Tokyo, Japan | AFP by Katie Forster US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Japan on Thursday for the final stop on her Asian tour, following a visit to Taiwan that incensed China. AFP reporters saw the politician disembark from her plane at Yokota Air Base in Tokyo, before greeting the US ambassador and other officials with hugs and handshakes. Beijing has launched large-scale military drills in the waters around Taiwan after Pelosi this […]
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China fires missiles around Taiwan in major military drills
Pingtan, China | AFP by Sebastien Ricci, with Beiyi Seow in Beijing and Amber Wang in Taipei China fired ballistic missiles and deployed fighter jets and warships on Thursday as it held its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan, a show of force sparked by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island. Pelosi was the highest-profile US official to visit Taiwan in years, defying a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the […]
Radio warnings signal Taiwan angst over China blockade drills
Keelung, Taiwan | AFP by Sean Chang and Amber Wang In Taiwan’s Keelung port dispatchers spent much of Thursday broadcasting warnings to fishing boats heading north, reminding them that China’s military was conducting live-fire drills nearby. “This is the Keelung radio station,” the radio system crackled. “China’s People’s Liberation Army will conduct military exercises from August 4th at noon…” The warnings, at the top of every hour, were a stark reminder that Taiwan’s 23 […]
Chinese missiles believed to have landed in Japan’s EEZ: defence minister
Tokyo, Japan | AFP Ballistic missiles fired by China are believed to have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone for the first time, Tokyo’s defence minister said Thursday. “Five of the nine ballistic missiles launched by China are believed to have landed within Japan’s EEZ,” Nobuo Kishi told reporters, as China holds massive military drills in the waters around Taiwan. Japan had “lodged a protest with China through diplomatic channels”, Kishi said, calling the […]
ASEAN ministers warn Taiwan tensions could spark ‘open conflicts’
by Lisa Martin and Rose Troup Buchanan Agence France Presse PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers urged restraint Thursday as China launched massive military drills off Taiwan, warning the situation risked spiralling into “open conflicts”. A furious Beijing kicked off its biggest-ever exercises around Taiwan in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit this week to the self-ruled island. Ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in […]
Taiwan govt websites attacked during Pelosi visit
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Major Taiwanese government websites were temporarily forced offline by cyber attacks believed to be linked to China and Russia during US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island, Taipei said Thursday. The websites of the presidential office, foreign ministry and the main government English portal came under attack Tuesday night when Pelosi arrived for a landmark visit that enraged Beijing. China, which claims self-ruled democratic Taiwan as part of […]
China begins major Taiwan military drills after Pelosi visit
by Sebastien Ricci, with Beiyi Seow in Beijing and Amber Wang in Taipei Agence France Presse PINGTAN, China (AFP) — China’s largest-ever military exercises encircling Taiwan kicked off Thursday, in a show of force straddling vital international shipping lanes after a visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi left Taiwan Wednesday after a trip that defied a series of stark threats from Beijing, which views the self-ruled island as its […]
A stone’s throw from Taiwan, beachgoers aren’t worried about war
by Sebastien RICCI Agence France-Presse XIAMEN, China (AFP) — On a beach in the Chinese coastal city of Xiamen, just a few kilometers from an island controlled by the Taiwanese authorities, life is carefree despite some of the worst cross-strait tensions in decades. Ignoring stark warnings from Beijing, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived late Tuesday in Taiwan — the highest-ranking elected US official to visit the island in 25 years — sparking a diplomatic […]
China to stage major drills around Taiwan after Pelosi visit
by Beiyi Seow with Amber Wang in Taipei Agence France-Presse BEIJING, China (AFP) — China is due on Thursday to kick off its largest-ever military exercises encircling Taiwan, in a show of force straddling vital international shipping lanes following a visit to the self-ruled island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi left Taiwan Wednesday after a less than 24-hour visit that defied a series of increasingly stark threats from Beijing, which views the island […]
Lady Gaga dog robber sentenced to four years in US jail
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A California court on Wednesday sentenced one of three men charged in the armed robbery of Lady Gaga’s dog walker, in which the singer’s French bulldogs were stolen, to four years in prison. Jaylin Keyshawn White admitted to being part of a gang that shot Ryan Fischer as he exercised the three prize pets in Hollywood in February 2021. At a court hearing in Los Angeles on Wednesday, White, […]
US OKs $5 bn sale of missile defense systems to Saudi, UAE
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States announced Tuesday the sale of major missile defense systems to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worth more than $5 billion. The approval was announced two weeks after US President Joe Biden met leaders of the two countries in Saudi Arabia on a trip seen as crucial to strengthen frayed relations with them, and as both nations perceive a heightened threat from Iran. The State Department […]
Directors ‘shocked’ by axing of $90m ‘Batgirl’ film
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — The directors of “Batgirl” said Wednesday they were “shocked” that the $90 million dollar superhero film had been axed by the studio and will now not be released in any format. Warner Bros. Discovery announced they were shelving the movie adaptation of the DC Comics character, which was to star Leslie Grace in the title role, alongside Michael Keaton as Batman, preventing it from being seen in either theaters […]





