15/07/2026

WEDNESDAY | JULY 15, 2026

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China purges third Politburo member

o Ma Xingrui expelled from Communist Party

The expulsion marks the latest escalation in Xi’s years-long fight to root out corruption, which has ensnared senior party, government and military officials. In January, China opened a corruption investigation into Zhang Youxia, the military’s most senior general. He Weidong, a former vice-chair of the Central Military Commission, was expelled from the Communist Party in October last year. Ma enjoyed a meteoric rise in Chinese officialdom after becoming an executive at China’s main spacecraft and missile manufacturer, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, in the 2000s. He worked for more than a

became the northwestern border region in late 2021 have also been probed in recent months. He also illegally accepted gifts, helped relatives buy property at below-market prices and engaged in exchanges involving power and money for sex, according to the report. Ma allowed his family members to leverage his official influence to obtain huge benefits, engaging in what authorities described as large scale “family corruption”, while illegally accepting huge sums of money and property. Xinhua did not specify the amount involved. Ma could not be reached for comment. party chief of

Investigators found that Ma had sought benefits for others in the selection and appointment of officials and improperly arranged jobs for others, Xinhua reported. He “connived at, failed to detect and failed to rein in serious violations of discipline and law, and suspected criminal conduct, by staff members around him”, the report said. A probe into Guo Yonghang, Ma’s chief of staff during his tenure as the top official in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen from 2015 to 2016, was announced in March. Guo had risen through the ranks in the southern province of Guangdong as Ma became governor of the economic powerhouse. A number of officials in Xinjiang who received promotions after Ma

NZ study links nitrates to premature births WELLINGTON: About 120 premature births a year in New Zealand may be caused by exposure to drinking water contaminated with nitrates from the farming industry, according to a national study. Researchers at Canterbury, Otago and Massey universities found a “significant” association between nitrate-contaminated water and premature births, even at levels far below legal limit for nitrates in drinking water of 11.3 milligrams per litre. The risk also increased as nitrate concentrations rose, “with stronger associations for more severe outcomes”, it said. The issue is contentious in New Zealand, where agriculture plays a central role in the economy and nitrate is among the most common contaminants in drinking water. Nitrate pollution is largely attributed to fertiliser use and livestock manure run-off. Greenpeace said dairy companies needed to be held responsible. “We need to stop nitrate pollution at the source. That means regulating the intensive dairy industry and limiting the amount of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser that can be applied to the land,” campaigner Will Appelbe said in a statement. Industry body DairyNZ said questions about public health and drinking water standards are matters for health and regulatory agencies, which are responsible for assessing the scientific evidence. New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The study, set to be published in Environmental Research journal in September, analysed more than 735,000 births between 2008 and 2021. Its authors said research found associations across all categories of premature births and pre-natal nitrate exposure. When the study assumed a causal relationship, it found nitrate exposure could account for 120 premature births a year, or 4% of pregnancies that ended between 20 and 37 weeks. – Reuters decade in China’s state-owned aerospace industry, overseeing some of the country’s most important space programmes. Ma’s fall from grace comes amid deepening scrutiny over China’s defence and aerospace sectors. In February, prosecutors accused Zhang Jianhua, a former deputy director of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, of bribery and abuse of influence. Zhang served as deputy director under Ma, who headed the defence industry regulator in 2013. Three Chinese lawmakers with ties to the defence, aerospace and nuclear sectors were removed from their positions in that same month. – Reuters

BEIJING: China has expelled Ma Xingrui, a former Politburo member, from the ruling Communist Party on corruption charges, making him the third sitting member of the elite decision-making body to be purged since last year as President Xi Jinping intensifies his anti-graft campaign. Ma, who also served as the deputy head of the central rural work leading group, was placed under investigation in April over suspected “serious violation of law and discipline” – the party’s euphemism for corruption.

Wildlife rescuers help birds survive hot summers ISLAMABAD: Cradling an Asian koel in his hands, wildlife officer Zaheer Ahmed gently stretched its wings as part of a health checkup to rehabilitate birds hit with dehydration or heatstroke in Pakistan’s capital. Pakistan experienced its second warmest year since 1960 in 2025, according to government data. Temperatures in Islamabad this summer have pushed past 40°C.

“In the past, because of kite flying, the string used to damage their wings,” said Sakhawat Ali, director of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board which oversees the Margallah Wildlife Rescue Centre in Islamabad. “But for the last one or two years, most of the cases we have been receiving involve birds that are dehydrated and suffering from heat stress.” The wildlife rescue centre, located at the foot of the Margalla Hills, was once the site of the notorious Islamabad Zoo where neglected elephants and underfed lions were kept in cages. The zoo was shuttered in 2020. On the overgrown grounds where large dinosaur sculptures still stand, wild animals have been brought in for rehabilitation from across Pakistan, including bears and monkeys abused by their private owners. Ahmed said the centre can receive up to 30 calls a day in summer from locals about distressed wildlife, including birds, adding that their top priorities are to provide medical attention, food and water. The feathered creatures are kept in quarantine until they are fit to be released.

Wildlife officer Zaheer (right) treating an injured kite at Margallah Wildlife Rescue Centre in Islamabad. – AFPPIC

Ali encouraged residents to put out bowls of water for their friendly fowls to drink, bathe and keep cool. – AFP

birds themselves also get burned a little,” says Ahmed. “So their entire habitat is being destroyed.”

Birds face the heightened threat of forest fires, which can overlap with their breeding seasons, Ahmed said. “Birds’ nests also get burned. The

Japan tightens social media rules for elections TOKYO: AI-generated images and videos will have to be marked as such under new rules on the use of social media during elections, the internal affairs minister said yesterday. “We believe that this is extremely important from the perspective of ensuring the fairness of elections,” said Yoshimasa Hayashi, whose ministry oversees elections and telecommunications.

imposed under the bloc’s Digital Services Act. The Japanese government plans to set guidelines for platform operators on ways to obey the rules, with annual disclosures on implementation, Kyodo News said. Officials said, in drafting the new rules, they needed to strike a balance between free speech and the sanctity of democratic elections. – AFP

parliamentary elections in February. Unlike under laws on social networks passed by the European Union, Japanese authorities will not be able to impose penalties for non compliance, prompting local media to question their effectiveness. The Nikkei business daily said that this may be because Tokyo wants to avoid the friction seen between Washington and Brussels over fines

The new rules, approved by parliament on Monday and which will take effect in March, also forbid internet users and platforms from spreading fake or distorted information about candidates.

The new rules follow allegations about the use of AI-generated content to smear candidates in a 2025 leadership contest in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and in