China's Loose Arms Still Fuel Myanmar's Civil Wars

(Anthony Davis's article from the ASIA TIMES on 28 January 2020.)

China's newest assault rifle QBZ-03 is the standard
weapon for Burma's ethnic rebel armies.

When Chinese President Xi Jinping met Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief Senior General Ming Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw earlier this month, it was not clear which of the two raised the issue first. But side-stepping the 800 pound gorilla in the room — new Chinese weaponry fueling Myanmar’s civil wars — was never going to be an option.

Over the past year, those Chinese weapons have cost the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, hundreds of lives. And as the fighting season gathers pace in western Rakhine state, the likelihood of another high death toll in 2020 will cast a long shadow in army circles over the triumphant hailing of a “new era” in Sino-Myanmar amity and cooperation that attended Xi’s historic state visit.

Almost certainly not by coincidence, the day before the January 18 meeting – the sixth meeting between Xi and Min Aung Hlaing — the Tatmadaw’s public relations wing ensured that the “discovery” of a rebel cache of Chinese munitions made on January 15 in Hsenwi township in northern Shan state received wide media publicity.

Aussie Breakthrough On CoronaVirus

(Liam Mannix's article from the AGE MELBOURNE on 28 January 2020.)

Monkey kidneys and old-school science: Inside Melbourne's coronavirus breakthrough: An old-school science technique allowed Melbourne’s Doherty Institute to grow coronavirus in a flask, the first lab outside China to do so.

The important breakthrough allows scientists to immediately develop much better tests for the virus. And it is a crucial first step towards developing treatments or a vaccine. Most diagnostic labs around the world use cutting-edge genetic sequencing techniques to test for viruses.

The Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, based in Parkville, is one of the few to maintain extensive cell lines, which allows it not only to test for but also to grow a wide variety of viruses. "It’s costly, and it needs skills that are not generally available these days," says Dr Mike Catton, the institute's deputy director. "We have a mix of the old and the new, the classical and the cutting edge. I’d say we’re the first among equals – although my colleagues might not like that."

US Large Air Tanker Crashes Fighting Fires In Australia

(Matt McDonald's articles from the MYGC on 23 January 2020.)

Three dead after large air tanker crashes while fighting NSW fires: Officials in New South Wales have confirmed three people are dead after a large air tanker crashed while fighting a blaze in the Snowy Mountains.

Contact with the C-130 Hercules was lost when the aircraft was near Cooma around 1.30pm before the plane disappeared off radar. A major search was launched with helicopters spotting the wreckage a couple of hours later. It’s understood the plane burst into flames upon impact with reports fire crews on the ground witnessed the crash.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says there were no survivors from the crash. “It’s impacted heavily with the ground and initial reports are that there was a large fireball associated with the impact of the plane as it hit the ground,” Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.

China Locks Down Ten Cities As Death Toll Rises

(Staff article from the ABC NEWS on 23 January 2020.)

Coronavirus spreading with new cases reported around the world as death toll rises to 25: China has moved to lock down multiple cities with a combined population of more than 25 million people to halt the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus.

Health authorities in Hebei, just south of Beijing, said on Thursday an 80-year-old man infected with the coronavirus had died there, marking the first confirmed death outside Hubei. He died on Wednesday but was not confirmed to have been infected with the virus until Thursday. All of the deceased are said to have been elderly and beset with other chronic health issues.

Chinese authorities have locked down eight cities in Hubei province including Wuhan, Huanggang, Ezhou, Chibi, Qianjiang, Zhijiang, Jingmen and Xiantao. However, there are mixed reports on the number of cities with imposed travel bans, as the South China Morning Post reports eight cities are now subject to travel bans.

CoronaVirus Killing Many: Wu Han Locked Down

(Staff article from the ABC NEWS on 22 January 2020.)

Wuhan Hospitals are being overwhelmed by Coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus infections in China feared to be more widespread than officially reported, Wuhan closes transport networks: The Chinese city of Wuhan, the source of an outbreak of a new flu-like virus, is closing its transport networks and has advised citizens not to leave the city as the death toll rose steeply overnight.

