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Trump claims ‘last chance’ for Iran to strike deal in latest warning

US President Donald Trump on Monday said Iran was facing its “last chance” to reach an agreement with Washington to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the five-month-long war. “This is a last chance for them to sign a good document,” Trump said at the Oval Office in the White House. “I want to give them every last chance before decapitation.” He also claimed that negotiations with Tehran are “going on right now” despite Tehran’s insistence that no direct talks were under way. “We are talking,...

August 3, 2026

Industry

Chinese executive filmed taking cash on Colombia metro, South America’s biggest project

Subcontractor accuses China Harbour managers of demanding cash to release payments on Bogota metro project Colombian prosecutors are investigating allegations that executives of a Chinese state-owned contractor building the Bogota metro demanded cash from a local subcontractor in exchange for releasing payments owed for work on the project, according to an investigation published over the weekend by Semana, the country’s leading news magazine. The consortium building the line has denied any wrongdoing, saying the money seen changing hands was a retention payment agreed upon between the two firms in a contractual dispute over the quality of the subcontractor’s work. The allegations centre on a 26-minute video showing the legal representative of a Colombian subcontractor handing over 60 million pesos (US$19,000) in cash to a commercial manager of China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) at the firm’s former offices in Bogota’s Teusaquillo district on April 18. In the footage, the Colombian contractor pulls a dark bag from his suitcase and passes it to the Chinese executive, identified in the criminal complaint only as Yang, telling him in English that each package contained 5 million pesos (US$1,600).

August 3, 2026

Industry

A military base, a displaced people and Trump’s China fears: Burnham’s Chagos test

Britain’s new prime minister’s first challenge may lie in the Indian Ocean where the future of a US-British facility remains unresolved “Some families, like brothers, sisters, were separated,” she said. “Some went to the Seychelles, some to Mauritius … close family, brothers, sister, mother, father, separated … and they never saw each other again.” The entire population of the largest island in the Chagos Archipelago was removed in the late 1960s and early 1970s to make way for one of the most strategically important US-British military bases in the world. “We were always identified as different,” Pompe said, about growing up in the Seychelles. Now based in London, she has become a prominent voice in the Chagossian fight for the right to return. She also opposes the 2025 agreement to transfer sovereignty to Mauritius and allow Britain to retain a 99-year lease on Diego Garcia for billions of dollars.

August 3, 2026

Industry

Could Silicon Valley’s lobbying create ‘mutual suspicion’ between US and China?

American tech giants are trying to tap into lawmakers concerns about China to secure favourable outcomes, some analysts have warned The US tech industry’s increasingly hawkish attitude towards China has caused alarm among some observers who warn it could cause greater mistrust between the two countries. The article said corporate leaders were “selectively” presenting information to tap into Washington’s concerns about China and “maximise” the chances of favourable policy decisions. “The instrumentalisation of China-related issues in government-business interactions will further reinforce US misperceptions about China and intensify strategic mutual suspicion between the two sides,” warned the authors, Tan Yannan, a PhD student in international relations at Renmin University, and Sun Chenghao, a senior fellow of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University. The researchers said an “emerging” generation of American tech leaders had used their Chinese competitors as a “strategic lever” to “proactively shape the policy agenda” in the United States.

August 3, 2026

Industry

Are commercial sea drones a new headache for PLA in South China Sea and Taiwan Strait?

A crewless vessel’s footage of a Chinese warship operating near the Philippines highlights their potential intelligence-gathering role The latest encounter reportedly took place 105km (65 miles) northwest of Luzon, the largest Philippine island, but the exact location was not disclosed. The company did not respond to questions about who commissioned the drone involved in last month’s incident or what mission it was carrying out, but the firm has said previously that it had received more than US$100 million in US government contracts. “The key point isn’t that a Chinese destroyer was observed; it’s that a relatively inexpensive commercial platform was able to do it,” said Ray Powell, director of Stanford University’s SeaLight Foundation. So far, the Philippines has not reacted to the latest incident, while the Chinese foreign ministry has said only that the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s activities complied with international law.

August 3, 2026

Industry

How a Xinjiang weed could reduce China’s reliance on Southeast Asian rubber

Dandelion that oozes milky fluid when root is broken poised to help ease country’s import reliance Chinese scientists have turned a dandelion-like weed into natural rubber, a step that could help cut China’s heavy reliance on imported rubber. But when its root is broken, it oozes a milky fluid that is natural rubber. The weed is known as the rubber dandelion, or Taraxacum kok-saghyz. Last month, researchers in Xinjiang harvested one tonne of dried roots from a 20-mu (about 1.3-hectare) test field and extracted 40kg (88lbs) of natural rubber.

August 3, 2026

Industry

China is working towards 100% renewable power at its Antarctic bases by 2035

A system that uses wind, solar and hydrogen energy already meets more than 60 per cent of demand at Qinling Station Inland, the temperature can plummet below minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 112 degrees Fahrenheit) during winter, while wind speeds of over 100km/h (62mph) – and even over 200km/h – can be experienced for days at a time. Qinling, which opened in 2024, already meets more than 60 per cent of its energy needs through solar, wind and hydrogen power and energy storage batteries. Ultimately, the plan is to use renewables for 100 per cent of energy demand at all of China’s Antarctic research stations by 2035, Sun Hongbin, chief scientist on the country’s polar clean energy programme, told state-run China Natural Resources News in June.

