News Atlas

BBCSep 30Preview

What we know about Cornell University frat house rape investigation

The woman alleges she was drugged and raped at a fraternity house at the university two years ago.

GuardianSep 30Preview

MI5 China alert will send chill through UK’s cash-strapped universities

Institutions have for years turned to China for funding opportunities but national security concerns are mountingMI5 issues spy alert to UK universities over Chinese front company stealing researchThe security alert issued by MI5 regarding a Chinese state-owned conglomerate accused of conducting espionage in the UK reveals the extent to which British intelligence remains concerned about Beijing’s influence, and risks casting a shadow over UK-China cooperation at a time when the bilateral relationship is enjoying a revival.The UK’s domestic security service on Wednesday warned researchers and academics to cease work with the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT), an organisation MI5 described as a “significant threat”. Continue reading...

Amy Hawkins Senior China correspondentUniversitiesUK security and counter-terrorism

GuardianSep 30Preview

MI5 issues spy alert to UK universities over Chinese front company stealing research

Security service says academics should stop taking grants from and working with firm backed by China’s intelligence serviceMI5 China alert will send chill through UK’s cash-strapped universitiesChina’s intelligence service used a front company to pay grants to British universities and steal crucial research about technology projects, MI5 said on Wednesday in a rare public espionage warning.Britain’s domestic security service said researchers and academics should cease work with the China General Technology Research Institute (CGTRI), sometimes also known as the China Academy of General Technology (CAGT). MI5 believes it poses a “significant threat”. Continue reading...

Vikram Dodd and Sally WealeUK security and counter-terrorismMI5

NYTSep 30Preview

Donor Gives $3 Billion to Carnegie Mellon, the Largest University Gift Ever

The donation by Kenneth Griffin, intended mostly to help build a campus in Miami, was the biggest single gift in the history of U.S. higher education.

Alan BlinderColleges and UniversitiesPhilanthropy

GuardianSep 30Preview

On the Equality of All Things by Carlo Rovelli review – a physicist’s guide to life, the universe and everything

Near-mystical musings from a scientist who believes we are on the brink of a revolution in understanding ourselvesUnder the letter “B” in the index at the back of Carlo Rovelli’s latest book you will find Francis Bacon, bats, behaviourism, Henri Bergson, and the big bang. This intriguing little miscellany reflects the sweeping ambition of what is perhaps Rovelli’s most overtly philosophical work to date.Rovelli, who directs a quantum gravity research group in Marseille, has written several books on physics for the general reader, including the global bestseller Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. His latest is an attempt to integrate principles and theories from the discipline into a broader Weltanschauung: one of the essential unity of all things, and the profoundly relational and perspectival nature of the universe. “Electrons and minds, stones and laws, judgments and galaxies do not essen

Farrah JarralScience and nature booksPhilosophy books

GuardianSep 30Preview

Inside the Ukrainian military unit training fighters from China

Despite the risks, a number of soldiers from the country seen as Russia’s biggest backer have found their way to UkraineOn the makeshift workbench in the cramped front room of a cottage near the frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war, there are all the accoutrements of a drone workshop. The walls are lined with pliers and rolls of duct tape; the table is cluttered with screwdrivers and piles of wire. Propped up against the wall are two kamikaze drones. Only one item looks out of place in this Ukrainian village house: a pot of Chinese longjing tea, the leaves wilted from repeated top-ups.Good tea is one of the many things that Tim misses about his life in China. His parents post monthly supplies to Ukraine. “I think about all of it,” the 44-year-old said, of his home country. “It brings back memories and emotions.” Continue reading...

Amy Hawkins in Kharkiv, photographs by Julia KochetovaUkraineChina

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