Kandahar is in which province

The nation's tourism market saw a steady recovery during the Spring Festival holiday, pointing to a continued upturn after being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic last year. The recovery is remarkable given that many people were encouraged to stay put over the holiday, industry insiders said. During the seven-day break, travelers made around 256 million trips to domestic destinations, a year-on-year rise of 15.7 percent from the same period in 2020 when the pandemic had just started, according to a statement from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Thursday. The trips were equal to some 75.3 percent of those during the holiday in 2019, the statement said. Tourism-related revenue generated over the period was 301 billion yuan ($46.7 billion), up 8.2 percent year-on-year, and 58.6 percent of that in 2019, the ministry said. The tourism sector operated safely and smoothly during the holiday, according to the ministry. About 10,000 domestic attractions remained open, some 75 ... » Learn More about Uptick in tourism during holiday signals rebound

BEIJING - Luo Jiamang, former general accountant of China's biggest food trader COFCO, has been indicted on charges of accepting bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Friday. Luo's case has been investigated by the National Supervisory Commission. Upon the designation of the SPP, a procuratorate in the city of Handan, Hebei Province, reviewed the case and filed it in the city's Intermediate People's Court, said the SPP in a statement. Luo, also a former member of COFCO's leading Party members' group, was accused of taking advantages of his multiple posts to embezzle public assets of large amounts and seek illegitimate benefits for others, and illegally accepting vast sums of money and gifts from others in return. The SPP said the prosecutors had informed the defendant of his litigation rights, interrogated him and listened to the opinions of the defense counsel. ... » Learn More about Former COFCO general accountant indicted for bribery

BEIJING - Deng Huilin, former deputy mayor of Southwest China's Chongqing municipality, has been indicted on a charge of taking bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Friday. Deng was accused of taking advantage of his various former positions to seek profits for others and accepting vast sums of money and gifts in return, the SPP said in a statement. Deng's case was handed over to the People's Procuratorate of Baoding in North China's Hebei province for review and prosecution upon the designation of the SPP after the National Supervisory Commission concluded the investigation, it said. Deng will stand trial in the Intermediate People's Court of Baoding, it added. The SPP said the prosecutors had informed the defendant of his litigation rights, interrogated him and heard the defense counsel's opinions. ... » Learn More about Former deputy mayor of China’s Chongqing indicted for bribery

Seeking India’s “proactive” support at the UN Human Rights Council, where a resolution on Sri Lanka will be soon put to vote, the Secretary to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “India cannot abandon us”. “If the world is one family, as your Foreign Minister has said, then we are immediate family, isn’t it,” Admiral (Retd.) Jayanath Colombage said, citing External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s reference to ‘ vasudhaiva kutumbakam ’ in his recent address to the Council. The Foreign Secretary, a former Navy Commander, spoke to The Hindu on Sri Lanka’s prospects at the ongoing session in Geneva, Indo-Lanka relations, Colombo’s broader foreign policy choices, and strategy for reconciliation from “within”, and regional cooperation. Sri Lanka, Mr. Colombage said, would be “very uncomfortable” if countries in the region did not extend support in Geneva. He expressed hope that India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh — who are among members of the current Council — will ... » Learn More about India cannot abandon us: Sri Lanka

Video Player Close by Xinhua writers Yao Yulin and Wang Xiaojie BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Among the prize winners at the 11th Annual Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMAs) in January was one that bucked convention and raised a few eyebrows, largely because the performers were not human. The award for Outstanding Song in a video game went to the band K/DA, consisting of four imaginary characters from League of Legends, one of the world's most frenetic games. While the news may have been eye-opening for some, it reflects a growing trend of fascination with virtual stars, which seem to have several advantages over their real-life counterparts. In 2020, China's online streaming giant iQiyi launched the country's first-ever talent show for virtual idols, Dimension Nova, where its own virtual band, RiCH BOOM, blew everyone's mind with the razzmatazz of their performances. "They are so different, clad in Peking Opera costumes on their debut show. Although they have a hint ... » Learn More about Feature: Rising virtual stars bring down the house in digital era