August 3, 2026

Industry

Is China’s climate returning to that of Tang dynasty golden age? Experts warn of a trap

Higher rainfall across arid Ningxia has invited comparison to prosperous Tang dynasty ‘warm period’, but scientists offer a note of caution In China’s arid northwest, state media have been celebrating an increase in much-needed rainfall. The Ningxia Hui autonomous region usually averages about 300mm (about 12 inches) of rain per year, but the annual total has risen in recent years by around 12mm. The rain belt was moving northwards, shifting the 400mm precipitation line – the vital boundary that separates China’s arid grazing lands from its humid, agricultural heartland, the Ningxia Broadcasting News Centre reported last month. This “heavenly fortune” would bring “climate dividends”, the report said, promising that “loess soil will turn green and farming area will expand”. “The warming and greening of northwest China is not accidental but the restart of a millennia-long climate cycle,” the broadcaster reported on social media on July 21.

August 3, 2026

Industry

Is Turkey putting pressure on China in Africa’s infrastructure market?

While Beijing is beating out Western players for major construction projects on the continent, it is not without competition Two years after Kenya’s deal with India’s Adani Group to modernise Jomo Kenyatta International Airport collapsed, the state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has won a US$1.2 billion contract to do just that. The same pattern played out when France’s Vinci lost a major highway deal in Kenya and CRBC took over as developer alongside another Chinese firm. Under the original 30-year concession, the national government would bear all the risk in the deal, raising public cost concerns. These two takeovers underscore China’s deepening infrastructure footprint in Africa. CRBC has been awarded US$9.3 billion worth of Kenyan infrastructure contracts, according to local media. Aly-Khan Satchu, a Nairobi-based analyst on sub-Saharan African geoeconomics, said that China offered a “full suite” package that included financing, construction and often operation. China’s advantage stemmed from flexible financing and lower costs, he explained. “Western companies are simply not competitive,” Satchu said, noting that Western firms had “very elevated” prices due to the risks of doing business in Africa.

August 2, 2026

Industry

China floods: large parts of country remain on alert as Gansu province death toll rises

Heavy rainfall is expected in many provinces over the coming days, with the authorities braced for the possible arrival of Typhoon Dolphin State news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday that the death toll in Gansu’s Weiyuan county had risen from 10 to 25 following flash floods on July 26, which had also injured a further 23 people. The National Commission for Disaster Prevention, Reduction and Relief had asked the provincial government to investigate the incident and improve its emergency response measures, the report added. Meanwhile, as heavy rainfall continued in many areas, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a level 4 emergency flood control response – the lowest level in a four-tier system – for the northeastern province of Heilongjiang on Saturday. Level 4 flood alerts are also in place in many other parts of the country – from Gansu and Shaanxi in the northwest to Sichuan in the southwest, and in the central provinces of Henan and Hubei. A total of 19 rivers in Heilongjiang have flooded, with some water levels exceeding warning thresholds by up to 1.3 metres (4.3 feet), Xinhua reported.

August 2, 2026

Industry

Will Philippine Sea be the main battlefield for PLA carriers in a Taiwan war?

As Chinese forces push into the western Pacific, analysts say that carrier groups could be used to frustrate any intervention For decades, the Philippine Sea has been seen as the gateway through which US and allied forces would sail to Taiwan’s defence in a war with the Chinese mainland. Rather than a gateway, the Philippine Sea could be a critical battleground. Northeast Asia is home to land-based missile networks that could make operating near shore too risky. So, the Philippine Sea would be a “decisive location for carrier operations”, said Michael Bosack, director of the non-profit Parley Policy Initiative. “There, their utility and capabilities can be maximised in shaping the wider maritime battlespace. This supports the establishment of a regional buffer, frustrating foreign maritime forces before they can even enter the fray.” By putting carrier groups in the Philippine Sea, China could not only intercept enemy ships, but also deter potential actors from even initiating the long voyage, he said.

August 2, 2026

Industry

China hopes to banish blackouts as quantum tech puts power grid in superposition

After a successful trial, the cutting-edge devices will be rolled out nationwide to boost the power system’s reliability China plans to expand the application of quantum technologies – including precision sensors and computer simulations – across its power grid to help prevent blackouts. The push follows a successful trial at a substation in Hefei, Anhui province. During the 18-month trial, quantum technology was used to rapidly detect and diagnose equipment defects and faults in the power system, according to a report published on Wednesday by the state-run People’s Daily. Quantum technology harnesses the physics governing individual atoms, in which they exist in multiple states simultaneously until they are measured, a phenomenon known as “superposition”. This can be used to measure, compute and communicate data in a variety of ways. While its applications are only beginning to transition from research labs to the real world, it can offer major advantages, especially in precision, speed and security.

August 1, 2026