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KYIV (Reuters) – One of the fighters holed up in a steelworks besieged by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol has appealed to SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk to help evacuate them. Many civilians were rescued from the sprawling Azovstal plant last week under an agreement with Russia, but no deal has been reached …

Ukrainian fighter trapped in Mariupol steel plant asks Elon Musk for help Read More »

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol will attend a virtual global summit on the COVID-19 response on Thursday, his office said, in what will be his first attendance at a multilateral meeting of world leaders. The planned summit comes shortly after North Korea confirmed the first outbreak of COVID-19 in the country …

S.Korea’s Yoon to attend virtual global summit on COVID-19 response Read More »

By Elaine Lies TOKYO (Reuters) -European Union leaders said on Thursday that the EU wants to become a bigger actor in Asia, which they termed a “theatre of tensions”, warning of an increasingly assertive China even as they called on Beijing to defend the multilateral global order. The call came in a joint news conference …

EU seeks bigger role in Asia’s ‘theatre of tensions’, warns on China Read More »

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States called out China and Russia on Wednesday for opposing further United Nations action on North Korea, warning that the Security Council “cannot stay silent any longer” as Pyongyang prepares for a seventh nuclear test. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, referred to “two …

U.S. calls out Russia, China opposition to U.N. action on N.Korea Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden will have “private time” with each in a group of visiting Southeast Asian leaders during a summit this week in Washington, a senior U.S. administration official said on Wednesday. The official also told reporters on a call that discussions were underway with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations …

Biden to have ‘private time’ with each ASEAN leader -senior U.S. official Read More »

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United Nations Security Council will meet on Thursday to discuss an order by Afghanistan’s Taliban for women to cover their faces in public, a return to a signature policy of the Islamist group’s past hardline rule and an escalation of restrictions. U.N. special envoy for Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, is due …

U.N. Security Council to discuss Taliban ordering women to cover faces again Read More »

By James Pomfret and Jessie Pang HONG KONG (Reuters) -Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of the most senior Catholic clerics in Asia, and three others who helped run a now-disbanded Hong Kong fund for protesters were arrested by on charges of “collusion with foreign forces,” and later released on bail. Zen, a 90-year-old former bishop of …

Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge Read More »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States strongly condemns the arrest of Cardinal Joseph Zen and other activists arrested in Hong Kong, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday. “Hong Kong authorities have again demonstrated that they will pursue all means necessary to stifle dissent and undercut protected rights and freedoms,” Price told a news …

U.S. strongly condemns Hong Kong arrests, including Cardinal Zen Read More »