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“The wind blows all the year round, not a bird in the sky nor a leaf can be found.” This saying, once common in northwest China’s arid Ningxia Hui autonomous region, captures the suffering inflicted on its communities by the desert.Over the past 40 years, the Baijitan National Nature Reserve has served as a frontline fortification against the Mu Us Desert for Ningxia’s capital Yinchuan and its nearly 3 million people.By the 1950s, the desert had advanced to within 5km (3 miles) of the Yellow River, severely threatening agriculture and livelihoods as its sands, carried by wind and water, raised…

SEOUL: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang plans to meet “global leaders and top Korean executives” when he attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation CEO Summit in South Korea this month, the US AI chipmaker said in a statement on Sunday. “Huang will participate in activities to underscore NVIDIA’s work to advance technology and drive growth in Korea and worldwide through AI, robotics, digital twins and autonomous vehicles,” Nvidia said, with providing details. The CEO event from October 28 to 31 runs parallel to the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum leaders’ summit, when heads of its 21 member countries will gather. Huang is…

LONDON (AP) — London police are probing whether Prince Andrew asked an officer assigned to him as a bodyguard to dig up dirt on sexual assault accuser Virginia Giuffre.The Metropolitan Police said it was “actively looking into” media reports that Andrew in 2011 sought information to smear Giuffre by asking an officer on the force to find out if she had a criminal record.The report by the Mail on Sunday followed Buckingham Palace’s announcement Friday that Andrew agreed to relinquish use of Duke of York and other remaining royal titles after emails emerged showing he had remained in contact with…

China’s top counter-espionage agency has accused the United States of conducting cyberattacks against the country’s national time centre, which it said could have had a severe impact on the orderly functioning of society.In a social media post on Sunday, the Ministry of State Security said the US National Security Agency was behind a number of cyberattacks against China’s National Time Service Centre.The centre – affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and based in Xian, Shaanxi province – is responsible for generating and distributing China’s standard time.It also provides highly precise timing services for the country’s communications, finance, power, transport,…

PARIS (AP) — A theft occurred at the Louvre on Sunday, France’s culture minister said, as the museum closed for the day while authorities investigate. “A robbery took place this morning at the opening of the Louvre Museum,” Rachida Dati wrote on X. The Louvre said it would close “for exceptional reasons,” offering no further details on the heist. No injuries were reported.Dati said she was on site and that an investigation was underway.French daily Le Parisien reported that the criminals entered the world’s most visited museum and former palace via the Seine-facing facade, where construction is underway. The report…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones struck a major gas processing plant in southern Russia, sparking a fire and forcing it to suspend its intake of gas from Kazakhstan, Russian and Kazakh authorities said Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump meanwhile suggested that Kyiv may have to give up territory in exchange for an end to Moscow’s more than 3 1/2-year invasion, in the latest of apparent reversals on how to pursue peace. The Orenburg plant, run by state-owned gas giant Gazprom and located in a region of the same name near the Kazakh border, is part of a production and…

MUNICH (AP) — Germany’s Munich Airport was temporarily closed Saturday night following reports of drones that authorities were unable to verify, federal police said.The airport, one of Germany’s largest, reopened before midnight, federal police said. Air traffic was operating normally Sunday morning, the airport said.“Suspicious observations” were reported by several people, including security officials and airport employees, federal police and the airport said. The sightings occurred around 10 p.m. local time Saturday for roughly 30 minutes and again around 11 p.m. for another half-hour.The impact on flights and passengers was minor, the airport said Sunday. Three flights were diverted —…

The camouflage-clad soldiers who patrol the rice fields around Wichien’s village are a daily reminder that peace along Thailand’s border with Cambodia is perilous, despite the recent truce.For the Thai farmer, the prospect of a lasting settlement is welcome. But US President Donald Trump’s involvement is not.“Trump isn’t here seeking peace, he’s only after recognition … a Nobel Prize. It’s about serving his own ambitions, not helping us,” said Wichien, who asked to be identified by only one name during such anxious times.“We’re fully capable of resolving our issues with Cambodia on our own.”Trump’s White House sees things differently. It…

NICOSIA (AP) — Breakaway Turkish Cypriots on ethnically divided Cyprus cast ballots Sunday in an election that many see as a choice between an even deeper alignment with Turkey or a shift toward closer ties with the rest of Europe.There are some 218,000 registered voters. Polls close at 1500 GMT. Seven candidates are vying for the leadership spot but the main two contenders are the hard-right incumbent Ersin Tatar and the center-left Tufan Erhurman.Tatar, 65, vociferously supports permanently dividing Cyprus by pursuing international recognition for a Turkish Cypriot state that will be aligned even closer to Turkey’s political, economic and…

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te wants the island to build a “T-Dome” missile shield – modelled after Israel’s Iron Dome. But his proposal has sparked debate over feasibility, given Taiwan’s disparate missile systems.Lai unveiled his “T-Dome” plan during a Double Tenth Day address marking the 114th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China – Taiwan’s official title.He described it as a “multilayered air defence network” to protect critical infrastructure and population centres from potential missile and drone attacks by Beijing.Apparently borrowing from Israel’s Iron Dome and America’s proposed “Golden Dome” anti-missile systems, but offering few technical details, Lai…