A recent YouGov poll had one-fifth of Londoners choose “dirty” as one of their main descriptors of the capital. …reports Asian Lite News
As councils stretch budgets to cover the costs of housing and social care, what happens to the other areas they are responsible for? Collecting the bins, cleaning and lighting the streets and filling potholes are among the most immediately visible metrics against which a council is judged.
A recent YouGov poll had one-fifth of Londoners choose “dirty” as one of their main descriptors of the capital. One professor has even called it the “grotification” of London and said unclean, grimy streets are spreading across the capital.
As Havering Council’s leader, Ray Morgon said, everyone wants to live in a clean, safe borough. But with 70% of the budget going towards social care and housing services, other areas are thinly stretched. “It means those discretionary services now are a smaller proportion of our overall budget – and as a result there has been a decline.
Havering Council has introduced a volunteer scheme to tackle “grot spots”, he said. “We’re looking at ways to try and stop the decline, but we are also looking to our residents to help us to do that.”
Prof Tony Travers, an expert in local national government at the London School of Economics, coined the term “grotification” – meaning the declining standards of cleanliness of our streets. “Most people feeling that if the streets, parks and gardens they live in are scruffy and not properly cared for, they don’t feel good” Prof Travers said.
“If we look at the cuts to local government funding, social care has to be protected – everything else including street cleaning, weeding, graffiti cleaning, has taken a much deeper cut, up to half in some cases. “That means our neighbourhoods look less good and that affects our pride of place”.
Leader of Croydon Council Jason Perry said the authority was trying to tackle the problem with schemes such as a new – more efficient – streetlight contract.
Julia Neden-Watts from Richmond Council said one of her concerns about keeping the streets clean was the increase in national insurance, which would make contractors more expensive for councils. At the moment businesses pay a rate of 13.8% on employees’ earnings above a threshold of £9,100 a year.
In the Budget Chancellor Rachel Reeves said this rate would increase to 15% in April 2025, and the threshold would be reduced to £5,000. So Neden-Watts said Richmond was looking to work “smarter”.
“It’s about where you can invest to save. The more reuse, the more recycling, the less we have to spend on collecting and disposing of rubbish. “We can end up finding some positives [in the funding gap] but it’s hard work.”
Laura Clayson, from People & Planet, said it would have been unthinkable a decade ago that so many institutions had formally refused to invest in fossil fuels….reports Asian Lite News
More than three-quarters of UK universities have pledged to exclude fossil fuel companies from their investment portfolios, according to campaigners. The move, which is part of a wider drive to limit investment in fossil fuels, follows years of campaigning by staff and students across the higher education sector.
The student campaign group People & Planet announced on Friday that 115 out of 149 UK universities had publicly committed to divest from fossil fuels – meaning £17.7bn-worth of endowments are now out of reach of the fossil fuel industry.
Laura Clayson, from People & Planet, said it would have been unthinkable a decade ago that so many institutions had formally refused to invest in fossil fuels.
“That we can celebrate this today is down to the generations of students and staff that have fought for justice in solidarity with impacted communities. The days of UK universities profiteering from investments in this neo-colonial industry are over.”
People & Planet set up the Fossil Free universities campaign in 2013. As part of its efforts the group has highlighted the “struggles and voices” of communities on the frontline of the climate crisis in an attempt to bring home the real-world impact of investment decisions made by UK universities.
Clayson said: “The demand for fossil-free came from frontline communities themselves and it is an act of solidarity from global north organisers campaigning on this … We have a responsibility to speak the lived experiences of the communities resisting these inequalities into megaphones at protests and in negotiations within university boardrooms, to highlight their stories of struggle in spaces so often detached from the reality of everyday life on the frontlines.”
One of the projects highlighted by the campaign is the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) – a mega project that would stretch almost 900 miles from the Lake Albert region of Uganda to the coast in Tanzania, and release vast amounts of planet-heating carbon.
The pipeline is being built in spite of local opposition, and there are reports that protesters and critics have been met with state violence. Hundreds of student organisers have been involved in the struggle.
Ntambazi Imuran Java, the lead coordinator at the Stop EACOP Uganda campaign, said its members appreciated the efforts of UK students to bring an end to universities’ fossil fuel investments.
