BEIJING: In 2023, China’s commitment to national fitness saw remarkable growth brimming with energy and potential. This surge has transformed sports into a key part of people’s daily lives, resonating with the country’s efforts to be a sporting powerhouse. GRASSROOTS SPORTS THRIVE China’s Village Super League, dubbed “Cun Chao” by Chinese netizens, has exemplified the country’s development in grassroots sports …

XICHANG: China on Tuesday sent two new satellites for the BeiDou-3 Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) into space successfully from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The two satellites, the 57th and 58th satellites of the BeiDou system, were launched at 11:26 a.m. (Beijing Time) by a Long March-3B carrier rocket and the Yuanzheng-1 (Expedition-1) upper stage …

TOKYO: The Japanese government last week adopted a draft budget of 112.07 trillion yen (about 787 billion U.S. dollars) for fiscal year 2024, with defense spending hitting an all-time high and increasing for the 12th consecutive year. In another controversial move, the government revised Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and its implementation guidelines without any debate …

ISMAEL KHIL, Afghanistan: Years later, Afghan villagers still vividly remember the operations and bombardments conducted by the U.S. troops during their 20-year presence in the war-torn country. Sayed Aziz, a resident of eastern Wardak province, stays in a mud house in the ruined Ismael Khil village. He whispered with sorrow that one U.S. aerial strike had killed 10 people including …

Pakistan-China Institute hosted an 11-member delegation of University of Gwadar students. The visit unfolded under the umbrella of the Balochistan Youth Engagement Program. This multifaceted endeavor, strategically crafted to deepen bilateral relations between Pakistan and China, unveiled a comprehensive agenda aimed at enriching the understanding and collaboration between Pakistan and China. The primary focus was to empower the vibrant youth …

The caretaker Sindh government on Tuesday announced a public holiday on December 27 (tomorrow) on account of the 16th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (Retd) Maqbool Baqar’s spokesperson made the announcement, declaring a public holiday across the province tomorrow. “The Government of Sindh has been pleased to declare 27th December, 2023 (Wednesday) …

PESHAWAR: In a major legal victory for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the Peshawar High Court (PHC) suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) order, restoring the party’s iconic election symbol “bat” till a final decision on the petition. While announcing a verdict reserved on PTI’s petition challenging the Election Commission’s order declaring the intra-party polls as “illegal”, the court stated …

URUMQI: Living with animals and Mother Nature for seven years, Ayimurat Dawuletbek developed an interest in birds and a special skill of recognizing different species through their chirps. After careful observation, he can now name more than 80 kinds of birds. Ayimurat Dawuletbek is a ranger at the Ulunggur Lake National Wetland Park in Fuhai County of Altay Prefecture in …

KINSHASA: At least 20 people were killed in a landslide caused by heavy rains Sunday in the province of South Kivu, located in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), local media reported Monday, citing local sources. According to Promesse Mazambi, a local civil society coordinator, at least 20 deaths have been reported in the village of Kalingi, in the …

BEIJING: The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Tuesday morning held a symposium at the Great Hall of the People to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Mao Zedong. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered an important speech at the symposium. Xi …

BEIJING: Tesla has announced that its new mega factory project in Shanghai was officially launched and scheduled to begin production within the next year, following the establishment of its Shanghai Gigafactory in 2019, which is the first wholly foreign-owned vehicle manufacturing project in China and Tesla’s first Gigafactory outside the United States. The new project is one of the recent …

TUNIS: Exchanges and dialogues on civilizations between China and Tunisia will promote the two countries’ common development and prosperity, the president of the Chinese Association for International Understanding (CAFIU) Ji Bingxuan said on Monday. He made the remarks at a Chinese-Tunisian cultural and civilizations exchange conference jointly held here in the Tunisian capital by CAFIU and the Tunisian National Heritage …

YANGJIANG, Guangdong: China on Tuesday successfully launched a Long March-11 carrier rocket into space, sending three satellites into planned orbit. The Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center launched the rocket from waters off the coast of Yangjiang, south China’s Guangdong Province, at 6:39 a.m. (Beijing Time). The satellites, Shiyan-24C, will be mainly used for space science and technology experiments. It was the …