Officials have confirmed 544 cases of the virus and 17 deaths and medical staff in Wuhan say they are overwhelmed with sick patients as one hospital alone is treating about 300 patients. Hospitals in Wuhan are reportedly dealing with huge numbers of sick patients, raising fears the new coronavirus is spreading faster than official reports suggest.

Bus, subway, ferry and long-distance passenger transportation networks will be suspended from 10am (local time), and the airport and train stations will be closed to outgoing passengers, state TV said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping Visits Myanmar

(Feliz Solomon's article from the WSJ on 18 January 2020.)

China’s President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar and made a push to rev up big infrastructure projects under his Belt and Road initiative, seeking to cement Beijing’s role as the country’s closest international partner while Western governments hold back over human-rights violations.

Mr. Xi’s two-day visit—the first by a Chinese head of state in almost two decades—comes as Myanmar is facing allegations at the International Court of Justice that its security forces committed genocide against the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority. Last month, Washington imposed sanctions against four military officials, including the commander-in-chief.

China has backed Myanmar through the crisis and is now stepping up efforts to secure the strategically located nation as a major partner in the region. Mr. Xi held talks with Myanmar’s main civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in the country’s capital Naypyitaw on Saturday.

ICC's Fatou Bensouda: Accomplice To Rapes & Tortures

(Thierry Cruvellier's article from the JUSTICEINFO.NET on 11 July 2019.)

During her watch as Gambia's Chief Prosecutor thousands
were kidnapped, raped, and tortured in Gambia.
(She is now prosecuting Burma of Muslim genocide, WTF.)

Before speaking on behalf of the victims of serious crimes as prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda faithfully served, in the highest judicial offices, a military dictatorship in her country, the Gambia.

Two witnesses (themselves the victims of kidnap & torture during her watch as Gambia's Chief Prosecutor) have already publicly challenged her before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC). Will the Commission call the prosecutor to answer the charges? On the day of the inauguration of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in The Gambia, on 15 October 2018, Fatou Bensouda's speech seemed clear.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), a Gambian national, first underlined how the work of this Commission – charged with shedding light on the military dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh, between July 1994 and January 2017, and the serious human rights violations committed under this regime – will be "so critical to the future of this country and to the strengthening of the rule of law on which this future can be secured."

Why Was Monsoon's Withdrawal Delayed In India?

(Staff article from the WEATHER CHANNEL on 07 October 2019.)

A few days ago, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon is expected to begin after October 10th.

This makes it the most delayed monsoon withdrawal of all time. The last time something similar occurred was in 1961, when the monsoon began withdrawing from October 1.

So why did the monsoon's retreat get so delayed and what does it mean for the upcoming Northeast Monsoon season, whose arrival is being eagerly awaited by Tamil Nadu and other states? The Weather Channel answers some common questions.

 The withdrawal of the monsoon begins with the development of a high-pressure area over northwest India. High-pressure zones represent settled weather and low wind movement, whereas intense low-pressure zones attract moisture-bearing winds and therefore host weather disturbances like rains, thunderstorms or lightning.

Late Monsoons In India: Wild Bush Fires In Australia

(Kevin Nguyen’s article from the ABC AUSTRALIA on 10 November 2019.)

Wild Fires in NSW partly caused by delayed monsoons in India, experts say: NSW's fire boss said the state had never seen anything like it before. And, a weather system thousands of kilometres away is at least partly responsible, experts say.

NSW's bushfire emergency began on Friday morning and escalated quickly — at its peak the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) issued emergency warnings for 17 separate blazes. Although emergency services were bracing for an intense fire season — which started earlier than predicted — a bushfire expert said climate change had created the "fairly extraordinary circumstances" seen this week.

Trent Penman is an associate professor at the University of Melbourne who studies the behaviour and formation of bushfires using real depictions of fuel, weather and topography. He said the bushfires could be partly explained by monsoon season ending late in India.