China border

India has formally identified 28 places and features in Ladakh by their standard names on official Survey of India maps. The move is widely seen as a response to China's renaming of locations in Eastern Ladakh and part of New Delhi's effort to counter Chinese territorial claims along the disputed border region.

Saudi Arabia has withdrawn from mBridge, the cross-border central bank digital currency project that also involves China and other central banks. Analysts link the move to Riyadh's effort to balance ties between Washington and Beijing, as the project was seen as a potential challenge to dollar-based finance and drew attention during the Trump administration's scrutiny of alternatives to the US financial system.

Tencent has agreed a five-year, $7 billion deal to lease around 100,000 AI chips from Oracle. The arrangement gives the Chinese tech giant access to large-scale computing power for artificial intelligence without outright hardware purchases. The deal highlights how Chinese companies are turning to cloud providers to secure AI capacity amid tight chip supply and export restrictions.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis has agreed a deal worth about $7.8 billion with China's Abogen Biosciences, according to Reuters. The agreement centres on mRNA technology, marking a significant move by Novartis into the field and a landmark licensing arrangement for a Chinese biotech firm with a major Western pharmaceutical partner.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has agreed a deal worth $2.6 billion with China's Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, giving Novo rights to an obesity drug candidate. The agreement underscores fierce competition in the fast-growing weight-loss drug market, where Novo's Wegovy faces mounting rivalry from Eli Lilly and emerging Chinese developers.

China has opened a military training center with Laos, which analysts describe as its third overseas military base. The facility deepens Beijing's defense ties with a close Southeast Asian neighbor and extends its limited but growing network of installations beyond its borders, following bases in Djibouti and Tajikistan.

China has reportedly established a new military support base in Laos, extending its defense presence in Southeast Asia. Bloomberg carried the news, which analysts are likely to read as another step in Beijing's efforts to project power beyond its borders, closer to Vietnam, Thailand and key regional supply routes.

China has established a new air force centre in Laos, widening its overseas military presence in Southeast Asia. The development is being closely watched by regional observers, who see it as part of Beijing's broader effort to deepen defence ties with neighbouring countries and extend its strategic reach beyond its borders.

China has reportedly established a new air support base in Laos, extending its military presence in Southeast Asia. The development, reported by regional media, is seen as part of Beijing's broader effort to project air power beyond its borders and deepen defense ties with Laos, a close partner in the region.

Volunteers from China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea serving in the Ukrainian armed forces' Asian Legion are shown stomping on captured enemy flags in a photo circulating online. The post frames the act as a symbol of international solidarity, with the caption declaring that freedom knows no borders when the world stands together for justice in Ukraine's war.