Inside a Changing Nation | Vietnam

Recommendable!

(484) Inside a Changing Nation | Vietnam: Looking for Home (full documentary) | FRONTLINE/World - YouTube

Sodium-ion batteries are entering mass production in China

Good news! Will China corner the global battery market?

"China has over 36.9 million ... passenger ... EVs and more than 420 million electric two-wheelers (motorcycles, scooters, and e-bikes) currently in use." (Google search)

"China’s CATL set to begin large-scale output this year in a push that researchers say could offer a cheaper, safer, and more abundant alternative to lithium for EVs and grid storage."

Thursday, July 16, 2026 - Join The Flyover

Beyond lithium: how sodium-ion batteries could change the world "Batteries based on sodium ions are entering mass production. Some researchers say they could ultimately be a cheaper, safer alternative to lithium in electric cars and other energy applications."

Sodium-ion batteries made by CATL in China are used in electric cars (left) and energy-storage banks for electricity grids (right).

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev Lauds Trump as ‘a Man of Peace,’ Credits Him with Armenia‑Azerbaijan Deal

President Trump, the peacemaker!

"... the Azerbaijani president credited Trump’s success to a fundamentally different approach to resolving long-running conflicts. ...

The Azerbaijani president argued that previous administrations spent nearly three decades pursuing policies that effectively froze the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict rather than resolving it, while Trump approached the conflict from an entirely different perspective. ...

Describing Trump as “a person who loves peace” who “sees peace as an opportunity,” Aliyev said Trump’s role proved decisive as Azerbaijan and Armenia reached the final stage of negotiations on a peace agreement. According to Aliyev, Trump and his team understood Azerbaijan’s concerns, worked to persuade Armenia that peace served both countries’ interests and ultimately “created such a framework that peace became possible.” ..."

EXCLUSIVE: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev Lauds Trump as ‘a Man of Peace,’ Credits Him with Armenia‑Azerbaijan Deal "Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hailed President Donald Trump as a uniquely effective peacemaker whose fundamentally different approach to diplomacy proved decisive in securing the historic Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement and ushered in what he described as an unprecedented new era of U.S.-Azerbaijani relations."

Japan Plans To Create Its First Centralised Intel Agency

Good news! Long overdue! Bravo PM Takaichi!

(30031) Japan Plans To Create Its First Centralised Intel Agency | WION World DNA - YouTube

Malaysia to start initial production of homegrown EV battery in July

Good news! Competition is good, more competition is better!

"Malaysia plans to start small-scale production of a homegrown graphene-enhanced lithium-ion battery for electric vehicles this month, marking a milestone in the country's efforts to move up the tech manufacturing value chain. ..."

Malaysia to start initial production of homegrown EV battery in July - Nikkei Asia "Country aims for exports to Indonesia, South Korea, India and Pakistan"

What signal is China sending with first official footage of sixth-generation fighter?

China's military is pushing the envelope again?

"... a move that analysts said might suggest Beijing was ahead of its competitors, including the US, in developing the next generation of warplanes. ..."

What signal is China sending with first official footage of sixth-generation fighter? | South China Morning Post "A fleeting clip of the new fighter – nicknamed ‘Little Six’ – featured in a video released by official military media over the weekend"

UBTech’s lifelike humanoid robots built for companionship arriving in homes across China

Taoism redefined?

"UBTech Robotics, the world’s first publicly traded humanoid robot maker, has launched a consumer humanoid designed for personal companionship, featuring lifelike silicone skin and emotional artificial intelligence, as Chinese tech firms increasingly transition robots from the factory floor to the family living room. 

The U1, unveiled on Tuesday in Shenzhen, comes in male and female versions, standing 183cm and 168cm tall, respectively.

The model is available in Lite, Pro and Ultra variants, priced from 119,800 yuan (US$17,650) to 990,000 yuan.

It features 88 servo joints, a silicone exterior and an emotional AI model running locally on Rockchip’s RK3588 processor. User data is stored on the device rather than uploaded to the cloud.

Unlike most humanoid robots designed for industrial use, the U1 is intended for interaction with users in domestic settings. ..."

UBTech’s lifelike humanoid robots built for companionship arriving in homes across China | South China Morning Post "The unveiling of model U1, which has silicone skin and emotional AI, reflects tech firms’ drive to expand robotics beyond industrial use"

A doll with a nice figure?

Chinese AGIBOT produces 15,000th robot, marking a milestone in embodied AI deployment

Very impressive!

