China will lead a joint naval exercise with Brics nations in South African waters next week – the bloc’s first such defence cooperation that is likely to raise alarm bells in Washington. The South African National Defence Force on Wednesday said the exercise – dubbed Will for Peace 2026 – would bring together “navies from Brics Plus countries for an intensive programme of joint maritime safety ope...
China will lead a joint naval exercise with Brics nations in South African waters next week – the bloc’s first such defence cooperation that is likely to raise alarm bells in Washington. The South African National Defence Force on Wednesday said the exercise – dubbed Will for Peace 2026 – would bring together “navies from Brics Plus countries for an intensive programme of joint maritime safety operations, interoperability drills and maritime protection serials” from January 9 to 16. It said China would lead the exercise but did not specify which other countries would attend. Media reports have named Russia and Iran as participants, with Indonesia and Ethiopia also likely to take part. Advertisement According to South Africa ’s defence ministry, the joint exercise “reflects the collective commitment of all participating navies to safeguard maritime trade routes, enhance shared operational procedures and deepen cooperation in support of peaceful maritime security initiatives”. The joint drills were previously known as Exercise Mosi and held by China, South Africa and Russia in 2019 and 2023. The latest exercise was originally planned for November 2025 but postponed to avoid clashing with the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg. Xi issues rallying call against protectionism in Brics speech Xi issues rallying call against protectionism in Brics speech Brics – originally comprising the emerging economies of Brazil, China, Russia, India and South Africa – expanded from 2023 to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.
A former policewoman in China is shining on stage as a stand-up comedian, sharing stories that address stereotypes about women in law enforcement. The comic is also using the limelight to teach women how to protect themselves. The 36-year-old uses the nickname “Hotpot” because of her love for the dish and her previous work habit of remaining anonymous. Hotpot on stage dressed in a leather suit, sh...
A former policewoman in China is shining on stage as a stand-up comedian, sharing stories that address stereotypes about women in law enforcement. The comic is also using the limelight to teach women how to protect themselves. The 36-year-old uses the nickname “Hotpot” because of her love for the dish and her previous work habit of remaining anonymous. Hotpot on stage dressed in a leather suit, she combines knowledge with comedy to educate and entertain her audiences. Photo: Weibo From the age of 22 to 34, Hotpot was a border policewoman in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. Advertisement She was born in a village in the province’s Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture and grew up as a left-behind child whose parents migrated to cities for better jobs. Her mother shaved her head for her to look like a boy to prevent her from being bullied. But she was still tormented by boys for looking like neither a boy nor a girl. Hotpot was a police officer for 12 years and won numerous awards while on the force. Photo: Weibo Hotpot said she learned combat skills from monkeys in the village and fought back against boys.
Keir Starmer’s rivals on the left of the Labour Party have long voiced their disquiet about his leadership. Yet at the start of 2026, the UK prime minister’s right flank may pose the more imminent threat. Wes Streeting , the ambitious health secretary who is seen as a front-runner in the event of a leadership contest this year, could miss his window of opportunity if he does not make a move to rep...
Keir Starmer’s rivals on the left of the Labour Party have long voiced their disquiet about his leadership. Yet at the start of 2026, the UK prime minister’s right flank may pose the more imminent threat. Wes Streeting , the ambitious health secretary who is seen as a front-runner in the event of a leadership contest this year, could miss his window of opportunity if he does not make a move to replace Starmer before the local elections in May, Labour Members of Parliament and aides told Bloomberg, speaking on condition of anonymity discussing internal party matters. That’s because Streeting, who’s generally viewed as being on the right of the party, currently has what some see a “first-mover advantage” which he may lose if he delays a challenge, the people said. After May’s pivotal elections, left-wingers including Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and former deputy premier Angela Rayner may be ready to make their own bids. “If you move sooner, you’ve got a chance to make a pitch to voters,” John McTernan, a former aide to Tony Blair, said in a phone interview. “The question is do you have long enough to have produced a coherent program for what you’d do as prime minister.” Whether Starmer will see out the year in Downing Street is the question dominating Westminster. Labour’s ratings in opinion polls have halved since their July 2024 election landslide, with Nigel Farage ’s populist Reform UK winning support off the back of the government’s failure to breathe life into Britain’s flagging economy or reduce the flow of illegal migrants into the country. For many in Labour, it’s a case of when rather than if they change the prime minister, who has the worst satisfaction rating of any premier in the past half-century. The Labour members who would elect a new leader are likely to favor Burnham or Rayner over Streeting, opinion polls suggest, so the latter needs a contest to take place before the others are ready, several party figures told Bloomberg. Burnham cannot ...
Stocks staged a rally on the first day of trading in 2026, which aligns with the general sense that the markets will grind higher, despite valuation concerns
Stocks staged a rally on the first day of trading in 2026, which aligns with the general sense that the markets will grind higher, despite valuation concerns
机构分析师预计，特斯拉销量可在2026年恢复增长，届时年销量将达到175万辆 【财新网】 2025年第四季度，特斯拉（NASDAQ：TSLA）交付汽车41.8万辆，同比大降15.6%；2025年全年交付量为163.6万辆，同比下滑8.6%。这是特斯拉年度销量连续第二年同比下滑。美国当地时间2026年1月2日，特斯拉发布上述数据。 Model Y是特斯拉销量主力之一，尽管这款产品连续第三年登顶全球最...
