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UNITED NATIONS, United States, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – The UN Security Council on Wednesday failed again to take action on the Israel-Hamas war, with Russia and China vetoing a US-led draft resolution and a text led by Moscow drawing insufficient support. The rival powers went ahead and put forward texts doomed to defeat despite what diplomats said was a last-ditch effort led by France to delay a vote and work toward consensus. The United […]
By Xinqi SU and Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, Oct 25, 2023 (AFP) – Hong Kong leader John Lee used his policy address on Wednesday to sound the alarm on the threat of “soft resistance” — a vague term used by Chinese politicians to signal a new chapter in their crackdown against dissent. The phrase has no clear definition nor is it included in the city’s laws, but this week it appeared in a guilty verdict […]
China on Tuesday removed defence minister Li Shangfu and ousted former foreign minister Qin Gang from its cabinet, state media reported, as part of a major reshuffle of its top leadership. The news comes after months of speculation about China’s cabinet, after Qin was abruptly removed from office without explanation in July, and with Li not having been seen in public for months. Both Qin and Li are believed by experts to have been personally […]
TAIPEI, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Taiwan defended tech giant Foxconn on Monday after China launched an investigation into several of the firm’s sites, saying that Taiwanese businesses should not be subjected to “political interference”. Chinese authorities are inspecting Foxconn’s sites in southern Guangdong province and Jiangsu in the east, as well as carrying out on-site investigations into the company’s land use in central Hunan and Hubei provinces, China’s state-run Global Times reported Sunday. It […]
MANILA, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Manila said Monday that Chinese vessels “intentionally hit” Philippine boats at the weekend, escalating a diplomatic row over two collisions in the South China Sea. The countries have traded blame over Sunday’s incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, with both sides filing diplomatic protests and releasing videos to support their accusations. The two collisions happened during a Philippine resupply mission to troops stationed on a navy […]
By Pam Castro with Peter Catterall in Beijing MANILA, Oct 23, 2023 (AFP) – Manila summoned Beijing’s ambassador and China lodged a complaint on Monday in a growing spat over two collisions between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed South China Sea. The countries have traded blame over Sunday’s incidents near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly Islands, with both sides filing diplomatic protests and releasing videos to support their accusations. The two collisions […]
BEIJING, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – Beijing on Friday stressed its nuclear programme was only intended for self-defence, insisting nations had nothing to fear as long as they did not threaten China with attack. Washington said this week that China’s nuclear arsenal was developing much faster than US projections had previously anticipated, and Beijing is likely to have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. Asked about the claim, China’s foreign ministry expressed its […]
BEIJING, Oct 20, 2023 (AFP) – China on Friday announced new curbs on exports of certain types of graphite, key to making batteries for electric vehicles, days after the United States slapped fresh restrictions on outflows of high-tech microchips. Washington said this week it would ramp up restrictions on exports of cutting-edge semiconductors crucial for powering artificial intelligence systems — its latest effort to curb Beijing’s access to advanced tech. China has branded Washington’s policy […]
WASHINGTON, Oct 19, 2023 (AFP) – China is developing its nuclear arsenal faster than US projections had previously anticipated, according to a Pentagon report released Thursday. China possessed “more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 — on track to exceed previous expectations” the Department of Defense said in its annual China Military Power Report, issued annually and mandated by Congress. “We’re not trying to suggest a very large departure from where they […]
By Peter CATTERALL, Matthew WALSH BEIJING, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – Ten years after toasting a budding friendship, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin will meet again in Beijing this week seeking to further deepen the “no-limits” partnership between their two countries. The two presidents share a strong personal bond, with Xi calling his Russian counterpart his “best friend” and Putin cherishing his “reliable partner”. Their relationship has been a constant despite a decade of increasingly […]
OTTAWA, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – Canada’s defense minister on Monday slammed Chinese fighter jets’ “dangerous and reckless” intercept of a Canadian maritime patrol aircraft while it was helping to enforce United Nations sanctions against North Korea. The Chinese planes shadowed the Canadian Aurora aircraft over several hours in international waters, with one coming within five meters (15 feet) of the Canadian plane, according to a Global News television crew on the flight. Speaking to […]
MOSCOW, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – Russia on Monday followed its ally China in suspending all Japanese seafood imports over Tokyo’s release of wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Japan has been sharply critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while Tokyo’s relations with Beijing — which has deepened ties with Moscow — have worsened. Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia’s body responsible for regulating agriculture products, said it was “joining China’s provisional restrictive measures on the import of […]