“[This] supports those who have worked tirelessly to stop deadly extraction projects like EACOP … Regardless of the arrests and violations on the activists, students’ activists and communities, we continue to demand for the Uganda authorities to stop the project and instead invest in renewables.”
People & Planet said four UK institutions – Birmingham City University, Glasgow School of Art, Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Bradford – had recently incorporated fossil fuel exclusions into their ethical investment policies, meaning 115 out of 149 UK universities have publicly committed to divest from fossil fuels.
Later this month, the group will group will unveil its latest university league table that ranks institutions by their ethical and environmental performance. Campaigners say they will then increase pressure on the remaining 34 UK universities yet to go fossil-free.
Oxford University has expressed its “commitment to repatriate” the idol said to be worth crores of rupees back to India…reports Asian Lite News
The Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University, London, which purchased the Thirumangai Alwar bronze idol in 1967, has agreed to return the idol to Tamil Nadu after the state Idol Wing CID submitted evidence of the idol’s trafficking from an ancient temple in Thanjavur district, the police said.
In its recent communication to the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing CID police, the Oxford University has expressed its “commitment to repatriate” the idol said to be worth crores of rupees back to India, due to the wing’s efforts, a release here said.
“They have also promised to cover all costs associated with transferring the idol from London to India, ensuring that it can be returned to the temple for worship. This marks a significant step in the efforts to return stolen idols to their rightful places of origin,” the release said.
Director General of Police Shankar Jiwal, appreciated the exceptional work done by the Idol Wing CID in successfully identifying and proving the provenance of the Thirumangai Alwar bronze idol and facilitating its repatriation process, the release added.
The Oxford University’s representative reviewed the evidence and testimonies provided by Deputy Superintendent of Policenvestigating Officer, P Chandrasekaran, which convincingly established the true origin of the Thirumangai Alwar bronze idol. This led the representative to submit a detailed report to the University. After careful consideration, the Council of the University of Oxford accepted that the idol had been illegally removed from Sri Soundaraja Perumal temple.
In addition to this success, the Idol Wing CID was continuing its sincere efforts to bring back the remaining three idols: Kaalinga Nartha Krishna, Vishnu, and Sridevi, that were also stolen along with Thirumangai Alwar idol from Sri Soundaraja Perumal temple in Kumbakonam, and are currently in museums in the United States.
“The CID is working diligently to follow a similar process to ensure that these idols are repatriated to their rightful place, the Sri Soundaraja Perumal Temple in Kumbakonam, where they can once again be used for worship,” the release further said.
In 2020, the wing registered a case based on specific information regarding the theft of four valuable idols from the Soundararaja Perumal temple in Thanjavur district, between 1957 and 1967. These idols were illegally sold by unknown idol traffickers and smuggled abroad. Through sustained efforts, the wing traced the smuggled idols to various museums abroad.
The Thirumangai Alwar idol was found to have been purchased by the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University, London, in 1967.
Investigation revealed that, at present, only replicas of these four idols were used for worship at the Sri Soundaraja Perumal temple, while the original idols remain in foreign museums.
The investigating officers, under the guidance of IGP, Idol Wing CID, R Dhinakaran, and the direct supervision of Superintendent of Police, Idol Wing CID, R Sivakumar, have meticulously collected all scientific evidences regarding the provenance of the four stolen idols.
“The officers compiled convincing and indisputable evidence and have sent it to the relevant authorities in the countries where these idols are currently located. This evidence is crucial in demonstrating the true origin of the idols, which had been smuggled abroad,” the release stated.
Wormald will take over from Simon Case on 16 December as the most senior official in the country
Keir Starmer has appointed Chris Wormald, a career civil servant who heads the health department, to become the new cabinet secretary, prompting criticism from Covid bereaved families over his record during the pandemic.
In what will be seen by some as a surprise choice, Wormald, who has spent eight years as permanent secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, will take over from Simon Case on 16 December as the most senior official in the country, an official announcement said.
Wormald was viewed as arguably the most traditional and low-key of the four-strong shortlist, and was the least tipped of the group to take over from Case in a role that includes being head of the civil service.
Olly Robbins, who oversaw Brexit negotiations under Theresa May before leaving the civil service, was seen as a possible favourite. Also in the frame were Antonia Romeo, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Justice, and Tamara Finkelstein, who holds the same role in the environment department.
