Author: News Desk

People’s discontent does not matter much for the Communist government of China as it is in the habit of using brute state power to suppress people’s demonstrations and protests in the most brazen and heartless manner. But if the present people’s protests against “Zero-Covid Policy” are any indication, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) can no more remain indifferent to people’s democratic aspirations. People in China are increasingly getting wary, fed-up and frustrated by Chinese government’s “Zero-Covid” strategy leading to tightening of pandemic restrictions every now and then, at the slightest inkling of the spread of the virus. Around mid-May this year, graduate students at Peking University staged the rare, but peaceful protest over the school’s decision to erect a sheet – metal wall t

Beijing, China:The ‘Monterey Talks’ an annual high-level bilateral defence dialogue is considered to be the most important strategic collaboration between the two countries. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the senior security officials said that the US is expected to focus on upgrades to existing equipment to enhance immediate combat capabilities as a response to uncertainties in the cross-strait situation, reported Taipei Times. According to the officials, the US considers any Chinese military action in the first island chain to fall within its “weapons engagement zone,” they said. The US Indo-Pacific Command’s engagement is “closer than people think,” with interactions shifting from “transactional” to “collaborative,” the official said. The major part of this up

The long-awaited summit in Washington last month between US President Joe Biden and eight Southeast Asian leaders has placed China on high alert. Despite the former's lacklustre economic outputs, the US obtained ASEAN's backing for the elevation of its diplomatic status to "comprehensive strategic partnership." China, on the other hand, has long suffered from a lack of trust among Southeast Asians. Despite its enormous contribution to the regional economy, China was found to be the least trusted country in the area in a recent study of Southeast Asian elites conducted by Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. According to the same study, the United States is the second-most trusted partner, after only Japan. Why doesn't China elicit the same level of trust if it can deliver what t...

          Several countries including the US, UK, Canada and the Netherlands have accused China of committing genocide defined by international convention as the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical or religious group”.  The forcible interning of Uyghurs of Xinjiang in the so called “re-education camps” and policies like “shoot-to-kill” those who dissent or escape along with forced sterilization of Uyghus women to suppress the population and separate children from the family all tantamount to genocide.  The leading human rights groups Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have accused China of crimes against humanity.            China’s search for a “national id

Seoul, South Korea:The Chinese J-16 fighter jet ‘chaffed’ Australian P-8 plane near the South China Sea, while it was on a routine surveillance mission in international airspace last month before releasing flares and chaff that entered at least one of the Australian aircraft’s engines, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said. Military planes usually release chaff — typically tiny strips of aluminum or zinc — as a deliberate countermeasure to confuse missiles, but can also use it to sabotage pursuing aircraft. In a statement, Australia’s Defense Ministry described the encounter as “a dangerous manoeuvre which posed a safety threat to the P-8 aircraft and its crew.” “The J-16 aircraft flew very close to the side of the P-8 … in flying close to the side, it released flares,”

China intends to draw the 10 Pacific nations into its orb of influence to project its power over the South Pacific. Undeterred by the rejection of its trade and security deal by these countries in May end, the Chinese government has revealed a medium-term, multi-pronged initiative to pummel the countries with ‘goodies’ to soften them enough to get what it wants. Foreign Minister Wang Yi was on a tour of the 10 Pacific countries, familiarising them with his government’s format of a deal that was short-circuited by concerns that it could “threaten regional stability”. Wang was not agitated the deal fell through. Perhaps he never expected the countries to take the bite at the very first meeting. Like with all things, China has a long-rope, long-time policy to achieve its goals with per

 China is widely considered to be one of the most malicious and active state cyber actors involved in spying, hacking for espionage, and gathering data. Western world considers the country to be the biggest cyber threat, ahead of Russia, Iran, and North Korea. A new report by Boston-based cybersecurity firm, Cybereason has unearthed a malicious campaign — dubbed OperationCuckooBees- exfiltrating hundreds of gigabytes of intellectual property and sensitive data, including blueprints, diagrams, formulas, and manufacturing-related proprietary data from multiple intrusions, spanning technology and manufacturing companies in North America, Europe, and Asia. While a yearslong malicious cyber operation spearheaded by the notorious Chinese state actor, APT 41, has siphoned off

Islam as a religion places great emphasis on virtues. Using these virtues as guiding force, the religion promotes some noble practices to advance humanity and common welfare. One such practice is Zakat which is considered to be one of the pillars of Islam. It is a form of obligatory charity that has the potential to ease the suffering of millions. Zakat, with its literal meaning being ‘to cleanse’, is believed to purify and bless the remainder of one’s wealth. Being the most populous Muslim-majority country, Indonesia is a shining enabler of these virtues including Zakat. However, activities of illegal migrants from Pakistan are proving to be challenge for the country. In the recent months, several instances of Pakistani immigrants defaming Islam in the name of collecting Zakat have be

Japan appears to be gearing up for armed conflict in the East China sea as the prospects of the invasion of Taiwan are becoming increasingly clear. After signing a security pact with the Solomon Islands, China has increased its military activities in the Pacific region. Recently, eight Chinese naval ships sailed through Japan’s Okinawa prefecture, making Tokyo nervous. The fleet had the aircraft carrier Liaoning, from where warplanes were spotted taking off and landing. Japan has started taking measures to build its strength as the Taiwan conflict flare-up will lead to its active involvement. With its presence in the Solomon Islands, Chinese forces now can better observe the maritime activities of rivals especially the US and Australia. China wooed the Solomon Islands and forced it

New Delhi: One of the great teachers of all times is the Buddha Shakyamuni who was born as prince Siddhartha in the kingdom of Magadha (now India) and taught the 8,4000 teachings to unravel the mind's true nature to help alleviate the suffering of the sentient beings through the rigorous practice of learning, reflection, and meditation. Contemporary to Buddhism, other Indian schools of thought like Vaishesika, Nyaya, Samkhya, Yoga, Purva Mimansa, Vedanta, Carvaka, Jainism, etc. flourished making the Indian sub-continent a great centre for learning for subjects like Philosophy, Mathematics, Cosmology, Astrology, Metaphysics, Logic, Art, Poetry, etc. In Dhammapada, the Buddha says: "The Mind is the chief and precedes all phenomena." And further the Buddhist philosopher Vasubandu (4th ...