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☆ At least 5 Russian men who escaped conscription have been living in Seoul's airport for months, and their refugee status still hangs in the balance: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At least five Russian men have been living in South Korea's Incheon airport for months. The men told The Post their lives are hanging in the balance: Seoul could still reject their asylum appeal. But I feel this conflict is extremely political," Maraktaev told The Post. Maraktaev then managed to get a flight to South Korea, and he finally landed in Incheon on November 12. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, most of the refugees given a humanitarian visa in South Korea are from Syria and Yemen.

☆ China's coal imports from Russia fall in Dec, but up 20% in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Jan 20 (Reuters) - China's coal imports from Russia dropped in December as logistics issues and inclement winter in Russia curbed shipments and Chinese demand weakened amid surging COVID infections. Some 6.89 million tonnes of Russian coal reached China last month, down from 7.16 million tonnes in November, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Friday. Arrivals of Indonesian coal were 17.53 million tonnes last month, down from 20.04 million tonnes in November. During the January-December period, China's imports totalled 170.71 million tonnes, down 12.6% from 2021. The customs data on Friday showed no coal imports from Australia in December.

☆ Who is Shou Zi Chew? Mounting scrutiny on TikTok could put new spotlight on its CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Months later, when TikTok was grilled by Congress over privacy and security concerns, Pappas was the TikTok executive in the hot seat fielding questions. But Chew, who took over as TikTok CEO in April 2021, has largely stayed out of the spotlight at a time when the app he leads can’t seem to avoid it. He eventually went on to become the CFO of Chinese tech giant Xiaomi, which he helped take public in 2018. While Chew is not a Chinese national, Quint noted Chinese tech companies and leaders that have drawn too much attention to themselves have faced tough government crackdowns. Ultimately, Quint said, “I don’t think the CEO of TikTok has much relevance at all” for US lawmakers scrutinizing its ties to China.

☆ He fled Russia's draft, now he's stranded in a South Korean airport
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - For two months now, 23-year-old Russian Vladimir Maraktayev has been living in an airport departure lounge. After travelling on to the Philippines, he flew to South Korea on Nov. 12, hoping to receive refugee status in what he considered one of Asia’s most stable democracies. He applied for refugee status upon arrival, but South Korean authorities rejected his application on the grounds that fleeing conscription is not a valid reason to be given asylum. He said his days consist of taking walks around the airport lounge and trying to read books and study Korean. Though he has very little money, as Russian bank cards have largely stopped working outside a handful of countries, he receives food from the South Korean justice ministry.

☆ China coal output in Dec slips on COVID; rises to record in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China produced 402.69 million tonnes of coal last month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday, equivalent to 12.99 million tonnes per day. That compares with 13.04 million tonnes per day in November, and 12.41 million tonnes in December 2021. Total production for 2022 rose to a record 4.496 billion tonnes, 9% higher than output in 2021, data from the NBS showed. China's coal production is expected to expand further in 2023 amid Beijing's emphasis on bolstering energy security. The country is assessed to have approved 260 million tonnes of coal mining capacity in 2022, bringing total capacity to 5.05 billion tonnes.

☆ China reports huge rise in Covid deaths after WHO criticized Beijing for heavily undercounting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The World Health Organization said this week that China was heavily under-reporting deaths from COVID, although it was now providing more information on its outbreak. China, which last reported daily COVID death figures on Monday, has repeatedly defended the veracity of its data on the disease. On Saturday, Jiao said China divides COVID-related deaths between those from respiratory failure due to coronavirus infection and those from underlying disease combined with coronavirus infection. Last month, a Chinese health expert at a government news conference said only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting COVID would be classified as COVID deaths. However, he said, it was unclear whether the new data accurately reflects actual fatalities because doctors are discouraged from reporting COVID-related deaths and the numbers include only deaths in hospitals.