Wormald will, however, arrive with some baggage and residual controversy, connected mainly to his role in the health department at the start of the Covid pandemic.
Some evidence from the official inquiry into Covid has linked Wormald, who gave evidence in November last year, to what was seen as a wider prevailing complacency that the UK was well prepared for any pandemic, with a knock-on effect for NHS and care services.
In evidence later that month, Patrick Vallance, who was the UK government’s chief scientific adviser at the time, said he had been reprimanded by Wormald, as well as Mark Sedwill, then cabinet secretary, for calling for more urgent action to be taken against the virus in mid-March 2020.
Vallance said Wormald had been “incandescent” with anger at his actions, because he had not raised the idea through more formal channels.
Barbara Herbert from the Covid 19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group said it was “unbelievably frustrating and worrisome” to see Wormald promoted.
“Time and again, Christopher Wormald has refused in the UK Covid Inquiry to accept failures on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care, despite irrefutable evidence to the contrary, backed up by the experiences of everyone in the UK during the pandemic,” she said. He had, Herbert added, “failed to prepare the Department for Health and Social Care for the pandemic, despite a pandemic being entirely foreseeable”.
However, Sajid Javid, who was health secretary after the peak of the pandemic, called the appointment of Wormald “a smart choice”.
He said: “Having worked closely with him during my time at Health and Social Care, I saw just how brilliant and dedicated he is. He’s got a sharp mind, a deep understanding of how government works, and he delivers results, even in tough situations.”
Wormald also previously headed the Department for Education. He had stints in the Cabinet Office and the communities department, and as principal private secretary to Blair-era Labour ministers Estelle Morris and Charles Clarke.
Case announced in September that he would step down on health grounds after four years in the job, after undergoing medical treatment for a neurological condition. He had also been linked to controversies over leaks and internal rows during the first months of the Starmer government.
Announcing the decision, Starmer thanked Case “for his service to our country and for the invaluable support he has given to me personally during my first months as prime minister”, adding: “He has been a remarkable public servant over many years, and our best wishes go to him and his family as he now takes time to focus on his health.
“I am delighted that Chris Wormald has agreed to become the next cabinet secretary. He brings a wealth of experience to this role at a critical moment in the work of change this new government has begun.”
Ex-health secretary Sajid Javid described Sir Chris as “brilliant and dedicated” while another former health secretary, Matt Hancock, said he was a “natural reformer” who knew “where the bear-traps are”.
However, another former colleague has been less complimentary. Dominic Cummings, a senior No 10 adviser during the pandemic, said: “Today should be a wake-up call to all investors in UK and young talent. The Westminster system is totally determined to resist any change and will continue all the things of the past 20 years that have driven us into crisis.”
In May 2016, Chris became the most senior civil servant in the Department of Health and over the next eight years worked with no fewer than seven different secretaries of state from Conservative Jeremy Hunt through to Labour’s Wes Streeting.
In that role, he oversaw important policies and decisions made after Covid emerged. And also – crucially – in the years before the virus started spreading, when planning for a pandemic was meant to be taking place.
He has already given evidence on three separate occasions to the public inquiry into the government’s handling of the crisis. Following one of his evidence sessions, one lawyer for the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice group accused him of providing “an object lesson in obfuscation, a word salad, so many, many words, so very little substance”.
In November 2023, the Covid inquiry published text messages he exchanged with his then-boss, Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill. These were sent on 12 March 2020, less than two weeks before the country entered its first national lockdown.
In the messages, Lord Sedwill wrote: “Presumably like chickenpox we want people to get it and develop herd immunity before the next wave. We just want them not to get it all at once and preferably when it’s warm and dry.”
At lord mayor’s banquet in London, British PM says ‘national interest demands that we work with both’…reports Asian Lite News
Keir Starmer has “utterly rejected” the idea that the UK must choose between the United States and Europe when Donald Trump comes to power, arguing that it is in the national interest to work with both.
The prime minister said the UK would “never turn away” from its relationship with the US, despite the difficulties the new administration could pose, as it had been the “cornerstone” of security and prosperity for over a century.
Yet he would also continue to “reset” Britain’s relationship with Europe, the country’s biggest trading partner, he said, after years of neglect post-Brexit, as strong bilateral links were vital for growth and security.
