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New Chinese map threatens peace in Asia | Express Comment | Comment
China and India have also physically clashed over the last few years (Image: Getty)
This was no random map but the official “standard” map of China released by the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources and reported by the government mouthpiece, state-run China Daily.
This official map of China now encompasses the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the disputed Aksai Chin region of Kashmir. The main area of dispute between China and India is along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas.
This may not be such a big deal if not for China’s aggression in all disputed regions.
The military manoeuvres of China’s People’s Liberation Army around Taiwan – as well as militarising islands in the South China Sea – are well-known.
But China and India have also physically clashed over the last few years, the last time in December.
The inclusion of Indian territory follows a move in April by China to rename 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh. But will India’s “strong protest” over the new map be enough, especially as the country gears up for an election next year?
The dispute of course is further complicated by China’s close relationship with India’s arch-rival Pakistan. India has been particularly alarmed by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, and the nearby Gwadar Port, with the potential for a Chinese military base there.
India has also been alarmed by the Chinese presence in nearby Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka – part of what has been termed China’s ‘string of pearls’ strategy, seen as potentially designed to encircle India.
India – known for its independent foreign policy stance – may now begin to realise, as Japan and South Korea have, that the CCP means business, and this demands a change to its non-aligned posture.
India is not alone. Malaysia has also lodged a complaint after the new Chinese map also encompassed parts of its maritime area off Borneo, while the Philippines also complained after the map took in some of its maritime zones.
The Philippines – which sits south of Taiwan – now hosts more US troops following a recent change of government, and is finding itself repeatedly clashing with China over the South China Sea.
This all comes as the Biden administration just approved $80m in military aid to Taiwan under a programme usually reserved for sovereign states.
Only recently the US approved a possible $500m sale of equipment including infrared search and track systems for F-16 jets to Taiwan.
All in all, the new China map suggests a CCP that is not backing down in its territorial ambitions, just as leader Xi Jinping last weekend doubled down on the party’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, treatment many Western governments view as genocidal.
As China’s economy splutters – officially still growing in single-digits but, in reality, who knows – the CCP may seek foreign conflicts as a way to deflect attention from problems at home and solve its youth unemployment crisis as well.
Of course, a war might be the last thing Xi Jinping needs. That said, there is likely a window of opportunity for Taiwan, while the CCP is unwilling to enact the necessary reforms to help its economy, reforms which would put more money and power in the hands of the people and private sector.
The map also coincides with a recent documentary aired in China which talked up the prospect of a war over Taiwan. If Beijing is managing expectations among its people that war is not coming, this is an odd way of going about it.
Indeed, China may need Taiwan to unlock its access to the Pacific, but the resource-rich South China Sea is also critical for Beijing, opening up a gateway to the Indian Ocean, while any encroachments into India would help China undermine New Delhi and secure access to resource-rich lands.
The question now is what will India and its neighbours will do beyond strong words.
Already beefing up its military, New Delhi may have Pakistan front-and-centre of its mind, but Pakistan’s staunch ally China cannot be out of the thoughts of Indian policymakers either.
With this new map, neither they – nor policymakers elsewhere in Asia – should be under any illusion as to what the CCP’s true ambitions really are.
Inside of the former Debenhams (Image: YouTube/ Urbandoned)
One of Ireland’s most iconic department stores has sat empty for the past six years — and in that time it has come to resemble something straight out of a zombie film.
So say a number of urban explorers who have documented the “eerie apocalyptic scene” inside the former Roches Stores and Debenhams on Patrick Street in Cork City.
The historic building dates back to 1922 and operated as a Roches Stores before Debenhams took on a lease of the premises in 2006.
Debenhams went into administration in 2020, forcing the site to shut its doors. Although fresh plans have recently been given the green light, the vast derelict building has been concealed behind hoarding and has become a magnet for urban explorers across Ireland and the UK.
The urban explorers snuck inside (Image: YouTube/ Urbandoned)
‘Apocalyptic scenes’
Among those drawn to the abandoned site are Alistair, Alex and Theo, who run a page called Urbandoned. The trio paid a visit to the once-bustling department store a few years ago.
Speaking in the video, Alistair said: “The ringing alarm, which we would find out later was triggered by us, added an eerie sense of dread to the exploration, we were half waiting for the security from the neighbouring shopping centre to suddenly appear inside.”
He continued: “Walking into the department store’s main atrium, there was an apocalyptic scene before us, because there was hardly any deterioration and the electricity still worked.”
The old Roches Stores building in Cork, Ireland (Image: undefined)
The lads observed that it was the first shopping centre they had encountered with such an abundance of interior fittings still in place. Many of the shelving units remained intact alongside photographs and brand signage on the walls.
They added: “It must be a strange experience watching our video if you were a familiar shopper with the Cork Debenhams, seeing a building that perhaps gave you joy over many weekends for decades and decades, now in a paralysed state neither here nor there.”
Following the upload of the video, which you can view in full here, one viewer responded: “I never thought I’d see a video of an abandoned place that I was inside of when it was still open. It gives such a weird feeling.”
Another said: “It’s crazy to think that this place is gone now… I have many fond memories of being dragged to go clothes shopping there during my childhood.”
A third wrote: “Oh man, I’ve been dragged through this store so many times as a small boy by my mom, so I remember it vividly. Quite surreal to see it like this.”
