Beijing has been flexing its military muscle, opening its first overseas military base in Djibouti and building militarised artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea Beijing has been flexing its military muscle, opening its first overseas military base in Djibouti and building militarised artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea (AFP Photo/STR) Source:  Becky Davis Beijing (AFP) - China has traditionally rejected US-style interventionism, but its deepening economic involvement in volatile countries like Myanmar and Zimbabwe is thrusting Beijing towards a more assertive global role, analysts say. China's foreign policy has been guided by its principle of "non-interference in other countries' internal affairs", which emerged in 1954 when it was a much weaker nation. While Beijing remains rhetorically committed to the stance, it is now a very different power, boasting the world's largest standing army and the second...

Roland Oliphant , The Telegraph Emmerson Mnangagwa appealed for national unity and promised compensation for dispossessed white farmers as he sought to draw a line under the Robert Mugabe era in his inaugural speech as president of Zimbabwe.  Related Searches Mnangagwa Emmerson Mnangagwa Sworn In Emmerson Mnangagwa Latest News Mr Mnangagwa  was sworn in as the second president of Zimbabwe with a 21 gun salute, marching troops, and dancing children just ten days after the country’s military launched a coup that led to the resignation of Mr Mugabe,  who had ruled the country for 37 years, earlier this week.  In an address to 60,000 people in Harare’s national stadium, he praised Mr Mugabe as his mentor and a “founding father” of the nation, but in a tacit rebuke called on the international community to lift sanctions in recognition of the country’s “new start.” "For me personally he is a mentor, father, comrade in arms, and...

Source:  Yahoo News  Zimbabwe’s new President Emmerson Mnangagwa vowed sweeping change at his swearing in on Friday, seeking to reassure foreign investors and pledging to fight poverty and corruption after Robert Mugabe’s shock resignation. In his inaugural address, Mnangagwa set out a program of dramatic change that promised a stark reversal of many of Mugabe’s signature policies. He pledged that his government would compensate white farmers whose land was seized by Mugabe, protect international investments in the country, and re-engage with foreign powers. Elections scheduled for 2018 would go ahead as planned, he said. “I humbly appeal to all of us that we let bygones be bygones,” he said at the ceremony in the 60,000-seat national stadium in Harare, which was packed to capacity. “We must work together — you, me, all of us who make this nation. “I stand here today, to say that our country is ready for a sturdy re-engagement program with all the nations of ...

  Dave Majumdar, The National Interest   Reactions   Like   Reblog on Tumblr   Share   Tweet   Email Dave Majumdar Security, Asia China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is starting to make headway in developing an expeditionary capability.  China's Air Force Is Getting Ready to Fight Wars Abroad China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is starting to make headway in developing an expeditionary capability as Beijing continues its rise as a great power according to a new RAND Corporation study. While initially focusing on “non-war” operations involving airlifters, it is likely that the PLAAF will eventually develop robust expeditionary capabilities for its combat aircraft too. PLAAF fighter aircraft already deploy long-distances domestically and internationally and have trained abroad in Russia, Turkey and Pakistan, but China’s oversea combat aircraft deployments remain small compared to We...

  Hannah Osborne, Newsweek   Reactions   Like   Reblog on Tumblr   Share   Tweet   Email Sergio Canavero claims he can make you immortal, but there’s a small catch. He first wants to chop off your head. If that’s not a deal-breaker, you’ll be happy to hear that the Italian neurosurgeon has announced he will perform the world’s first human head transplant in China sometime in December. (He’s vague on details, possibly for security reasons.) He will remove the head of a patient—an unidentified Chinese national—and attach it to a donor body, origin (and cause of death) unknown. The spinal cord will be fused and the blood vessels and muscles attached. The patient—same head, new body—will be kept in a coma for around a month while he (or she?) heals. Canavero says that if successful, his patient will eventually be able to walk again. If his plan sounds ludicrous, that’s because it is. Nobody knows how to fix a broken human spinal co...