China

Tokyo — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s conservative ruling party braced for a blow to its comfortable majority in the lower house of parliament in Sunday’s elections amid public rage over the party’s financial scandals and discontent over a stagnant economy. The results could weaken Ishiba’s grip on power, possibly leading Japan into political uncertainty, though a change of government was not expected.  Ishiba took office …

Beijing — China will take “countermeasures” to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the government said, lambasting a $2 billion arms sale package by the United States to Taiwan.  The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.  On Friday, the Pentagon said the United …

Jerusalem — Israeli officials say its series of strikes Saturday overnight on Iran achieved their objectives. “Following the directive of the political echelon, we carried out precise and targeted strikes on targets in different areas in Iran,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a televised briefing. “These included missile manufacturing facilities used by Iran in its attacks on the State of Israel over the …

washington — Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun on Saturday criticized advanced economies for creating trade barriers including for renewable energy goods, saying there was “no longer free trade” in the global economy.  The United States last month locked in steep tariff hikes on Chinese imports — including a 100% duty on electric vehicles — to strengthen protections for strategic domestic industries from China’s …

taipei, taiwan — More than 180,000 people celebrated LGBTQ+ equality and diversity in Taipei on Saturday at east Asia’s largest Pride march, joined by Taiwan Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim and the reigning queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind.  Taiwan legalized same sex marriage in 2019 in a first for Asia and is a bastion of tolerance and liberalism in a region where the rights of …

TALISAY, Philippines — The number of dead and missing in massive flooding and landslides wrought by Tropical Storm Trami in the Philippines has reached nearly 130 and the president said Saturday that many areas remained isolated with people in need of rescue.  Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 85 people dead and 41 others missing in one of the Southeast …

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An attack on an Iranian police convoy Saturday in the country’s restive southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan killed at least 10 officers, authorities said.  Details remain scarce over the attack in Gohar Kuh, some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran.  Initially, reports simply described an attack by “miscreants” without more information. But shortly after, Iranian state …

DUBAI — Ten Iranian border guards were killed in an attack in restive southeastern Iran on Saturday, state media quoted the Interior Ministry as saying, in the latest clash with suspected Sunni Muslim militants. The 10 were killed in an ambush in an area that borders Afghanistan and Pakistan. It has long been the site of clashes between Iranian security forces and Sunni militants, as well …

JERUSALEM — Israel delivered its long-expected response to Iranian missile attacks early Saturday by carrying out a series of airstrikes against the Islamic Republic. Here’s what to know: Multiple targets were struck Under the cover of darkness, Israel struck multiple sites in different parts of Iran. Explosions were heard in the capital, Tehran, which sits deep inside the country. The Israeli military said its “precise and …

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Kiribati President Taneti Maamau, who has led the Pacific Island nation to build closer ties with China in recent years, secured his third term in office on Saturday. He defeated two other candidates in an election closely monitored by countries around the world. Maamau won about 55% of the vote, while his nearest challenger, Kaotitaaake Kokoria, won 42% of the vote, New Zealand’s …

Israel has multilayered air defenses against attacks by regional adversaries such as Iran, where military sites were hit by Israeli strikes on Saturday in the latest exchange in the escalating conflict between the Middle East rivals. Israel said it was retaliating for Tehran’s missile attack on Israeli targets on October 1. Israel has been honing its air defenses since coming under Iraqi Scud salvoes in …

Jakarta — One year after the opening of Indonesia’s first high-speed railway that connects Jakarta to Bandung, named Whoosh, Indonesia is courting China to invest in an extension of the line eastward to the port city of Surabaya in East Java. The rail service is one of former President Joko Widodo’s flagship infrastructure projects and part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The Whoosh attracted over …

Israel says it has completed a major assault on Iran after more than a year of fighting, which began with an attack by Iranian proxy group Hamas on the Jewish state and has grown into a multi-front conflict directly involving Tehran and its other regional proxies. In a statement issued early Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces said its warplanes safely returned home after conducting “precise …

The Israel military says it has launched strikes on military targets in Iran, as Iranian media reported several explosions were heard in Iran’s capital, Tehran, and the nearby city of Karaj early Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X that it was conducting “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran, but did not elaborate. “The regime in Iran and its proxies …

A Kurdish militant group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on a major state-run defense company in Turkey’s capital, an action that analysts say could complicate prospects for renewed peace talks between the Turkish government and the country’s Kurdish minority. Two assailants set off explosives and opened fire Wednesday at the aerospace and defense company TUSAS in Ankara, killing five people and wounding 22, Turkey’s …

GENEVA  — United Nations agencies warn that medical evacuations from conflict-ridden Gaza have essentially dried up, putting at risk the lives of thousands of people, including children, with serious illnesses and injuries because they are unable to get the treatment they need. “Children are being medically evacuated from Gaza at fewer than one child per day. If this lethally slow pace continues, it would take more …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Russia is expected to deploy North Korean soldiers to combat as early as Sunday.  In a statement posted to his official X social media account, Zelenskyy said the prediction is based on military intelligence he received in a Friday briefing from armed forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.  Zelenskyy called the move a “clear escalation by Russia,” adding that “the …

MANILA — Tropical Storm Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 82 people dead in landslides and extensive flooding that forced authorities to scramble for more rescue boats to save thousands of terrified people who were trapped, some on their roofs. But the onslaught may not be over: State forecasters raised the rare possibility that the storm — the 11th and …

Vatican City — A new assistant Catholic bishop for Beijing was ordained on Friday, three days after the Vatican and Chinese officials extended an accord on appointments in China, the Vatican said.   Bishop Matthew Zhen Xuebin, 54, was named to the role by Pope Francis, who approved his nomination within the framework of a diplomatic deal originally struck in 2018 that gives Chinese officials some …

Skybar, once was a luxurious nightclub in Beirut, a place to see and be seen. Now it is home to over 400 displaced people seeking refuge from Israel’s ground operation in south Lebanon and airstrikes in Hezbollah-controlled suburbs of Beirut. Bezhan Hamdard narrates this report by VOA’s Turkish Service. …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with Lebanon’s prime minister to discuss Israel’s strikes on the country as Washington presses the Beirut government to take charge against Hezbollah. Blinken, on his way back from a Middle East tour, met in London with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who came in from a conference on Lebanon in Paris the day before. The two smiled before …

Iranian authorities have issued an additional six-month prison sentence against Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, a group campaigning for the activist said. The Free Narges Coalition said in a statement on Thursday that Mohammadi was sentenced on Oct. 19 to an additional six months in prison on the charge of “disobeying and resisting orders.” According to the statement, the charge was brought after Mohammadi …

Indonesia’s newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto hosted his cabinet Friday at an army academy retreat in the mountains where ministers dressed in camouflage fatigues, stayed in tents and were ordered to march. The 73-year-old former general became leader of the world’s fourth most populous nation on Sunday, pledging to bolster Indonesia’s defenses and fight corruption. Prabowo, accused of rights abuses under dictator Suharto in the …

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said Friday the island will not cede an inch of its territory, as China maintains military pressure on Taipei to accept its claim of sovereignty. Lai made the remarks during a visit to the Kinmen islands off China for the 75th anniversary of a victory over communist forces in the Battle of Guningtou. It followed a fortnight of intense military activity …