Sunday, December 29

World

Pentagon: 10,000 North Korean troops deployed to Russia
30Oct By No Comments
World

Pentagon: 10,000 North Korean troops deployed to Russia

  FILE - Soldiers participate in a demonstration during the training of the Korean People's Army's air and amphibious combat units, in this picture released on March 16, 2024 by the Korean Central News Agency. The Pentagon said Pyongyang has sent 10,000 troops to train in Russia. Pentagon — The Pentagon says North Korea has sent about 10,000 troops to train in Russia, more than tripling the previous estimate. "We believe that the DPRK has sent around 10,000 soldiers in total to train in eastern Russia that will probably augment Russian forces near Ukraine over the next several weeks,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday, using an abbreviation for North Korea’s official name...
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Former US 'China House' official: Taiwan conflict not inevitable
30Oct By No Comments
Asia-pacific

Former US 'China House' official: Taiwan conflict not inevitable

  FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping talks with U.S. President Joe Biden after meeting in Woodside, California, on Nov. 15, 2023. Rick Waters, former head of the Office of China Coordination at the State Department, tells VOA that conflict with China over Taiwan can be avoided. Washington — China has been one of the most-discussed international topics during the U.S. presidential campaign. VOA spoke with Rick Waters, former head of the Office of China Coordination at the State Department and deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan, about the Biden administration\'s China policy. Waters spoke about his experience dealing with his Chinese counterparts, and how he thinks Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Dona...
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Germany, India look to boost ties on defense, green energy
30Oct By No Comments
World

Germany, India look to boost ties on defense, green energy

  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrive at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India Oct. 25, 2024 German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to deepen defense ties with New Delhi and bring the two countries\' militaries closer, he said on Friday, after meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Germany has not traditionally had close defense ties with India, but is now pitching to join the latter\'s effort to wean its arms base from decades of dependence on Russia, at a time when the West seeks to counter China\'s growing influence. "Our overall message is clear, we need more co-operation, not less," Scholz said. "At our inter-governmental consultations with India, we also want to deepen c...
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Bioeconomy offers path to mitigating climate change, enhancing food production
30Oct By No Comments
World

Bioeconomy offers path to mitigating climate change, enhancing food production

  FILE - Farmers harvest maize crop facilitated by the Safaricom DigiFarm App that helps agribusinesses and small holding farmers to share information and transact easily, in Sigor village of Bomet County, Kenya, May 28, 2020. Nairobi — Bioeconomy is the production, use, and conservation of biological resources to produce goods that sustain communities. A new report says the promotion of bioeconomy as a way to deal with climate change holds promise for rural areas in Africa and elsewhere. As the world grapples with how to cope with the effects of climate change on the environment, food production, and people’s livelihoods, experts say the bioeconomy can offer solutions to those challenges and help achieve sustainable development. ...
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Iran: 4 'terrorists' killed after Saturday's jihadist attack
30Oct By No Comments
World

Iran: 4 'terrorists' killed after Saturday's jihadist attack

  FILE - A watchtower between Afghanistan and Iran is pictured at the Milak border crossing Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, Sept. 8, 2021. (Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency) Tehran — Iranian armed forces killed at least four "terrorists" in the southeast of the country on Sunday after a deadly jihadist attack on police the day before. At least 10 police officers were killed in the attack, one of the deadliest claimed by a jihadist group in a border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The attack targeted police cars in Taftan county, part of Sistan and Baluchestan, a region some 1,200 kilometers from the capital, Tehran. The Sunni jihadist group Jaish al-Adl ("Army of Justice" in Arabic), based in Pakist...
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Thousands protest Georgian parliamentary election results
30Oct By No Comments
World

Thousands protest Georgian parliamentary election results

  Demonstrators wave Georgian and Ukrainian national flags during an opposition protest against the results of the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 28, 2024. Tbilisi, Georgia — Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets Monday to protest the ruling party’s victory in parliamentary elections over the weekend, claiming the outcome had been rigged with the help of Russia. The United States and Western allies assailed what they said were “irregularities” in the vote. The ruling Georgian Dream party won nearly 54% of the vote in results announced by the country’s electoral commission, compared with about 38% for four pro-Western opposition alliances. For months, Georgian Dream has been accused by the opposition of ste...
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US, China plan Biden-Xi call in the coming days
30Oct By No Comments
Asia-pacific

US, China plan Biden-Xi call in the coming days

  FILE - U.S. President Joe Biden stands with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting at the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, on Nov. 14, 2022. Sources said on Oct. 2, 2024, to expect a call between the two world leaders sometime in the coming days. WASHINGTON — The United States and China are planning a call between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping in the coming days, according to people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity. This call would follow their last conversation in April 2024 and their face-to-face meeting in Woodside, California, in November 2023. After his talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that both si...
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Climate finance to take center stage at COP29
30Oct By No Comments
World

Climate finance to take center stage at COP29

  FILE - A sign for COP29, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is on display in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 16, 2024. BERLIN, Germany — Close to 200 countries are scheduled to negotiate a new climate finance target for the Global South at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, or COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November. Dubbed the “Finance COP,” next month’s conference is expected to see focused discussions on a New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, or NCQG. It defines a new target for monetary support from historic emitters – mostly countries in the Global North – to address climate needs in poorer countries. Surging climate needs In 2009, countries including the United States and the European Union agreed to contribute $...
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Egypt’s el-Sissi proposes 2-day Gaza cease-fire, release of 4 hostages
30Oct By No Comments
World

Egypt’s el-Sissi proposes 2-day Gaza cease-fire, release of 4 hostages

  Palestinians inspect the damage after an overnight Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahia the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 27, 2024. Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Sunday proposed a two-day cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with the militant group also freeing four hostages during the halt in fighting if implemented. Neither Israel nor Hamas offered any immediate response to el-Sissi’s plan, the first he has proposed during months of playing a role, along with the United States and Qatar, in trying to broker a halt to fighting in the 13-month war and the release of the remaining 101 hostages, about one-third of whom are believed to be dead. Speaking in Cairo, el-Sissi said the plan also calls for more humanitarian aid for fa...
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'Impossible' for People's Republic of China to be our motherland, Taiwan president says
30Oct By No Comments
Asia-pacific

'Impossible' for People's Republic of China to be our motherland, Taiwan president says

  Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers his speech at a dinner marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sept. 30, 2024. TAIPEI, Taiwan — It is "impossible" for the People\'s Republic of China to become Taiwan\'s motherland because Taiwan has older political roots, the island\'s President Lai Ching-te said Saturday. Lai, who took office in May, is condemned by Beijing as a "separatist." He rejects Beijing\'s sovereignty claims, saying that the island is a country called the Republic of China, which traces its origins back to the 1911 revolution that overthrew the last imperial dynasty. The republican government fled to Taiwan in 194...
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