☆ Analysis: Investors snap up record $39 bln emerging market sovereign bond splurge
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The scale of borrowing dwarfs the previous record of $26 billion raised in the same period in 2018, data from Morgan Stanley shows. ROARING STARTWhile emerging bond markets are off to a roaring start, that might not translate into a bumper year overall. That is well above last year's multi-year low of $95 billion, but well short of 2020's record $233 billion. "The blessing for 2023 is that we haven't got a huge spike in Eurobonds maturities for the frontier," said Gregory Smith, emerging markets fund manager at M&G Investments, referring to what are perceived as the riskiest of emerging markets. "Kenya and Angola will need to tap the market, while South Africa is staying away completely this year," she said.

☆ Pell wrote secret memo calling Francis' papacy 'catastrophe', journalist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Commentators of every school, if for different reasons ... agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe," the memo begins. The Vatican's political prestige is now at a low ebb." Pell appeared to like the more liberal-minded Francis personally, but not how he ran the Church. Francis supported Pell privately during the abuse saga and on the day of the acquittal offered Mass for all who suffer unjust sentences. "The political influence of Pope Francis and the Vatican is negligible.

☆ China boosts coal output, eases Australia ban to bolster energy security
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Muyu Xu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SINGAPORE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The increasing need to secure energy supplies after easing COVID-19 restrictions has pushed China to gradually resume Australian coal imports and urge domestic miners to boost their already record output. "Many miners would welcome the opportunity to renew their commercial relationships in China for both metallurgical coal and thermal coal." read moreAmong them, China Energy Investment Corp has placed an order to import Australian coal which could load later this month. read moreMarket participants expect more firms to be granted permission to buy Australian coal in the coming months. HIGHER QUALITYChina purchased more than 30 million tonnes of coking coal and nearly 50 million tonnes of thermal coal from Australia before buying stopped.

The first, and most important, is that Australian coal will struggle to compete on price in China, especially thermal grades used to make electricity. Once the informal ban came into effect, Australia's share of China's imports dropped to zero by early 2021. China's imports of Russian thermal coal have remained solid, with some seasonal variations, since then and were 2.96 million tonnes in December, according to Kpler. The question is whether Australian coal miners can compete on price with Russian thermal supplies, and the answer is probably not. Add in a likely price disadvantage and it's hard to see Australian thermal coal charging back into China.

☆ China suspends social media accounts of Covid policy critics
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

China has suspended or closed the social media accounts of more than 1,000 critics of the government's policies on the COVID-19 outbreak, as the country moves to further open up. The popular Sina Weibo social media platform said it had addressed 12,854 violations including attacks on experts, scholars and medical workers and issued temporary or permanent bans on 1,120 accounts. Nonetheless, China is forging ahead with a plan to end mandatory quarantines for people arriving from abroad beginning on Sunday. On Sunday, the National Health Commission reported 10,681 new domestic cases, bringing the country's total number of confirmed cases to 482,057. China has said the testing requirements being imposed by foreign governments — most recently Germany and Sweden — aren't science-based and has threatened unspecified countermeasures.

China has said it only counts deaths of COVID patients caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure as COVID-related. The holiday travel rush is expected to last for 40 days, from Jan. 7 to Feb. 15, the Ministry of Transport said this week. China's official death toll of 5,246 since the pandemic began compares with more than 1 million deaths in the United States. The United States, India, Italy, Japan and Taiwan said they would require COVID tests for travellers from China. Omicron was still the dominant strain in China, Chinese health officials said this week.

☆ 19 Unique Valentine’s Gifts for Women Who Have Everything
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

Maybe she’s the type who tuts, “Oh, I don’t need anything” as Valentine’s Day or her birthday approaches. “There’s something a little decadent about wearing a matching cashmere set when you’re traveling by plane, for example,” Deyette notes. Note: The earrings can also be purchased as singles if you or your recipient like to mix and match. Constructed of 100% Australian sheepskin upper and footbed, they feel incredibly luxe and confer the benefit of breathable, moisture-wicking materials. It comes with a 72-ounce pitcher and an ice-crushing blade, as well as two single-serve blender cups for beverages on the go.

