China

Jerusalem — The Israeli army said on Saturday two Palestinians were killed overnight while preparing to carry out bombings in the occupied West Bank, where an Israeli operation entered a fourth day. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza, issued a statement hailing a “heroic operation” in the south of the West Bank, saying it …

Washington — Vietnamese Communist Party General Secretary To Lam visited China to make sure that bilateral ties are on track under his country’s new leadership and to build personal ties with China’s top leaders, experts told VOA. Lam landed in China on August 18 in his first foreign trip in his new role at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, just two weeks after Lam …

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Washington — A joint operation by American and Iraqi forces killed 15 members of the Islamic State group in western Iraq, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Friday. The raid targeted Islamic State leaders and was carried out early Thursday morning, resulting “in the death of 15 ISIS operatives” with “no indication of civilian casualties,” CENTCOM said on social media platform X. It said the IS members …

CAIRO — It was another day of war in Gaza, another day of what 19-year-old Palestinian TikTok star Medo Halimy called his “Tent Life.” As he often did in videos documenting life’s mundane absurdities in the enclave, Halimy on Monday walked to his local internet cafe — rather, a tent with Wi-Fi where displaced Palestinians can connect to the outside world — to meet his friend …

Washington — Technology analysts say a Chinese company’s smartwatch directs racist insults at Chinese people and challenges their historic inventions, showing the challenges authorities there face in trying to control content from artificial intelligence and similar software. A parent in China’s Henan Province on August 22 posted on social media the response from a 360 Kid’s Smartwatch when asked if Chinese are the smartest people in …

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TOKYO — A slow-moving tropical storm had a far-reaching impact in much of Japan on Friday, dumping heavy rain around Tokyo and flooding roads and riverside areas in the south. Flooding was reported in a number of areas in Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo, where floodwater blocked roads, stalling vehicles and traffic. Warnings for heavy rain and potential landslides included the densely populated capital, Kanagawa and …

Jenin, West Bank — Israel carried out an airstrike in the occupied West Bank on Friday as its large-scale military operation entered a third day, with both sides reporting at least 16 Palestinians killed. A top U.N. aid official meanwhile questioned “what has become of our basic humanity,” as the war raged on in Gaza and humanitarian operations struggled to respond. The United Nations has warned …

NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga — New Zealand’s Māori king, Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, died Friday at age 69, days after the celebration of his 18th year on the throne. He was the seventh monarch in the Kiingitanga movement, holding a position created in 1858 to unite New Zealand’s Indigenous Māori tribes in the face of British colonization. Tuheitia died in hospital after heart surgery, said Rahui …

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washington — In an unexplained and puzzling move, North Korea this week placed 13 of its several dozen known submarines on a public list maintained by an international maritime agency, only to have them removed a day later. North Korea on Tuesday registered 11 Sang-O II-class submarines, as well as two more sophisticated vessels, with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS), …

Washington — Beijing has adopted a conciliatory tone in its reporting on this week’s visit by White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, emphasizing cooperation and open communication channels while claiming that Washington remains “incorrect” on its China policies. Sullivan’s tightly scheduled three-day trip to Beijing ended Thursday after he met with Chinese officials, including the country’s top leader, Xi Jinping. In a readout of Sullivan’s …

United Nations — A senior World Health Organization official said Thursday that Israel has agreed to a series of daily nine-hour humanitarian pauses for the duration of a massive polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip, where the first case of the disease was found in a baby earlier this month. “The campaign will start on the first of September in central Gaza for three days,” …

Johannesburg  — Chinese lending to Africa rose for the first time in years in 2023, new research by Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center showed Thursday. But the $4.61 billion loaned last year is still far less than China’s commitments to the continent pre-pandemic. In the heady early days of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s global infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, China’s loans …

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels released footage on Thursday showing their fighters boarded and placed explosives on a Greek-flagged tanker, setting off blasts that put the Red Sea at risk of a major oil spill. The vessel was abandoned earlier, after the Houthis repeatedly attacked it. In the video, the Iran-backed Houthis chant their motto as the bombs detonated aboard the oil tanker …

Beijing is sending international reporters to Chinese cities to showcase culture, technology and tourism. What’s missing, say analysts, is an uncensored picture of China and its human rights abuses. Victoria Amunga for VOA News has the story. Videographer: Jimmy Makhulo …

Dubai, UAE — Iran’s president ordered an investigation Thursday into the death of a man in custody after activists alleged he had been tortured to death by police officers in the country’s north, the latest such fatality to gain the nation’s attention. The order came from reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, elected last month, who campaigned on a promise to halt such deaths in custody. In 2022, …

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Bangkok — In the shadow of Myanmar’s brutal and bloody civil war, a rebel army with close ties to China and the illicit drug trade is spreading out and bulking up without a fight. Since the start of the year, the United Wa State Army, the largest and most powerful of Myanmar’s many ethnic armed groups, has been moving hundreds of its soldiers into new positions …

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WASHINGTON — China pledged support for Pakistan’s anti-terrorism campaign after Baloch insurgents, with a history of opposing Chinese investments in the region, carried out a series of attacks in the southwestern Baluchistan province Monday. More than 40 civilians and military personnel were killed. The military reported killing more than 20 attackers. The province is home to China-funded mega projects, including the strategic deep-water port of Gwadar …

United Nations — The head of the World Food Program said Wednesday that the agency is indefinitely suspending the movement of its staff in Gaza, after one of its teams came under repeated Israeli gunfire near a military checkpoint the previous day.  “This is totally unacceptable and the latest in a series of unnecessary security incidents that have endangered the lives of WFP’s team in Gaza,” …