The new strain, scientists say, is carried by pigs but can infect humans and requires close monitoring.

The shooting of two Zimbabwean workers by a Chinese boss shows the "systematic and widespread" abuse that locals face in Chinese mining operations, says the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Society (ZELA). In a court affidavit, police said Zhang Xuen shot an employee five times and wounded another at the mine he runs in Gweru province, in central Zimbabwe, during a row with workers over outstanding pay.

While Covid-19 has dominated news for much of the year — and understandably so, as people and businesses fight for their survival — a larger, longer-lasting problem has been unfolding in the background, which many businesses will soon need to contend with: As de-globalization accelerates, two hostile economic blocs are emerging, one centered around China and the other around the United States.

Tianwen-1, a “quest for heavenly truth,” aims for a orbiter-lander-rover trifecta

The brutal ambush in the Himalayas is the latest aggressive move from Beijing by a nation battling crises on several fronts

While major countries vie for economic dominance, smaller nations could actually be more effective locations for individuals to work and do business in, according to a new report. The U.S. and China both flopped in the 2020 World Competitive Ranking from the Institute for Management Development (IMD) as ongoing trade tensions continue to weigh on their international standing making way for smaller economies.

Protests and unrest are ongoing in Hong Kong since 2019, amid concerns among Hongkongers that Hong Kong’s autonomy is being eroded, as well as civil and political rights are being undermined. The most recent protests have been triggered by a decision of the National People’s Congress —the legislature of the People’s Republic of China— to draft a new security law that is set to be enforced on Hong Kong —directly from Beijing or via an ad-hoc piece of legislation passed by the Hong Kong legislature— opening the door to the implementation of mainland Chinese institutions of security and control in Hong Kong.

Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt has warned that Huawei poses a national security threat and claims “there’s no question” information from its routers have “ultimately ended up” in the hands of the Chinese government. Mr Schmidt, current chair to the Defence Innovation Advisory board for the Pentagon, said the telecoms firm had engaged in acts vthat are not acceptable in national security.”

In the current climate of escalating competition and tension between the United States and China on the technology front, Mara Hvistendahl’s The Scientist and the Spy: A True Story of China, the FBI, and Industrial Espionage is a very timely book that illuminates the various facets of the nexus between intellectual property protection, industrial espionage and national security.

SpaceX's first astronaut launch wasn't the only spaceflight action last weekend.

In the freezing heights of the Karakoram mountain range, a dangerous power play is unfolding.

China is preparing to carry out 11 missions in two years to construct a space station and will soon select a new batch of astronauts for the project. The first module for the Chinese space station will launch next year, said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China’s human spaceflight program, on the sidelines of a political conference in Beijing Tuesday.

The global COVID-19 pandemic was originally linked to a zoonotic spillover event in Wuhan’s Huanan Seafood Market in November or December of 2019. However, recent evidence suggests that the virus may have already been circulating at the time of the outbreak.

Beijing dismissed as “ridiculous” a Harvard Medical School study of hospital traffic and search engine data that suggested the new coronavirus may already have been spreading in China last August, and scientists said it offered no convincing evidence of when the outbreak began.

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) has received government approval to build Model 3 vehicles in China equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, a document on Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website showed. Reuters exclusively reported in February that Tesla was in advanced talks to use LFP batteries from CATL (300750.SZ) that contain no cobalt - one of the most expensive metals in electric vehicle (EV) batteries - in cars made at its plant in China.

The video conference app is already facing scrutiny over its security and privacy controls.

Pocket Casts and Castro are gone from China’s App Store

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army chief General Manoj Naravane have left the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh after a meeting in the wake of killing of an Indian Army official and two soldier. The Ministry of External Affairs is expected to release a statement in the matter shortly. Indian Army's second statement in Galwan faceoff is also expected to come after Major General-level meeting between India and China at the point of clash ends.

The boast that “when the facts change, I change my mind” is a proud one. “When the facts change, I reinforce my prejudices” is truer. If you want proof, look at the coronavirus that has changed everything and consider the undisputed fact that it spread because of humanity’s abuse of animals.

Move is likely to be part of attempt to control the narrative surrounding the pandemic