“Against the backdrop of these dangerous times, the idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we’re with either America or Europe, is plain wrong,” he said.
“I reject it utterly. [Clement] Attlee did not choose between allies. [Winston] Churchill did not choose. The national interest demands that we work with both.”
His remarks come after foreign policy and trade experts warned that Trump could pressure the UK to effectively pick sides between it and the European Union if he presses ahead with threatened trade tariffs when he takes over next year.
But despite Labour’s previously tense relationship with Trump, Downing Street sources said they felt equipped to deal with the “unpredictability and noise” that has already started coming their way from Washington.
Starmer’s team, they continued, has spent years preparing for the possibility of a Republican victory – building relationships and, crucially, bridges. However, as some of Elon Musk’s criticism of the prime minister has shown, the usual rules of diplomacy no longer apply.
Instead, the government believes it can capitalise on the global uncertainty that Trump’s presidency creates, with the new administration likely to reverse the US position in conflict zones and embark on a more protectionist approach on trade.
In a major foreign policy speech at the lord mayor’s banquet in London, Starmer insisted the UK could be a “constant and responsible actor in turbulent times”, with the return of Trump expected to shake up the global order, including in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“I recall Philip Larkin’s words about her late majesty Queen Elizabeth as a ‘constant good’ – a strong, still point in a changing world – because I think it also reflects Britain and the nation’s role today,” he said.
“To be a constant and responsible actor in turbulent times. To be the soundest ally and to be determined, always, in everything we do.”
In his speech, the prime minister said he would “never turn away” from the UK’s special relationship with the US, even though many inside government privately believe it will prove a difficult path to navigate in coming years.
“This is not about sentimentality,” he said. “It is about hard-headed realism. Time and again the best hope for the world and the surest way to serve our mutual national interest has come from our two nations working together. It still does.”
Starmer has also vowed to turn the page on the UK’s relationship with European partners, putting the fractious relations of the Brexit years behind it. Since taking office he has visited the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Berlin and met the French president, Emmanuel Macron, in Paris. He also hosted 50 leaders from across the continent for the European Political Community meeting within days of taking office.
He told his audience that the government had already improved relations with Britain’s European neighbours, with a “shared ambition to work more closely where necessary”, including through a new security pact covering foreign affairs and defence.
“This is about looking forward, not back,” Starmer added. “There will be no return to freedom of movement, no return to the customs union and no return to the single market. Instead we will find practical, agile ways to cooperate which serve the national interest.”
Ministers are hiring a new EU negotiator to act as a representative for all of the UK’s dealings with the bloc ahead of renewal talks on the trade and cooperation agreement, which underpins the post-Brexit relationship, in 2025.
The government has said that security is the bedrock on which the UK economy rests. “There is no greater responsibility for this government,” the prime minister said. He does not, however, plan to set out a timetable to reach 2.5% of GDP on defence spending until next year.
After becoming the first British leader in six years to meet Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, last month, Starmer argued that the UK could not “look the other way” on China, and instead planned to “keep talking” to Beijing.
Trump is proposing to slap huge 60% import tariffs on China. Trade experts expect that the US will call on the EU and UK to follow suit – a demand that both will strongly resist for their own trade reasons.
The UK is seeking to increase trade with Beijing while also stepping up efforts to find greater ways to access the EU single market.
(241115) -- WENCHANG, Nov. 15, 2024 (Xinhua) -- A Long March-7 Y9 carrier rocket carrying cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-8 blasts off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 15, 2024.
China launched the cargo craft Tianzhou-8 on Friday night to deliver supplies for its orbiting Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency.
The Long March-7 rocket, carrying Tianzhou-8, blasted off at 11:13 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan, the agency said.
After about 10 minutes, Tianzhou-8 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels soon unfolded. The agency declared the launch a complete success. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)
Experts cautioned that China is building advanced military space capabilities, likely to deploy counter-space tactics in future conflicts, making space a contested warfighting domain and threatening access to vital space systems.
Chinese ambitions – “the grand rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” as Chairman Xi Jinping calls it – are almost unbridled in their scope. As well as seeking to dominate nearby territory such as Taiwan, the mountainous border with India, international waters in the South China Sea and the icy wastes of Antarctica – Beijing has cast its zealous net deep into space too.
