Indian and Pakistani troops exchange fire in Kashmir

WATER TREATY WAS SUPPLYED Since India and Pakistan gained their independence from British rule in 1947, Kashmir has been divided between the two, with both claiming the entire area and governing distinct regions of it. Since 1989, rebel groups have been waging an insurrection in Indian-controlled Kashmir, requesting either Pakistan’sContinue Reading

India and Pakistan urged to have ‘maximum restraint’ after Kashmir attack

Since 1947, India and Pakistan have fought for independence, both claiming the entire area and governing distinct regions of it. Since 1989, rebel groups have been waging an insurrection in Indian-controlled Kashmir, requesting either Pakistan’s separation or its democracy. On Thursday, India’s navy and air force conducted military activities. TheContinue Reading

Advanced digital cockpits give Chinese EVs ‘overwhelming advantage’ in Russia, vendors say

Vendors said this week at the world’s largest auto show that China’s bright vehicles with powerful in-car entertainment, from great video screens to superior stereo, are sure-fire hits in Russia. Drivers and passengers are increasingly adopting online technology, according to vendors.

After American companies stopped selling and marketing their cars in Russia as a result of Russia’s three-year defense invasion of Ukraine, big Chinese carmakers like Chery Automobile, Great Wall Motor, and Geely Auto are the scions and biggest winners. The country of 145 million individuals, which accounts for the majority of China’s exports, is playing catch-up with other Chinese brands by providing them with modern cockpits that are their liking.

At the 2025 Car Shanghai trade show on Thursday, Zhou Tian, a mature business development manager with Moscow-based Google Car, stated that “digital characteristics give Chinese cars an enormous benefits in markets like Russia and Southeast Asia.” Russian car buyers want to purchase vehicles that can integrate [online ] services that their smartphones use daily.

Russia, which was founded in 2016, is looking to work with Taiwanese automakers. Foreign car manufacturers with their places on Russia, Zhou said, received favorable responses from Yandex during the event.

Geely Automobile’s booth during the 2025 Auto Shanghai show on 23 April 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE

According to him, vehicles that use Google software can offer a wide range of online services in Russia, including mapping, entertainment, meals delivery, and e-commerce.

The majority of Taiwanese vehicles, whether electric or petroleum-powered, are available because their equipment, from the speakers to the screens, are sufficient for the inclusion of our software, Zhou said. They are well-liked by Russian shoppers, they claim.

A man dressed as the character from Black Myth: Wukong promotes a special-edition Han L model from BYD during the 2025 Auto Shanghai show on April 23, 2025. Photo: AP

According to a survey conducted by the Russian polling company Romir last year, about 47 % of car buyers were thinking about including Chinese in their next purchase. More than two-thirds of Russian users said they wanted to learn more about Chinese automobiles, especially their technical features and service features, according to the study.

According to the China Passenger Car Association, exports of Taiwanese vehicles to Russia increased by 27 % to 1.16 million products in the last year from 2023. Mexico came in second place next year, with Chinese companies shipping 445, 000 vehicles.

Russian passenger vehicle sales in 2024 increased by 48 % year over year to 1.57 million units, thanks to the Mainland Chinese carmakers ‘ dominance.

Mercedes-Benz‘s all-electric CLA on display during the 2025 Auto Shanghai show on April 23, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

Foreign plug-in hybrid vehicles that combine a diesel engine and an electric motors are particularly welcomed in Russia because they give drivers the opportunity to generate a green vehicle without having to deal with range anxiety, Zhou said.

Russia, which reported that 97 % of Russian Internet users have used its video services, can also help, he said, increase the charm of Chinese cars in additional Russian-speaking regions of central Asia.

China-made vehicles could cost 50 % more in Russia, according to a sales manager at Voyah, a state-owned company that manufactures electric vehicles for Dongfeng Motor. This puts them in the premium category that encourages more Chinese manufacturers to set up stores and sales networks there.

Despite the global price war sweeping the automotive industry, international firm AlixPartners predicted in a research report this week that Russia may continue to be a stabilizing supply of desire for Chinese-made vehicles this time.

Complementary intelligent-driving capabilities are emerging as a crucial competitive tool, further separating China-brand products from those from globally, according to Yvette Zhang, partner of the consultancy. South China Morning Post

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Mark Lee nabs award for best actor at inaugural Asian Art Film Awards in Macao

Catherine Ng, Lee’s woman, expressed congratulations on his victory in a blog on her Instagram page, writing,” This honor belongs to you and to every companion who poured their heart and soul into this work.”

