BEIJING (AP) — Latvia and Estonia say they have left a Chinese-backed forum aimed at boosting relations with Eastern European countries, in what appears to be a new setback for China’s increasingly assertive diplomacy. The move follows China’s boosting of its relations with Russia, whose invasion of Ukraine is seen as a possible first step … Read more
CHAUTAUQUA, NY (AP) — Salman Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked Friday as he was about to give a lecture in western New York. An Associated Press reporter at he was a man storm the stage the Chautauqua Institution and begin punching or stabbing Rushdie … Read more
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry says WorldPride event would have advanced regional diversity and equality in East Asia. An international LGBTQ gathering in Taiwan has been canceled after global organizers demanded the self-ruling island’s name be removed from the 2025 event. Taiwan on Friday blamed “political considerations” for the cancellation of the WorldPride 2025 Taiwan after it … Read more
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Malaysia has made a new government tracking system for the more than 184,000 United Nations-registered refugees and asylum seekers in the country a “must”, raising concerns about the risks to people who have no legal status or protections in Malaysia. Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin announced that the federal government had approved … Read more
Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa arrives in Bangkok from Singapore, where he was staying since mid-July. Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who last month fled anti-government protests in his country, has arrived in Thailand on a flight from Singapore, where he had been staying since mid-July. The former leader landed on a private … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a striking speech before thousands of North Koreans, leader Kim Jong Un’s sister said he suffered a fever while guiding the country to victory over the coronavirus. She blamed rival South Korea for the outbreak and vowed “deadly” retaliation. Kim Yo Jong, a powerful official in charge of inter-Korean … Read more
Langya virus, which can cause fever, fatigue and nausea, found in 35 people in eastern China, researchers say. Scientists in Asia have identified a new virus that can cause severe fever and was likely to be transmitted to humans from animals in eastern China. The Langya henipavirus (LayV) was found in 35 people in the … Read more
Kinmen Islands, Taiwan – A storm is raging across the small Taiwanese island of Kinmen. On an empty beach along the island’s west coast, strong waves pound a line of rusty defensive stakes, secured in concrete foundations, that run like the spikes on a hedgehog’s back along the rocky coastal stretch. Further up the beach, … Read more
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet on Wednesday in an apparent bid to distance his administration from the conservative Unification Church over its ties to the assassinated leader Shinzo Abe and senior ruling party members. The reshuffle, second in just 10 months since Kishida took office, followed his July election … Read more
ALBUQUERQUE, NM (AP) — After he was detained by the New Mexico police, the suspect in the killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque denied any connection to the crimes that shook the city and its small Muslim community — and told authorities he was so unnerved by the violence that he was driving to … Read more