China

More than 100 of the Baidu driverless vehicles stopped running because of a system malfunctionSome robotaxi passengers were left stranded in the middle of fast-moving traffic in a major Chinese city after their driverless vehicles stopped running, according to police and media reports on Wednesday.A preliminary investigation indicates more than 100 robotaxis came to a halt because of a “system malfunction”, police in the city of Wuhan said in a statement, without elaborating. No injuries were reported. Continue reading...

Joani Reid MP reportedly swapped flirtatious messages with senior officer in charge of nuclear-armed submarineA Royal Navy captain in charge of one of Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines stepped back from his duties over his relationship with the MP Joani Reid, whose husband faces allegations of spying for China.The married senior officer was investigated by the navy last year over his contact with Reid after the messages, described as inappropriate, prompted an assessment of a potential blackmail risk, the Financial Times first reported. Continue reading...

Foreign ministers Ishaq Dar and Wang Yi met in Beijing as Pakistan pushes for peacemaker roleMiddle East crisis – live updatesPakistan and China have released a joint five-part proposal for peace in the Middle East, after Pakistan’s foreign minister flew to Beijing on Tuesday to seek Chinese support for the country’s faltering efforts to negotiate an end to end the war.The one-day meeting between Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, came as Pakistan continues to push for the role of peacemaker between the United States and Iran, even as the war shows little sign of relenting. Continue reading...

Exclusive: the 2026 document is designed to provide ‘scaffolding’ for a long-term Labor governmentGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor’s longstanding opposition to mandatory jail terms has been omitted from the first draft of its new national party platform, after the Albanese government backed minimum sentences on several occasions.An early working draft of the ALP’s updated platform also includes more assertive language on China and seeks to position Australia as an “active middle power” in an increasingly fraught and contested world. Continue reading...

Practice of using apartments to store relatives’ ashes has risen as rapid urbanisation and aging population increases competition for cemetery plotsChina is introducing a law to stop people storing the ashes of their dead relatives in empty high-rise flats rather than paying steep costs for increasingly scarce cemetery plots.China’s new funeral management legislation will prohibit the use of “residential housing specifically for the purpose of storing cremated remains” and the burial of corpses or construction of tombs in “areas other than public cemeteries”. Continue reading...

New York-based Gao Zhen was detained in 2024 during a family visit to China and then tried for ‘defaming national heroes’ The Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, known for making satirical sculptures of China’s former leader Mao Zedong, has been tried over accusations of “defaming national heroes and martyrs”, his wife and a rights group have said.Gao, 69, who was detained in 2024 during a visit to China from the US, faces a maximum three-year prison sentence, his wife, Zhao Yaliang, and Shane Yi, a researcher at the Chinese human rights defenders group, said. Continue reading...

South Korea’s transport ministry says domestic airlines have asked authorities to redirect export-bound jet fuel back to the local market amid a supply crunch• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSouth Korean airlines have asked their government to help redirect jet fuel exports to the domestic market, threatening half of Australia’s imports of the critical fuel after Chinese authorities earlier this month flagged export restrictions.Amid deepening concerns across Asia about the impact of the escalating Middle East conflict, an official at South Korea’s transport ministry told the Guardian that “some domestic carriers” had asked authorities to redirect export-bound jet fuel back to the local market due to supply concerns. Continue reading...