Wilmington, Delaware — President Joe Biden hosted Australia’s prime minister at his Delaware home Friday at the start of a weekend summit with the “Quad” group he has pushed as a counterweight to China. Biden chose Wilmington for a summit of leaders from Australia, India and Japan — the last of his presidency after he dropped out of the 2024 election against Donald Trump and handed …
US soldier who entered North Korea pleads guilty to desertion
Washington — A U.S. soldier who crossed into North Korea last year pleaded guilty to desertion on Friday as part of a plea agreement and was sentenced to 12 months of confinement, his lawyer said. Because of good behavior and time served, the soldier was released, according to the lawyer. Travis King was facing 14 charges related to him fleeing across the border from South Korea …
Fresh clashes reported between US-backed forces, government troops in eastern Syria
Washington — New clashes erupted Friday between U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and Iran-backed Syrian government forces in the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, a war monitor and local sources reported. The fighting began when Syrian government forces and their allied militias launched mortar attacks against positions belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in the restive province, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human …
Japan faces unpredictable PM race amid domestic, foreign challenges
Japan’s ruling party will hold a leadership vote next week to choose the country’s next prime minister. While the outcome is uncertain, Japan’s foreign policy is expected to remain steady. VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Tokyo on the challenges ahead. Camera: Ken Watanabe, Gallo …
Taiwan retains death penalty but limits use to ‘exceptional’ cases
Taipei, Taiwan — A Taiwan court decided on Friday to retain capital punishment, but ruled its application should be “limited to special and exceptional circumstances.” Democratic Taiwan has carried out 35 executions since a moratorium on capital punishment was lifted in 2010, with the latest — that of a 53-year-old man convicted for setting a fire that killed his family — occurring in April 2020. Campaigners …
Gaza, Ukraine to vie for world’s attention at UN gathering
World leaders gather for their annual meetings at the United Nations starting Sunday, and the wars in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine will be center stage. VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer reports. …
Kim calls for North Korea to bolster weapons after testing 2 missiles
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Thursday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised successful tests of two types of missiles — one designed to carry a “super-large conventional warhead” and the other likely for a nuclear warhead, as he ordered officials to bolster his country’s military capabilities to repel U.S.-led threats. The tests appear to be the same as the multiple missile launches that neighboring …
Sweden charges woman with war crimes for allegedly torturing Yazidi women, children in Syria
Copenhagen, Denmark — Swedish authorities on Thursday charged a 52-year-old woman associated with the Islamic State group with genocide, crimes against humanity and serious war crimes against Yazidi women and children in Syria — in the first such case of a person to be tried in the Scandinavian country. Lina Laina Ishaq, who’s a Swedish citizen, allegedly committed the crimes from August 2014 to December 2016, …
Calls for better preparedness in Vietnam after Typhoon Yagi
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Typhoon Yagi, which hit Vietnam earlier this month, exposed the country’s lack of preparedness for extreme weather and raised concerns more storms could hit the country this rainy season, experts told VOA. The storm hit northern Vietnam September 7. It resulted in 292 deaths. Thirty-eight people remain missing and over 73,000 homes have been flooded, authorities say. In northwestern Lao …
Baby hippo Moo Deng becomes internet sensation
CHONBURI, Thailand — Only a month after Thailand’s adorable baby hippo Moo Deng was unveiled on Facebook, her fame became unstoppable both domestically and internationally. Zookeeper Atthapon Nundee has been posting cute moments of the animals in his care for about five years. He never imagined Khao Kheow Open Zoo’s newborn pygmy hippo would become an internet megastar within weeks. Cars started lining up outside the …
Thailand pushing for talks to repair key Myanmar highway
Bangkok — Thailand wants to work with warring sides in Myanmar to repair a key highway cutting through the conflict-ridden country as it seeks to stabilise borders areas and keep trade routes open, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said on Thursday. Thailand has the support of the ASEAN regional bloc and India in the push to rebuild parts of the Asian Highway 1 (AH-1) that has …
Airbus investing in Chinese firm that supplies Myanmar military: report
BANGKOK — A new report from Burmese activist groups is calling on French-based airline manufacturer Airbus to use its influence with Aviation Industry Corporation of China, or AVIC, to pressure the Chinese firm to end its arms sales to the Myanmar junta. AVIC is one of the world’s biggest defense contractors, and the Chinese aviation firm supplies aircraft and weapons to Myanmar’s military junta that are …
Biden to host Quad leaders at Delaware home
washington — President Joe Biden has made it a priority to elevate the relationship of the Quad, four countries touched by the Indo-Pacific region, the White House said, as he prepares to host the leaders of Japan, India and Australia on Saturday at his Delaware home. The region stretches from the U.S. West Coast to the shores of India to the northeast waters of Japan to …
Intelligence suggests Iran sought to ensnare Trump, Biden in hack-and-leak
washington — Iran’s efforts to upend U.S. politics ahead of November’s presidential election by targeting the campaign of former President Donald Trump went well beyond a standard hack-and-leak operation. According to U.S. intelligence officials, Tehran sought to ensnare the campaign of Trump’s then-opponent, incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden. Information released late Wednesday by U.S. intelligence officials indicates Iranian cyber actors not only tried to leak stolen …
US official: China’s support for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine ‘comes from very top’
state department — A senior U.S. State Department official said Wednesday that Beijing’s support for Moscow’s defense industry comes directly from the top leadership of the People’s Republic of China, or PRC. The official also pointed out that chips supplied by China have significantly bolstered Russia’s battlefield capabilities in its war against Ukraine. For months, U.S. officials have accused the PRC of actively aiding Russia’s war …