China

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Kiribati President Taneti Maamau, who has led the Pacific Island nation to build closer ties with China in recent years, secured his third term in office on Saturday. He defeated two other candidates in an election closely monitored by countries around the world. Maamau won about 55% of the vote, while his nearest challenger, Kaotitaaake Kokoria, won 42% of the vote, New Zealand’s …

Israel has multilayered air defenses against attacks by regional adversaries such as Iran, where military sites were hit by Israeli strikes on Saturday in the latest exchange in the escalating conflict between the Middle East rivals. Israel said it was retaliating for Tehran’s missile attack on Israeli targets on October 1. Israel has been honing its air defenses since coming under Iraqi Scud salvoes in …

Jakarta — One year after the opening of Indonesia’s first high-speed railway that connects Jakarta to Bandung, named Whoosh, Indonesia is courting China to invest in an extension of the line eastward to the port city of Surabaya in East Java. The rail service is one of former President Joko Widodo’s flagship infrastructure projects and part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The Whoosh attracted over …

Israel says it has completed a major assault on Iran after more than a year of fighting, which began with an attack by Iranian proxy group Hamas on the Jewish state and has grown into a multi-front conflict directly involving Tehran and its other regional proxies. In a statement issued early Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes safely returned home after conducting “precise …

The Israel military says it has launched strikes on military targets in Iran, as Iranian media reported several explosions were heard in Iran’s capital, Tehran, and the nearby city of Karaj early Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X that it was conducting “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran, but did not elaborate. “The regime in Iran and its proxies …

A Kurdish militant group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on a major state-run defense company in Turkey’s capital, an action that analysts say could complicate prospects for renewed peace talks between the Turkish government and the country’s Kurdish minority. Two assailants set off explosives and opened fire Wednesday at the aerospace and defense company TUSAS in Ankara, killing five people and wounding 22, Turkey’s …

GENEVA  — United Nations agencies warn that medical evacuations from conflict-ridden Gaza have essentially dried up, putting at risk the lives of thousands of people, including children, with serious illnesses and injuries because they are unable to get the treatment they need. “Children are being medically evacuated from Gaza at fewer than one child per day. If this lethally slow pace continues, it would take more …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Russia is expected to deploy North Korean soldiers to combat as early as Sunday.  In a statement posted to his official X social media account, Zelenskyy said the prediction is based on military intelligence he received in a Friday briefing from armed forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.  Zelenskyy called the move a “clear escalation by Russia,” adding that “the …

MANILA — Tropical Storm Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 82 people dead in landslides and extensive flooding that forced authorities to scramble for more rescue boats to save thousands of terrified people who were trapped, some on their roofs. But the onslaught may not be over: State forecasters raised the rare possibility that the storm — the 11th and …

Vatican City — A new assistant Catholic bishop for Beijing was ordained on Friday, three days after the Vatican and Chinese officials extended an accord on appointments in China, the Vatican said.   Bishop Matthew Zhen Xuebin, 54, was named to the role by Pope Francis, who approved his nomination within the framework of a diplomatic deal originally struck in 2018 that gives Chinese officials some …

Skybar, once was a luxurious nightclub in Beirut, a place to see and be seen. Now it is home to over 400 displaced people seeking refuge from Israel’s ground operation in south Lebanon and airstrikes in Hezbollah-controlled suburbs of Beirut. Bezhan Hamdard narrates this report by VOA’s Turkish Service. …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with Lebanon’s prime minister to discuss Israel’s strikes on the country as Washington presses the Beirut government to take charge against Hezbollah. Blinken, on his way back from a Middle East tour, met in London with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who came in from a conference on Lebanon in Paris the day before. The two smiled before …

Iranian authorities have issued an additional six-month prison sentence against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, a group campaigning for the activist said. The Free Narges Coalition said in a statement on Thursday that Mohammadi was sentenced on Oct. 19 to an additional six months in prison on the charge of “disobeying and resisting orders.” According to the statement, the charge was brought after Mohammadi …

Indonesia’s newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto hosted his cabinet Friday at an army academy retreat in the mountains where ministers dressed in camouflage fatigues, stayed in tents and were ordered to march. The 73-year-old former general became leader of the world’s fourth most populous nation on Sunday, pledging to bolster Indonesia’s defenses and fight corruption. Prabowo, accused of rights abuses under dictator Suharto in the …

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Friday the island will not cede an inch of its territory, as China maintains military pressure on Taipei to accept its claim of sovereignty. Lai made the remarks during a visit to the Kinmen islands off China for the 75th anniversary of a victory over communist forces in the Battle of Guningtou. It followed a fortnight of intense military activity …

washington — Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with key negotiators Thursday during a frenetic four-day exercise in Middle East shuttle diplomacy that aims to relaunch talks to pull the grinding war in Gaza to a close. On Thursday, he announced $135 million in additional U.S. aid for Palestinian civilians. He also reiterated President Joe Biden’s stance that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last …

kazan, russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin told BRICS leaders on Thursday that the Middle East was on the brink of a full-scale war after a sharp rise in tension between Israel and Iran, though the Kremlin chief also faced calls to end the war in Ukraine. The BRICS summit, attended by more than 20 leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi …

In rebel-held Syria, many people celebrated the deaths of Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon last month, even as they mourned the deaths of families in Gaza. As VOA’s Heather Murdock reports from Istanbul with Moawia Atrash and Ahmad Fallaha in Idlib, Syria, war in the Middle East is growing increasingly complex, with loyalties divided, even within individuals. …

State Department — In a latest diplomatic push to end the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that negotiators will meet “in the coming days.” He also announced $135 million in additional U.S. aid for Palestinian civilians. “In referring to negotiators coming back together, that was referring specifically to negotiations on the return of hostages and a …

A bilateral meeting between the Indian and Chinese leaders held Wednesday on the sidelines of the BRICS summit is expected to pave the way for improving political and economic ties damaged by a border standoff four years ago. Analysts say lingering mistrust in India could hamper quick normalization. Anjana Pasricha has a report from New Delhi. …

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A Chinese coast guard vessel was driven out of Indonesia’s waters for a second time this week after it initially disrupted a survey by state energy firm Pertamina in the South China Sea, Indonesia’s maritime security agency said on Thursday. While Chinese coast guard vessels have been spotted numerous times in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone, the most recent incidents came just days after …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Thursday with Qatar’s ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as part of a tour of the region in which Blinken has focused discussions on ending the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. Blinken is also meeting Thursday with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Al Thani ahead of talks with Arab officials Friday in London. While one …

Manila, Philippines — Tropical Storm Trami has killed at least 26 people and forced more than 150,000 to flee their homes in the Philippines, officials said on Thursday, as it made landfall on the northeastern coast. Trami, locally known as severe tropical storm Kristine, dumped heavy to torrential rain on the main island of Luzon triggering widespread flooding and landslides. With maximum sustained winds of 95 …

TOKYO — Taisei Hikage is fighting a losing battle at his Tokyo ramen shop – not to attract customers, but to keep a lid on the price he charges for Japan’s national comfort food in the face of an incessant rise in ingredient and fuel costs. Since opening his shop in the west of the capital a year and a half ago, Hikage, 26, has raised …