A sharp warning came recently from the Headquarters of the US Space Force. In a space threat fact sheet it stated, “Intensifying strategic competition presents a serious threat to US national security interests in, from and to space. China and Russia seek to position themselves as leading space powers while undermining US global leadership. Both countries are developing new space systems to enhance military effectiveness and end any reliance on US space systems.”
Dr Malcom Davis, a senior analyst in Defence Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), concurred. He told ANI: “Clearly, China would like to dominate space in terms of control, and deny space access to the US and to US allies…In every sense of the word, I think the Chinese are determined to overtake the US in space.”
Before delving further into the contents of that American Space Force report, it is pertinent to see how China is already trampling upon international norms on Earth. If Beijing is willing to unashamedly do this on our terrestrial ball, against the wishes of others, then what will it attempt in the vast, uncontested reaches of outer space?
China is planning a permanent moon base, and it will presumably ride roughshod over the US-sponsored Artemis Accords of 2020 that recommend principles regarding moon colonization. A key provision in the Artemis Accords is license for lunar operators to establish “safety zones” around their activities “to avoid harmful interference”. Some 43 countries have signed the accords, but not China or Russia since they are developing their own frameworks.
China’s and minor partner Russia’s proposed base at the moon’s south pole is called the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). Its roadmap was unveiled in 2021, but China revealed further information earlier this month. Five super-heavy-lift rockets are to help establish the first phase of the ILRS from 2030-35, after which it will expand through till 2050. Chinese state media said the extended station will be a “comprehensive lunar station network that utilizes the lunar orbit station as its central hub and the south pole station as its primary base, and it will include exploration nodes on the lunar equator and the far side of the moon”. Power will come from solar, radioisotope and nuclear generators. To date, 13 countries have signed up to the ILRS project.
However, how will China behave on the moon? It has already shown in Antarctica how it despises international treaties. Specifically, China requested an Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA) around its Kunlun Station on Dome A in 2013. An ASMA is the equivalent of a lunar safety zone, but China’s request was roundly denied under the Antarctica Treaty System (ATS) since there is no threat to or need for deconfliction in this zone. China insisted it needed the ASMA for precautionary reasons, and the situation has devolved into an international stalemate. Since then, Beijing has spitefully obstructed various unrelated decisions by the ATS.
On the moon, China could just as easily spurn international treaties and efforts to deconflict exploration programs, especially since the south pole is the most favoured area for colonization sites. The Outer Space Treaty prevents any country from reserving a territorial claim on the moon, but “safety zones” are the nearest thing to establishing sovereignty there. However, if China were to arrive on the moon first, it could take control of parts of it by establishing its own massive “safety zones” in defiance of treaties or public opinion. Who is to stop it?
Xi certainly has a track record of bullying and disdainfully treating rules and norms. He is ramping up sustained pressure on Taiwan. Since President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration in May, the number of Chinese air defence identification zone (ADIZ) or Taiwan Strait centerline incursions has risen from an average of 7.5 to 18.7 per day. Year on year they are up 73%, and this year’s cumulative total of incursions already exceeds that of 2023. By the end of August, the PLA had intruded 1,986 times, compared to 1,703 for the whole of last year.
It is not just Taiwan that China is intimidating. On 26 August, a PLA Y-9 electronic intelligence aircraft violated Japanese airspace over the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea. This appeared to be the first time a Chinese military aircraft had violated Japanese airspace since World War II. With Tokyo supportive of Taiwan, China is increasingly eyeing the possibility of interdicting the Japanese Ryukyu Island chain, which includes Okinawa, critical to both the Japanese and American militaries.
Meanwhile, in the Western Pacific, for the first time a Chinese Type 075 landing helicopter dock ship operated with the aircraft carrier Shandong east of Taiwan during a surge deployment exercise in August. This was the first time these two powerful naval assets had operated together.
Back in the South China Sea, the Philippines noted the presence of 203 Chinese vessels, the most ever recorded, near its own occupied features last week. These were mostly maritime militia vessels (fishing boats acting at the behest of the state), but also coast guard and naval vessels. Some 71 boats were swarming Sabina Shoal alone, a site of tension between the Philippines and China. Malaysia’s government has been trying to play down Chinese encroachment into its maritime territory in the South China Sea.
