Washington — The Taiwan High Court on Thursday sentenced eight Taiwanese military officers to prison for spying for China in exchange for financial gain. Experts say the case shows a shift in China’s espionage tactics in Taiwan. The sentences range from 18 months to 13 years in prison, making it one of Taiwan’s largest espionage cases in years. The court said in a statement that the …
2 journalists die in Turkish airstrike in northern Iraq, officials say
IRBIL, Iraq — Two female journalists were killed in a Turkish airstrike that hit their car in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, local officials and media said Friday. The journalists, Hero Baha’uddin and Golestan Tara, worked for a local Kurdish media company, according to local media outlet Roj News and an official in Sulaimaniyah province who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not …
Trials ordered in 20-year-old Thailand military, police ‘massacre’
Bangkok — A court in Buddhist-majority Thailand decided Friday to try seven former military and police officials for their roles in the deaths of 85 Muslim men at a protest that took place 20 years ago. The seven are charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful detention. The statute of limitations on the charges expires in late October, exactly two decades after the events of the …
27 killed after bus with Indian pilgrims drives off Nepal highway
KATHMANDU, Nepal — At least 27 people were killed and 16 others injured when a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims drove off a key highway and crashed on Friday in Nepal, officials said. The bus veered off Prithvi Highway and rolled toward a fast-flowing river. Its roof was ripped open before stopping on the rocky bank just shy of the Marsyangdi’s rushing, murky water. Rescue …
Libya armed mobilization causes concern, UN says
TRIPOLI — The United Nations Libya mission said late on Thursday it was concerned about reports of forces mobilizing in Tripoli and threats of force to resolve a crisis over control of the central bank. The mission’s deputy head, Stephanie Koury, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that the political and military situations in Libya had deteriorated rapidly over the previous two months, including a …
Gaza wakes to gunfire as mediators keep pushing for cease-fire deal
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Fighting continued in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, even as the United States, Qatar and Egypt pushed forward to try and win agreement on a cease-fire deal. Heavy weapons and machine guns could be heard firing at daybreak near east Deir al-Balah in a video shot by The Associated Press, with the streets nearly deserted. In the southern city of Khan …
China, Belarus agree to strengthen cooperation in trade, security
BEIJING — China and Belarus have agreed to strengthen cooperation in a range of sectors including trade, security, energy and finance, according to a joint statement, after Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko in Minsk. The statement released on Friday, a day after the Minsk meeting, said both countries would also strengthen cooperation in industrial supply chains and continue to enhance trade …
US trial begins over diaries of Chairman Mao’s secretary
washington / oakland, california — A trial got underway this week in Oakland, California, to decide the ownership of diaries written by Li Rui, a former secretary to communist China’s founder Mao Zedong, who became a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party. The trial will decide if Stanford University gets to keep the diaries donated by Li’s daughter or if they should go to Li’s …
South Koreans keep eye on US election amid North Korea’s evolving threats
washington — South Koreans are keeping a close eye on the upcoming U.S. presidential election, scrambling to determine the implications its outcome would have for the security of their country. A recent poll by South Korea’s Institute of National Unification showed that about 66% of respondents supported the country having its own nuclear weapons. This has spurred heated debate among the South Korean public. Earlier this …
Taiwan defense spending to outpace GDP growth as China threat rises
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s defense spending will rise 7.7% next year, outpacing expected economic growth, the Cabinet said on Thursday, as the island adds more fighter jets and missiles to strengthen deterrence against a rising threat from Beijing. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert those claims, which Taipei …
Pro-Palestinian protesters rally, march on Democratic convention’s 3rd night
CHICAGO — More than 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched Wednesday past a park where pro-Israel demonstrators had gathered earlier and toward the arena hosting the third night of the Democratic National Convention. The demonstration, which stayed largely peaceful, came a day after violent clashes between police and protesters led to 56 arrests at a much smaller unsanctioned protest outside the Israeli Consulate. Organizers of Wednesday’s demonstration drew …
Senior US officials meet Dalai Lama in New York
washington — Senior U.S. officials met with the Dalai Lama in New York on Wednesday, according to a State Department statement, a rare high-level direct meeting between Washington and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. The Dalai Lama, who is denounced by Beijing as a separatist, met with senior U.S. State Department official Uzra Zeya and White House National Security Council official Kelly Razzouk in New York, …
New York man accused of spying on Chinese dissidents, DOJ says
WASHINGTON — A New York man was charged on Wednesday with operating as an illegal agent of the Chinese government in the United States, accusing him of spying on Chinese pro-Democracy activists and dissidents, the Justice Department said. The DOJ alleges that Yuanjun Tang, 67, acted as a Chinese agent between 2018 and 2023 at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security, its principal intelligence …
US Pacific territories near status upgrade at islands summit
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Pacific territories are moving closer to a status upgrade from observer to associate member, elevating their status within the region’s political and economic policy organization, the Pacific Islands Forum. The PIF leaders’ meeting is set to open Monday in Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa. Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has confirmed there will be a vote on new associate members. “Guam and American Samoa …
Australia and Indonesia agreed new defense accord
Sydney — Australia and Indonesia have agreed to a new defense deal which will boost military cooperation between the two Indo-Pacific neighbors. The accord was negotiated Tuesday during a visit to Australia by Indonesia’s incoming president, Prabowo Subianto. The defense cooperation agreement will allow Australian and Indonesian militaries to operate from each other’s countries. The Canberra government says it is the “most significant” pact the two …
Thailand says mpox case recorded in traveler from Africa
BANGKOK — Thailand has detected an mpox case in a European man who arrived from Africa last week and is awaiting test results to determine the strain, a disease control official said on Wednesday. Thai authorities were treating the case as if it were the Clade 1 form of mpox, as the person, a 66-year-old European man with residency in Thailand, had arrived on Aug. …