China

MACAO — Macao’s former top judge, Sam Hou Fai, was chosen as the Chinese casino hub’ s next leader in a largely ceremonial election on Sunday, setting him up to become the city’s first chief executive born in mainland China. Almost the entire election committee stacked with Beijing loyalists — 394 of 398 — voted for Sam, the sole candidate, in a departure from the long-standing …

washington — Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit drafted by Southeast Asian countries, mainly over objections to language on the contested South China Sea, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday. A draft statement arrived at by consensus by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations was put to the 18-nation East Asia Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday …

hanoi, vietnam — Vietnam and China agreed on Saturday to boost defense and security cooperation despite their years-long maritime dispute in the South China Sea, said the Vietnamese government. China is Vietnam’s largest trading partner and a vital source of imports for its manufacturing sector.  The two countries on Saturday also agreed to boost economic ties, with China pledging to further open its market for Vietnamese …

taipei, taiwan — Taiwan’s China Airlines is not facing any political pressure on its decision about whether to buy Boeing or Airbus aircraft for a refreshment of its long-haul fleet, the company’s chairman said Saturday.  Taiwan’s largest carrier has been weighing Boeing’s 777X and the Airbus A350-1000 as replacements for its fleet of 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, mostly used on U.S. and some high-density regional routes, according …

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday accused South Korea of deliberately avoiding responsibility for the alleged flights of South Korean drones over the North’s capital and warned of a “terrible calamity” if they continue. The statement by Kim Yo Jong came a day after North Korea’s Foreign Ministry claimed that South Korean drones carrying anti-North Korean …

BEIRUT — A series of U.S. airstrikes targeted several camps run by the Islamic State group in Syria in an operation the U.S. military said will disrupt the extremists from conducting attacks in the region and beyond. The U.S. Central Command said the airstrikes were conducted Friday, without specifying in which parts of Syria. About 900 U.S. troops have been deployed in eastern Syria alongside the …

beijing — China said Saturday it would issue special bonds to help its sputtering economy, signaling a spending spree to bolster banks, shore up the property market and ease local government debt as part of one of its biggest support packages in years. The plan is part of a series of actions undertaken by Beijing to draw a line under a years-long property sector crisis and …

Jerusalem — Israel observed Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, on Saturday amid a firestorm of international criticism over its military offensive in Lebanon and its soldiers firing on peacekeepers. As the holy day got under way Friday from sundown, Israel faced diplomatic backlash over what it acknowledged was a “hit” earlier in the day on a United Nations peacekeeping position in Lebanon. …

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washington — U.S. national security experts say it is unclear whether a new cost-sharing agreement with South Korea, hailed by the State Department as “a significant accomplishment,” will survive if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House next year. Concluded last week and effective from 2026, the five-year Special Measures Agreement, or SMA, requires South Korea to raise its contribution to the cost of …

washington — As China pursues tit-for-tat actions against the European Union in response to tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, Beijing’s drive for global dominance in the automotive sector continues unabated. Over the past year, companies such as EV giant BYD and others have made inroads in markets from Southeast Asia to Latin America and Africa, even as they face tariffs of up to 100% in Canada …

WASHINGTON — Lebanese militia Hezbollah is running out of money, researchers tell VOA, as a weekslong Israeli offensive against the Iran-backed group disrupts three of its key sources of cash. U.S. and Lebanon-based researchers and U.S. Treasury Department reports identify Hezbollah’s main cash source as Al-Qard al-Hasan, or AQAH, a Lebanese quasi-banking institution operated by the U.S.-designated terror group without a government banking license. The researchers …

washington — The United States hit Iran’s oil and petrochemicals sectors with fresh sanctions Friday in response to Tehran’s October 1 attack against Israel, designating dozens of new companies and firms.   In a statement Friday, the Treasury Department said it was going after Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet” of ships involved in selling Iranian oil in circumvention of existing sanctions, designating 10 companies and 17 vessels …

London — The European Parliament overwhelmingly passed an emergency resolution Thursday condemning the Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghurs and urging China to immediately and unconditionally release detainees, including Uyghur economist Ilham Tohti and Gulshan Abbas. The resolution is fueled by widespread concern from the international community and highlights its continued concern about the human rights situation in Xinjiang. The resolution, which was adopted by a vote …

WASHINGTON — A new source of tension in the South China Sea — until now focused on fisheries, resource extraction and freedom of navigation — is beginning to get attention: the undersea fiber-optic cables that crisscross the strategic waterway and carry almost all of the region’s internet and other telecommunications traffic. Since 2020, according to published reports, the United States has been urging countries in the …

zurich — Two months before FIFA is set to confirm Saudi Arabia as the 2034 World Cup host, the soccer body was urged again Friday to allow independent scrutiny of the kingdom’s human rights obligations for the tournament. A group of law and human rights experts plus Saudi activists abroad want FIFA to mandate ongoing reviews — and a potential termination clause — into the 2034 …

VIENTIANE, LAOS — Myanmar’s worsening violence took center stage at this week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vientiane, Laos, as regional leaders grappled with the inability to implement their Five-Point Consensus. This outline for peace agreed upon nearly four years ago, calls for an end to the violence in the country, constructive dialogue among the parties, humanitarian aid and appointment of a special envoy …

Seoul, South Korea — North Korea on Friday accused South Korea of sending drones to drop anti-regime leaflets over Pyongyang, an accusation that Seoul immediately denied. According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s foreign ministry said South Korean drones have entered Pyongyang at night on three occasions since October 3, scattering “numerous” leaflets. The ministry called the alleged incursion a “grave political and …

STOCKHOLM — Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki who are also known as Hibakusha, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.   Below are some facts about the background and efforts of the movement.   Atomic bombing of Japan    In 1945 the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan to bring an end to World War II and …

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WASHINGTON — The United States still believes that Iran has not decided to build a nuclear weapon despite Tehran’s recent strategic setbacks, including Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leaders and two largely unsuccessful attempts to attack Israel, two U.S. officials told Reuters. The comments from a senior Biden administration official and a spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) added to public remarks …

seoul, south korea — South Koreans flocked to bookstores Friday and crashed websites in a frenzy to snap up copies of the work of novelist Han Kang in her home country, after her unexpected win of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature. However, the author herself was keeping out of the limelight. The country’s largest bookstore chain, Kyobo Book Centre, said sales of her books had …

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