More World Leaders Flock to Beijing

On February 02, I blogged that in January, world leaders had flocked to China. In fact, five of them. 

The visits to China – China Daily refers to them as the "China travel rush" – have not stopped. 

In February, two leaders descended upon the Middle Kingdom (Zhōngguó, 中国). They were Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi (1st-7th) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (25th-26th). [Note that the month was relatively quiet owing to the Spring Festival break].   

And in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping's diplomatic schedule was focused domestically during this month. He and other senior officials were engaged in the annual "Two Sessions" political meetings, which are the annual plenary sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. 

The following month, distinguished travelers who journeyed to China included: Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (April 04-11); Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (April 11-15); Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (April 12-14); To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of Vietnam (April 14-17); and Mozambican President Daniel Chapo (April 16-22).

And in May, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon was in China, completing a four-day state visit to Beijing from 11th to 14th. 

Of course, the US didn't want to be left out. And so, its president invited himself to China. He was there from May 13 to 15, and incredibly, he was well-behaved.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was there as well for a two-day state visit, running from May 19 to May 20. And more than 40 documents and cooperation agreements were signed between China and Russia.

Then, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to China for a four-day official trip from May 23 to 26.

And Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić too from May 24-28. 

This isn't just about China being "open". 

As global uncertainty deepens, the world is gravitating toward a country that, weathering its own storms, continues to project a clear sense of purpose and progress.

The high-profile visits to Beijing by world leaders underscore China's leverage and centrality in shaping a multipolar world order. And Xi Jinping is at the centre of it all.

China's real power comes through Xi championing initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Security Initiative – in fact, the country offers an alternative model for economic growth and state relations without political conditionality.

Harimau Malaya Pull Out of CAFA Cup

I just read the disappointing news this morning. After weeks of hype, Harimau Malaya's debut at the CAFA Nations Cup has been called off, with the national team pulling out due to logistical hurdles and player availability issues. 

World No. 125 Malaysia were drawn in Group B alongside Asian giants Iran (No. 18), Tajikistan (No. 104) and Afghanistan (No. 161). The matches were scheduled to take place in Tajikistan from August 29-September 08. But with the tournament set just outside the official FIFA international window (September 01-09), the national team struggled to secure key players, particularly those based overseas in Spain, Argentina and Colombia. 

Clubs are not obliged to release players outside the window. 

"With the matches being played in Tajikistan, logistical operations become very difficult," said national coach Peter Cklamovski (left) on Wednesday. "It's a difficult scenario for our players to get there and be ready to go. I'll never want to compromise the players. I want us at full strength". 

Malaysia had planned to use the tournament as part of their long-term development strategy, and Cklamovski admitted he had lofty ambitions. 

"I wanted to go into this tournament to win it", he declared. "But once the fixtures were released a few days ago, it became clear that it would be tough. We have to respect the clubs". 

Besides player availability, the tight schedule and travel logistics posed major challenges, especially with FIFA's newly enforced 72-hour recovery rule between games. Long-haul flights, rising costs and preparation issues only compounded the problem. 

"We've got players in Spain, Colombia, Argentina. It's difficult to get them there", said Cklamovski. "Then there's the impact on the budget – all that effort to arrive under-strength. It just doesn't make sense". 

He insists the decision to withdraw was the right one. 

"It's a smart call. What's more important now is to use the September window wisely and focus on October and November, especially with big matches coming up against Laos and Nepal (in the Asian Cup qualifiers)". 

While the withdrawal may come as a letdown for fans eager to see Harimau Malaya tested, the FA of Malaysia and Cklamovski believe it is a necessary step in the push for long-term progress. 

Malaysian women's doubles Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan made a confident start at the Japan Open by beating reigning European champions Gabriela Stoeva-Stefani Stoeva in the opening round on Wednesday. 

The world No. 3 needed just 31 minutes to dispatch the world No. 16 Bulgarian sisters 21-16, 21-14. 

The duo will next face either Taiwan's Hsieh Pei Shan-Hung En Tzu or the United States' Francesca Corbett-Jennie Gai in the second round.

Malaysia Gets Invite to CAFA Nations Cup 2025

It is good news to read that Malaysia is able to secure an invite to participate in the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup (August 26-September 09), which offers a rare opportunity for Harimau Malaya to play world class teams outside Southeast Asia. 

