Tag: politics

New Australia PM, Indonesia president ride bikes as diplomatic wheels turn

Australia’s new prime minister and Indonesia’s president rode bamboo bicycles together on Monday as they held talks to boost ties, as Canberra embarks on a diplomatic charm offensive aimed at countering China’s growing assertiveness in the region. Anthony Albanese hailed relations with Indonesia and vowed to strengthen them on his first bilateral trip since being elected last month, heading to Southeast Asia’s biggest economy in what has become a traditional tour for new Australian premiers. […]

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Belgian king, in shadow of colonial past, to visit DR Congo

  by Matthieu Demeestere Agence France-Presse BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — Belgium’s King Philippe on Tuesday begins a historic visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, in a region cruelly exploited by his ancestors, as tensions rise in the volatile east. The six-day trip, at the invitation of President Felix Tshisekedi, has strong symbolic significance, coming two years after Philippe expressed to the Congolese leader his “deepest regrets” for the “wounds” of colonization. The visit, the monarch’s […]

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Hong Kong police make multiple arrests as Tiananmen gatherings banned

by Holmes CHAN Hong Kong authorities on Saturday detained multiple people as they pounced on any attempt at public commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, as China vies to remove all reminders of the deadly event. Discussion of June 4, 1989, when China set troops and tanks on peaceful protestors, is all but forbidden on the mainland. Semi-autonomous Hong Kong had been the one place in China where large-scale remembrance was still […]

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Biden makes emotional appeal for action on gun violence

by Sebastian Smith Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Joe Biden on Thursday made a fervent appeal for lawmakers to pass tougher gun control laws, including a ban on assault weapons, to curb a scourge of mass shootings turning American communities into “killing fields.” Biden made the 17-minute address — his latest call for tougher firearms measures — with 56 lighted candles arrayed along a long corridor behind him, representing US states and […]

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Philippines summons Beijing diplomat over South China Sea ‘harassment’

MANILA, Philippines (AFP) — Manila revealed on Tuesday that it had summoned a senior Beijing diplomat to protest the alleged harassment of a marine research vessel by a Chinese coast guard ship in Philippine territorial waters. The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was also reviewing reports on the “presence of foreign coast guard vessels around Reed Bank”, site of the 2019 sinking of a Filipino fishing vessel that sparked domestic outrage. The revelation came […]

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Xi hails ‘new atmosphere’ in Hong Kong, welcomes next leader

by Matthew WALSH Chinese President Xi Jinping has met with Hong Kong’s next leader in Beijing, telling John Lee he has the full trust of the central government, state media said Monday. Lee travelled to the capital on Saturday to receive Beijing’s blessing as he prepares to take office in a month. The 64-year-old former security chief, who oversaw a crackdown on Hong Kong’s democracy movement, was chosen as the next chief executive by a small […]

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Marcos says Philippines to uphold South China Sea ruling

  by Mikhail FLORES Philippine president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr said Thursday he would uphold an international ruling against Beijing over the disputed South China Sea, insisting he would not let China trample on Manila’s maritime rights. China claims almost all of the resource-rich waterway, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, with competing claims from the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. Beijing has ignored a 2016 decision by The Hague-based Permanent Court […]

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Biden to speak Tuesday night on Texas school shooting

Washington, UNITED STATES (AFP) — President Joe Biden will speak this evening on the latest school shooting in the United States after 14 students and a teacher were killed in Texas, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. “His prayers are with the families impacted by this awful event, and he will speak this evening when he arrives back at the White House,” she wrote on Twitter as Biden flew back from a visit to […]

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US unveils Asia-Pacific trade framework

https://youtu.be/9bx5onRYzx0   US President Joe Biden launched a new Asia-Pacific trade initiative Monday in Tokyo, with 13 countries including India and Japan signed up. Biden formally unveiled the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, or IPEF, on his second day in Japan, where he held talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of a regional Quad summit on Tuesday. Unlike traditional trade blocs, there is no plan for IPEF members to negotiate tariffs and ease market […]

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China congratulates Australia’s Albanese in hint at thawing ties

  Beijing, CHINA (AFP) — Chinese premier Li Keqiang has sent a congratulatory note to newly elected Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, Beijing’s state media reported, ending a year-long freeze in diplomatic contact between the two countries. China cut off diplomatic and trade channels with Australia in a largely symbolic act of fury last May, following clashes over issues including human rights, espionage and the origins of Covid-19. “The Chinese side is ready to work with the […]

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Ecuador’s ex-VP returns to prison in corruption case

  QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — Authorities in Ecuador on Friday arrested and re-imprisoned former vice-president Jorge Glas, after a court ordered he must serve out the rest of a corruption sentence. Glas, 52, “was admitted” to prison in the central province of Cotopaxi, “but for security reasons and in accordance with the regulations in force, he will be transferred to prison 4” in Quito, the country’s interior ministry said in a tweet. Earlier, police arrested […]

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Bangkok to choose governor as national election looms

  by Rose Troup Buchanan and Thanaporn Promyamyai Millions of Bangkok voters will elect a new governor on Sunday in the first major polls since pro-democracy protests rattled Thailand’s capital, with a former minister ousted in the 2014 military coup leading the race. The poll comes as embattled Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha fights to hold his ruling national coalition together until a general election due within 12 months. The bustling, traffic-clogged metropolis of 10 million […]

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