Recently, the Chinese research ship Ke Xue San Hao was conducting an illegal survey of Chinese waters at Ardasier Bank within Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone, and before that three coast guard vessels were loitering.
As can be seen from this snapshot of recent nefarious Chinese activity, Beijing does not mind intimidating other nations in order to gain advantage.
Unfortunately, China also nominated space as a new domain of warfare in 2015, and it is boldly staking its claim in this celestial sphere. The US Space Force explained, “China’s rapidly growing space program – second only to the US in number of operational satellites – is a source of national pride and key to President Xi’s ‘China Dream’ to establish a powerful and prosperous nation. Beijing expects space to play an important role in future conflicts by enabling long-range precision strikes and by denying other militaries the use of space-based information systems.”
Last year, China conducted 66 successful space launches, placing 217 payloads into orbit. More than half – 114 payloads to be exact – were for satellites capable of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). China now has 470+ ISR-capable satellites with optical, multispectral, radar and radio frequency sensors that can detect American and others’ military assets. One of the most significant of these is the Yaogan-41 remote sensing satellite launched in December 2023. It allows China to persistently monitor American and allied forces in the region.
According to the US military, since the end of 2015, China’s on-orbit presence has grown by approximately 550%. Quantitatively this is more than 800 satellites and, indeed, as of March 2024, China had more than 950 satellites in orbit. Furthermore, Beijing’s improving space-based capabilities can combine with the PLA’s growing arsenal of long-range weapons to enable long-range precision strikes against US and allied forces.
China is even successfully utilizing reusable spaceplanes. Three launches have occurred, the first lasting two days and the second more than nine months, and both released unidentified objects. The third spaceplane launched in December 2023 and it remains in orbit today.
The US Space Force further warned: “Intelligence suggests the PLA likely sees counter-space operations as a means to deter and counter US military intervention in a regional conflict.
Moreover, PLA academics stress the necessity of ‘destroying, damaging and interfering with the enemy’s reconnaissance…and communications satellites’ to ‘blind and deafen the enemy’.”
Chinese intentions were made manifest in 2007 when it employed a direct-ascent antisatellite (ASAT) missile to destroy a defunct weather satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO). This created more than 2,700 pieces of trackable debris that remain an orbital hazard. The USA claimed, “That missile evolved into an operational ground-based system intended to target LEO satellites. The PLA actively trains on this system today.”
The Pentagon assessed that China “likely intends to field ASAT weapons capable of destroying satellites up to geostationary equatorial orbit (GEO) at 36,000km. In 2013, China launched a ballistic object which peaked at 30,000km, suggesting it may already have a basic ASAT capability against higher orbits.”
Addressing China’s counter-space capabilities, Dr. Davis of ASPI said: “What you’re seeing is that, while the Chinese are developing this sort of direct-ascent, kinetic-kill ASATs, the favored capability for them will be soft-kill systems that are either co-orbital or ground-based, because they can deliver reversible, scalable effects, and they also don’t create clouds of space debris.”
He added: “What they’re demonstrating, perfecting, is the technological means to do these sorts of attacks in a crisis leading up to war, to exploit the gray-zone attack using, for example, a dual-role commercial satellite that has an anti-satellite capability.” In fact, Beijing is developing satellite “inspection and repair systems” that could serve as weapons. In January 2022, for instance, the Shijian-21 satellite moved a derelict BeiDou navigation satellite to a graveyard orbit above GEO. “This technology could be used in future systems to grapple other satellites.”
Dr. David Stupples, professor of Electronic & Radio Engineering at City University of London, told ANI that, while the ASAT threat is “very serious”, any attack would lead to fratricide due to American retaliation. “But what China has then said is, okay, you can do all of that, but we will flood space with our signals intelligence satellites and our reconnaissance satellites, etc. and, therefore, we’ll make it very difficult to do that.”
Further evidence of nefarious Chinese intentions is seen in SJ- and TJS-series experimental satellites observed conducting unusual, large and rapid manoeuvres in GEO.
The USA believes these are “tactics which could have a number of different military applications”. Additionally, the PLA owns multiple ground-based laser weapons able to disrupt, degrade or damage satellite sensors. “By the mid-to-late 2020s, they could have higher-power systems able to damage satellite structures.”