She continued,” Special thanks to all the production crew people… This job and his accomplishments were made possible by your expertise, determination, and passion.

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India, Pakistan and the Kashmir attack: what we know

WHAT IS THE KASHMIR QUESTION? Since their 1947 independence from European law, India and Pakistan have divided Kashmir with a Muslim majority. Both assert the entire area. Since 1989, separatists in the Indian-run region have been fighting for independence or a fusion with Pakistan. In the fight, tens of thousandsContinue Reading

GE2025: Voters should compare Workers’ Party candidates to PAP backbenchers, says Pritam Singh

Additionally, Mr. Singh was questioned about the GRC in Tampines, where the WP has a group led by gathering vice-chair Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap, who was formerly an MP in Aljunied GRC. &nbsp,

In a unique four-cornered fight, it will face an incumbent PAP team led by Minister for Social and Family Development, Masagos Zulkifli, as well as the opposition, National Solidarity Party, and Women’s Power Party.

A writer inquired as to whether Malay voters ‘ preferences may determine the Group Representation Constituency.

” I have some information for you about our Asian voters. They also have a lot of advanced citizens. Not just a race-related issue, asserted Mr. Singh.

What other problems is the WP bring to the table, in addition to national problems. And I think that many of our citizens are aware that a strong opposition existence must exist in Singapore. Moreover, the Workers ‘ Party has a particular political philosophy. And I believe that the Malay voters are aware of the impact that view has.

In light of Mr. Faisal’s relocation to the Tampines, Mr. Singh was also questioned as to why the WP did no relocate any party officials to the East Coast GRC.

He claimed that Mr. Yee was a heavy in his own right and that Joo Chiat SMC degenerated after Mr. Yee lost the GE2011 poll there by just 388 seats.

” The team has a lot of practice to lead,” says the leader. Mr. Singh praised Mr. Yee, who went on to win the Marine Parade GRC in the 2015 and 2020 elections.” I have someone who has a very great heart.

The Joo Chiat hospital was moved from Marine Parade GRC to East Coast GRC after the redrawing of electoral boundaries next month. &nbsp,

Mr. Yee claimed that East Coast’s WP had a” great stone of applicants.”

” We’re pretty convinced that if we are elected below, we will run this land well. We will do everything in our power.

When asked about his possibilities against two political politicians, Mr. Yee responded,” We know that every time you come against the PAP, it’s often quite challenging.”

In the end, it’s the voters who make the decision, and we’ll value their decision, he said,” I mean, you look at me, I’ve been through this three days before, every day, whether you feel comfortable or not, I’ve been through this three periods.”

However, we really want to make an appeal to the residents; therefore, give this group a chance.

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US, China in hot race to put nuclear reactors on the moon – Asia Times

Imagine using your home base on the moon to watch your favorite show or browse through your mobile while doing it. That sci-fi vision will become more real within the next ten years; the question is, does an American, Chinese, or Russian arrive there first?

Finding waters and generating power are two major issues that scientists may address in order for people to settle and live on the moon. Russia and the United States are currently engaged in a high-stakes battle to overthrow China by building solar nuclear reactor.

Both superpowers are now making progress with their plans to put nuclear energy plants on the surface of the moon. NASA in America intends to launch its Fission Surface Power ( FSP) system by the early 2030s, while China and Russia intend to construct a lunar reactor between 2033 and 2035.

However, this is more than just a storage competition for power. Who will determine the rules of the new frontier and receive the rewards is in a battle. A senior Chinese space official spoke for the first time on April 23 about the country’s plans to build a celestial nuclear base.

According to Wu Weiren, the director of China’s lunar exploration program, he anticipates that Russia and China will jointly construct a reactor to power the International Lunar Research Station ( ILRS ), citing Russian space technology’s leadership globally.

Power supply is an important issue for the International Lunar Research Station ( ILRS ). When it comes to nuclear power plants, Russia has a clear benefit, especially when it launches them into storage. It is back of the US and leads the world, Wu said.

In past conversations, he claimed that China would take two Chang’e 7 and Chang’e 8 unmanned spacecraft to the sun, both, in 2026 and 2028. Around 2030, Chinese pilots did set foot on the moon.

He claimed Chang’e 7 would seek for ice at the South Pole of the moon and Chang’e 8 may install communications and energy systems there. He claimed that to make bricks, solar minerals can be melted at temperatures of 1, 400, 1, and 500 degrees Celsius. He claimed that this method could be used to build homes for the ILRS task.

