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Antarctica

Antarctica
Antarctica
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Antarctica. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has come under increasing pressure to fill the State Department’s vacant post for Arctic affairs to help curb China and Russia’s influence in the region. Photo: Xinhua
US-China relations

Senior Democrat urges Rubio to fill Arctic post and halt rise of China, Russia

In a letter, Raja Krishnamoorthi asks US Secretary of State to restore key US role in ‘one of the world’s most strategically vital regions’.

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Aviation accidents

Chinese families ‘hope truth will come out’ when search for flight MH370 resumes

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China society

Opinion | Elite success stories are cold comfort for disillusioned young workers

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Trending in China

Overworked staff angry at China education tycoon’s anniversary letter from Antarctica

Founder of company waxes lyrical about the survival qualities of penguins, sparking sarcastic responses from staff, online observers.

Chinese tycoon and founder of the New Oriental education group, Yu Minhong, has sparked outrage among his hard-pressed employees after he sent an internal letter from Antarctica on the company’s 32nd anniversary. Photo: Shutterstock/RedNote
US-China relations

From reusable rockets to deep-sea dives: how China closes tech gap on the West

China sees outer space and the polar regions as ‘strategic new frontiers’ vital to its future security – and is investing accordingly.

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China's military weapons

Can the Fujian aircraft carrier catapult the PLA Navy deep into the Pacific?

The vessel will be a frequent visitor to the high seas but some observers say there is still a big gap with the US.

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Science

China crosses US second island chain with deep-sea cobalt mining rover

Chinese scientists test robotic miner built to harvest valuable metals from the ocean’s floor.

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The rover is powered by four independently driven tracks, each capable of adjusting its height autonomously. Photo: National Engineering Research Centre for Metal Mining
Climate change

It was once the largest iceberg in the world. Now, it’s landed in hot water

A23a is drifting in waters where the temperature is well above freezing, and is ‘rapidly breaking up’ into several ‘very large chunks’.

China technology

China expands frontiers in space, deep sea, poles amid fierce geopolitical race

From deep in the Arctic Ocean to outer space and cyberspace, Beijing’s focus on technological advancements is reshaping the global strategic balance.

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Science

Biologists find array of deep-sea survival mechanisms in Ring of Fire creatures

Scientists from Australia and Japan studying three trenches find ‘organisms have adapted strategies to filter things out of the waters’.

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The snailfish captured with a camera 7,500-8,200 metres deep in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. Photo: uwa.edu.au
Disease

What killed hundreds of seals? Bird flu spread raises fears, questions

The disease worries governments and poultry businesses due to the impact on birds, potential trade restrictions, and the risk of a pandemic.

A specialist in Germany wearing a protective suit disposes of a crane believed to have died from a highly contagious bird flu strain. Photo: Reuters
Climate change

Global warming is crossing dangerous thresholds sooner, scientists warn

Climate change is accelerating risks to the Amazon, as warm water coral reefs experience unstoppable dieback.

Arctic

China marks largest Arctic foray with first manned deep dive below polar ice

Expedition also sees world’s first coordinated crewed-uncrewed submersible operation, with team bringing back rich haul of samples and data.

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Malaysia

Malaysia tightens security at Petronas’ Bintulu LNG hub to investigate ‘threat’

Authorities did not specify the nature of the threat to the complex, which is the world’s largest single-site LNG production facility.

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An aerial view of the Petronas liquefied natural gas terminal at Bintulu in Sarawak — the world’s largest single-site LNG complex and a linchpin of Malaysia’s energy exports. Photo: Ahmad Afif Isa (CC BY 2.0)
Americas and the Caribbean

US says Venezuelan aircraft flew over navy vessel in international waters

Pentagon calls the incident ‘highly provocative’ and warns Venezuela not to interfere with US counter-narcotics operations.

The USS Sampson departing Panama on Tuesday. The US has sent several ships carrying some 4,000 sailors and Marines to the Caribbean. Photo: EPA
Climate change

One of Earth’s biggest icebergs is breaking up, could disappear in weeks

‘Megaberg’ known as A23a, which once weighed nearly a trillion tonnes and was twice the size of Greater London, is melting in the South Atlantic.

Nato

Norway to buy UK-made frigates to monitor Russian submarines

A key mission for the frigates will be to monitor Russian submarines, whose base is in the Arctic bordering Norway.

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China-UK relations

Beijing sends warning on Taiwan across bow of UK-Japan defence ties

The HMS Prince of Wales becomes the first foreign aircraft carrier to make a port call in Tokyo.

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Royal Navy sailors disembark from Britain’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier upon arrival in Tokyo on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
China’s military drills

Russian and Chinese submarines join forces in Pacific patrol first

Mission and choice of vessels reflect the deepening military coordination between the armed forces of the two countries.

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Taiwan

China challenges US freedom of navigation operations as having ‘no legal basis’

Beijing accuses Washington of ‘double standards’ in first report of its kind criticising its activities in South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

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US-China relations

Why is the US uneasy as China’s 5-strong icebreaker fleet arrives in the Arctic?

The US coastguard has accused some of the vessels of straying too close to the Alaskan coast, a claim rebutted by a Beijing-based think tank.

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China’s Xue Long 2 icebreaker is monitored by US authorities as it heads towards the Arctic Ocean. Photo: US Coast Guard
Asean

Opinion | As the US and China compete, Asean could play arbiter

The new cold war could promote Asean’s autonomy by creating space for choice, but only so long as the bloc exhibits strategic coherence.

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The Asean flag is placed alongside the flags of its member countries ahead of the Asean foreign ministers’ retreat in Langkawi, Malaysia, on January 17. Photo: Reuters
Americas and the Caribbean

There she blows: Erin is Atlantic’s first hurricane this season

The Category 5 hurricane is expected to bring strong winds, floods and landslides to islands in the Caribbean.

South China Sea

China tells US to rein in frontline forces after South China Sea ‘infringement’

Beijing protests over USS Higgins’ presence near Scarborough Shoal while American navy says its presence is lawful.

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China-Philippines relations

‘Playing with fire’: Beijing warns Manila after Marcos makes Taiwan remarks

Philippine president’s contention that his country would ‘have to get involved’ in US-China confrontation prompts strong response.

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President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jnr with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
US-China relations

Opinion | The US shouldn’t disrespect China’s right to the high seas

Washington’s recent confrontation of a Chinese research icebreaker reflects gaps in its application of international maritime law.

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Illustration: Stephen Case
Russia

Russian volcano erupts after 475 years amid magnitude-8.8 quake chaos

The towering plume of ash from the Krasheninnikov volcano, which last erupted in 1550, may disrupt flights, the emergency ministry says.

South China Sea

China’s coastguard tows Philippine ship after tense maritime clash in new video

Beijing uses strongest language yet to describe South China Sea confrontations with Manila in footage aired by CCTV.

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