Asia Times

1 day ago | asiatimes.com | Stefan Wolff |Tetyana Malyarenko

After more than three years of war, the prospects of peace for Ukraine remain slim. There is no obvious credible pathway even to a ceasefire, given Russia’s refusal to extend a brief and shaky truce over Easter. This, despite the US, UK and Ukraine all signalling their support for this idea. And even if the considerable hurdles impeding a ceasefire deal could be overcome, a more fundamental problem would remain.

2 days ago | asiatimes.com | Jeff Pao

Six out of 21 Chinese robots completed the world’s first half marathon (21.1 kilometres) for humanoid robots in Beijing on April 19, with the winner setting a record time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. Over 12,000 people participated in the marathon on the same day, and the human winner reached the endpoint in 1 hour and 2 minutes. The Tien Kung Ultra robot, developed by X-Humanoid, a Beijing-based state-owned enterprise, won the race for humanoid robots. It is 1.8 meters tall and weighs 52 kilograms.

6 days ago | asiatimes.com | Jeff Pao

Rising geopolitical conflicts and trade wars are affecting people-to-people exchanges between the United States and China as Washington tightens its student visa issuance. Over the past month, the Trump administration has reportedly revoked visas of more than a thousand international students without providing concrete reasons.

6 days ago | asiatimes.com | Andrew Korybko

Reuters reported earlier this month that the latest version of Trump’s resource deal with Ukraine includes an “Easter egg” that would give the US International Development Finance Corporation control over its international gas pipeline between Russia and the EU. This prompted another Reuters report alleging that French and German firms are open to the possibility of resuming imports via that route. These reports together suggest that the US wants to control Russia’s pipeline gas exports to Europe.

6 days ago | asiatimes.com | Noah Smith

Witnessing America’s flamboyantly stupid economic self-harm and its slow descent into authoritarianism has made some people ask whether the 21st century will end up being the Chinese Century. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman says yes:“There was a time when people came to America to see the future,” [an American businessman in China] said.