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Five years after the junta’s coup, the civil war devastating Myanmar has reached a turning point. The military is carrying out large-scale counter-offensives across the country to reclaim territory seized by pro-democracy rebels of various ethnic and religious backgrounds
In Tanintharyi, the southernmost region of Myanmar, the local resistance has managed to contain the military. After five years of guerrilla warfare, the revolutionary youth there remain determined to restore democracy through armed struggle.
A long, narrow stretch of land at the southern tip of Myanmar, between the Andaman Sea to the west and Thailand to the east, Tanintharyi region is one of the areas where the resistance challenges the military’s authority. For decades, the region has been home to an armed rebellion led by the Karen ethnic minority, which operated mainly in the peripheral mountains.
Soldiers from the Karen National Union (KNU) inspect the ruins of a Buddhist monastery destroyed by a junta airstrike in Myeik district, Tanintharyi region

The Doomsday Clock is ticking ever more loudly as arms-control mechanisms fail and leaders become more reckless. The time to be alarmed is now
Keir Starmer’s tentative pivot to the Dragon Throne has played well in Beijing, though not in Trumpland. That’s partly because, like other needy western leaders, Britain’s prime minister did not dwell on awkward subjects such as human rights abuses, the , spying and Taiwan. But in , one vital issue was avoided altogether and should not have been: China’s dangerous, unexplained, secretive and rapid buildup of nuclear weapons.
More than the climate crisis, global hunger, Kaiser Trump’s Prussian militarism and the ever prevalent threat of pandemic disease, the uncontrolled proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is the most immediate, existential threat to humanity. Last week, the Doomsday Clock advanced to 85 seconds to midnight – closer to Armageddon than ever before. “Nuclear and other global risks are escalating fast and in unprecedented ways,” warned the clock-watchers, via the .

The event, advertised through official channels, was criticised in China for being held at a military memorial.

Trump’s wounding of the US economy offers Beijing an unparalleled opportunity – if it dials back its overbearing trade tactics
When the Canadian prime minister, , at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week to lament how “great economic powers” were dismantling the international order, it seemed clear that he was talking about the United States. He might have been talking about as well.
Not a week earlier, Beijing had revealed that China’s trade surplus ballooned by 20% in 2025, to $1.2tn. Despite ’s wall of tariffs that crashed Chinese sales to the US, its overall exports expanded more than 5%. Sales to the 11 countries in Asia’s Asean bloc increased more than 13%. Exports to the European Union rose over 8%. Chinese imports, by contrast, were flat.

Campaigners criticise use of ‘vulnerable’ devices at Salisbury Cathedral and Parthenon despite their removal from sensitive UK government sites
Security cameras guarding Magna Carta are provided by a Chinese CCTV company whose technology has allegedly aided the persecution of Uyghurs and been exploited by Russia during the invasion of Ukraine, it has emerged.
In letters seen by the Guardian, campaigners called on Salisbury Cathedral, which houses one of four surviving copies of the “powerful symbol of social justice”, to rip out cameras made by Dahua Technology, based in the Chinese city of Hangzhou.

PM flies out after courting world’s second biggest economy aware of difficult balance of risks and potential rewards
The last British prime minister to visit China was . Before the visit, she and her team were advised to get dressed under the covers because of the risk of hidden cameras having been placed in their hotel rooms to record compromising material.
Keir Starmer, in Beijing this week, was more sanguine about his privacy, even though the security risks have, if anything, increased since the former Tory prime minister was in town.

As Washington unsettles its partners, Beijing is reaping diplomatic gains, without backing down on human rights, trade or security.

The ruling delivers a victory to President Trump, who has said he wants the U.S. to control the canal, and a blow to the longtime ports operator, CK Hutchison.

Xi Jinping’s ousting of the country’s top general underscores the concentration of power in the hands of a few – with dangers for us all
Sir Keir Starmer is only one of the middle power leadersto renew relations. No one has forgotten China’s increasing international forcefulness, its handling of the pandemic and its closer relations with Russia as war engulfed Ukraine. But the wildness of Donald Trump’s first year back in power is , France and others to hedge their bets. This, not whisky tariff cuts, is what the British prime minister sought. Mr Trump called the move “dangerous”, but threatens allies and describes Xi Jinping as a “friend”. Set beside this administration, Beijing looks no more benevolent but does appear relatively predictable.
Yet the important news from Beijing in recent days was not Sir Keir’s visit but the news that Xi Jinping had , Zhang Youxia. No one is too mighty to be ousted in a system which, while stable, looks increasingly like a . The Chinese leader’s campaign has whittled the Central Military Commission, the top military body, from seven figures to just Mr Xi himself and the armed forces’ anti-corruption chief. He had already toppled officials at all levels of the party, including potential heirs, brushed aside term limits and fostered a personality cult. Now he is completely overhauling the People’s Liberation Army.
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Prime minister suggests US president was ‘talking more about Canada’ when asked for reaction to Beijing visit
Prominent Hong Kong and Uyghur activists living in exile in the UK have accused Starmer of seeking China’s desperate approval, after the prime minister visited Beijing for the first time in eight years this week.
Pro-democracy campaigner and prominent critic of the Communist Party, Finn Lau said the Hong Kong community is disappointed by Starmer’s visit, but unsurprised by the government’s “short sightedness”.
“While British citizen Jimmy Lai remains imprisoned and Uyghurs continue to suffer atrocity crimes, we take no comfort in this decision and will not be silenced.
We look forward to receiving urgent assurances from the government regarding those who were placed under sanction together with us, and take this opportunity to express our ongoing solidarity with the Uyghur people, whose cause we will not drop.

Launch of R&D centre could pave way for deal for UK’s Jaguar Land Rover to build cars for Omoda and Jaecoo owner
Chinese carmaker Chery is to open a research and development headquarters in Liverpool, in a move that could pave the way for a deal for the British manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover to build its cars.
State-owned Chery’s commercial vehicle arm will base the headquarters for its European operations on Merseyside, including research, engineering, and commercial functions.