Mongolia, Vietnam, Singapore, France, Brussels

☆ Pope Francis may attend global climate talks in Dubai
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis leads the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican, October 18, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsVATICAN CITY, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Pope Francis may attend the COP28 climate conference starting next month in Dubai, Vatican sources say, to drive home his recent appeal for action to curb global warming. It would be the first time a pope has attended a U.N. climate change conference since they began in 1995. Other Vatican sources put the probability that the pope would go to the Nov. 30-Dec. 12 event as high as 90 percent. Failure in Dubai, Francis said in the document, "will be a great disappointment and jeopardize whatever good has been achieved thus far".

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Joe Biden, Sultan al, Jaber, Philip Pullella, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, CITY, State, Reuters, Catholic, Thomson Locations: Saint Peter's, Dubai, Vatican, Rome, el, Sheikh, Egypt, Glasgow, Scotland, Mongolia, French, Marseilles

☆ New York’s American Museum of Natural History to remove human remains from exhibits, including some from Indigenous and enslaved Black people
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Justin Gamble | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The American Museum of Natural History in New York will remove all human remains displayed in its exhibits and is preparing a new storage location for its collection of 12,000 remains – which includes skeletal remains of Indigenous and enslaved Black people – according to a letter from the museum president obtained by CNN. “We must acknowledge that, with the small exception of those who bequeathed their bodies to medical schools for continued study, no individual consented to have their remains included in a museum collection,” museum President Sean M. Decatur said in the letter to staff. American Museum of Natural HistorySkeletons and mummies will be removed from 12 display cases, as well as musical instruments and beads made from or incorporating human bones, Decatur said. What the museum has on display is only “a very small percentage” of its full collection of skeletal remains, museum spokesperson Kendra Snyder said in a statement to CNN. A 19th-century Tibetan apron, made of human bone, is displayed near Tibetan masks in the Hall of Asian Peoples.

Persons: “, Sean M, Decatur, Kendra Snyder, Snyder, ” Decatur, ” Organizations: CNN, American Museum of, American, of, Hall of, of Asian Peoples . American Locations: New York, Mongolia, United States, Hall of Mexico, South America

☆ A 'revolution' is coming: CEO shares the challenges and opportunities in autonomous trucking
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The CEO of a firm focused on autonomous trucking believes huge change is coming to the sector — with humans and technology working hand in hand to transform the way goods are delivered. Wei said KargoBot was incubated by the Chinese ride-sharing powerhouse Didi for the past three years. KargoBot, he said, already has more than 100 autonomous driving trucks on the road, mainly on routes in Inner Mongolia, northern China. "They have been automatically driving and also, they are delivering goods, they are actually doing commercial operations already." The logistics market, Wei said, is worth more than $1 trillion, with KargoBot focusing on the delivery of raw material for manufacturers and factories.

Persons: Junqing Wei, Wei, KargoBot, Didi Organizations: CNBC's East Tech West Locations: Nansha, Guangzhou, China, Inner Mongolia

☆ Putin visits 'dear friend' Xi in show of no-limits partnership
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Ryan Woo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrives at Beijing Capital International Airport to attend the Third Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, October 17, 2023. Xi last saw his "dear friend" in Moscow just days after the warrant was issued. At the time, Xi invited Putin to attend the third Belt and Road forum in Beijing, an international cooperation forum championed by the Chinese leader. As the forum's chief guest, Putin will speak after Xi on Wednesday and will meet with the Chinese president for bilateral talks later that day. It would be Putin's third attendance of the Belt and Road Forum, which runs through Wednesday.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Parker, Xi Jinping, Putin, Wang Wentao, Xi, Ryan Woo, Lidia Kelly, Christopher Cushing, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Beijing Capital International Airport, Forum, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Court, ICC, Reuters, Chinese Commerce, Kremlin, Beijing, Olympics, Rosneft, Gazprom, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, Ukraine, Hague, Soviet Union, Kyrgyzstan, Soviet, Moscow, Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia, Laos, Russia, Asia, Africa, Europe, Putin's, Melbourne