When will the robot population count exceed the Chinese/global human population count? In the not so distant future.

"Founded in 2023, AGIBOT said it is developing the foundation model and corresponding robotic embodiments needed to bring general intelligence into the physical world. Its claimed that its “Three Intelligences in One” architecture integrates locomotion, Interactions, and manipulation into a unified system. The Shanghai-based company‘s portfolio spans humanoid robots, quadrupeds, dexterous systems, and commercial cleaning systems. ...

AGIBOT previously announced that it took about a year to grow from 1,000 to 5,000 units. The next step, from 5,000 to 10,000 units, took only three months, with production speed increasing by more than four times compared with the previous phase. ..."

AGIBOT produces 15,000th robot, marking a milestone in embodied AI deployment - The Robot Report

Direct flights between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan to launch this year, sources say

Hong Kong never ceases to amaze me! I recently visited Hong Kong!

"... The new route follows close on the heels of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific’s plan to launch a service to Almaty in Kazakhstan in the first quarter of next year, one of the outcomes of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s official visit to the region. ..."

Direct flights between Hong Kong and Uzbekistan to launch this year, sources say | South China Morning Post "Direct flights between Hong Kong and Tashkent to start as talks begin on reciprocal 30-day visa-free stay agreement to boost trade, tourism and regional ties"

Panama Canal oil shipments soar 70% as Asian buyers turn to US crude

In times of war, there always winners and loosers! How much crude oil is coming from Venezuela?

"Crude oil and petroleum products traveling through the Panama Canal swelled more than 70% above last year's levels in April, as the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent Asian buyers scrambling to secure supplies from the U.S ..."

Panama Canal oil shipments soar 70% as Asian buyers turn to US crude - Nikkei Asia "With Hormuz unpassable due to Iran war, ships vie for limited canal transit slots"

Key protein found to protect cartilage, offering new hope for osteoarthritis treatment

Good news!

"... A joint research team ... has identified a key protein, SHP (NR0B2), that plays a critical protective role in cartilage and may offer a new therapeutic strategy for osteoarthritis. ...

The researchers first analyzed cartilage tissues from osteoarthritis patients and animal models of the disease. They found that the levels of SHP protein decreased significantly as the disease progressed, suggesting that loss of this protective factor contributes to accelerated cartilage destruction.

Further experiments showed that mice lacking SHP experienced more severe pain and faster cartilage degradation compared to normal mice. In contrast, restoring SHP levels in the joints led to reduced cartilage damage and improved joint function. ..."

From the abstract:

"Osteoarthritis (OA), characterised by cartilage destruction, is the most common degenerative joint disease. However, no effective disease-modifying OA therapy is currently available.

Herein, we report orphan nuclear receptor small heterodimer partner (SHP, NR0B2) as a novel catabolic regulator of OA pathogenesis.

NR0B2 expression was markedly downregulated in cartilage from patients with OA.

Global or chondrocyte-specific Nr0b2 deletion in male mice exacerbated OA-related pain and structural changes following surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus, accompanied by increased matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 and MMP-13 expression in chondrocytes.

Conversely, adeno-associated virus-mediated Nr0b2 overexpression in knee joints of male mice protected against accelerated knee OA caused by Nr0b2 deficiency. Mechanistically, NR0B2 inhibited IKKβ kinase activity via IKK complex interaction, downregulating NF-κB signalling.

Our results demonstrate that NR0B2 has a chondroprotective role in OA progression by regulating matrix-degrading enzymes in an IKKβ/NF-κB-dependent manner, and gene therapy targeting Nr0b2 may be a promising therapeutic strategy for OA."

Key protein found to protect cartilage, offering new hope for osteoarthritis treatment

Small heterodimer partner protects against osteoarthritis by inhibiting IKKβ/NF-κB-mediated matrix-degrading enzymes in chondrocytes (open access, but limited to preprint)

Schematic illustration of SHP (NR0B2)-mediated protection against osteoarthritis. 

Uzbekistan's Uzum valuation leaps over 50% in 7 months to $2.3B

Good news!

"Uzbekistan fintech Uzum has reached a $2.3 billion valuation — about 53% higher than just seven months ago — as investors place growing bets on the country’s emerging digital economy.

The valuation stems from a $131.5 million investment led by sovereign wealth funds from Oman, with participation from existing investors, including Tencent, VR Capital, and FinSight Ventures. ...

