China’s northwestern desert has been told to brace for big floods this summer. The warning comes after the Taklamakan Desert, the country’s largest sandy area, saw its first flood of the year in early June. Video shows water pouring over dunes that usually stay dry. Heat is a major culprit. In m
China has begun drawing on its commercial oil stocks to counter the shortage caused by the war in Iran. The country’s biggest buyer of petroleum is also cutting refinery output and limiting fuel exports to keep the situation stable. Experts estimate that China will pull about one million barrels
China has spent decades building a powerful weapons industry. The country now appears in the top five worldwide when it comes to selling military gear, according to a respected global tracker. Yet the real story is more nuanced than those numbers suggest. A key problem is that China’s armaments hav
China’s President Xi Jinping is heading to North Korea this week for talks with Kim Jong Un, marking his first visit in seven years. According to North Korea’s official newspaper, Xi plans to strengthen ties between the two countries and push back against what he calls "hegemony" and military threat
China rolled out a national price‑cut program for drugs in 2016 to make cancer treatments cheaper and easier to get. The plan has helped more people buy life‑saving medicines, but it is not working equally across the country. In a recent study researchers looked at how well patients in different
China has pulled back on buying crude oil, with imports falling to a decade‑old low in May. The drop is driven by weak global demand, fewer refinery runs, and the country’s ability to tap into its large stockpiles. Because many refineries are running at lower capacity, China does not need to buy as
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently spoke to news editors in St. Petersburg, making a few surprising remarks about the war in Ukraine. He suggested that Russia could both keep fighting and still be open to a peace deal at the same time. "One doesn't rule out the other, " he said, explaining th
India has stepped up its cooperation with Venezuela in the energy sector, seeing Caracas as a key partner while global oil flows are hit by tensions in the Middle East. During a visit that began on June 4, Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez arrived in New Delhi with a sizable delegatio
India recently set aside 100 billion rupees, roughly one billion dollars, to ease the strain on airlines caused by soaring jet fuel prices. These sky-high costs partly stem from tensions in West Asia, which have disrupted oil supplies and pushed prices up worldwide. Airlines often feel this the most
Russia’s government earned a record 9. 3 billion dollars from oil and gas taxes in May, up more than a third compared with last year. The rise comes as global oil prices climb after tensions in the Middle East, giving the country a much-needed boost. The tax haul now makes up about 20 percent of