The 2028 project’s Chief Engineer Pei Zhaoyu demonstrated that the solar facility’s power supply may also depend on large-scale solar arrays, pipelines and cables for heating and electricity built on the planet’s surface, as demonstrated in a demonstration in Shanghai cited by Reuters.

Russia’s State Corporation for Space Activities&nbsp, ( Roscosmos ), the main successor to the Soviet space program, announced on March 5 last year that Russia and China planned to install a nuclear reactor on the moon in 2033-2035. &nbsp,

He claimed that machines would be used to construct the reactor and that almost all technical advancements were in place. He claimed that solar energy would not be sufficient to support solar towns. Borisov argued that Russia lacked any plans to launch nuclear weapons into place.

According to an educational paper, the ILRS may cover an area with a diameter of up to six meters. The main action area will include an area of three km in the center, while the circle with a diameter of one mile may serve as the center.

in the direct NASA strategy

NASA has a detailed blueprint while China and Russia have a goal for a celestial nuclear power.

To construct the FSP reactors, NASA awarded three US$ 5 million contracts in 2022 to teams led by Lockheed Martin, Westinghouse, and IX ( a joint venture of Intuitive Machines and X-Energy ). At Idaho National Laboratory, they tested their initial patterns.

The reactor must still be able to operate at a weight under six metric tons and have 40 kilowatts (kw ) of electrical power, making enough power for demonstrations and making additional power available for running lunar habitats, rovers, backup grids, or scientific experiments. 40 watt you, on regular, provide electrical energy for 33 homes in the US.

This year, NASA will request the industry’s assistance in designing the ultimate furnace. NASA did give the furnace to the sky for a one-year demo in the first 2030s, followed by nine years of operation. The design of the reactor will then be modified, sending one to Mars.

Researchers from the China Institute of Atomic Energy ( CIEA ) and Zhao Shouzhi published a paper in January of this year with the title” Study on nuclear design of long-life lunar surface nuclear reactor power supply based on annular fuel.”

They suggested minor adjustments that could lower the nuclear fuel (uranium-235 ) load on the American FSP reactor by 75 % to 18.46 kilograms.

In China’s Journal of Deep Space Exploration, Zhao and another CIAE scholar, Hu Gu, co-published a report titled” Overview of place nuclear reactor energy systems.” &nbsp,

They claimed that” place nuclear reactor energy has clear and broad military and civilian purposes.” One of the most innovative technology is this one.

They acknowledged that the US and the Soviet Union had spent years creating space-use nuclear reactor and having developed a number of key systems. They claimed that China should be the world’s first to develop area nuclear reactors. &nbsp,

Amendment dog

The technological battle on the sun is an expansion of the global conflict.

The Artemis Accords, an global initiative to promote healthy and green space exploration, were released by NASA in October 2020. The agreements have been signed by fifty-four states, including developed and emerging ones.

China and Russia signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create the ILRS in March 2021. By 2035, the trio intended to construct the fundamental concept of a lunar base, with an extension built in the 2040s.

17 nations and more than 50 foreign research organizations, primarily Russian and Chinese allies in the Global South, have so far joined the ILRS. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Space Agency ( ESA ) ruled out joining the ILRS. &nbsp,

Wu told foreign press on April 23 that the ILRS ‘ development trend is “very good,” but ours is much smaller in terms of nations because the US is usually interfering with our assistance, including Europe, in comparison.

Before this, Beijing had repeatedly criticized the US for passing the Amendment dog in 2011, which prohibited NASA from partnering with Chinese institutions.

China has pushed its solar exploration strategy and gotten Russian support for its storage technologies over the past ten years. Russia reportedly has resisted giving China access to its nuclear technology and jet turbines.

When Russia’s Luna-25 aircraft crashed on the moon’s area in August 2023, it experienced a major setback in the space race.

On April 23, Bian Zhigang, deputy director of the China National Space Administration ( CNSA ), stated that lunar exploration activities are changing from short-term missions to long-term construction, from single-craft exploration to multi-craft collaboration, and from national missions to international cooperation.

According to Bian, the methods of inquiry and cooperation are going through important changes. He added that the ILRS may provide new opportunities and systems for fosterring equitable participation and shared development in addition to technological advancement.

Read: China and SpaceX have various plans for Mars.

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GE2025: PSP should ‘keep up closely’ with PAP’s policies instead of saying it has changed, says Tan See Leng

Singapore’s Labour Minister Tan See Leng stated on Friday ( Apr 25 ) that the People’s Action Party ( PAP ) should “keep up closely” with its policies rather than deny that the government has changed.