Uzbekistan, Central Asia’s most populous country, emerges as one of the region’s fastest-growing digital economies, driven by a young population, rapid smartphone adoption, and low [fast] penetration of online retail and banking services. ..."

Uzbekistan's Uzum valuation leaps over 50% in 7 months to $2.3B | TechCrunch

Disclaimer:

I am currently blogging from behind the Great Firewall of China.

My Internet service in China is very spotty. Thus, I am not able to blog as usual.

Chinese tourists have a new favourite country this Lunar New Year - South Korea

Chinese tourism to other Asian countries is big business!

(155) Chinese tourists have a new favourite country this Lunar New Year - YouTube

Is Thailand ready to become a super-aged society?

Recommendable! Not only Western countries are facing fast aging societies!

Murphy Oil's discovery in Vietnam could be ASEAN's biggest in 2 decades

Good news!

What ever happened to the so often repeated assertions of Peak Oil?

"... The HSV-2X appraisal well encountered 429 feet of oil across two reservoirs and tested at 6,000 barrels per day of 37° API oil. Murphy has revised its recoverable reserves estimate toward the upper end of the 170-430 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) range previously announced, with additional shallow reservoir sections providing further upside potential. 

"In a predominantly gas-prone region, oil discoveries of this scale are exceptional," said Angus Rodger, head of Asia-Pacific upstream analysis for Wood Mackenzie. "HSV ranks as the third-largest oil discovery in Southeast Asia since 2000, trailing only Indonesia's Banyu Urip and Malaysia's Gumusut. ..."

Murphy Oil's discovery in Vietnam could be ASEAN's biggest in 2 decades - Nikkei Asia "Recoverable resources of the primary reservoir at offshore site are larger than previous estimate"

Murphy Oil confirms major find in Vietnam - potentially the biggest oil discovery in Southeast Asia of the last 20 years "Hai Su Vang appraisal confirms recoverable reserves at upper end of 170-430 mmboe range, offering potential lifeline to Vietnam's declining oil production"

Largest oil discovery in Southeast Asia since 2000

Genomic study reveals how people moved pigs across the Asia-Pacific region for 50,000 years

Amazing stuff! The advantages of being an omnivore! 😊

"A new study ... reveals how millennia of human migration across Pacific islands led to the introduction of invasive pig species all over the Asia-Pacific region. ...

One notable exception is pigs. Pig populations occur on both sides of the Wallace Line and extend across Southeast Asia to New Caledonia, Vanuatu and remote Polynesia. Pigs are highly effective ecological invaders, and they are also culturally important across the region, raising a key question: what role did people play in their spread?

The new paper looked at the genome of over 700 pigs, including from living and archaeological specimens. This allowed the reconstruction of their movement across Southeast Asia and identify when they arrived on certain islands and how they might have interbred with various native pig species.

The researchers found that people of different cultures have moved pig species in the region for millennia. The earliest evidence points to people living in Sulawesi perhaps as early as 50,000 years ago, known to be the earliest cave painters, who both depicted and transported warty pig species as far away as Timor, possibly to establish future hunting stock.

The introduction of pigs in Island Southeast Asia dramatically accelerated, around 4,000 years ago, when early agricultural communities transported domestic pigs into the region.

Their journey began from Taiwan, extending across the Philippines, northern Indonesia (Maluku), into Papua New Guinea, and on to the outlying islands as far as Vanuatu, and remote Polynesia. The authors also found evidence for the introduction of pigs from Europe during the colonial period.

Many of these domestic pigs escaped, and became feral, in some cases, like on the Komodo islands, hybridizing with the warty pigs brought by people from Sulawesi thousands of years earlier. These hybrid pigs are now a major source of food for the endangered Komodo dragons.

The findings of this study highlight the dramatic and enduring impact of human activity on local ecosystems in the Pacific, raising conservation conundrums. Pigs in the region today have dramatically different statuses and impacts across islands: some are considered spiritual beings, others pests, while some are now so ingrained in local ecosystems that they could almost be considered native. ..."

From the editor's summary and abstract:

"Editor’s summary

Multiple species of pigs are endemic to Maritime Southeast Asia. Some of them exhibit a distinctive tooth shape and mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, but the history of pigs in this region is not clear. Stanton et al. collected genetic data from 117 modern, historic, and ancient individuals and examined morphometric data from over 700 modern and archeological samples. After comparing with 585 published mitochondrial genomes, the authors found that domestic pigs, which were likely introduced by Austronesian-speaking groups, contributed to most pigs found today from Hawaii to the Philippines. However, early specimens from these groups show no admixture with endemic species, mirroring the lack of mixture between these early human groups with local groups during their initial migrations. ...