Transformation
Despite lying dormant since 2020, Irish sports retailer Intersports Elverys, together with a consortium of private investors, acquired it three years later for €12m, despite it initially being listed at €20m. Refurbishment work commenced shortly thereafter with significant structural alterations being carried out internally.
It will soon be transformed (Image: YouTube/ Urbandoned)
Last July, proposals were lodged by Tricondale Ltd regarding the separation of the building into four distinct retail units. In December, Cork City Council gave the green light to plans for the site to be divided into separate units, meaning it is hoped the former Roches Stores will soon be welcoming shoppers once again.
The principal frontage of the building will house three ground-floor units — with a fourth accessible from the opposite side on Mayor Street.
A graphic of the planned revamp (Image: undefined)
It has been reported that a second application for residential accommodation, a hotel and additional retail space may be submitted for the rear portion of the building.
The approved scheme also includes “the refurbishment and upgrade of the existing facades” and preview images show additional windows being incorporated into the building’s frontage.
It is understood that one section of the building will be taken by a beauty and cosmetics retailer, while the central space is likely to become an Intersport Elverys.
Zara and Rituals have also been mentioned as potential occupiers of the site, though similar to Elverys, no formal confirmations have been made. That said, Rituals did publish a listing on its website suggesting that a boutique would launch at 12-17 Patrick Street.
Despite the ambitious scheme, and City Hall planners giving their backing to revitalise it, a launch date has not yet been confirmed.
At least one person has died after an explosion rocked a two-storey building in an Italian town. The two storey building collapsed in Porto Sant’Elpidio, a coastal town in the province of Fermo, shortly before 6am local time this morning.
A 55-year-old man who lived with his parents was killed in the explosion. Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s fire and rescue service, reported that his “lifeless body” was recovered, while his elderly parents were taken to separate hospitals for treatment. Searches are now underway to locate a missing woman whilst a teenager was rescued from the rubble.
Firefighters, using a ladder truck, also evacuated two people living in the building adjacent to the collapsed one.
According to local reports, two families lived in the collapsed building on Via Trentino, the explosion is believed to have occurred in the second-floor apartment.
Horrific images from the scene show the explosion completely destroyed the building and blew out windows in nearby shops and buildings within several hundred metres.
Firefighters are now searching for any bodies left trapped under the rubble, using the USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) team, drones, dogs, and excavators are being utilised.
Initial reports suggest the deadly explosion was caused by a gas leak. An adjacent building to the one that exploded is being investigated.
Thanking the emergency services the mayor of Porto Sant’Elpidio, Massimo Ciarpella, called the incident a “terrible day” for their town.
He said: “This morning at dawn a very violent explosion destroyed a building in Via Trentino. Unfortunately there is a victim and the search is underway for a person who is currently missing. Three injured were extracted from the rubble and transported to hospitals in Torrette and Fermo.
“Thank you to the Firefighters, Rescue 118, all law enforcement, our local Police and authorities who have been working non stop since 5am this morning. It’s a terrible day for our town. Will keep you updated.”
Bern:
A co-owner of the Swiss bar ravaged by a deadly fire was charged with forgery on Friday, adding to the numerous charges she and her husband already face over the New Year disaster that killed 41 people.
Jessica and Jacques Moretti already face charges including manslaughter by negligence and arson by negligence over the blaze at their bar Le Constellation, in the Crans-Montana ski resort in the early hours of January 1.
As prosecutors questioned the French couple at an investigation hearing in Sion in southwest Switzerland, Jessica Moretti’s lawyers confirmed she faced a new charge of falsifying a document.
The charge is linked to a falsified invoice believed to be central to the case, though her lawyers said she was innocent and the document was not relevant to the case.
The invoice was for the sound-insulation foam that lined the ceiling of the bar’s basement, which prosecutors say ignited when champagne bottles with sparklers attached were raised into the air.
Most of those killed were teenagers, many aged 16 and under, while 115 others also injured in the blaze.
Moretti’s lawyers said their client had willingly provided an invoice to investigators for a 2015 purchase.
“This was a real purchase that was simply recorded in the accounts under a different name,” they said, insisting that the charge was “clearly unrelated” to the tragedy.
Lawyers for the victims’ families saw it differently.
The invoice raises “very legitimate questions”, lawyer Christophe de Galembert told reporters. “We have no answers.”
‘Playing the victim’
Speaking to reporters at the end of the 10-hour-long hearing, lawyer Yael Hayat said his client Jessica Moretti “sometimes feels that in reality, what she is being criticised for is surviving”.
Among those present at the hearing was Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, whose 16-year-old son Arthur died in the disaster.
She accused the Morettis of “playing the victim” during the hearing.
“They take no responsibility… How do you expect us, the parents, who visit our children’s graves every day, to react,” she asked.
The Morettis have been questioned twice since the criminal investigation against them was opened but not since February and never together.
Lawyers for the families complained Friday’s hearing was too late in the investigation, and that little had been done to guard against evidence tampering and collusion.
“This is a couple who share a household: it’s the Everest of collusion,” said lawyer Gilles-Antoine Hofstetter.
“There’s a strong chance their versions have been coordinated.”
Fourteen people are under criminal investigation in connection with the disaster, including several current and former local officials.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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