Dr. Stupples commented: “They do have lasers powerful enough at the moment probably to destroy a satellite in LEO. But they’re also developing satellite-killer satellites which will go alongside another satellite and then aim a laser at the solar panels or antennas … I don’t know as yet whether they’ve launched any, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had, because they would be testing it against their own satellites.”
PLA exercises routinely incorporate jammers against space-based communications, radars and navigation systems like GPS. There are also indications China may be developing jammers able to target satellite communications over a range of frequencies, including the US military’s protected extremely-high-frequency systems.
Another achievement was China’s July 2021 fractional orbital launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a hypersonic glide vehicle. This was a world-first, and it marked the longest flight of any PLA land attack weapon ever. In 100+ minutes, it flew around 40,000km.
Dr Davis warned: “We should be very concerned, because the Chinese are clearly developing a world-class military space capability that includes both space support and counter-space. And I think that all the good intentions and flowery language of arms control and regulatory reform aside, the Chinese will use counter-space capabilities prior to or at the outset of the next war. We should expect space to be contested, and ultimately a warfighting domain, where the Chinese will seek to deny us access to critical space support.”
The US Space Force sounded the same alarm bells: “China is the pacing challenge and is rapidly improving its space capabilities to track and target US military forces.” (ANI)
The ATC judge Amjad Ali Shah heard the plea and approved his judicial remand in New Town police station and seven other cases…reports Asian Lite News
Pakistan’s anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday sent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder and the coutnry’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, on a 14-day judicial remand in a New Town police station case, ARY News reported.
Imran Khan is currently in Adiala Jail after being held in New Town PS case after he was bailed in Toshakhana case, as per ARY News.
The ATC judge Amjad Ali Shah heard the plea and approved his judicial remand in New Town police station and seven other cases, as per ARY News.
The development came after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder was arrested in seven more cases related to vandalism.
The political committee of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) issued a statement on Sunday following an important meeting, urging full access to party founder Imran Khan due to serious concerns over his health and safety, ARY News reported.
The committee stated that Imran Khan’s health had become a significant concern, with growing public anxiety surrounding his condition. It called for the immediate restoration of access to Khan’s family, legal team, and party officials to ensure transparency and accountability in his treatment.
The statement also urged both the federal and Punjab governments, along with prison authorities, to provide clear and frequent updates on Khan’s health status.
Further, ARY News reported that the committee appealed to the judiciary to protect Imran Khan’s fundamental rights and ensure robust security measures are in place. It issued a stern warning, holding the Prime Minister, Punjab Chief Minister, and relevant state institutions accountable for any lapses in ensuring Khan’s safety.
Earlier, authorities from Adiala Jail reassured the public that Imran Khan was in good health. This clarification followed reports suggesting Khan might be moved to another location.
Khan is currently being held in a cell under the jurisdiction of the New Town Police Station, ARY News reported, citing sources. He remains on physical remand until December 2 in connection with a case linked to the September 28 protest. (ANI)
The approval of the second installment of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) comes with 39 strict conditions…reports Asian Lite news
The Pakistani government has implemented several tough measures, including mandatory asset disclosures by civil servants and their families, to fulfil the conditions required to secure a USD 1.1 billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The Express Tribune reported on Monday.
The approval of the second installment of the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) comes with 39 strict conditions, including asset disclosures by civil servants, the elimination of tax amnesties and exemptions, and the submission of a governance and corruption assessment report, as reported by The Express Tribune.
The IMF has outlined specific benchmarks, such as maintaining foreign exchange reserves equal to three months of import bills, meeting fiscal targets, and adjusting the public finance structure, The Express Tribune reported, citing sources. Other key reforms mandated by the IMF include keeping the difference between the open market and interbank exchange rates within 1.25 percent and ensuring that the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves reach USD 8.65 billion by the end of the fiscal year.
The Ministry of Finance confirmed that the government must meet 22 specific points to qualify for the USD 1.1 billion installment. A key requirement is the deadline of February 2025 for civil servants to disclose their assets, The Express Tribune reported. The IMF also insists that no additional grants be given outside the budget and stresses the importance of fiscal discipline.
