China says the United States is triggering a new Cold War as a number of American politicians are looking for a scapegoat to rally further support for President Donald Trump ahead of the US presidential election in November. China and the US are at loggerheads over a host of issues, including …
Read More »After 99 days of success, virus returns to haunt Vietnam
For 99 days, Vietnam seemed to have defeated the coronavirus. There wasn’t a single reported case of community transmission. Not a single death. A handful of cases were caught and isolated at the border, but otherwise, people were returning to their normal lives. The country of 96 million people was …
Read More »China says UK has poisoned relations, some want new Cold War
China blamed the United Kingdom on Thursday for deteriorating ties after Prime Minister Boris Johnson slapped a 5G ban on Huawei, accusing London of poisoning the relationship by meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs. “These actions have seriously poisoned the atmosphere of China-UK relationship,” China’s ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming told …
Read More »EU’s Hong Kong proposal prompts Beijing’s censure
China has denounced a decision by the European Union to restrict the export of ‘sensitive’ technology to Hong Kong in response to a new security law in the semi-autonomous city. On Tuesday, the EU agreed to a proposal made by France and Germany to restrict the export of technology to …
Read More »Afghan people, officials call for permanent ceasefire
In Afghanistan, the public and officials have called for a lasting ceasefire in the wake of the government and the Taliban’s commitment to observe a three-day truce for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, starting Friday. Fawzia Koofi, a member of the government’s negotiating team, said on Twitter Wednesday that …
Read More »China says disputed islands in East China Sea are its territory
Beijing says the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan disputes, are Chinese territory and that it has the right to conduct law enforcement activities there, after a US military commander said China had conducted “unprecedented incursions” around the islands. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday that Beijing hoped the …
Read More »Taliban announces three-day ceasefire for Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha
In a rare peace gesture, Taliban militants have said they will not conduct any “operations” for three days starting on Friday, to let their fighters mark one of the holiest Muslim holidays following a recent upsurge of violence. The Afghan militants were “instructed” not to launch any attacks between July …
Read More »China suspends Hong Kong’s extradition treaties with UK, Canada, Australia
China has announced the suspension of extradition treaties between Hong Kong and Canada, Australia, and Britain, in response to similar moves by those countries. The three governments suspended their extradition arrangements with Hong Kong earlier this month in reaction to the enactment of a uniform national security law in the …
Read More »Malaysia ex-leader, Najib, convicted in corruption trial
Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was found guilty Tuesday in his first corruption trial linked to one of the world’s biggest financial scandals — the billion-dollar looting of the 1MDB state investment fund. The British-educated Najib, who faces a total of 42 charges in five separate trials linked to …
Read More »US-China spats rattle world, prompting calls for unity
Antagonisms between the U.S. and China are rattling governments around the world, prompting a German official to warn of “Cold War 2.0” and Kenya’s president to appeal for unity to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Global trade already was depressed by two years of tariff warring between the world’s two biggest …
Read More »China reports its highest number of local Covid-19 infections since March
China recorded 57 local Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the highest number the country has seen since it brought the coronavirus largely under control in March, according to figures released by the National Health Commission on Monday. Among the locally transmitted cases, 41 were found in the far western region of …
Read More »North Korea’s Kim marks war anniversary amid virus concerns
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited a national cemetery and handed out commemorative pistols to army officers, state media reported Monday, as he pushes to muster public support for efforts to contain a potential coronavirus outbreak. On Sunday, North Korea said that Kim had put a city near …
Read More »Hundreds rally in Manila ahead of Duterte’s annual speech
Hundreds of protesters in the Philippine capital marched and staged motorcades Monday against a new anti-terror law and other issues despite police threats of arrests ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s annual state of the nation speech. Four suspected protesters in a passenger jeep were taken into police custody in suburban …
Read More »China seizes U.S. consulate in Chengdu, retaliating for Houston
China took over the premises of the U.S. consulate in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Monday, after ordering the facility to be vacated in retaliation for China’s ouster last week from its consulate in Houston, Texas. The seizure capped a dramatic escalation in tensions between the world’s two biggest …
Read More »Tight security outside US Chengdu consulate after China orders closure
Security was tight outside the U.S. consulate in the Chinese city of Chengdu on Saturday as staff inside prepared to leave, a day after China ordered it to close in response to a U.S. order for China to shut its consulate in Houston. The tit-for-tat consulate closures have brought a …
Read More »China tells US to close consulate in Chengdu in growing spat
China ordered the United States on Friday to close its consulate in the western city of Chengdu, ratcheting up a diplomatic conflict at a time when relations have sunk to their lowest level in decades. The move was a response to the Trump administration’s order this week for Beijing to …
Read More »Floods ravage villages in northeastern India, killing at least 87
Rescue workers used boats to reach people trapped in remote villages on Wednesday (July 22), where many houses have been left under water. Floods in Assam have killed at least 84 people and displaced more than 2.75 million since May. Floods have also inundated the Kaziranga National Park, home to …
Read More »China successfully launches first Mars mission – In Pictures
China launched a Mars probe on Thursday, aiming to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission, and taking the first step in its planetary exploration of the solar system. A Long March-5 rocket, China’s largest launch vehicle, carrying the spacecraft with a mass of about 5 tonnes, soared into …
Read More »China state media blasts Houston consulate shutdown as Trump election gambit
The U.S. government’s order to China to shut its consulate in Houston is an attempt to blame Beijing for U.S. failures ahead of the November presidential election, Chinese state media said in editorials on Thursday. The United States said on Wednesday it had given China 72 hours to close the …
Read More »Teen girl kills Taliban attackers with dad’s AK-47 after parents slain
A teenage girl has become a hero in Afghanistan for fighting off a Taliban attack, killing two militants with the AK-47 her father taught her to use before he was killed by the insurgent group. Now Qamar Gul, who is about 15, has been invited to the presidential palace and …
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