☆ Putin oversees launch of Siberian gas field feeding pipeline to China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a ceremony launching production at the Kovykta gas field, which will feed into the Power of Siberia pipeline carrying Russian gas to China, via a video link with head of Gazprom Alexei Miller in Moscow, Russia, December 21, 2022. Dec 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over the launch of a major new Siberian gas field on Wednesday to help drive a planned surge in supply to China. The Kovykta gas field will feed into the Power of Siberia pipeline carrying Russian gas to China. In February, Putin reached an agreement to sell an additional 10 bcm of gas to China from Russia's Far East through a new, smaller pipeline to China's northeast. Putin said last week the projects would allow Russia to boost its gas sales to China to 48 bcm annually by 2025 and to 88 bcm by 2030.

☆ Column: Key coal import hubs in China perk up as economy reboots: Maguire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

China coal use seasonallyBut recent measures aimed at lifting movement restrictions and reviving economic activity in China are already resulting in increased coal import activity at key usage hubs, which stand to impact global coal flows, prices and emissions in 2023. Between January and October, the province cut thermal coal use by 51 million tonnes from the same period in 2021. As a result, many Southern China coal plants are almost overwhelmingly reliant on imported coal. And all major coal ports in that region are now starting to show signs of a recovery in coal import volumes compared with mid-2022, when lockdowns were common throughout the country. And much of that increased coal demand will be fulfilled by imports, which will serve to tighten global coal markets, boost China's coal sector emissions, and potentially raise prices for other coal consumers.

☆ Explainer: What the world's nature-rich nations want out of a global conservation deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File PhotoMONTREAL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Tangled expanses of Amazon rainforest, high mountains of the Himalayas, and cloud-shrouded forests are just some of the unique landscapes contained within the world's most nature-rich nations. Governments are trying to work out a new global agreement to guide conservation and wildlife protection through 2030 at a U.N. summit in Montreal this week. Of the nearly 200 countries assembled, five are considered to be among the world's most biodiverse nations — measured in the number of unique species. That's more than a third of all the world’s flowering plants, and more than half of all bird and mammal species on Earth. Here's what some of the world's most nature-rich nations want to happen at the talks.

☆ Rio Tinto completes $3.3 bln Turquoise Hill deal for larger share in Mongolia project
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Rio Tinto logo is displayed on a visitor's helmet at a borates mine in Boron, California, U.S., November 15, 2019. Turquoise Hill shareholders last week voted in favour of Rio Tinto's $3.3 billion bid to take the Canadian company private after months of back and forth. 2 shareholder Pentwater Capital Management accused Rio of concealing delays and huge cost overruns at Oyu Tolgoi. BHP Group last month made a renewed $6.5 bln play for copper miner OZ Minerals, potentially allowing the miner to consolidate its copper assets in South Australia if the deal goes through. Shares of Rio Tinto finished 0.8% higher on the Australian Stock Exchange.

☆ State Department launches 'China House' amid rivalry with Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Friday launched its long-planned "China House" unit, an internal reorganization to help expand and sharpen its policymaking toward its top geopolitical rival. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in May announced the creation of China House, calling it a department-wide, integrated team that would coordinate and implement U.S. policy across issues and regions. China House will bring together China experts from throughout the department to coordinate with "every regional bureau and experts in international security, economics, technology, multilateral diplomacy, and strategic communications," the statement quoted Blinken as saying. It will replace the department's China Desk, but will continue to be overseen by Rick Waters, the deputy assistant secretary of state for China, Taiwan and Mongolia in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, according to an official. President Joe Biden's administration has laid out a strategy to compete with China focused on investing in U.S. competitiveness and aligning with allies and partners.

☆ Putin says Russia will fight sanctions with shift in trade and energy flows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would expand trade cooperation with new partners, including by sharply increasing gas exports to China, to combat Western sanctions. Putin said Russia would increase gas sales to "the east" and reiterated his plan to build a new "gas hub" in Turkey. He said it would define prices for gas sales to Europe using an "electronic platform". Putin said the projects would allow Russia to boost its gas sales to China to 48 bcm annually by 2025 and to 88 bcm by 2030. With no end in sight to the Ukraine war, Russia has outlined plans to spend nearly a third of next year's budget on defence and domestic security while cutting funding for schools, hospitals and roads.

