Tag: politics

Taiwan general charged in China spying case

TAIPEI, June 24, 2022 (AFP) – A retired Taiwanese general and another senior officer were indicted on Friday for their involvement in developing a spying network for China, prosecutors said. Taipei and Beijing have spied on each other since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, when the losing Nationalist side fled to the island. The major general, identified by his family name Chien, and a retired lieutenant colonel surnamed Wei were charged […]

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi moved to solitary confinement in prison

YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — Ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi remained in strong spirits after being transferred from house arrest to prison, a source with knowledge of the case said Thursday, and would “calmly” face her new solitary confinement. Since being deposed in a coup last year, Suu Kyi had been under house arrest at an undisclosed location in Naypyidaw, accompanied by several domestic staff and her dog, according to sources familiar with the […]

Global food crisis ‘will kill millions’ by disease, health executive warns

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AFP) — The global food crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine will kill millions by leaving the hungriest more vulnerable to infectious diseases, potentially triggering the world’s next health catastrophe, the head of a major aid organization has warned. A Russian naval blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports has stopped grain shipments from the world’s fourth-largest exporter of wheat and corn, raising the specter of shortages and hunger in low-income countries. The […]

Trial of Myanmar’s Suu Kyi moved to prison compound: source

YANGON, June 21, 2022 (AFP) – Hearings for the trial of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be moved to a prison compound in the military-built capital Naypyidaw, a source with knowledge of the case said Tuesday. The Nobel laureate, 77, was detained by the military when it ousted her government last year and faces a raft of charges that could see her jailed for more than 150 years. She has since been […]

Biden to call for three-month suspension of federal gas tax as prices skyrocket

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2022 (AFP)   US President Joe Biden will ask Congress Wednesday to suspend the federal gas tax for three months as skyrocketing prices cause widespread anger among Americans just months before crucial mid-term elections. The White House wants to discontinue the tax of 18 cents per gallon (3.78 liters) until September and will call on US states, which also tax at the pump, to do the same to “provide direct relief to […]

Israel lawmakers hold first vote on bill triggering early election

JERUSALEM, June 22, 2022 (AFP) – Israeli lawmakers were holding a first vote Wednesday on a government bill to dissolve parliament and call an early election, after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said his eight-party coalition was no longer tenable. The government has said it wants to fast-track the bill but the opposition led by ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu will attempt to block its passage in a bid to form a replacement government without the need for […]

VP-elect Sara Duterte takes oath as 15th PHL vice-president; Pres. Duterte attends inauguration

Youngest VP elected in the country, the first VP to hail from Davao City   (Eagle News) – On Sunday afternoon, June 19, as scheduled, Vice-President elect Sara Duterte-Carpio was inaugurated as the 15th vice-president of the country, in Davao City. Sara becomes the first vice-president to hail from Davao City.  It will also be the first time in the country’s history, even for just a few days –11 days to be exact — that […]

‘I am good’: Biden falls from bike but is unhurt

US President Joe Biden took a tumble as he was riding his bicycle near his beach home in the state of Delaware Saturday morning, but was unhurt. A video from a White House pool report showed the 79-year-old president immediately getting up after his fall. He then says: “I’m good.” He was biking with First Lady Jill Biden in a state park near their beach home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and had stopped to talk […]

Russia’s operation in Ukraine not cause of global inflation: Putin

  Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow’s military intervention in Ukraine was not the cause of global economic troubles, instead blaming Western countries for using the situation to cover up their own mistakes. “What is happening is not the result of recent months, much less the result of a special military operation that Russia is conducting in the Donbas,” Putin said referring to the predominantly Russia-speaking region of Eastern Ukraine. “The rising prices, […]

A Chinese invasion of Taiwan: Too costly to countenance?

by Sean Chang with Rebecca Bailey in Hong Kong and Ludovic Ehret in Beijing Agence France-Presse MAGONG, Taiwan (AFP) — On Taiwan’s tiny Penghu islands, the missile bases that sit next to white-sand beaches and bustling fish markets are a visceral reminder of the constant threat of attack from China. Despite the huge military discrepancy between the two sides, many analysts believe Taiwan’s location, inhospitable terrain and US support mean China would find a full-scale […]

Small gun makers boom as US demand soars

by Joshua Melvin  Agence France-Presse GOFFSTOWN, United States (AFP) — Tony Hook flipped through cell phone pictures of finished work by his New Hampshire shop, explaining how one customer wanted mementos of major life events: a gun to mark each of his children’s births. Smaller gun makers like him are booming in the United States, thanks to ravenous and sometimes specialized demand for pricey limited-production pistols and custom rifles, engraved with bible passages or the […]

Britain and Falklands mark 40 years since Argentine surrender

by Charles Onians  Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain on Tuesday marks 40 years since Argentine forces surrendered after 74 days of conflict on the Falkland Islands, with many veterans still paying the physical and mental price of the gruelling South Atlantic war. The Royal British Legion is to host a remembrance ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum in central England for veterans, bereaved family members and civilian support staff. The Act of […]