China

Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron called on Iran’s leader Masoud Pezeshkian to support a “general de-escalation” in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in a telephone conversation Sunday, his office said. Macron stressed “the responsibility of Iran to support a general de-escalation and to use its influence in this direction with the destabilizing actors that enjoy its support.” Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters are fighting Israeli troops in …

Washington — The United States will send a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery and troops to Israel, the Pentagon said Sunday, even as Iran warned Washington to keep American military forces out of Israel.  Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin authorized the deployment of the THAAD battery at the direction of President Joe Biden.  Ryder said …

BANGKOK — China agreed Sunday to assist Vietnam on cross-border railway development and take steps to expand agricultural imports from its smaller neighbor, Vietnam’s official media said. Premier Li Qiang, on an official visit to Vietnam, pledged that China would further open its market to high-quality fruits, seafood and other Vietnamese products, a state media report said. China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and second-largest export …

Vatican City, Holy See — Pope Francis asked Sunday for “respect” for U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon who have accused the Israeli military of deliberately firing on their positions.   “I am close to all the people involved, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, where I ask that the U.N. peacekeepers be respected,” Francis said at the Vatican.   The peacekeeping mission, UNIFIL, has said that its forces have repeatedly come under …

CAIRO — Israeli forces widened their raid into northern Gaza, and tanks reached the north edge of Gaza City, pounding some districts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and forcing many families to leave their homes, residents said. Residents said Israeli forces had effectively isolated Beit Hanoun, Jabalia, and Beit Lahiya in the far north of the enclave from Gaza City, blocking access between the two areas …

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan reported a Chinese aircraft carrier group sailing to the island’s south on Sunday, as China’s military put out a video saying it was “prepared for battle” amid concerns in Taipei about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, detests its president Lai Ching-te as a “separatist,” and the Chinese …

KAMPONG PHLUK, Cambodia — Em Phat, 53, studies his eel tanks with the intensity of a man gambling with his livelihood. For millennia, fishermen like him have relied on the bounty of the Tonle Sap in Cambodia, Southeast Asia’s largest lake and the epicenter of the world’s most productive inland fishery. But climate change, dams upstream on the Mekong River that sustains the lake, and deforestation …

HIROSHIMA, Japan — Almost eight decades after an atomic bomb devastated her hometown of Hiroshima, Teruko Yahata carries the scar on her forehead from when she was knocked over by the force of the blast. The U.S. bombs that laid waste to Hiroshima on the morning of August 6, 1945, and to Nagasaki three days later, changed the course of history and left Yahata and other …

MACAO — Macao’s former top judge, Sam Hou Fai, was chosen as the Chinese casino hub’ s next leader in a largely ceremonial election on Sunday, setting him up to become the city’s first chief executive born in mainland China. Almost the entire election committee stacked with Beijing loyalists — 394 of 398 — voted for Sam, the sole candidate, in a departure from the long-standing …

washington — Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit drafted by Southeast Asian countries, mainly over objections to language on the contested South China Sea, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday. A draft statement arrived at by consensus by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations was put to the 18-nation East Asia Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday …

hanoi, vietnam — Vietnam and China agreed on Saturday to boost defense and security cooperation despite their years-long maritime dispute in the South China Sea, said the Vietnamese government. China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and a vital source of imports for its manufacturing sector.  The two countries on Saturday also agreed to boost economic ties, with China pledging to further open its market for Vietnamese …

taipei, taiwan — Taiwan’s China Airlines is not facing any political pressure on its decision about whether to buy Boeing or Airbus aircraft for a refreshment of its long-haul fleet, the company’s chairman said Saturday.  Taiwan’s largest carrier has been weighing Boeing’s 777X and the Airbus A350-1000 as replacements for its fleet of 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, mostly used on U.S. and some high-density regional routes, according …

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday accused South Korea of deliberately avoiding responsibility for the alleged flights of South Korean drones over the North’s capital and warned of a “terrible calamity” if they continue. The statement by Kim Yo Jong came a day after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korean drones carrying anti-North Korean …

BEIRUT — A series of U.S. airstrikes targeted several camps run by the Islamic State group in Syria in an operation the U.S. military said will disrupt the extremists from conducting attacks in the region and beyond. The U.S. Central Command said the airstrikes were conducted Friday, without specifying in which parts of Syria. About 900 U.S. troops have been deployed in eastern Syria alongside the …

beijing — China said Saturday it would issue special bonds to help its sputtering economy, signaling a spending spree to bolster banks, shore up the property market and ease local government debt as part of one of its biggest support packages in years. The plan is part of a series of actions undertaken by Beijing to draw a line under a years-long property sector crisis and …

Jerusalem — Israel observed Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, on Saturday amid a firestorm of international criticism over its military offensive in Lebanon and its soldiers firing on peacekeepers. As the holy day got under way Friday from sundown, Israel faced diplomatic backlash over what it acknowledged was a “hit” earlier in the day on a United Nations peacekeeping position in Lebanon. …

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washington — U.S. national security experts say it is unclear whether a new cost-sharing agreement with South Korea, hailed by the State Department as “a significant accomplishment,” will survive if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House next year. Concluded last week and effective from 2026, the five-year Special Measures Agreement, or SMA, requires South Korea to raise its contribution to the cost of …

washington — As China pursues tit-for-tat actions against the European Union in response to tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Beijing’s drive for global dominance in the automotive sector continues unabated. Over the past year, companies such as EV giant BYD and others have made inroads in markets from Southeast Asia to Latin America and Africa, even as they face tariffs of up to 100% in Canada …

WASHINGTON — Lebanese militia Hezbollah is running out of money, researchers tell VOA, as a weekslong Israeli offensive against the Iran-backed group disrupts three of its key sources of cash. U.S. and Lebanon-based researchers and U.S. Treasury Department reports identify Hezbollah’s main cash source as Al-Qard al-Hasan, or AQAH, a Lebanese quasi-banking institution operated by the U.S.-designated terror group without a government banking license. The researchers …

washington — The United States hit Iran’s oil and petrochemicals sectors with fresh sanctions Friday in response to Tehran’s October 1 attack against Israel, designating dozens of new companies and firms.   In a statement Friday, the Treasury Department said it was going after Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ships involved in selling Iranian oil in circumvention of existing sanctions, designating 10 companies and 17 vessels …

London — The European Parliament overwhelmingly passed an emergency resolution Thursday condemning the Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghurs and urging China to immediately and unconditionally release detainees, including Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas. The resolution is fueled by widespread concern from the international community and highlights its continued concern about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. The resolution, which was adopted by a vote …

WASHINGTON — A new source of tension in the South China Sea — until now focused on fisheries, resource extraction and freedom of navigation — is beginning to get attention: the undersea fiber-optic cables that crisscross the strategic waterway and carry almost all of the region’s internet and other telecommunications traffic. Since 2020, according to published reports, the United States has been urging countries in the …