Dr. Tan made this observation in response to the opponent’s group march speeches on Thursday night, when PSP leaders claimed that the fourth-generation PAP leadership had “lost its way.”

Leong Mun Wai, PSP’s captain, stated at its first actual march that “on the leadership before, we can see a general decrease in the standards, in responsibilities, competence, and ethics in recent years.”

” I don’t believe the PAP state has actually broken the law.” I believe that the PSP people who said those may have a look at all the policies the PAP government has put in place and continue to adapt and improve the lives of all of our brother Singaporeans, if anything, should do so, Dr. Tan said.

” Remember what we are doing,” We are working to ensure that generations like you, from whom you come, will continue to discover rich, brimming with hope, and full of opportunities in Singapore.

Dr. Tan is leading the PAP slate of individuals and was speaking to CNA on Friday night on the outside of his haywire at a business in Teck Whye in Chua Chu Kang GRC.

Dr. Tan even addressed a PSP issue straight at the rally.

Jeffrey Khoo, the PSP’s member for Marymount SMC, had argued for a higher minimum wage and better job security.

Dr. Tan responded that the Progressive Wage Model that the PAP federal has already in place is “more targeted, more distinguished, and more precise” in response.

He continued,” Today, the safety officers, the raise maintenance, the landscape cleaners, all the industries, the various areas, all have their own base salaries,” adding that these employees also have a wage ladder they can walk as they continue to improve.

Dr. Tan attributed the success of this coverage to the efforts of the three bilateral parties, which included the government, the labor movement, and the employers.

” All the PSP individuals talked about at the rally last night was about claiming credit for this and that,” they said. Don’t forget that the Pap state, or” this state,” put it in place, and we made it happen, he said. &nbsp,

He added that there is no simple answer to such a problem.

Perhaps it’s because of the PSP, who refuses to accept that life is no longer linear, if anything at all.

Regarding PSP’s claim that PAP has changed, Dr. Tan said that his party does have new users and a fresh commitment, a smile to the group’s general election campaign slogan.

” But we are always the same, philosophical party for all Singaporeans,” he said.

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China shares rare moon rocks with US despite trade tensions

In a move that comes as the two nations continue to be at odds with one another over their trade agreements, China will allow scientists from six different nations, including the US, to observe the mountains it collected from the Moon.

The China National Space Administration ( CNSA ) announced on Thursday that two US institutions that are funded by the agency have been granted access to the lunar samples that the Chang ‘e-5 mission will sample in 2020.

According to local media, CNSA key Shan Zhongde described the tests as” a shared treasure for all humanity.”

Due to restrictions placed on the area agency’s cooperation with China by US lawmakers, Chinese researchers were unable to get the space agency’s Moon samples.

In accordance with the 2011 laws, Nasa is prohibited from working with China or any other Chinese-owned companies unless it has been exclusively authorized by Congress.

However, John Logsdon, the former chairman of the George Washington University Space Policy Institute, claimed that the most recent change of Moon rocks has “very little to do with politicians.”

Although there are restrictions on space systems, he claimed that the evaluation of lunar samples had “nothing of military significance.”

It’s global participation in research that is the norm, they say.

Beijing has responded with 125 % tariffs on US goods while Washington has imposed tariffs on Chinese goods that go up to 245 %.

US President Donald Trump recently made an appearance at a de-escalation of the trade conflict, but Beijing has denied that there were any negotiations between the two parties.

Applications for study of Chang ‘e-5 moon samples were made available by the CNSA in 2023.

The Chang ‘e-5 Moon samples appear to be billion years younger than those taken from Apollo missions, according to Dr. Logsdon. It therefore suggests that the sun was more recently active than previously thought.

Apparently, place representatives from the US and China had tried to reach an agreement last year regarding an change of sky tests, but it seems like this did not materialize.

The various winning requests, aside from Brown University and Stony Brook University in the US, came from corporations in France, Germany, Japan, Pakistan, and the UK.

According to Shan from the CNSA, the organization will “maintain an extremely effective and available position” in global room exchange and cooperation, including along the Belt and Road Initiative’s space information corridor.

He said,” I think China’s space friendship network will grow even more.”

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‘We heard gunshots and thought tigers were being hunted’ – Kashmir tourists

Tourists who were present in Kashmir under Indian control are now resettling in India.

One man claimed that the gunfire had been mistaken for “tigers being hunted” when the crime started.

A group of gunmen opened fire on on tourists near Pahalgam, a hotel in the contested Himalayan region, in the wake of the attack, killing 26 of the tourists.

According to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “every extremist and their sponsors” will be punished for the assault.

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