LOS ANGELES: A new coronavirus subvariant JN.1 is spreading fast in the United States, and is now accounting for nearly half of the latest COVID-19 cases in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). JN.1 is currently the fastest growing variant and the dominant one in the country. It is responsible for over 44 …

NEW DELHI: Flight operations in the Indian capital were hit Monday as the city experienced low visibility in foggy weather, officials said. Reports said eight flights to Delhi were diverted in the morning, with seven diverted to Jaipur and one to Ahmedabad. The Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi has initiated an anti-fog landing system. According to the India Meteorological …

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia attracted 498,250 Chinese visitors during the first 11 months of 2023, up 449 percent from only 90,648 in the same period last year, said a Ministry of Tourism’s report released on Monday. The number accounted for 10.1 percent of a total of 4.91 million international tourist arrivals to the Southeast Asian country during the January-November period this …

JAKARTA: The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR), the first HSR in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, has handled over 1 million passenger trips since its official operation on Oct. 17, China State Railway Group Co. said on Monday. With the yearend approaching, Halim Station in Jakarta has become increasingly crowded with passengers taking the high-speed train, locally known as “Whoosh,” for their …

BEIJING: Once a prized product and signature cultural symbol of ancient China in global trade, China’s tea is seeking to refresh and recapture the world with a modern look and flavor. TAPPING OVERSEAS PALATES In early December, HEYTEA, a leading brand of Chinese new-style tea, opened its first U.S. store on Broadway, New York, selling over 2,500 cups of new-style …

BEIJING: The Chinese government on Monday allocated an additional 400 million yuan (about 56.33 million U.S. dollars) to support disaster-relief efforts in the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake jolted the regions in northwestern China. According to the finance ministry, the funds will be used primarily for immediate relief and relocation of quake victims, subsidies for family …

KIGALI: There is a new sight on the streets of Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda: new electric vehicles whizzing among old gasoline-powered ones. The Kigali city authorities, in partnership with BasiGo, a Kenyan-based company, launched the pilot electric buses in public transport earlier this month, following a similar trial on minibuses in the city. When fully charged, the bus …

December 18, 2023 marks the 45th anniversary of the beginning of China’s reform and opening-up. Historically, China was the first socialist country to embark on the path of numerous structural reforms and opening-up. It is good omen that China is still committed to reform and opening-up which would be good for the quick recovery of the world economy. The Chinese …

BEIJING: Türkiye and China should further enhance cooperation and investment in technology, energy and tourism, given the vast market potential, said a Turkish official. Chinese companies have increased investment in Türkiye in areas including services, infrastructure and logistics, Ahmet Burak Daglioglu, president of the Investment Office of the Turkish Presidency, told Xinhua during his visit to Beijing. During the visit, …

BEIJING: The book “Xi Jinping on the Belt and Road Initiative (2023 Edition)” has been published by the Central Party Literature Press. The book includes 78 important discourses on Belt and Road cooperation by Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, from September 2013 to November 2023. It was compiled by the Institute of Party …

KUNMING: Construction of a highway service zone in southwest China’s Yunnan Province has been suspended after paleontological fossils were discovered at the site. The fossils were discovered at the construction site of a service area in the Malong District of the city of Qujing, when a fossil collector revealed in late November that rubble at this site possibly contained fossils …

GAZA/RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed on Sunday his hope that the coming Christmas day would be a date for an end of conflicts in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory. “None of our people were spared from this offensive, the attempts at forced displacement, and the destruction of thousands of homes,” Abbas said in a speech …

CANBERRA: Australian experts have called for working with China and neighbors in the Asia-Pacific to promote sustainable development and a digital economy. In interviews with Xinhua, experts from top Australian universities praised China’s world-leading green sustainable development, saying Australia could benefit from collaborations in the area. Warwick Powell, adjunct professor at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), told Xinhua that …

ROME: Inter Milan and Juventus approached Christmas with victories over Lecce and Frosinone respectively on Saturday. Having suffered an exit in midweek’s Coppa Italia after a 2-1 defeat to Bologna, Inter had to do without Lautaro Martinez, and Marko Arnautovic paired up with Marcus Thuram in front. Yann Aurel Bisseck had the chance to put Inter ahead in the 41st …