The Modi government’s appalling inefficiency and lack of purpose stand exposed, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar. M y archives on India-Iran relations include a clipping from DNA newspaper from Mumbai, going back to May last year. It is a Press Trust of India report, Iran’s Chabahar port to be operational by December 2016: Nitin Gadkari , based on an exclusive interview with the Union minister of transport, coinciding with his visit to Teheran to finalise the Chabahar project. Gadkari was quoted as saying, ‘Work has started on the Chabahar port. There is a joint venture of Kandla Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust… We will start port activities in a year or a year-and-a-half… I have given the orders to bring out tenders for purchasing cranes for the port. An agreement will be signed within a month.’ Last week, however, when PTI took another exclusive interview with Gadkari, it transpired that the goal post has been shifted. Gadkari said : ‘The ... » Learn More about If India can’t build Chabahar, China will

India on Sunday sent its first consignment of wheat to Afghanistan through the Chabahar port in Iran, seen as a 'landmark' move to operationalise the new strategic transit route, bypassing Pakistan. The shipment was flagged off from the Kandla port in Gujarat with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Afghan counterpart Salahuddin Rabbani joining the ceremony through video conferencing. 'The shipment of wheat is a landmark moment as it will pave the way for operationalisation of the Chabahar port as an alternate, reliable and robust connectivity for Afghanistan,' the ministry of external affairs said in a statement. In June, India and Afghanistan had launched an air freight corridor between the two countries to boost trade as Pakistan has been refusing land transit access through its territory. "I am extremely delighted that today we have joined on a momentous occasion for the people of our three countries and the region," Swaraj said, terming the move as ... » Learn More about India sends first wheat shipment to Afghanistan via Chabahar port

The recent Indo-Iran deal to develop the strategic Chabahar Port is part of India's "larger geo-strategic calculations" to gain access to the Middle East and Central Asia and to counter Pakistan-China's plan to develop Gwadar port, a media report said in Beijing on Tuesday. "Actually, Chabahar is just the tip of the iceberg of India's geostrategic ambitions. Besides building new berths and upgrades to Chabahar, what interests New Delhi more is a comprehensive scheme that can reshape India's geopolitics to the northwest and extend its influence further into the Middle East, Central Asia and the Trans-Caucasus," an article in the state-run Global Times said on Tuesday. To this end, India has recently committed USD 400 million (Rs 26 hundred crore) in steel to construction of the railway connecting Chabahar and Zahedan, near Afghan border, the report said. "Although New Delhi ostensibly highlights economic considerations, such as facilitating trade along the ... » Learn More about India’s Chabahar port plan is to buffet China’s plans in Gwadar

Mitsubishi Corp has decided to pull out of the Vinh Tan 3 power plant in Vietnam , two sources familiar with the company's thinking on the matter told Reuters, as it shifts away from carbon intensive businesses in the face of climate change . Mitsubishi's move to exit the estimated $2 billion project shows how willing Japanese companies and financiers are to drop their once-strong support for coal amid pressure from shareholders and activists. Japan 's big banks regularly topped lending league tables for coal mines and power stations. But, in a little over a year, they have committed to ending their financing for the dirtiest fossil fuel, albeit over decades. The Japanese trading house will pull out of the 2-gigawatt Vinh Tan 3 project, located in the southern province of Binh Thuan, because of climate targets, the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said. Mitsubishi has committed to reducing their investment in coal power to keep in line with ... » Learn More about Mitsubishi pulls out of Vinh Tan 3 coal project in Vietnam – sources

Video Player Close SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- In militancy-plagued Afghanistan, it is not easy for women to run their own businesses, but Malalai Mobariz is among a handful of women who confronted the challenges and opened a coffee shop in the country's northern Shiberghan city. "My prime objective of running the coffee shop is to display the ability of women from one hand, and from the other hand to provide job opportunities for women," Mobariz, 25, told Xinhua recently. Living in Shiberghan city, capital of the relatively peaceful Jawzjan province, 390 km north of Kabul, the female entrepreneur hoped to build her career as businessperson from running the coffee shop. Named as "Orange Cafe" and opened four months ago by Mobariz with a fund of 5,000 U.S. dollars, the coffee shop is gaining popularity. Expressing satisfaction over the income of her coffee shop, Mobariz said up to 80 customers including boys and girls, men and women visit Orange Cafe ... » Learn More about Feature: Afghan women runs coffee shop with “resilience, hard work and courage”