BANGKOK (Reuters) – When fighting broke out in Israel, Thai worker Katchakorn Pudtason hid under a bunker at his employer’s home before rushing back to their farm on the back of a car. He is one of 41 Thai nationals who returned home on Thursday after being evacuated from areas near Gaza designated as dangerous. …
Thai worker recounts frantic escape to home from Israel-Hamas conflict Read More »
KABUL (Reuters) – Aid agencies launched fresh appeals for funds to deal with the fallout of deadly earthquakes in Afghanistan as local authorities called on Thursday for urgent help for thousands of people left homeless in the aftermath of the tremors. Multiple earthquakes struck in the western province of Herat on Saturday and Wednesday, destroying …
Aid agencies call for urgent funds in aftermath of deadly Afghan earthquakes Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) -There are no “so-called defectors” in China, a spokesperson for its foreign ministry said on Thursday, responding to a query about a report that the country had deported North Korean defectors. The remarks came after South Korean news agency Yonhap said on Wednesday that China sent back about 600 North Korean defectors this …
No North Korean defectors in China, foreign ministry says Read More »
By Napat Wesshasartar and Thomas Suen BAN SONG WAENG, Thailand (Reuters) – The last time Thai mother Noopar Pansa-ard said she heard from her son, gunfire and explosions crackled in the background as he told her to stay strong if anything happened to him. “I told him – don’t talk like that … My heart …
Grieving Thai family pleads for return of son’s body from Israel Read More »
By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s government on Thursday said it will ask a court to strip the Unification Church of its legal status as a religion, removing tax exemptions and making it more difficult for the group to operate in Japan. The Unification Church faced a public backlash in Japan after former prime …
Japan to ask court to strip Unification Church of religious status Read More »
By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s foreign ministry on Thursday urged the United States not to interfere in China’s handling of legal cases, after Washington called on Beijing to provide information on the whereabouts of a Chinese human rights lawyer whose family said was deported from Laos. Rights lawyer Lu Siwei was extradited to …
China says US should not interfere after human rights lawyer ‘deported’ back Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – The number of births in China tumbled 10% last year to hit their lowest level on record – a drop that comes despite a slew of government efforts to support parents and amid increasing alarm that the country become demographically imbalanced. China had just 9.56 million births in 2022, according to a …
Births in China slide 10% to hit their lowest on record Read More »
BEIJING (Reuters) -China said on Thursday it had sent fighter jets to monitor and warn a U.S. Navy patrol aircraft that flew through the Taiwan Strait. China claims sovereignty over democratically-governed Taiwan, and says it has jurisdiction over the narrow waterway. Taiwan and the United States dispute that, saying the Taiwan Strait is an international …
China says sends fighter jets to warn US Navy plane in Taiwan Strait Read More »
By James Pomfret, Joe Cash, Chen Lin HONG KONG/BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -When China announced a surprise deal restoring ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran this year, it signalled Beijing’s desire to be a diplomatic heavyweight in the Middle East. The crisis in Israel and Gaza threatens to expose the limits of that ambition. After the March …
Middle East crisis tests limits of China’s diplomatic push Read More »
By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) – The release of an Australian journalist after three years in a Chinese prison should improve the atmosphere for a visit by Australia’s prime minister but won’t shift its policies aimed at hedging against China’s military build-up, analysts said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there was no deal struck to …
Release of journalist unlikely to shift Australia’s China policy Read More »
