Reuters Asia Top

By Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) -The United States has approved the potential sale of $619 million in new weapons to Taiwan, including missiles for its F-16 fleet, as the island reported a second day of large-scale Chinese air force incursions nearby. The arms sales are likely to further sour already tense ties between Washington and …

Taiwan military to get $619 million U.S. arms boost as China keeps up pressure Read More »

By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), begins its annual session on Sunday and is expected to unveil the biggest government reshuffle in a decade as Beijing confronts a host of issues at home and abroad. Coming months after President Xi Jinping secured a norm-breaking third term as …

Factbox-What to look for as China kicks off its annual session of parliament Read More »

By Farah Master HONG KONG (Reuters) – Free college education and equal rights for unmarried women are among proposals being urged by members of China’s top political advisory body to boost the country’s birth rate after its population fell last year for the first time in six decades. The proposals come ahead of the upcoming …

Free education, equal rights for unmarried women among proposals to boost China’s fertility Read More »

By Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarascio HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s National Assembly on Thursday elected Vo Van Thuong as the country’s new president, in a reshuffle of the country’s top leadership amid a sweeping anti-graft campaign. In an extraordinary session, lawmakers confirmed Thuong, 52, after the ruling Communist Party nominated him on Wednesday as president, …

Vietnam parliament elects Vo Van Thuong as new state president Read More »

(Reuters) – Former Pakistan women’s hockey player Shahida Raza was among at least 67 people killed on the weekend in a migrant shipwreck off the coast of Italy, officials in her home province said. The vessel, which authorities believe was carrying up to 200 migrants, sank in rough seas before dawn on Sunday near Steccato …

Former Pakistan woman hockey player killed in Italian shipwreck Read More »

By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, state media said on Thursday, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. Kim gave instructions to revamp irrigation systems, build modern farming machines and create more arable land as he wrapped …

North Korea’s Kim demands more farmland to boost food production Read More »

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Foreign interference in Canada is on the rise and increasingly complex, with the greatest threat coming from China, Canada’s national security adviser, Jody Thomas, told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday. “The greatest foreign interference threat to Canada comes from the People’s Republic of China, though other states like Russia and Iran are …

‘Greatest’ foreign interference threat to Canada comes from China -security adviser Read More »

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is sounding out close allies about the possibility of imposing new sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to four U.S. officials and other sources. The consultations, which are still at a preliminary stage, …

Exclusive-US seeks allies’ backing for possible China sanctions over Ukraine war -sources Read More »

By Michael Martina WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A former Biden administration China policy official will guide U.S. ties with Taiwan as head of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the quasi-official agency said on Wednesday, a move sources said aimed to increase links with the Chinese-claimed island ahead of its presidential election next year. Laura Rosenberger …

U.S. taps new chair for institute to guide ties with Taiwan Read More »

BEIJING (Reuters) -China President Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko called for the “soonest possible” peace deal for Ukraine at talks in Beijing on Wednesday, the Belarusian state news agency Belta reported. Their summit brought together two of the foreign leaders on whom Russian President Vladimir Putin is most reliant for support as his …

Xi and Lukashenko call for ‘soonest’ peace in Ukraine at China-Belarus summit Read More »