机构分析师预计，特斯拉销量可在2026年恢复增长，届时年销量将达到175万辆 【财新网】 2025年第四季度，特斯拉（NASDAQ：TSLA）交付汽车41.8万辆，同比大降15.6%；2025年全年交付量为163.6万辆，同比下滑8.6%。这是特斯拉年度销量连续第二年同比下滑。美国当地时间2026年1月2日，特斯拉发布上述数据。 Model Y是特斯拉销量主力之一，尽管这款产品连续第三年登顶全球最畅销车型，但特斯拉整体销量被比亚迪（01211.HK）超越。据比亚迪发布的数据，比亚迪2025年共销售纯电动汽车225.7万辆，问鼎全球电动汽车销量冠军。
Scrutiny is intensifying over the safety arrangements at a Swiss bar that burst into flames during a New Year's Eve party, killing at least 40, as prosecutors said the blaze likely began when sparkling candles were held too close to a ceiling. Witnesses reported seeing staff at the Le Constellation bar carrying so-called fountain candles atop bottles of champagne, and questions have also arisen ab...
Scrutiny is intensifying over the safety arrangements at a Swiss bar that burst into flames during a New Year's Eve party, killing at least 40, as prosecutors said the blaze likely began when sparkling candles were held too close to a ceiling. Witnesses reported seeing staff at the Le Constellation bar carrying so-called fountain candles atop bottles of champagne, and questions have also arisen about a foam material used to soundproof the ceiling of the basement where revellers danced. Beatrice Pilloud, chief prosecutor of Valais, the canton that is home to the bar in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana, said that available indications were that the fire started because the sparklers got too near to the ceiling. "From there, a rapid, very rapid and widespread blaze ensued," she said on Friday afternoon. Further investigations will show whether anyone faces criminal liability over the fire, Pilloud said. Police arrived quickly at the scene according to local residents, but the fire burned victims so severely that investigators said they would need days to identify the bodies. So far, officials have only identified a teenage Italian international golfer, Emanuele Galeppini. According to two people familiar with the investigation, some of the victims may be under 16. Local residents said the bar was popular with young people and the Swiss government said many of the dead were likely youths. Beer and wine can be drunk from age 16 in Switzerland. One of the bar's owners, Jacques Moretti, told the Tribune de Geneve newspaper that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to the rules. Reuters was not immediately able to contact the bar's owners for comment. Stephane Ganzer, head of security in Valais, said the investigation would determine if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton. Grieving residents continued paying their ...
Just before Christmas I attended a farmers’ conference near Penrith, which included a presentation on the inheritance tax rules for agricultural land. An accountant worked through an example of a typical hill farm like ours: the bill worked out as £59,000 every year for 10 years. Between the farm and our off‑farm jobs, we can’t generate that kind of profit, so this terrified me – we didn’t know wh...
Just before Christmas I attended a farmers’ conference near Penrith, which included a presentation on the inheritance tax rules for agricultural land. An accountant worked through an example of a typical hill farm like ours: the bill worked out as £59,000 every year for 10 years. Between the farm and our off‑farm jobs, we can’t generate that kind of profit, so this terrified me – we didn’t know what would happen to the farm if we had to pay that bill. We sought advice from a solicitor, but, thank goodness, there was a surprise announcement from the government on 23 December that the threshold on land and assets was raised from £1m to £2.5m. This is such a relief. I feel I can breathe again as I go about my jobs. I didn’t cry when I heard the news as my phone started beeping with messages as I walked up the fellside, but I felt as if the future had suddenly opened up again after being under a huge cloud. Small hill businesses are vital to the local community here in Cumbria, and don’t generate huge profits despite being very desirable properties. Farmhouses are often valued at high prices because of their commercial potential, not for farming, and they are often sold to become holiday lets or large “party houses”. The farm across the river was nearly turned into a safari park, instead it’s become holiday cottages and is for sale at £2.35m. Our farm could have had a similar fate. We care for this land, doing what we can to restore wildlife habitats and increase biodiversity. Three generations of our family live here and we hope to pass it on – keeping the land in good hands. The old £1m threshold would have included small farms like ours and driven many out of business, replaced by new owners with very different priorities and no connection to the community or rural life. There are many wider issues in farming finances that need sorting, and it’s true that government payments or tax breaks sometimes go to landowners who don’t contribute to the community or work with l...
India ’s defence modernisation is on track even as it faces the challenges of ensuring that weapon systems are deployed quickly and boosting its military’s capabilities to counter external threats, according to analysts. Last year, the Indian government approved three major defence packages totalling US$30 billion out of the country’s total defence budget of US$78.7 billion for the current financi...
India ’s defence modernisation is on track even as it faces the challenges of ensuring that weapon systems are deployed quickly and boosting its military’s capabilities to counter external threats, according to analysts. Last year, the Indian government approved three major defence packages totalling US$30 billion out of the country’s total defence budget of US$78.7 billion for the current financial year, which was ratified by parliament in February. The three packages were cleared in the second half of last year after India’s war with Pakistan in May. Among the weapon systems to be procured in the packages are advanced airborne early warning and control systems, Pinaka multiple launch rocket system, integrated drone detection and interdiction system Mark-2, and medium-altitude long-endurance drones for the air force, navy and army. The packages also cover the maintenance of India’s C-17 Globemaster III and C-130J Super Hercules military transport aircraft and S-400 long-range air defence missile system. Advertisement Gaurav Kumar, a researcher at the United Service Institution of India, a defence think tank, said 2025 was the year when India aimed to plug the gaps in its defence and focus more on battle-proven weapon systems. “The priorities were not exotic, but they were the essentials of today’s battlefield. New Delhi had marked 2025 as the ‘year of reforms’, as it targets the bottlenecks in the system.” Advertisement The acquisition process is also a key part of India’s military reforms, with emphasis on tighter procurement rules and simplified routine purchases, according to Kumar.