Dialoguepk

Looking to a brighter Arab future : The chaos and violence in some parts of the region should not hide the great forward steps being taken

Special report: Climate change poses grave threats to China's essential infrastructure Hu Xi 20.04.2016 China's planners need to take much greater account of climate risks to water supply, energy, roads and railways, writes Hu Xi   Waibaidu Bridge in Shanghai. Infrastructure accounts for 70% of China's capital spending, but much of it is at risk from climate change (Image by  David Leo Veksler ) Extreme weather events in China, expected to become increasingly common because of climate change, pose a grave threat to essential infrastructure that provides running water, electricity, road and railway connections to at least 100 million people.  That's one of the main findings of research by the  UK's Oxford University in collaboration with Beijing Normal University. It concludes  that China's planners need to do much more to account for the impacts of severe droughts, heatwaves, rising sea levels and floods by making infras

Looking to a brighter Arab future : The chaos and violence in some parts of the region should not hide the great forward steps being taken

A ‘lost’ daughter speaks, and all of China listens : I went to China to find the birth mother who left me on a street corner Instead I became the focus of a nation s buried pain

Hu Tao Lo Sze Ping 26.04.2016 China's officials will have clearer lines of command in the 'war on pollution', write  Hu Tao and  Lo Sze Ping (Image by  Neo-Jay ) After China's twin political sessions in March (known in China as the 'Lianghui') central government put the finishing touches to a major shake-up of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP),  establishing separate departments for oversight of water, air and soil. Think tanks and policy experts had long advocated such a move, so that officials would have clearer responsibilities, greater accountability, and defined lines of command. The changes, which come one year after environmental minister Chen Jining took up his post, are intended to improve the quality of environmental management and avoid contradictory and muddled decision-making within the MEP's manifold departments.  Marshalling China's officials more effectively, it is hoped, could

‘Wayl’ comic creators aim for realism in Arab superhero tale : Zaid Adham and Yasser Alireza bring the dark side of Amman to life in their new superhero comic book

Tribal Kashmiri crafts get a new lease of life : Shepherd Crafts provides a means of steady income for the Gujjar and Bakarwal communities by promoting embroidered goods and other items made by them