SHANGHAI: China’s first domestically-built large cruise ship, the “Adora Magic City,” departed from a port in Shanghai on Sunday, starting its trial operation. Carrying invited guests and nearly 1,300 crew members from around the world, the ship set off after noontime Sunday from the Shanghai Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal and is expected to return to the terminal on Monday. Another …

BEIJING: China’s shipments of wearable devices went up 7.5 percent year on year to reach 34.7 million units in the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, according to an industry report published by global market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). In the July-September period, China shipped 19.24 million units of ear-worn devices, an expansion of 9.8 percent year on year, …

BEIJING: The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has issued a type certificate to the country’s independently-developed AS700 civil manned airship, according to the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). AVIC Special Vehicle Research Institute developed the AS700 civil airship in compliance with the CAAC airworthiness regulations and it also has independent property rights over this manned airship, said AVIC, …

WUHAN: Three crystallized dinosaur egg fossils were discovered in central China’s Hubei Province, offering evidence for the study of dinosaur egg-laying processes and the paleoenvironment, according to a local nature reserve. These crystallized dinosaur egg fossils were found in a nest containing 31 dinosaur egg fossils at Qinglong Mountain in Shiyan City during the process of restoration and management of …

URUMQI, China: Winter may be cold, but winter sports are hot in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Despite piercing wind and freezing weather, Xinjiang students wear scarves, hats, and gloves, and enjoy a bunch of sports activities in their PE classes. ICE SKATING ON PLAYGROUND “After it snowed last week, our teachers first compacted the snow, then a sprinkler …

BEIJING: When you open some of the most popular Chinese lifestyle-sharing apps such as Xiaohongshu or Weibo, it is not uncommon to see many influencers proudly parading their lifestyles and sharing their daily recipes, most of which are diet-oriented, sugar-free or non-fat. Along with the trendy healthy lifestyle, the scale of the Chinese light food market exceeded 100 billion yuan …

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday highlighted the urgent need to resume political dialogue to settle the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In a phone conversation, Putin informed Abbas of the steps taken by the Russian side to help de-escalate the conflict and ensure the uninterrupted supply of humanitarian aid to those in need, the Kremlin said …

MINSK: The Belarusian edition of the first volume of “Xi Jinping: The Governance of China” has been launched in Minsk. Guests at the launch ceremony said that the book helps its readers comprehend the principles of the Communist Party of China in governing the country in the new era, and understand the modern civilization of the Chinese nation as well …

BEIJING: In Fenghuang Township, nestled in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, vast expanses of sugarcane fields stretch to the horizon, infusing the air with the sweet fragrance and rhythmic hum of harvesters at work. This sugarcane base in the National Modern Agricultural Industrial Park in Guangxi received a special visitor in mid-December: President Xi Jinping, who was on an …

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is gearing up for the launch of a comprehensive T10 League and is currently exploring the possibility of hosting six exhibition matches in Rawalpindi next month. These matches are set to feature both men’s and women’s teams, marking a significant step towards promoting gender equality in the sport. Exploring a global perspective, Middlesex, the renowned …

Directorate General of Customs Valuation, Karachi has revised customs values on the import of Cashew Nuts/Kaju from Vietnam. The directorate issued a new valuation ruling (1836 of 2023) on Friday for an accurate assessment of duties and taxes on the import of Cashew Nuts. Earlier, the Customs values of Cashew Nuts were determined under Section 25A of the Customs Act, …

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday intervened in the arrest of Baloch protesters, directing the Inspector General (IG) Islamabad to release Baloch women and children while allowing the protesters to express their grievances peacefully. Chief Justice Aamir Farooq presided over the hearing of a petition challenging the arrests, expressing dissatisfaction with the police inspector’s initial court appearance. IG Islamabad …

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has approved the bail of former PTI chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the cipher case. The apex court accepted the PTI leaders’ petition against the high court verdict in the case. They have been granted bail in exchange for bail bonds of Rs1 million each. A three-member bench of the …