Structured Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Humans have long moved animal species beyond their native ranges, drastically altering ecosystems, especially on islands. The translocation of vertebrates eastward across the Wallace Line into Wallacea, a biogeographic region between the Asian and Australasian biotas, has had major environmental impacts. For example, although the natural range of the genus Sus (pigs) is primarily located in Eurasia and Western Indonesia, free-living pigs are now widespread in Wallacea.

RATIONALE

The human-mediated translocation of pigs east of the Wallace Line most likely began with S. celebensis, a species native to Sulawesi, in pre-Neolithic times >4000 years ago.

S. scrofa (the ancestor of modern domestic pigs) populations were also likely introduced east of the Wallace Line between 4000 and 3000 years ago during the expansion of Austronesian speakers from mainland East Asia and Taiwan, through the Philippines and northern Wallacea, into Melanesia and Polynesia. The geographic origin and ancestry of these populations from Wallacea and Oceania, however, remain unknown.

To establish the geographic origins of the pig populations in Wallacea, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia and the potential dispersal routes along which they traveled alongside people, we sequenced 119 Sus nuclear genomes (including 63 historical and ancient genomes) and generated geometric morphometric data (from the third lower molar) from 401 modern and 307 archaeological individuals.

RESULTS

Ancestry analyses based on ancestry deconvolution, a process by which specific ancestries in admixed individuals can be identified and isolated using local ancestry inference, highlighted multiple pig-dispersal processes in Wallacea.

The initial dispersal was a natural and/or human-mediated translocation of Island Southeast Asian endemic pigs from Java (S. verrucosus) into present-day Bali. The indigenous suid on Sulawesi, S. celebensis, then dispersed over water to the Lesser Sunda Islands, including Flores and Timor, potentially as a result of hunter-gatherer translocations more than 4000 years ago.

More recently, domestic S. scrofa pigs from southern China and the Philippines were introduced across most islands of Wallacea and Oceania sometime after 3500 to 3000 years ago.

Many of these introduced pigs later became feral on islands across the region. Finally, during the colonial period, pigs with European ancestry were introduced broadly across the region, including in the Lesser Sundas and Papua New Guinea.

CONCLUSION

Our results demonstrate that non-native free-living pigs east of the Wallace Line have a complex ancestry that primarily reflects multiple intentional introductions by people. The most important of these events was the migration of Austronesian-speaking groups, ~4000 years ago, who moved from Southeast China and Taiwan via the Philippines and introduced domestic pigs across a vast geographical region from the Philippines to Hawai‘i, many of which became feral."

Genomic study reveals how people moved pigs across the Pacific

Genomic and morphometric evidence for Austronesian-mediated pig translocation in the Pacific (no public access)

Genomic and morphometric evidence for Austronesian-mediated pig translocation in the Pacific (preprint, open access)

Map showing the dispersal of pigs into Wallacea, including deliberate introductions by people in Wallacea and the Pacific.

The numbers (1–4) on the arrows indicate the chronological order of these dispersal events, as per our analysis.

KYOTO - RAMEN JAPAN

Very recommendable! Very delicious!

The seniors still practising taekwondo in their 70s and 80s in Singapore

Very recommendable! Perhaps at age 70 I will get my first black belt! I feel inspired! 😊

Japan's "comfort women" system in WW2 explained

Very recommendable! A horrible story of sex slavery at an enormous scale in Asia. One of the Largest Cases of Human Trafficking and sexual violence against women in History. Some of the women were forced to have sex with up to 40 men per day. At the end of the war, Japan made attempts to cover up by dressing abused sex slaves in nurse uniforms or they killed these sex slaves. Japanese medical staff participated in the sexual abuse as well.

Another reason why two nuclear bombs were dropped on Japan.

The Japanese Empire started to develop the brothel system in 1904. The map shows the extent of the brothel/comfort system by 1916.

Are Vietnam and Thailand helping China dodge US tariffs?

Good question! Or how about other countries?

Since the tariffs are not applied uniformly across all countries certainly opportunities for circumvention abound.

"A sharp increase in exports from several Southeast Asian countries to the U.S. this year is stirring the debate over claims that Chinese goods are being rerouted to evade American tariffs. ..."

Are Vietnam and Thailand helping China dodge US tariffs? - Nikkei Asia