China

Stockholm — Sales by major arms suppliers were boosted last year by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and tensions in Asia, with marked increases for manufacturers based in Russia and the Middle East, according to a report published Monday. Sales of arms and military services by the world’s 100 largest arms companies totaled $632 billion last year, up 4.2%, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute …

Honululu, Hawaii — On a two-day visit to Hawaii, Taiwan’s president Lai Ching-te met with the state’s governor and congressional representatives as part of a Pacific island tour that has already triggered criticism from Beijing. On Sunday, China’s Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemned” U.S. support for Lai’s visit and had lodged a complaint with the U.S. It also denounced a newly announced U.S. weapons sale …

The chance for an end to more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the release of about 100 hostages held by the militants is now “more likely” because of last week’s ceasefire reached by Israel with Hezbollah in Lebanon, a top U.S. national security official said Sunday.  The U.S. and other negotiators “may have a chance” to end 14 …

BEIRUT — The Syrian military rushed in reinforcements Sunday to push back insurgents from advancing farther into the northern Hama countryside after they seized Aleppo and surrounding strategic locations in an adjacent province in a surprise offensive. The insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took over most of Aleppo on Saturday and claimed to have entered the city of Hama. There was no independent confirmation of …

DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA STRIP — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Sunday it is halting aid deliveries through the main cargo crossing into the war-ravaged Gaza Strip because of the threat of armed gangs who have looted recent convoys. It blamed the breakdown of law and order in large part on Israeli policies.  The decision could worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as the cold, …

BEIRUT — Thousands of Syrian insurgents took over most of Aleppo on Saturday, establishing positions in the city and controlling its airport before expanding their shock offensive to a nearby province. They faced little to no resistance from government troops, according to fighters and activists. A war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the insurgents led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized control of Aleppo …

JERUSALEM — The Palestinian militant group Hamas released on Saturday a video of an Israeli-American hostage pleading for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to secure his release.  The mother of hostage Edan Alexander said she was shaken by the 3 1/2-minute video that showed the 20-year-old captive looking pale and seated in a dark space against a wall. He identified himself and addressed his family, Israeli Prime …

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA — President-elect Donald Trump threatened 100% tariffs Saturday against a bloc of nine nations if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar.  His threat was directed at countries in the so-called BRICS alliance, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.  Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have applied to become members of the alliance, …

BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA — More than 100 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, have been rescued after their boat sank off the coast of Indonesia, the United Nations refugee agency said Saturday. The mostly Muslim ethnic Rohingya are heavily persecuted in Myanmar and thousands risk their lives each year on long and dangerous sea journeys to reach Malaysia or Indonesia. “We received a report from the …

TAOYUAN, TAIWAN — Taiwan’s president departed Saturday on a trip to the South Pacific that will include a two-day transit in the United States, his first since assuming office. The planned stopovers in Hawaii and the territory of Guam have already drawn fierce criticism from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and objects to official exchanges between it and the U.S., the island’s biggest …

The Israeli military said it killed a Palestinian it accused of involvement in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel in a vehicle strike in the Gaza Strip, and is investigating claims that the person was an employee of aid group World Central Kitchen. At least 25 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military strikes across Gaza overnight and into Saturday, with most casualties reported in …

NEW DELHI — The rebound of India’s economy in the wake of COVID-19 has spurred a renewed interest in overseas vacations by Indians, beyond prepandemic levels, with many of them now turning to Asian destinations. Travel companies say business is booming throughout the year, driven by growing disposable incomes in a growing middle class and an ambitious young population. “Earlier travel picked up in the summer …

YANQING, CHINA — In a research facility in the northwest of Beijing, molecular biologist Li Jieping and his team harvest a cluster of seven unusually small potatoes, one as tiny as a quail’s egg, from a potted plant. Grown under conditions that simulate predictions of higher temperatures at the end of the century, the potatoes provide an ominous sign of future food security. At just 136 …

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Iran will begin enriching uranium with thousands of advanced centrifuges at its two main nuclear facilities at Fordo and Natanz, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Friday, further raising tensions over Tehran’s program as it enriches at near weapons-grade levels. The notice from the International Atomic Energy Agency only mentioned Iran enriching uranium with new centrifuges to 5% purity, far lower …

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Paraguayan Foreign Minister Ruben Dario Ramirez Lezcano said Friday the country remains committed to diplomatic ties with Taiwan despite farm sector calls for it to switch to having formal relations with China. At the same time, Ramirez Lezcano said his government is open to establishing trade and other relations with Beijing as long as it would not have to break off its ties …

BEIRUT — Insurgents breached Syria’s second-largest city Aleppo after blowing up two car bombs on Friday and were clashing with government forces on the city’s western edge, according to a Syria war monitor and fighters.  It was the first time the city has been attacked by opposition forces since 2016, when they were ousted from Aleppo’s eastern neighborhoods following a grueling military campaign in which Syrian …

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Malaysia is preparing for its worst floods in a decade after heavier-than-expected monsoon rains caused severe flooding that killed three people and displaced more than 90,000. The National Disaster Command Center online portal said Friday that 94,778 people from more than 28,000 families across nine states were evacuated to 527 temporary shelters. The northeastern state of Kelantan, bordering Thailand, was the worst …

BAALBEK, Lebanon — In eastern Lebanon’s city of Baalbek, the Jawhari family gathered around a gaping crater where their home once stood, tears streaming as they tried to make sense of the destruction. “It is heart-breaking. A heartache that there is no way we will ever recover from,” said Lina Jawhari, her voice breaking as she hugged relatives who came to support the family. “Our world …

CAIRO — Israeli military strikes killed at least 30 Palestinians overnight in the Gaza Strip, most of them in the Nuseirat camp at the center of the enclave, medics said on Friday after some tanks pulled back from an area they had raided. Medics said they had recovered 19 bodies of Palestinians killed in the northern areas of Nuseirat, one of the enclave’s eight long-standing refugee …

BEIJING/HONG KONG — A Beijing court sentenced veteran Chinese state media journalist Dong Yuyu on Friday to seven years in prison for espionage, his family said in a statement, calling the verdict a grave injustice. Police in the Chinese capital detained the 62-year-old former Guangming Daily editor and journalist in February 2022 while he was lunching with a Japanese diplomat, the U.S. National Press Club said …

Alam Saleh and Ben Sabti, two prominent experts on Iran and Israel affairs, joined VOA Persian’s evening analytical program on Wednesday to explore the implications of the ceasefire in Lebanon. They also assessed which of the two sides emerged as the true winner in the conflict and the subsequent peace efforts between Israel and Hezbollah. See the full story here. …

BEIRUT — Rebel fighters cut the Damascus to Aleppo highway on Thursday during an offensive that a monitor says killed around 200 people, including civilians hit by Russian air force strikes. A day earlier, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions launched a surprise attack on government-held areas of northern Aleppo province, triggering the fiercest fighting in years, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. HTS is …

Middle East analysts are welcoming a series of agreements concluded during the recent summit in Brazil of the 20 biggest economies, saying they open new avenues for Gulf Cooperation Council states to strengthen economic relations with emerging markets across Latin America. Among other developments, Crown Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates signed a memorandum of agreement with Brazilian President Luiz …

Three American citizens jailed for years in China arrived in the United States late Wednesday as part of a prisoner swap between Washington and Beijing. The swap, which the White House announced earlier Wednesday, marked a rare diplomatic agreement between the United States and China as U.S. President Joe Biden’s tenure comes to a close. Beijing announced Thursday that the United States has returned four …