☆ Police in China arrest gang who laundered $1.7 billion via crypto even after Beijing's crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The gang are said to have used various different cryptocurrency trading accounts to convert the money back into Chinese yuan. Police in China arrested 63 people accused of laundering as much as 12 billion Chinese yuan ($1.7 billion) via cryptocurrency, amid Beijing's intense crackdown on the trading of digital coins. The authorities said more than 130 million Chinese yuan worth of proceeds was confiscated from the gang. Chinese users have typically turned to overseas-based exchanges to trade cryptocurrencies, but this became harder as the crackdown from authorities intensified last year. The authorities said two of the suspects had fled to Bangkok, Thailand, but were persuaded to return to China.

☆ Beijing and northern China hit by winter sandstorm
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Beijing and large swaths of northern China woke to choking sand and dust on Monday, as a winter sandstorm sent air pollution levels off the charts. Beijing used to be hit by sandstorms regularly in the spring, but less so in the winter. Sandstorms also hit northern Hebei and Shanxi provinces, western Gansu, and central and western Inner Mongolia on Monday, state-run news agency Xinhua said. CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty ImagesIn the spring of 2021, Beijing was hit by the biggest sandstorm in nearly a decade, which turned the skies an eerie shade of orange. In previous decades, each May saw at least two rounds of sandstorms, according to Xinhua.

☆ As 'zero-Covid' nears end, Chinese remember whistleblower doctor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Dorothy Kam | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In this 2020 photo, flower bouquets sit outside of the Houhu Branch of Wuhan Central Hospital in honor of late ophthalmologist Li Wenliang. Li, a doctor who was punished after raising the alarm about the new coronavirus, died on Feb. 7, 2020 after being infected by the pathogen. As China moves away from its strict "zero-Covid" controls, there has been a resurgence of online tributes to Li Wenliang, a whistleblower doctor who became a symbol of public dissatisfaction with the ruling Communist Party's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. This week, Chinese officials announced they were abandoning key pillars of President Xi Jinping's "zero-Covid" strategy, including broad lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine in centralized government facilities. The latest easing of restrictions comes after mass protests across China against the "zero-Covid" controls, with some demonstrators calling for Xi to step down.

☆ As ‘zero-Covid’ nears end, Chinese remember whistleblower doctor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Dorothy Kam | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Weeks later, as the coronavirus shut down cities in China and began spreading around the world, Li died from the disease after contracting it at work. This week, Chinese officials announced they were abandoning key pillars of President Xi Jinping’s “zero-Covid” strategy, including broad lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine in centralized government facilities. Many social media users rushed to tell Li, flooding his profile on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, with expressions of gratitude, celebration and grief. The latest easing of restrictions comes after mass protests across China against the “zero-Covid” controls, with some demonstrators calling for Xi to step down. Some Weibo users vowed to make Li proud as case numbers rise.

☆ Turquoise Hill shareholders approve Rio Tinto's $3.3 bln buyout bid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Shareholders of Canada's Turquoise Hill (TRQ.TO) on Friday voted in favour of Rio Tinto's (RIO.L), (RIO.AX) $3.3 billion bid to take it private and gain direct control over a giant Mongolian copper mine. Turquoise Hill said 86.6% voted to approve Rio Tinto acquiring 49% of shares that it does not already own, giving the Anglo-Australian miner a 66% stake in Oyu Tolgoi, the world's largest known copper and gold deposit. The vote clears the way for Rio Tinto to gain more autonomy over Oyu Tolgoi, which is 66% owned by Turquoise Hill and 34% by the Mongolian government, and operated by Rio. Friday's shareholder meeting was repeatedly delayed due to opposition of key minority shareholders of Turquoise Hill, including funds Pentwater Capital and SailingStone Capital. Rio Tinto had agreed to let the two dissenting parties withhold their votes and make claims via an arbitration process, a deal that was subsequently scrapped as it raised regulatory concerns.

☆ Rio Tinto’s Mongolian purgatory is finally over
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Finally, something has gone right for Rio Tinto (RIO.L) in Mongolia. Rio boss Jakob Stausholm squeaked home with 60.5% of minority votes cast, just over the 50% threshold. It’s a massive win for Stausholm and Rio copper boss Bold Baatar. Oyu Tolgoi still needs more than $3.5 billion of funding. Instead, Rio is handing them C$43 per share in cash – a 70% premium to the price in March.

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