TAIPEI: Taiwan reported renewed Chinese military activity around the island on Sunday (Nov 19), with nine aircraft crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait and warships carrying out “combat readiness patrols”. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for the past four years of regularContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: The Biden administration on Thursday (Nov 16) removed the Chinese Ministry of Public Security’s Institute of Forensic Science from a trade sanction list, part of a bid to convince Beijing to do more to halt the flow of the synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States. Washington put theContinue Reading
“The Thai nationals in captivity are safe,” he said, adding that they could be released only if a ceasefire was announced. “I hope that it will be less than 10 days, or even a few days.” Thailand’s negotiating team – mostly consisting of Thai Muslims – had been in hourlyContinue Reading
One Chinese supporter hoping to catch a glimpse of President Xi, who had come all the way from Seattle, told CNA that he was “trying his luck” by coming to the edge of the security zone around the centre. Others said they had come because they heard others were gathered there.
One lady, furiously texting on her phone, said in irritation that she was just trying to get back to her hotel, which was right next to the Moscone Centre and now behind the barriers. Many others just trying to get to supermarkets or places in the zone are turned back.
Most roads around the area have been closed with police vehicles lining the streets. Getting in requires passing through two security checkpoints and having your bags sniffed by police dogs.
Protesters, however, were undeterred by the heightened measures and continued to gather, shout slogans and hold up placards around the cordon. Not all of the demonstrators were pressing on issues related to China.
Past the tight security, the convention centre is a bubble of calm and isolated from the commotion at the perimeter.
TOKYO: Japanese and Chinese trade ministers have agreed to establish a framework to discuss export controls, Japanese media reported on Wednesday (Nov 15), indicating steps on economic cooperation after a period of strained ties between the neighbours. Japanese Trade Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said the talks could help stabilise relations. “WeContinue Reading
WASHINGTON: Demonstrators began to gather in Washington on Tuesday (Nov 14) for a March for Israel that organizers say will show solidarity with Israel in its war with Hamas and condemn rising antisemitism. Streets were closed around much of downtown amid heightened security, as several thousand people gathered in lateContinue Reading
The UNC “will be united upon any renewal of hostilities or armed attack on the Korean peninsula”, a joint statement between UNC and South Korea said, condemning North Korea’s “unlawful” nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik said Pyongyang had been warned not to attempt anyContinue Reading
TAIPEI: Terry Gou, the billionaire founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn, has collected three times the amount of signatures needed to qualify to run in Taiwan’s presidential elections, the government said on Tuesday (Nov 14). In a statement, Gou thanked his backers for their “enthusiastic support” and vowed to workContinue Reading
NEW YORK: Donald Trump Jr testified on Monday (Nov 13) about what he called the “sexiness” of his father’s real estate portfolio, in his second time being called to the stand in the former US president’s civil fraud trial. Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is accused along withContinue Reading
GAZA: The tiny babies lie side by side, some wrapped in green fabric roughly taped around them for warmth, others wearing only nappies, a picture of vulnerability, their lives in grave danger with every minute that passes. The newborns are under the care of exhausted medics at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital,Continue Reading