As every Olympic athlete knows, size matters. The London 2012 medals are the largest ever in terms of both weight and diameter – almost double the medals from Beijing. However, just as equally well-known is that quality beats quantity and that is where the current global austerity, coin-clipping, devaluation-fest begins. The 2012 gold is 92.5 percent silver, 6.16 copper and… 1.34 percent gold,... 

Recovering: The premature baby was found in a bin, with placenta and umbilical cord still attached, in Anshan city in northeast China An abandoned newborn baby is recovering in hospital after having her throat cut, being put in a plastic bag and thrown into a garbage bin in China’s Liaoning province. The female baby – so newborn that her placenta and umbilical cord were still attached –... 

English language schools whose students entered New Zealand on fraudulently obtained visas say they had no way of knowing about the scam. A routine audit by Immigration New Zealand’s Beijing branch last month uncovered 279 fraudulent visas. Of that total, 231 students are still in the country with the visas and authorities are trying to track them down. The scheme involved education advisors... 

Tajikistan’s latest move to toughen its position in renewing the lease of the 201st Russian army base is connected with the activities, which the United States and China have been conducting in the former Soviet republic recently. As a result, Moscow may lose its influence in this country, Alexander Karavayev, deputy director of the Center for the Study of the former Soviet Union, Moscow State... 

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera (L) and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shake hands in Santiago on June 26, 2012. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has announced that China and Chile plan to increase their bilateral trade to 60 billion US dollars by 2015 in order to strengthen their economic relations. He made the comments at a joint press conference with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera in Santiago on Tuesday,... 

It is now widely known that the Obama administration, with the help of its allies, is planning to launch an offensive against the Assad regime in Syria. The attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, with the help Israel, also seems to be on the cards. In such a situation, where Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya have proven to be clear fiascos, the dwindling world economic scene can least afford another major... 

Docking in progress, CCTV video still. China has reached two technological milestones spanning great depths and heights. In the earth’s orbit, the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft manually docked a space module while under the Pacific, a Jiaolong submersible dived to the bottom of the Marian Trench. The symbolism behind the scheduling of the two historical events was far from coincidental. The three oceanographers... 

Liu Yang, China’s first female astronaut, waves during a departure ceremony at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Gansu province China has launched its first manned space docking mission, including the country’s first ever woman astronaut. China moves one step closer to becoming the second nation in the world performing regular space flights. ­The Shenzhou 9 spacecraft was successfully launched... 

The U.S. is building “the most advanced” warship in history – DDG-1000 destroyer of Zumwalt class that the Pentagon called a “super-stealth silver bullet.” It will be able to move quietly along the coast, including in the shallows, hitting the targets of the enemy with electromagnetic rail guns, deceiving enemy radars. Americans plan to equip its fleet in the Asia-Pacific... 

Chinese sailors march pass the Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov berthed at a naval base in Qingdao, northeastern China on April 23, 2012 President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will cement its military alliance with China, including an increase in joint exercises in the Asia-Pacific. The move follows a US pledge to step up its naval presence in Asia in a bid to extend its influence. “Recently... 

China has accumulated enough financial resources to induce borrowers US and EU to share power, argues Arvind Subramanian, senior fellow jointly at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Center for Global Development. ­In an exclusive interview to RT the author of Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China’s Economic Dominance explained how disputable currency policies from creditor... 

China and US diplomatic relations have been strained over the past months. The official was the personal secretary of a vice minister in the State Security Ministry, China’s main intelligence agency, according to Hong Kong’s New Way magazine. “What is unbelievable is that the person involved in this spy case is a secretary to a vice minister who is handling China’s top secrets, which... 

The US is set to reposition its Navy fleet with the majority of its warships to be assigned to the Asia-Pacific by 2020. But this military strategy has nothing to do with US-Chinese rivalry in the region, the defense secretary assures. ­The US would reposition its Navy so that 60 per cent of its warships would be assigned to the Asia-Pacific region by 2020, compared to about 50 per cent now, US Defense... 

US Vice President Joe Biden speaks at West Point during the graduation ceremony for the class of 2012 in New York, May 26, 2012. The US Vice President Joe Biden says Washington has devised a new policy in a bid to counter the rising power and influence of China. Joe Biden on Saturday addressing cadets of the US Military Academy during a graduation ceremony in West Point, New York, spoke about the United... 

A young Chinese couple has been arrested for burying an elderly woman alive, having hit her while driving drunk after a boozy karaoke all-nighter. The case has sparked mass outrage forcing many to speak out about declining public morality. The couple from Guizhou province, both 25, were returning on April 30 after a night out, when they reportedly hit a pedestrian. A witness heard a cry and saw an...