Rescue workers in Vanuatu searched for stranded people on Wednesday after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific nation’s capital Port Vila on Tuesday, killing 14 people and damaging reservoirs, commercial buildings, embassies and a hospital. At least 200 people were being treated in the capital’s main hospital and other medical centres, a Red Cross official … Read more
Washington — A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Tuesday proposed three bills aimed at cracking down on China’s role in the US fentanyl crisis, including measures that would create a US task force to disrupt drug trafficking And will pave the way for sanctions on Chinese entities. US officials say China is a major … Read more
Washington – Jailed pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai testified on Tuesday that the Hong Kong government has become “very strict” after Beijing imposed its national security law in 2020. The 77-year-old British national made the statement when the court asked him to explain comments he made following the arrest of former pro-democracy lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting in … Read more
London – A lawyer accused of trying to interfere in British politics on behalf of the Chinese government has lost a legal challenge against Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5. The UK Security Service issued a security alert to all MPs in January 2022, warning that London-based lawyer Christine Lee knowingly coordinated with the Chinese Communist … Read more
Washington – The United States imposed new sanctions on North Korea and Russia on Monday, targeting Pyongyang’s financial and military aid to Moscow as well as its ballistic missile program. The sanctions, which also list North Korean banks, generals and other officials as well as Russian oil shipping companies, are the latest US measures aimed … Read more
Bangkok – Rights groups and activists on Monday continued to urge Laos’ government to provide answers about the suspected abduction of prominent rights advocate Sombath Somphone, who was last seen at a police checkpoint in the country’s capital 12 years ago. CCTV footage captured by a roadside camera in central Vientiane on December 15, 2012, … Read more
Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwan has received 38 advanced Abrams battle tanks from the United States, reportedly the island’s first new tanks in 30 years, the Defense Ministry said on Monday. Washington has long been Taiwan’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier — angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory. The Defense … Read more
Seoul, South Korea – Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, who became acting president of South Korea following the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, is a career technocrat whose extensive experience and reputation for rationality may serve him well in his latest role. With the passage of Parliament’s impeachment vote against Yoon following a short-lived … Read more
Tokyo — The partial relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam began Saturday, 12 years after Japan and the United States agreed to restructure them to ease the heavy burden of the U.S. military presence on the southern Japanese island, officials said. The US Marine Corps and Japan’s Defense Ministry said in a joint … Read more