The agreement also focuses on reducing public sector liabilities, with a cap on outstanding government guarantees set at PKR 5.6 trillion. The IMF further mandates limiting power sector arrears to PKR 417 billion and managing tax refund backlogs to a maximum of PKR 24 billion as part of the government’s reform plan.
During a briefing to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb acknowledged the macroeconomic stability achieved in the past 14 months but emphasized the need to reduce the influence of intermediaries in addressing inflation. He also noted that the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) was developing strategies to review food prices monthly.
The minister stressed that the current IMF loan agreement would serve as Pakistan’s final message to the international community, urging urgent reforms in taxation, energy, and population control. He also raised concerns about climate change, child stunting, and the increasing number of out-of-school children.
Aurangzeb mentioned at the end that Pakistan was working on a 10-year partnership framework with the World Bank, aimed at strengthening the country’s economic stability, and highlighted that improvements in the economy had already led to positive trends in the stock market. (ANI)
Leading a delegation of more than 87 members, Nepali premier Oli left for Beijing with all eyeing on possible agreements to be signed in the Chinese capital….reports Asian Lite News
Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Monday embarked on a five-day official visit to China as Beijing kept mum on revised proposal of BRI pact floated by the Himalayan Nation.
Leading a delegation of more than 87 members, Nepali premier Oli left for Beijing with all eyeing on possible agreements to be signed in the Chinese capital.
Oli also the chairman of CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist) before heading out for China had held discussion with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and senior party officials about new text of the “BRI framework for cooperation.”
The proposal was prepared by a four-member joint taskforce formed by both the parties.
Taskforce renamed the “BRI implementation plan” to “Framework for cooperation.” After approval from the two senior leaders last week, the foreign ministry had sent the text to the Chinese Embassy on Saturday itself for Beijing’s consideration.
The visit of Nepali Prime Minister, scheduled from December 2-5 comes at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. During his four days’ visit to China, Oli also is set to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and hold bilateral talks with Premier Li Keqiang.
He will also engage with senior leaders of the Chinese Communist Party during his visit.
Oli also will make a keynote address by Prime Minister Oli at Peking University.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, confirmed the details of the visit, stating, “Nepal’s Prime Minister Oli will pay an official visit to China from December 2 to 5 at the invitation of Premier Li Keqiang of the State Council.”
“The entourage of the Prime Minister will comprise Arzu Rana Deuba, Minister for Foreign Affairs; Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister; Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Economic and Development Advisor to the Prime Minister; Members of the Parliament; high-ranking government officials; representatives of private sector; and media persons,” the release stated.
It will be the first visit to foreign nation since Oli came to power on July this year. (ANI)
The station aims to conduct continuous, long-term observations of atmospheric components, offering crucial data on their concentration changes…reports Asian Lite News
China has inaugurated its first overseas atmospheric monitoring station in Antarctica, marking a significant step in strengthening its presence in the resource-rich, icy continent. The Zhongshan National Atmospheric Background Station, situated in the Larsemann Hills of East Antarctica, began operations on Sunday, as announced by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).
The station aims to conduct continuous, long-term observations of atmospheric components, offering crucial data on their concentration changes. According to the CMA, the findings will provide a reliable representation of the region’s atmospheric composition and characteristics, contributing to global efforts to address climate change. The initiative highlights China’s growing scientific and strategic interests in the polar regions.
Ding Minghu, from the Institute of Global Change and Polar Meteorology at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, underscored the importance of polar regions as “amplifiers” of global climate change. He noted that the station’s unique geographical location would provide valuable insights into the environmental impacts of human activities.
This station is part of China’s broader expansion in polar research, which includes five operational research stations in Antarctica and two in the Arctic. Earlier this year, China activated its fifth Antarctic research station, a sprawling facility capable of supporting 80 expedition members during summers and 30 in winters.
Globally, there are 70 permanent research stations in Antarctica, operated by 29 countries. The United States has six, Australia three, and India operates two active stations – Maitri and Bharti.
China joined the Antarctic Treaty in 1983, committing to preserving the continent as a natural reserve while prohibiting commercial resource extraction. Its ongoing research initiatives, including monitoring Antarctic krill populations, aim to protect the continent’s fragile marine ecosystems and underline its growing scientific footprint in polar exploration.