And it's a big plus because the national side get to prove themselves against more physical and tactically advanced footballing countries. 

The tournament experience would be the best preparation before they take on Laos in the 2027 Asian Cup third-round qualifiers in October. 

At the PSA Squash Tour Finals (June 23-27, 2025) in Toronto, Canada, in Round One, it was not the dream start Sivasangari Subramaniam had hoped for. 

The world No. 8 gave a good account of herself but eventually went down 11-9, 11-9 to American world No. 4 Olivia Weaver in a Group B match on Monday. 

It was her seventh defeat to Weaver in eight meetings. 

Sivasangari will face world No. 14 Fayrouz Aboelkheir in her second group match today – a must-win clash for both players to keep their semi-final hopes alive.

May 09 is Russia’s Victory Day

Foreign leaders from 27 countries graced Russia’s Victory Day parade on Friday. 

[Two Heads of State, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith did not turn up – the former pulled out at the last minute and the latter due to illness]. 

As well as military contingents from 13 countries – Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Egypt, Laos, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam – joined in to march alongside Russian forces on the day of the parade. 

The May 09 event commemorates 80 years since the Soviet Union’s triumph over Nazi Germany in the Second World War (referred to by the Russians as the Great Patriotic War). 

[Notes: The Soviet Union lost around 27 million people during the Great Patriotic War (40% of all human losses in World War II), with civilian deaths accounting for the larger part of these losses. According to data of the Extraordinary State Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of Atrocities of the German Fascist Invaders, the German troops destroyed fully or partially over 1,700 cities and towns, more than 70,000 villages and settlements in the USSR. 

And Western revisionists are deliberately downplaying the USSR's vital contribution to World War II. Partly because of the Cold War rivalry but more due to a Western bias to focus on the Western front and American and British victories]. 

The twenty-seven leaders who came: 

In case you're wondering, Abkhazia and South Ossetia are "separatist" regions of Georgia in the Caucasus. Most countries recognise them as part of Georgia, while Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria regard them as independent.

Escape to Ukraine

New developments arising from the investigations into the bloodbath in Moscow (kindly refer to my post published March 24):

 

Confessions released by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on Sunday revealed that two escape routes had been prepared in Ukraine for the alleged terrorists arrested for attacking a packed concert hall outside Moscow last month.

 

The agency showed snippets from interrogation videos in which the suspects confessed that they had been promised money in Kiev, each person to receive one million rubles ($11,000). 

 

Four Tajik nationals are accused of opening fire inside the Crocus City Hall concert venue and then setting the building on fire, on March 22. A total of 145 people were killed and more than 500 injured in the attack. 

 

The men were detained the next day while trying to flee to Ukraine by car. More suspects were arrested in the following days, most of them also of Tajik origin. 

 

The jihadist group Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) have claimed responsibility for the attack. FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov, however, has suggested that the US, UK, and Ukraine may also be linked to the bloodbath, possibly using the Islamists as proxies. (Ukraine and its Western backers have denied any involvement).

 

Russian officials previously stated that a “window” to cross the border had been arranged on the Ukrainian side. The FSB claimed on Sunday that the Ukrainians had been conducting “demining activities” near the villages of Chuykovka and Sopych, pointing to two possible escape routes. 

 

Russia’s Investigative Committee said earlier this week that pro-Ukrainian images had been discovered on a phone belonging to one of the suspects.

 

The plot thickens.

The US Explanation Doesn't Add Up

My blog post "Bloodbath in Moscow" yesterday pertains. I'm reproducing excerpts from a Dmitry Trenin piece on RT News today which talks about the same topic and whose views I agree: 

 

"The US government’s version of an Islamic State connection to the attack has been met with skepticism by Russian officials and commentators. Firstly, they were surprised by how quickly – virtually within minutes – Washington pointed the finger at the group. What also drew the attention of Russian observers was the US reference to an IS-linked news site which had claimed responsibility for the crime. Normally, all such sources are subjected to thorough checks. But not this time. Figures in Russia have also noted that American spokesmen immediately, and without prompting, declared that Ukraine was in no way linked to the act of terror. 

