China

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea staged GPS jamming attacks on Friday and Saturday, an operation that was affecting several ships and dozens of civilian aircraft in South Korea, Seoul’s military said. The jamming allegations come about a week after the North test-fired what it said was its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel ICBM missile, its first such launch since being accused of sending soldiers to …

TOKYO — Japan is planning to build an automated cargo transport corridor between Tokyo and Osaka, dubbed a “conveyor belt road” by the government, to make up for a shortage of truck drivers. The amount of funding for the project is not yet set. But it’s seen as one key way to help the country cope with soaring deliveries. A computer graphics video made by the …

MAUMERE, Indonesia — Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano spewed towering columns of hot ash high into the air Saturday, days after a huge eruption killed nine people and injured dozens of others. Activity at the volcano on the remote island of Flores, in East Nusa Tenggara province, has increased since Monday’s initial eruption. On Thursday, authorities expanded the danger zone as the volcano erupted again. …

rabat, morocco — Politicians and activists in Morocco are questioning limitations imposed on preachers regarding what they may say about war in the Middle East during sermons. During a meeting at the country’s parliament this week, socialist lawmaker Nabila Mounib bemoaned the way that imams were curtailed in how they can speak about the plight of Palestinians and call for religious struggle to support their cause. …

WASHINGTON — As clashes escalate along Myanmar’s northern border, Chinese Premier Li Qiang this week reaffirmed Beijing’s support for Myanmar’s military leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. The comment came Wednesday following a sideline meeting with the embattled junta leader at the November 6-7 Greater Mekong Subregion Summit in Kunming, in China’s southern Yunan province, according to a Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry statement issued the same …

JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is in Beijing Friday for his first official visit to China, where he is expected to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. Experts say he hopes to maintain the personal rapport with the Chinese leaders established by his predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. “Presumably, he will be leaning more toward Beijing for economic purposes since Prabowo has …

BEIJING — China on Friday approved a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion) plan to help local governments refinance their mountains of debt, in the latest push to rev up growth in the world’s second largest economy. The plan will be implemented over the next three years, Xu Hongcai, vice-chairman of the National People’s Congress’s financial and economic committee, said at a news conference Friday. Finance minister …

BEIJING/MANILA, Philippines — China summoned the Philippines’ ambassador on Friday to express its objection to two new laws in the Southeast Asian nation asserting maritime rights and sovereignty over disputed areas of the South China Sea, its foreign ministry said. China made “solemn representations” to the ambassador shortly after Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr signed the Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act into …

GENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Office said on Friday nearly 70% of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. The U.N. count covers the first seven months of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip that began more than a year ago. The …

MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon Yinxing battered the northern Philippines with floods and landslides before blowing away from the country on Friday, leaving two airports damaged and aggravating a calamity caused by back-to-back storms that hit in recent weeks. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Yinxing, the 13th major storm to hit the disaster-prone Southeast Asian archipelago this year. The typhoon, locally called Marce, was …

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels shot down what bystanders described as an American drone early Friday, potentially the latest downing of a U.S. spy drone as the militants continue their attacks on the Red Sea corridor. The U.S. military acknowledged the videos circulating online showing what appeared to be a flaming aircraft dropping out of the sky and a field of burning debris …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sometimes at odds with Western leaders but has made no secret of what he says were his warm dealings with President-elect Donald Trump during the U.S. leader’s first term. Observers say he is now looking to those warm ties as an opportunity to end regional conflicts, but also to ask for greater U.S. cooperation against Kurdish separatists, as Dorian …

Israeli forces carried out airstrikes Thursday targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs, a day after strikes in eastern and southern Lebanon killed at least 40 people. Thursday’s attacks included a strike near Lebanon’s international airport, which came after the Israeli military issued an evacuation order telling people to leave the area. Israel’s military said Thursday it had conducted airstrikes against Hezbollah headquarters and military infrastructure in Beirut. …

sydney — The Australian government will legislate for a ban on social media for children under 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday, in what it calls a world-leading package of measures that could become law late next year. Australia is trying out an age-verification system to assist in blocking children from accessing social media platforms, as part of a range of measures that include …

Both Israelis and Palestinians on Wednesday welcomed Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential election victory. Israelis hope he will support them in their conflicts with Hamas and others; Palestinians hope he will offer new statehood ideas. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen. …

Israeli airstrikes hit multiple towns in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley on Wednesday, killing and injuring dozens, as the new head of Hezbollah warned that his forces will battle Israel until it is forced to appeal for peace. “We will make the enemy seek to demand an end to the aggression,” Naim Kassem said in a prerecorded speech from an undisclosed location. He said …

Jerusalem — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, sparking protests around Israel. Some say the move could endanger the country’s security, as Israel continues to fight in both Gaza and Lebanon.    After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the dismissal of his popular defense minister, thousands of Israelis took to the streets, blocking roads — including the main highway between Tel …

Washington — Judicial investigators in Taiwan have indicted a couple affiliated with a small political party on charges of receiving millions of dollars from Chinese authorities to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence Taiwan’s elections and referendums. Taiwan’s Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said Monday it has charged Chang Meng-chung and his wife, Hung Wen-ting, with violating Taiwan’s Anti-Infiltration Act and election laws by making …

AMMAN, JORDAN — Arab leaders quickly congratulated Donald Trump on his U.S. presidential election victory. Some are hopeful he could bring an end to conflicts raging in the Middle East while others are looking for a stronger stance against Iran. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, United Arab Emirates leaders, and Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, all congratulated Donald Trump on …

Ho Chi Minh City — Vietnam is taking a more outspoken and transparent approach in response to China’s recent detention of Vietnamese fishermen in the South China Sea, analysts tell VOA. Hanoi is also moving forward with the construction of a new airstrip on a reef in its exclusive economic zone to further assert its sovereignty and challenge Beijing’s claims. Late last week, deputy spokesperson for …

Foreign adversaries used increasingly sophisticated meddling operations to target the November 5 U.S. presidential race between Democratic party candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican party opponent, former President Donald Trump. Iran has sought to influence and interfere with the results of the poll by promoting disinformation narratives favorable to its own foreign policy goals. The societal division in the U.S. and predictions of …

JAKARTA, Indonesia — The Indonesian government plans to permanently relocate thousands of residents after a series of eruptions of Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano which killed nine people and damaged thousands of houses, officials said. Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki, located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, erupted on Sunday night, followed by smaller eruptions on Monday and Tuesday, and remains on the highest volcanic alert status. …

LONDON — Russia is “flagrantly violating” its agreements with the OPEC oil cartel by concealing the true amount of oil it is producing and selling, according to a new report that says the profits are funding Moscow’s war on Ukraine. The investigation by the Ukrainian Center for Defense Reforms asserts that Russia is breaching an OPEC agreement to cut oil production. The think tank is chaired …

Russia is “flagrantly violating” its agreements with the oil cartel OPEC by concealing the true amount of oil it is producing and selling, according to a new report that says the profits are funding Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Henry Ridgwell reports. …