China

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM — A wave of air raids hit Beirut’s southern suburbs early Saturday as Israel stepped up attacks on Hezbollah, after a massive strike on the Iran-backed movement’s command center that apparently targeted leader Hassan Nasrallah. Reuters witnesses heard more than 20 airstrikes before dawn on Saturday. Abandoning their homes in the southern suburbs, thousands of Lebanese congregated in squares, parks and sidewalks in downtown Beirut …

BEIJING — Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Friday welcomed Chinese efforts to stimulate its slowing economy, noting that its recent weakness has hurt Australia. Chalmers was wrapping up a two-day visit to Beijing, the first to China by an Australian treasurer in seven years, as strained bilateral relations mend. He told reporters that Australia’s economy was slowing because of global economic uncertainty, high interest rates and …

The global coalition to ensure the defeat of Islamic State group terrorists is ending its military mission in Iraq. U.S. officials said a two-phased plan would not hinder counter-IS operations elsewhere in the region but did not detail how, or if, U.S. troop numbers would change. Carla Babb reports. …

washington — Myanmar’s military has called on ethnic armed groups and anti-junta resistance forces to end their armed struggle and participate in proposed national elections. While this call to cease fighting was quickly rejected by opposition forces, it marked a significant development in Myanmar’s three-year civil war. Ye Myo Hein, a senior expert on Myanmar at the United States Institute of Peace, said the military’s call …

taipei, taiwan — Drone companies from Taiwan and the U.S. are exploring ways to work together in a market dominated by China, bringing together Taiwanese enterprises and more than two dozen American companies and officials this week in Taipei. Attacks by swarms of drones have become an almost daily occurrence in Russia’s war in Ukraine, with both Kyiv and Moscow using unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, …

United Nations — Israel’s prime minister told the U.N. General Assembly Friday that Israel is “winning” in its fight against terrorists and their patrons in Iran who perpetrated the October 7 terror attacks on his country.  “I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran,” Benjamin Netanyahu said. “If you strike us, we will strike you. There is no place – there is no place in Iran …

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Ethnic Chin refugees from Myanmar in Malaysia are accusing the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR of abuse and of not providing necessary protection, potentially putting lives at risk.  Hundreds of members of the Alliance of Chin Refugees held a demonstration Thursday outside the UNHCR office in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.   Chins, most of whom are Christians, are an ethnic and religious minority …

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT — Israel will continue to discuss cease-fire proposals for Lebanon in the days ahead, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, as Washington warned that further escalation would only make it harder for civilians on both sides to return home. Israel’s foreign minister on Thursday rejected global calls for a cease-fire with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and pressed ahead with airstrikes that have killed hundreds …

TOKYO — Shigeru Ishiba, a veteran politician with a reputation for irking his conservative colleagues, is set to become Japan’s next prime minister after winning the leadership race for the Liberal Democratic Party Friday. Ishiba, a 67-year-old former defense minister, defeated socially conservative foreign policy hawk Sanae Takaichi in the second round of an internal party vote. The LDP’s parliamentary majority means he will become prime …

The war in Gaza returned to center stage at Thursday’s United Nations General Assembly, with a speech from the Palestinian president. VOA’s U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer has more. …

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HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court on Thursday night sentenced a former editor to jail for 21 months and immediately released another after both had earlier been found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious articles. In a landmark case about media freedom, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of the now-defunct Stand News media outlet were convicted last month — the first time journalists have been …

London — As world leaders gather for the annual United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, the charity Oxfam says they are being undermined by what it calls a “global oligarchy” of the super-rich who exert considerable control over the global economy – and who it blames for exacerbating problems like extreme inequality and climate change. “Today, the world’s richest 1% own more wealth …

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TAIPEI, Taiwan — China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday in a rare occurrence, adding to tensions in the region where multiple countries have overlapping territorial claims and both Beijing and Washington seek to project their influence. The launch was part of routine training by the People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force, which is in charge of conventional and nuclear missile operations, …

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea announced plans Thursday to compensate famers and others in the country’s dwindling dog meat industry before a formal ban goes effect in 2027, a move that is drawing opposition from both farmers and animal rights activists. South Korea’s parliament passed a landmark bill in January that will ban slaughtering, breeding or selling dog meat for human consumption after a three-year …

TOKYO — A Japanese court ruled Thursday that an 88-year-old former boxer was not guilty in a retrial for a 1966 quadruple murder, reversing an earlier wrongful conviction after decades on death row. Iwao Hakamada’s acquittal by the Shizuoka District Court makes him the fifth death-row convict to be found not guilty in a retrial in postwar Japanese criminal justice. The case could rekindle a debate …

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The war in Ukraine, Sudan’s humanitarian crisis, and an escalation between Israel and Hezbollah dominated the second day of the United Nations General Assembly meetings. VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer reports. …

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court is due to sentence two former editors on Thursday who have been found guilty of sedition after publishing articles about the national security crackdown in the city under China — a ruling that has prompted an international outcry. In a landmark case about media freedom, Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam of the now-defunct Stand News media outlet were convicted …

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JDEIDET YABOUS, Syria — Families fleeing the escalating conflict in Lebanon poured into Syria in growing numbers on Wednesday, waiting for hours in heavy traffic to reach the relative safety of another war-torn country.  U.N. officials estimated that thousands of Lebanese and Syrian families had already made the journey. Those numbers are expected to grow as Israel targets southern and eastern Lebanon in an aerial bombardment …

HELSINKI — A zoo in Finland has agreed with Chinese authorities to return two loaned giant pandas to China more than eight years ahead of schedule because they have become too expensive for the facility to maintain as the number of visitors has declined. The private Ahtari Zoo in central Finland some 330 kilometers north of Helsinki said Wednesday on its Facebook page that the female …

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