REUTERS/Wu Hong/Pool/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW/BEIJING, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to China this week to meet Xi Jinping, the Kremlin chief's first trip outside the former Soviet Union this year. What are the five things to watch for at the meeting? Li was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 for an arms deal he secured with Russia in an earlier role. Xi also awarded Putin a friendship medal in 2018, saying that "Putin is my best close friend". Putin said in March that he had invited Xi to his private apartment in the Kremlin.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Wu Hong, Li Shangfu, Li, General Liu Zhenli, Putin, Xi, Alexei Miller, Igor Sechin, Maxim Reshetnikov, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center, REUTERS, Kremlin, Russia, People's Liberation Army, PLA, U.S . Department of Defence, China, United, Gazprom, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China, MOSCOW, BEIJING, Soviet Union, U.S, Russia, Xiapu, Ukraine, United States, India, Moscow, Kremlin, Siberia, Mongolia, Asia, Germany

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a signing ceremony following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023. China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two. Biden has referred to Xi as a "dictator" and has said Putin is a "killer" and a leader who cannot remain in power. Since the Ukraine war, Putin has mostly stayed within the former Soviet Union, though he visited Iran last year for talks with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United States has warned China against supplying Putin with weapons as Russia, a $2 trillion economy, battles Ukrainian forces backed by the United States and the European Union.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Mikhail Tereshchenko, Putin, Xi Putin, Xi, Joe Biden, Graham Allison, Bill Clinton, Biden, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mao Zedong, Alexander Gabuev, Gabuev, Li Shangfu, Alexei Miller, Igor Sechin, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: Kremlin, Sputnik, Forum, Soviet Union, U.S, Harvard University, Reuters, Soviet, United, European Union, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Gazprom, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, China, USSR, MOSCOW, BEIJING, United States, Beijing, Hague, Ukraine, Europe, U.S, Soviet Union, Iran, Communist China, Ukrainian, Siberia, Mongolia

☆ Russia-China energy cooperation in focus as Putin visits Xi
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It insists the ties do not flout international norms, and China has the prerogative to collaborate with whichever country it chooses. According to China's customs data, the growth of China's exports and imports with Russia on a year-on-year basis quickened in September from August. China is Russia's second-largest buyer of Russian oil after India. Russia's main gas export route is a 4,000-km (2,500-mile) pipeline Power of Siberia that links East Siberian fields to northeast China. Russia aims to build a second gas pipeline to China, Power of Siberia 2, with capacity for 50 bcm a year to run via Mongolia.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Wang Wentao, Vladimir Putin's, Russia's Novatek, Vladimir Soldatkin, Guy Faulconbridge, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Commerce, Vortexa, Russia's, Reuters, European, VEB, Supplies, CNPC, Thomson Locations: Siberia, Svobodny, Amur, Russia, China, United States, Beijing, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, India, Kpler, Kozmino, Baltic, Brazil, Urals, Oman, European Union, That's, Europe, Power, Mongolia, Sakhalin, Qatar

☆ Where This Summer Was Relentlessly Hot
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( Zach Levitt | Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Where This Summer Was Relentlessly Hot The planet just experienced its hottest months on record, and by a large margin, scientists said. Some areas, including northern Canada and some of Greenland, show temperatures more than 6 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 degrees Celsius) above average. Phoenix, which is known for its extreme heat, shows temperatures more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) above average. The global map spins to South America, where average daily temperatures were higher than normal for much of the continent. Areas of Sudan and Ethiopia show temperatures greater than 6 degrees Fahrenheit (3.3 degrees Celsius) higher than normal.

Organizations: Phoenix, El, Democratic Locations: North America, Canada, Mexico, Greenland, United States, El Paso, Texas, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, La, Chilean, America, Paraguay, Europe, Croatia, Switzerland, Marseille, France, Spain, Romania, Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, East, Ethiopia, China, Turpan, Mongolia

The two-week Asian Games offer a glimpse at a changing Mongolia, a vast nation sandwiched between China and Russia with only 3.3 million people. And there's also a bronze medal in men’s 3x3 basketball, where Mongolia edged South Korea 21-20. Mongolia has just over 400 athletes at the Asian Games, less than half the size of large delegations from China, Japan or South Korea. She called herself “a novice” breakdancer but has practiced with at least one member of the Mongolian team, Gan-Ulzii Ganbalt. “My generation is trying to change the way Mongolia is seen," she said.

Persons: —, Genghis Khan, “, breakdancing, Myagmarjav, ”, Mongolia’s, Chinzong Baatarsukh, there's, Tugstur Dashzevge, esports, “ There’s, Amarasana Chimeddorj, Majigsuren Organizations: breakdancing, Asian Games, Associated Press, Olympics, Soviet Union, “, Monaco, Mongolian Locations: HANGZHOU, China, Mongolia, Russia, America, Soviet, Ulaanbaatar, Asia, South Korea, Japan, Niger, Mongolian, Gan

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