China

Israel has become the top target of Iranian cyberattacks since the start of the Gaza war last year, while Tehran had focused primarily on the United States before the conflict, Microsoft said Tuesday. “Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Iran surged its cyber, influence, and cyber-enabled influence operations against Israel,” Microsoft said in an annual report. “From October 7, 2023, to July 2024, nearly …

Geneva — The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it had been able to start its polio campaign in central Gaza and vaccinate tens of thousands of children despite Israeli strikes in the designated protected zone hours before. As part of an agreement between the Israeli military and Palestinian militant group Hamas, humanitarian pauses in the year-long Gaza war had been due to begin early on …

Washington — The National Zoo’s long dark panda drought is coming to an end. Eleven months after the zoo sent its three wildly popular pandas — Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — back to China, a new pair of bears arrived in the United States on Tuesday. They will be transported from Dulles International Airport in suburban Virginia to the zoo. …

Islamabad — Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization of Eurasian countries gathered in Pakistan Tuesday for an annual, two-day meeting to discuss ways to enhance regional security, stability, and development cooperation. Authorities have placed Islamabad under a security lockdown for the SCO gathering, deploying thousands of forces, including troops, in and around the Pakistani capital to protect the high-profile event due to a recent surge in …

Russia and China held “substantive” defense and military talks to bolster ties, Russia’s defense minister said on Tuesday, as Moscow and Beijing cement a “no limits” partnership and step up criticism of U.S. efforts to extend its influence in Asia.  “The military departments of Russia and China are united in their assessments of global processes, and they have a common understanding of what needs to …

SYDNEY — An international conference in Australia of First Nations people is calling on scientists to engage with Indigenous experts to find solutions to climate change. Indigenous Australians consider the land to be the mother of creation. To them, it is a living, breathing mass that contains secrets and wisdom. Tribal leaders have gathered in Dubbo, 390 kilometers northwest of Sydney, to urge governments and scientists …

SINGAPORE — The youngest child of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said on Tuesday he would apply to demolish the statesman’s home in line with his wishes, following the death of Lee’s daughter last week. Lee Kuan Yew’s three children, one of whom is Singapore’s third Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, were split on what to do with their father’s home after his death …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. President Joe Biden that an Israeli retaliatory attack on Iran would target only military targets, and not oil or nuclear facilities, according to U.S. officials. The officials were cited by the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, which both reported late Monday that Netanyahu made the pledge during a phone call between the leaders last week. A White …

HONG KONG — Hong Kong is expected to announce measures to boost the city’s economy in its annual policy address on Wednesday, including slashing liquor tariffs, as it seeks to revive the financial hub that has been struggling to recover since the pandemic. Hong Kong’s small and open economy has felt the ripple effects of a slowdown in the Chinese economy. The city’s economy expanded by …

SEOUL, SOuth Korea — North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un convened a top national security meeting Monday, state media reported, directing a plan of “immediate military action” at a time of spiking tensions with the South.   The meeting in Pyongyang was attended by the country’s top security officials, including the army chief and other military officials, as well as the ministers of state security and …

BEIRUT — More than 400,000 children in Lebanon have been displaced in the past three weeks, a top official with the U.N. children’s agency said Monday, warning of a “lost generation” in the small country grappling with multiple crises and now in the middle of war. Israel has escalated its campaign against the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group, including launching a ground invasion, after a year of …

NEW YORK — About 200 demonstrators protesting Israel’s war in Gaza were arrested in a sit-in outside the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, police said.  The protesters chanted “Let Gaza live!” And “Up up with liberation, down down with occupation!” in front of the stock exchange’s landmark building in lower Manhattan.  “The reason we’re here is to demand that the U.S. government stop sending bombs …

Karbala, Iraq — A funeral procession took place Monday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala in central Iraq for General Abbas Nilforushan, who was killed in Lebanon along with the leader of the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, during an Israeli strike on Beirut in late September, an AFP photographer noted.   The Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army, announced Friday that the body of General Nilforushan …

Paris — The Auto manufacturers competing to persuade drivers to go electric are rolling out cheaper, more tech-rich models at the Paris Motor Show, targeting everyone from luxury clients to students yet to receive their driving licenses.  The biennial show has long been a major industry showcase, tracing its history to 1898.  Chinese manufacturers are attending in force, despite European Union threats to punitively tax imports …

BEIJING — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on all parties involved in tensions between Israel and Iran on Monday to exercise caution and avoid escalating the situation.  In a phone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Wang also urged Israel to ensure the safety of personnel of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a foreign ministry statement said.  He also reiterated Beijing’s …

ISLAMABAD  — Chinese Premier Li Qiang began a four-day visit to Pakistan on Monday under tight security for bilateral talks and to attend the heads of government meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) hosted in Islamabad this week. Pakistan is on high alert after a recent increase in deadly insurgent attacks nationwide, including a suicide car bomb attack in Karachi last week that targeted a …

Prague — Former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen is among the world leaders calling for the release of pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai from jail in Hong Kong, where he is standing trial on national security charges that are widely viewed as politically motivated. “They should release him,” Tsai told VOA about Jimmy Lai. She made the statement shortly after she delivered a speech at the Forum 2000 …

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said Monday it has detected signs that North Korea is preparing to destroy the northern parts of inter-Korean roads no longer in use, as the rivals are embroiled in soaring tensions over North Korea’s claim that South Korea flew drones over its territory. Destroying the roads would be in line with leader Kim Jong Un’s push to cut off ties …

TAIPEI — China’s military launched a new round of war games near Taiwan on Monday, saying it was a warning to the “separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces,” drawing condemnation from the Taipei and U.S. governments. Democratically governed Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, had been on alert for more war games since last week’s National Day speech by President Lai Ching-te, an address …

HONG KONG — Eight animals were found dead in a Hong Kong zoo, the city’s government said on Monday, a rare incident in the financial hub, with necropsy and laboratory tests arranged to find out the cause of deaths. The animals, a De Brazza’s monkey, one common squirrel monkey, three cotton-top tamarins and three white-faced sakis, were found dead at the city’s Zoological and Botanical Gardens …

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Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s police have arrested 198 Chinese men on suspicion of operating a cybercrime ring from the South Asian nation, a police spokesperson said Sunday.  Deputy Inspector-General Nihal Thalduwa said the men were taken into custody at four locations during raids carried out since October 6, with 129 arrested in one location Saturday.  Thalduwa said that a large number of mobile phones …

Paris — Chinese state-owned carmaker GAC is exploring the manufacture of EVs in Europe to avoid EU tariffs, the general manager of its international business told Reuters on Sunday, joining a growing list of Chinese companies planning local production.  The company is among China’s largest automakers and is targeting 500,000 overseas sales by 2030. It does not yet sell EVs in Europe but will launch an …

Tehran, Iran — Iran condemned Sunday what it called an “illegal and unjustified” expansion of U.S. sanctions targeting its oil industry following Tehran’s missile attack on Israel earlier this month.   In a statement, foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei defended Iran’s attack on Israel and “strongly condemned” the sanctions, saying they were “illegal and unjustified.”   The United States on Friday slapped Iran with a spate …