China

Twitter adds labels to state-backed media and editors as well as government accounts

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Twitter has unveiled new labels marking the tweets and accounts of ‘state-backed media’ as well as official government entities, in a move it says will ‘increase transparency and accountability.’ Twitter on Thursday announced the new steps to prevent the spread of content from state-affiliated media used to advance a government’s political agenda — a move … Read more

Microwaving tea DOES ruin your cuppa, study finds

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From whether to ‘warm the pot’ to Evelyn Waugh’s assertion that only ‘nannies and many governesses’ put the milk in first, the art of tea making is fraught with dispute. Experts from China have now ‘stirred the pot’ by showing how microwaving tea can ruin your cuppa by creating uneven heat distribution throughout the mug.  … Read more

Conservation efforts in China to protect giant pandas have failed to help large carnivores

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Conservation efforts in China designed to protect the giant panda have failed to help the region’s endangered leopards, snow leopards and wolves, study finds Experts examined the large carnivores living in 73 of China’s protected areas They found in most of the regions, such animals had almost entirely disappeared Numbers of leopards, for example, have … Read more

Best place to see the night sky is the coldest place on Earth where the stars ‘twinkle’ the least

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The best place to see the night sky is the highest dome on the Antarctic Plateau — the coldest-known place on Earth, where the stars appear to ‘twinkle’ the least. Dome A, or ‘Argus’ — located in the centre of East Antarctica at an elevation of 13,428 feet above sea level — experiences temperatures as low … Read more

Fascinating We’re The Russos footage from a trip on the world’s highest railway in Tibet 

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‘The landscape looked like the moon.’ That’s how traveller Joe Russo described the breathtaking scenery he saw from the train he rode with his wife, Kait, along the world’s highest railway from Xining in China to Lhasa in Tibet, which has a peak elevation of 16,627ft (5,067 metres). It’s a unique journey – so high … Read more

‘Sinister’ Chinese mussel has found its way into British waters

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‘Sinister’ Chinese mussel that can smother scallops and oysters has made its way into British waters Asian date mussels have distinctive zig-zag markings on their tiny shells  They were first found in China and have caused problems all over the world  Dense mats of the mussels can suffocate scallops, oysters and seagrass  By Colin Fernandez, … Read more