Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Survivors and family members of campers killed in a 2022 landslide at an agritourism farm in Malaysia have filed a lawsuit contending the disaster was caused by negligence – not only excessive rainfall as an earlier government report concluded. “We want this lawsuit to bring to the public’s attention the real reasons why this tragedy happened,” said Tan Ei Ein, whose 7-year-old …
Germany needs reform and investment to overcome recession, says IMF Europe head
Berlin — Germany needs both structural reforms and more investment in public infrastructure to overcome recession, the European head of the International Monetary Fund said in an interview with Sueddeutsche Zeitung. “Without a functioning infrastructure, there can be no productive economy,” Alred Kammer told the paper in an interview published on Tuesday. In order to mobilize more money, it would also make sense to revise the …
Malaysia’s former PM Mahathir discharged from hospital
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was discharged from hospital on Monday, his aide said, after the 99-year-old had been admitted earlier this month because of coughing due to a lower respiratory infection. Mahathir, who served as prime minister for more than two decades, has a history of heart problems and has been in and out of hospital several times in recent …
China’s Xi pressed Biden to alter language on Taiwan, sources say
WASHINGTON/BEIJING/TAIPEI — Chinese President Xi Jinping asked U.S. President Joe Biden last year to change the language the United States uses when discussing its position on Taiwanese independence, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the private conversation. During last November’s Biden-Xi meeting near San Francisco, Xi and his aides asked Biden and his team to tweak the language in U.S. official statements. China wanted the …
South Korea says Russia-North Korea military cooperation ‘poses significant security threat’
PENTAGON — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that military cooperation between North Korea and Russia “poses a significant security threat to the international community.” The comments at a Cabinet meeting in Seoul followed Yoon saying Monday that the deployment of North Korean troops to the battlefield in Ukraine could happen “more quickly than anticipated,” according to South Korean intelligence assessments. The U.S. Defense …
Knife attack near school in Beijing injures 5 people, including 3 children
Beijing — A knife attack near a school in China’s capital on Monday injured five people, including three children, police said. The attack occurred midafternoon in Beijing’s northwestern Haidian district. None of the injuries was life-threatening, police said in a statement. A 50-year-old suspect surnamed Tang was detained at the scene and is under investigation, police said. The location of the attack given by the statement …
UN Security Council members urge restraint between Israel and Iran
United Nations Security Council members urged Israel and Iran on Monday to end their spiraling cycle of tit-for-tat attacks on one another, following Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Iran. “All sides must exercise restraint. No good can come of pouring more fuel on the flames of this escalating cycle of violence,” said British Ambassador Barbara Woodward. Iran’s foreign minister requested the Security Council meet in an …
France, Morocco announce major investments as Macron visits Rabat
RABAT, Morocco — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco on Monday, kicking off a state visit with a series of bilateral agreements, including major investments in renewable energy and transportation. Macron’s trip to Morocco — his first in six years — comes as immigrants, including North Africans, face continued scrutiny in France and while France reassesses its role in its former …
Hungary’s Orban arrives in Georgia after disputed election
TBILISI — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Georgia on Monday after having congratulated the ruling party on its victory in an election which the opposition says was marred by voting violations. Georgia’s electoral commission said Georgian Dream won Saturday’s election with nearly 54% of the vote, but opposition parties disputed the results and called for protests. The election results are a blow for pro-Western …
For Japanese Unit 731 survivor, speaking truth carries a cost
Iida City, Japan — In August 1945, as Soviet troops closed in on Japanese positions in occupied China, 14-year-old Hideo Shimizu was given a grim task: Collect and dispose the burnt bones of prisoners who had been murdered. Only later did he realize he had helped destroy evidence of one of the 20th century’s most horrific war crimes: the actions of Unit 731, a covert branch …
For Japanese Unit 731 survivor, speaking truth carries a cost
Japan remains divided over how to confront its violent past, with parts of the country’s World War II history still sparking controversy. Now, one man with direct ties to that history is breaking decades of silence at great personal cost. VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Iida City, Japan. Camera: Ken Watanabe, Gallo …
Lithuania leftist opposition win election, eyes coalition
VILNIUS — The opposition Social Democrats claimed victory in Lithuania’s parliamentary election on Sunday, which was dominated by frustration with the cost of living and worries over potential threats from neighboring Russia. The left-leaning grouping has pledged to maintain the Baltic state’s hefty defense spending program, while criticizing the center-right coalition government of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte over raising taxes to fund it. Official government data …
North Korean troops deployed to Russia’s Kursk region to fight Ukraine incursion