 

Other criticisms of the American version include the style of the attack (no political statements or demands were made); the admission by one of the captured attackers that he had shot innocent people for money; and the fact that this was not planned as a suicide operation. Many experts have pointed out that IS are far from their prime, and that Russian forces defeated their core elements in Syria years ago. This has allowed speculation to grow about a false flag attack. 

 

Ukraine, true to form, and alone among the nations of the world, has suggested that the Crocus City atrocity was an operation carried out by Russia’s own secret services, launched to facilitate a further tightening of the political regime and a new wave of mobilization. Clearly nonsensical, this interpretation invoked in many Russian minds the old proverb, “liar, liar, pants on fire”.

 

The Crocus City terrorist attack seemingly fits into a pattern. It has come against the background of Ukraine's intensification of artillery and drone strikes against the civilian population in Russian regions on the shared border, as well as attempts – all thwarted, thus far – to raid Russian villages. As a result, scores of Russian civilians have been killed or wounded, and thousands of children evacuated to safety. The conclusion reached by many analysts is that Ukraine, by focusing on “soft” civilian targets, had been seeking to undermine the Russian population’s morale in the run-up to the presidential elections in mid-March, and to strain the country’s internal stability after them. 

 

Regarding the concert hall massacre, there is another aspect at play: the US version of IS complicity and the use of Tajik citizens to carry out the attack may be intended to stoke inter-ethnic tensions within Russia between the Slavic majority and the Muslim minority population, both local and immigrant. 

 

Taken together, all of this strengthens the argument of those inside Russia who have long insisted that Ukraine – under its present ultra-nationalist leadership – is a terrorist state, and that Russia simply cannot tolerate such a regime on its borders. They believe that any talk of a ceasefire or negotiations should stop. Russia must achieve a complete victory – otherwise it will constantly bleed at the hands of the terrorists in power next door, supported and protected by the country's adversaries in the West. 

 

If the results of the investigation confirm that Ukraine was behind the Crocus City massacre, Russia’s war aims will need to be greatly expanded, and the conflict will significantly grow in intensity".

 

The death toll from the Moscow terrorist attack has risen to 137.

83 of the World’s 100 Worst Polluted Cities are in India

All but one of the 100 cities with the world’s worst air pollution last year were in Asia, according to the 2023 IQAir World Air Quality Report, with the climate crisis playing a pivotal role in bad air quality that is risking the health of billions of people worldwide. 

 

The vast majority of these cities – eighty-three – were in India and all exceeded the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines by more than 10 times, according to the report by IQAir, which tracks air quality worldwide. The study looked specifically at fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which is the tiniest pollutant but also the most dangerous. 

 

Only 9% of more than 7,800 cities analyzed globally recorded air quality that met WHO’s standard, which says average annual levels of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter. 

 

“We see that in every part of our lives that air pollution has an impact”, said IQAir Global CEO Frank Hammes. “And it typically, in some of the most polluted countries, is likely shaving off anywhere between three to six years of people’s lives. And then before that will lead to many years of suffering that are entirely preventable if there’s better air quality”. 

 

When inhaled, PM2.5 travels deep into lung tissue where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources like the combustion of fossil fuels, dust storms and wildfires, and has been linked to asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, and other respiratory illnesses, as well as cognitive impairment in children. 

 

Begusarai, a city of half a million people in northern India’s Bihar state, was the world’s most polluted city last year with an average annual PM2.5 concentration of 118.9 – 23 times the WHO guidelines. It was followed in the IQAir rankings by the Indian cities of Guwahati, Assam; Delhi; and Mullanpur, Punjab. Across India, 1.3 billion people, or 96% of the population, live with air quality seven times higher than WHO guidelines, according to the report. 

 

Central and South Asia were the worst performing regions globally, home to all four of the most polluted countries last year: Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Tajikistan. South Asia is of particular concern, with 29 of the 30 most polluted cities in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. The report ranked the major population centers of Lahore in 5th, New Delhi in 6th and Dhaka in 24th place. 

 

IQAir found that 92.5% of the 7,812 locations in 134 countries, regions, and territories where they analyzed average air quality last year exceeded WHO’s PM2.5 guidelines. 

 

Only 10 countries and territories had “healthy” air quality: Finland, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Grenada, Iceland, Mauritius and French Polynesia.