BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree Saturday in which he named former Communications Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali as the head of the new government following July’s parliamentary election, state media reported. Jalali, 55, has been under European Union sanctions since October 2014 over the government crackdown during Syria’s conflict that has left nearly half a million people dead since 2011. As a government …
Iran says it is open to talks but rejects pressure from US, EU
DUBAI — Iran’s foreign minister said that Tehran was open to diplomacy to solve disputes but not “threats and pressure,” state media reported on Saturday, after the U.S. and three European powers imposed sanctions against the country’s aviation sector. Abbas Araqchi’s comments come a day after the European Union’s chief diplomat said the bloc is considering new sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector, in reaction to reports …
Iran says it successfully launched satellite in program criticized by West
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran launched a satellite into space Saturday with a rocket built by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, state-run media reported. The launch is the latest for a program the West fears helps Tehran advance its ballistic missile program. Iran described the launch as a success, which would be the second such launch to put a satellite into orbit with the rocket. There was …
Women in Iran are going without hijabs as the 2nd anniversary of Amini’s death nears
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — On the streets of Iranian cities, it’s becoming more common to see a woman passing by without a mandatory headscarf, or hijab, as the second anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the mass protests it sparked approaches. There’s no government official or study acknowledging the phenomenon, which began as Iran entered its hot summer months and power cuts in …
Limited role for US Navy SEAL Team in defense of Taiwan
Washington — The United States Navy’s elite SEAL Team Six would likely have a limited role in defending Taiwan should China invade the self-governing and democratic island, say analysts responding to a Financial Times report that the unit has been training for it for more than one year. Lyle J. Morris, senior fellow for foreign policy and national security at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center …
China condemns German navy’s transit of Taiwan Strait
BEIJING — China’s military on Saturday condemned the transit of two German navy ships through the Taiwan Strait saying it increased security risks and sent the “wrong” signal, adding that Chinese forces monitored and warned the vessels. China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own, says it alone exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction over the strait. Both the United States and Taiwan say the strait — …
Biden meets UK’s Starmer to discuss Ukraine, Israel
US President Joe Biden met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Friday to discuss support for Ukraine amid a push by Kyiv for Western partners to lift restrictions on using their long-range missiles to attack targets deep inside Russian territory. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …
Iraqi, US forces kill top IS commander, other militants in joint operation
baghdad — Iraqi forces and American troops have killed a senior commander with the Islamic State group who was wanted by the United States, as well as several other prominent militants, Iraq’s military said Friday. The operation in Iraq’s western Anbar province began in late August, the Iraqi military said, and involved members of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service and Iraq’s air force. Among the dead …
China’s retirement age, among youngest in world, set to rise
BEIJING — Starting next year, China will raise its retirement age for workers, which is now among the youngest in the world’s major economies, in an effort to address its shrinking population and aging work force. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the country’s legislature, passed the new policy Friday after a sudden announcement earlier in the week that it was reviewing the measure, …
US drone was struck, recovered in Middle East, defense official says
pentagon — A U.S. MQ-9 drone was struck but safely recovered while operating in the Middle East this week, a U.S. defense official told VOA on Friday. “We can confirm that a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 drone was struck but then landed safely and was recovered by U.S. partner forces on September 9. An investigation into the incident is underway. There were no reported injuries,” the …
Mounting North Korean threats await next US president
washington — Recent moves by Pyongyang have focused attention on what will be one of the first major foreign policy challenges facing the next U.S. president: how to deal with North Korea’s rapidly developing nuclear threat. In a set of rapid-fire developments on Friday: — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an “exponential increase” in the size of his nation’s nuclear arsenal, according to …
Critics denounce $1.3B in US military aid to Egypt despite alleged rights abuses
washington — The Biden administration’s approval this week of a $1.3 billion military aid package for Egypt despite its failure to hit human rights benchmarks has been criticized by rights experts. The bill’s approval Wednesday overrode human rights benchmarks required to release a certain portion of the aid. A group of senators had earlier urged the administration in a letter to withhold the aid, citing …
Report details how China retaliates against people for engaging with UN
washington — China is among the foreign governments that retaliate against people for engaging with the United Nations, according to a report released this week by the U.N. Secretary-General. The report highlights how hard Beijing tries to silence its critics, according to Sophie Richardson, an expert on human rights in China. “These [U.N.] mechanisms are some of the only ones available to people inside China, at …
US-China rivalry for military influence in Africa ramps up
Johannesburg — While the U.S. was forced to downsize and pull its troops out of Niger this year, China is increasing its military cooperation on the continent, recently announcing a plan to spend $140 million to train 6,000 military personnel — a move, a U.S. defense official said Friday, was for China’s “own economic growth and benefit.” Among the many ways that the U.S. and China …
Vietnam typhoon death toll rises to 233 as more bodies found in areas hit by landslides and floods
HANOI, Vietnam — The death toll in the aftermath of a typhoon in Vietnam climbed to 233 on Friday as rescue workers recovered more bodies from areas hit by landslides and flash floods, state media reported. Flood waters from the swollen Red River in the capital, Hanoi, were beginning to recede, but many neighborhoods remained inundated and farther north experts were predicting it could still …
North Korea’s Kim tours uranium enrichment site, calls for more weapons
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea offered a rare glimpse into a secretive facility to produce weapons-grade uranium as state media reported Friday that leader Kim Jong Un visited the area and called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” increase the number of his nuclear weapons. It’s unclear if the site is at the North’s main Yongbyon nuclear complex, but it’s the North’s first disclosure of a …
Israel says UN aid workers killed in school strike were Hamas members
Israel is defending its strike on a UN school turned shelter in central Gaza and says that the six UN aid workers among the 18 killed were members of Hamas. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he will raise the issue of protecting humanitarian sites with Israel, at the same time criticizing the US-designated terror group for ‘hiding in’ civilian sites. White House Bureau …
China tries to reshape Tibet, Xinjiang narratives with new propaganda efforts
Taipei, Taiwan — Chinese authorities have rolled out new propaganda efforts aimed at countering Western narratives about the human rights situation in the northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet. In recent weeks, they have continued to invite foreign vloggers to visit Xinjiang, home to millions of Uyghur people, a majority Muslim ethnic minority group. Also this month, China inaugurated an international communication center to produce …
US imposes sanctions on Cambodian tycoon over scam centers
washington — The United States announced sanctions on Thursday on Cambodian businessman and ruling party senator Ly Yong Phat as well as several entities over alleged abuses related to workers who were trafficked and forced to work in online scam centers. The move comes at a delicate phase in relations between the United States and Cambodia, which has moved ever closer to Washington’s strategic rival China …
South Korea approves building two nuclear reactors
Seoul — South Korea approved the construction of two nuclear reactors on its east coast Thursday, reversing a previous administration’s anti-nuclear policy as Seoul now works to expand its atomic energy capabilities. The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission approved permits to build the Shin Hanul 3 and 4 reactors after it “confirmed the safety” of the project in southeast Uljin city. “No factors have been found …