China‘s first mission to Mars is set to launch in July or August as the country sprints to become a major space power in the global race, the programme director has revealed. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft will be carried by a Long March-5 rocket this summer and is expected to reach the red planet in February, … Read more
The vast majority of the tens of thousands of patients in the UK who have tested positive for Covid-19 will be counting their lucky stars that they have had only a mild encounter with the deadly virus — but they may not be able to relax just yet. There is growing evidence from China, where … Read more
The world’s largest single-aperture radio telescope in China will begin scanning the universe for signs of extra terrestrial life and habitable planets in September The five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope in China set to begin its search for alien life and potentially habitable exoplanets in September The telescope initially went online in January but there was … Read more
China has become used to public confessions on television. But this time the words came from one of the nation’s top officials and had seismic global implications. ‘At first, we assumed the seafood market might have the virus, but now the market is more like a victim,’ said Gao Fu, director of the Centre for … Read more
In my dealings with China over many years, I have learnt one hard fact: they do not play by the same rules as other countries. They play dirty. When I went to Beijing as Transport Minister, I was warned by the Foreign Office not to take my phone or my laptop as it was assumed … Read more
By a majority of 2,878 to one (with six abstentions), China’s parliament this week rubber-stamped a proposal that will change life for the citizens of Hong Kong for ever. The National People’s Congress paved the way for a sweeping new security law — so draconian that it would make even Draco, the ancient Greek legislator … Read more
President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States was terminating its relationship with the World Health Organization as he laid down the gauntlet against China. ‘We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and directing those funds to worldwide and deserving, urgent global public health needs,’ he said during … Read more
Coronavirus was spreading ‘cryptically’ in the US by early February, CDC data reveals A CDC analysis of flu-like illnesses and post-mortem testing for coronavirus found that the first US coronavirus death happened on February 6 The person had not traveled out of the country in the weeks preceding their death, suggesting they caught it in their … Read more
Coronavirus cases that set off Washington’s epidemic did not arrive until three weeks after the first case was confirmed on January 21, study finds A Washington man was identified as the first US coronavirus case on January 21 The US restricted any non-US citizen from traveling into the US from China on February 2 But … Read more
Britain offers passport holders in Hong Kong visa-free travel for up to 12 months after China rubber-stamps controversial national security law British Nationals (Overseas) do not have the automatic right to live or work in the UK, but can currently travel here without a visa for up to six months Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said … Read more