China

Beijing — Chinese Premier Li Qiang will visit Russia and Belarus this week, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Monday. Li’s visit comes as China and Russia ramp up economic cooperation and diplomatic contacts. “Under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Russia relations have eliminated external interference and maintained healthy and stable development,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular media briefing. She …

Seoul, South Korea — Just two years ago, Zane Han couldn’t have imagined his life today: living in Seoul and writing whatever he wants about the North Korean government, which once tried to control his every move.  Han, a broad-shouldered, energetic man approaching middle age, has lived a dizzying life. As a teenager, he survived the 1990s famine; later, he attended an elite Pyongyang university, where …

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A group of North Korean defectors in Seoul has started a news website aimed at exposing North Korean human rights abuses. They also want to provide a more nuanced perspective about their homeland, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from the South Korean capital. Video: Kim Hyungjin …

JAKARTA — Outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday appointed new cabinet ministers with close ties to his successor Prabowo Subianto, in a move aimed at smoothing the transition of power two months ahead of his departure. Defense Minister Prabowo won the February election by a massive margin with the help of Widodo’s huge popularity and political clout, in what is widely interpreted as a quid-pro-quo …

BEIJING — China and Vietnam inked 14 documents spanning cross-border railways to crocodile exports on Monday, after Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Vietnam’s new leader To Lam in Beijing.  Lam’s visit to Beijing, his first overseas trip since he was appointed party chief early this month, signals a desire between the two communist neighbors to strengthen ties as trade and investment grow and despite occasional …

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BEIJING — China’s President Xi Jinping held talks on Monday with Vietnam’s new leader To Lam in Beijing on his first state visit since he took office, Chinese official media Xinhua said. The meeting signals the close ties between the two communist-run neighbors, which have well-developed economic and trade relations despite the occasional boundary clashes in the energy-rich South China Sea. China, displaying exuberance over Lam’s …

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China’s coast guard accused the Philippines of deliberately crashing one of its ships into a Chinese vessel early Monday near Sabina Shoal, a new flashpoint in the increasingly alarming territorial disputes between the countries in the South China Sea. Two Philippine coast guard ships entered waters near the shoal, ignored the Chinese coast guard’s warning and “deliberately collided” with one of China’s boats …

Seoul, South Korea — North Korea condemned Ukraine’s incursion into Russia as an unforgivable act of terror backed by Washington and the West, adding it would always stand with Russia as it seeks to protect its sovereignty, state media said Sunday. Ukraine’s drive into Russia is a product of the anti-Russia confrontational policy of the United States, which is pushing the situation to the brink of …

Aden, Yemen — Acute malnutrition is rapidly increasing in areas of Yemen controlled by the government, with the most critical cases along areas of the Red Sea coast, U.N. food security experts said in a report issued on Sunday. The war between the Saudi-backed government and Iran-aligned Houthi militia, stalemated for years, has caused the economic collapse of the already widely impoverished Arabian Peninsula country and …

BANGKOK — Leaders of Thailand’s newest pro-democracy party are under an ethics investigation that could see them cast out of the National Assembly over allegations echoing those that saw the party’s predecessor dissolved by court order earlier this month. Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission said August 8 it had ordered a probe of 44 opposition members of the parliament accused of breaking the ethics rules for lawmakers …

BEIJING — Vietnam’s new leader To Lam is making China the destination for his first overseas visit, signaling the continuing importance the Southeast Asian country places on its giant neighbor even as it strengthens ties with the United States and others.  Lam stepped off a Vietnam Airlines plane on an overcast Sunday morning in Guangzhou, a major manufacturing and export hub near Hong Kong, China’s state …

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia — With its reindeer sleigh rides, camel racing and stunning landscapes with room to roam, Mongolia is hoping to woo visitors who are truly looking to get away from it all. Like most countries, its tourism industry was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has launched a “Welcome to MonGOlia” campaign to win people back. The government has added flights and streamlined the …

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to arrive in Israel on Sunday as part of Washington’s intensifying diplomatic push to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza that will end the 10-month-old war between Israel and Hamas. The top U.S. diplomat’s 10th trip to the region since the war began in October last year comes days after the United States put forward bridging proposals …

BEIJING — Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, arrived in China on Sunday for a three-day visit, according to Chinese state media, which Beijing’s foreign ministry has said will include meetings with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The Vietnamese president, who was elevated this month to the nation’s top position, general secretary of the ruling Communist Party, arrived in Guangzhou, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Lam …

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel said it killed two senior Hamas militants in an airstrike on their car in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, claiming they were involved in the killing of an Israeli. A joint statement from the Israel Security Agency and the Israel Defense Forces identified the militants as Ahmed Abu Ara and Rafet Dawasi, both from the West Bank’s northern …

Beijing, China — Youth unemployment in China ticked up to 17.1% in July, official figures showed, the highest level this year as the world’s second-largest economy faces mounting headwinds. China is battling soaring joblessness among young people, a heavily indebted property sector and intensifying trade issues with the West. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is responsible for economic policy, called Friday for struggling companies to be …

Taipei, Taiwan — Three crew members from a Chinese fishing boat were missing Saturday after their ship collided with an unidentified vessel and sank off the coast of a Taiwanese island, Taiwan’s coast guard said. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, and relations between the two have deteriorated in recent years. A series of fishing boat incidents occurring along the narrow waterway separating …

DEARBORN, Michigan — Of the thousands of delegates expected to gather Monday at the Democratic National Convention, only 36 will belong to the “uncommitted” movement sparked by dissatisfaction with U.S. President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. But that small core has an outsized influence. Anger over U.S. backing for Israel’s offensive in Gaza could generate unwelcome images for convention organizers, with raucous protests expected …

Helsinki, Finland — Western officials and analysts are suspicious of Beijing’s admission this week that a Chinese container ship damaged the Balticconnector — a vital Baltic Sea gas pipeline linking Estonia and Finland — in October. The South China Morning Post reported August 12 that the Chinese government notified Finland and Estonia 10 months after the incident that it was caused by a Hong Kong-registered ship …

Gaza Strip — Gaza’s civil defense agency said an Israeli airstrike in the early hours of Saturday killed 15 people from a Palestinian family, including nine children and three women. The strike hit the home of the Ajlah family in Al-Zawaida neighborhood of central Gaza, civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP. The Israeli military did not offer an immediate comment. “The toll from the Israeli …

Tokyo — A typhoon that blasted parts of Japan with more than 200-kph winds moved out to sea on Saturday, mostly sparing the capital and allowing trains and some flights to resume. Tokyo and its surrounding areas had been on high alert Friday for Ampil’s approach, with transport services, trips, events and school classes canceled en masse. The storm was packing wind gusts of 216 kph …