NATO confirmed Monday that North Korean troops have been sent to Russia to help Moscow fight its war against Ukraine and have also been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region where Kyiv’s forces invaded in a surprise attack in August and still hold territory. “The deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a threat to both Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic security,” NATO Secretary General Mark …
UN Security Council to discuss Israeli attack on Iran
The United Nations Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting Monday to discuss the situation in the Middle East following Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Iran. Council president Switzerland said Iran requested the meeting with the support of Algeria, China and Russia. “Israeli regime’s actions constitute a grave threat to international peace and security and further destabilize an already fragile region,” Iran’s Foreign Minister …
Indonesia labor group urges state bailout for troubled textile giant Sritex
JAKARTA, Indonesia — A major labor group in Indonesia has called on the government to bail out troubled textile giant Sritex, after President Prabowo Subianto ordered his ministers to save the firm from bankruptcy. Prabowo, who took office last week, has ordered his cabinet to find solutions for Sritex quickly, after a court last week accepted a petition by one of its trade partners over unpaid …
Seven European countries match US in startup-friendly laws, report says
STOCKHOLM — Seven European countries have changed their laws to increase employee ownership in startups to rival the U.S. in attracting talent and investment, while other countries are lagging, a report by venture capital firm Index Ventures found. While stock options were integral to Silicon Valley’s success, Europe has been hampered by bureaucracy and by taxing employees too early, among other restrictions. The European Union needs …
Police out in force to prevent rowdy Halloween celebrations in Shanghai
SHANGHAI — Shanghai police patrolled the downtown streets over the weekend to crack down on Halloween celebrations in China’s most international city. Local authorities appeared to be trying to prevent a repeat of last year, when Halloween revelers thronged central Shanghai, with some dressed in costumes that poked fun of the Chinese stock market, youth unemployment and strict COVID-19 policies. This weekend, the police presence, online …
Russian aerial attacks hit Kherson, Kharkiv
Ukrainian officials said Monday that Russian aerial attacks overnight killed at least one person in Kherson and injured several people in Kharkiv. Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram that Russian shelling hit residential buildings in the city of Kherson. In Kharkiv, officials reported strikes from Russian guided bombs and shelling, including attacks that damaged an apartment building and a house. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov …
Bavarian tradition honors St. Leonhard, patron saint of farmers, horses and livestock
WARNGAU, Germany — Farmers and their horses walked in a festive parade through the small Bavarian town of Warngau on Sunday to honor their patron saint, St. Leonhard. Their manes neatly combed, the massive horses were decorated with ribbons and greenery as they pulled the adorned carriages to a local church as part of the procession some 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Munich. Farmers donned …
Georgian president calls for protests after ruling party wins disputed election
TBILISI — Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called on Sunday for people to take to the streets to protest the results of Saturday’s disputed parliamentary election, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won. The Georgian Dream party clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the result and vote monitors reported significant violations. Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally …
Egypt’s el-Sissi proposes 2-day Gaza cease-fire, release of 4 hostages
Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Sunday proposed a two-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with the militant group also freeing four hostages during the halt in fighting if implemented. Neither Israel nor Hamas offered any immediate response to el-Sissi’s plan, the first he has proposed during months of playing a role, along with the United States and Qatar, in trying to broker a …
Lithuania left-wing opposition leading in early election results
VILNIUS, Lithuania — The opposition Social Democrats took an early lead in the second round of Lithuania’s parliamentary election on Sunday, with voters focusing on concerns over the cost of living and potential threats from neighboring Russia. Official government data showed the center-left grouping leading with 33 seats after 64% of the vote was counted on top of 20 secured in the first round, in the …
Iran: 4 ‘terrorists’ killed after Saturday’s jihadist attack
Tehran — Iranian armed forces killed at least four “terrorists” in the southeast of the country on Sunday after a deadly jihadist attack on police the day before. At least 10 police officers were killed in the attack, one of the deadliest claimed by a jihadist group in a border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The attack targeted police cars in Taftan county, part of Sistan …
Indonesia’s Marapi volcano erupts, spewing ash and hot clouds
Padang, Indonesia — One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes erupted Sunday, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and blanketing villages with debris, but no casualties were reported. Mount Marapi, in Agam district of the province of West Sumatra, is known for sudden eruptions that are difficult to predict because they are not caused by a deep movement of magma, which sets off tremors …