International news with relevance to Thai and regional readers
RUINS OF BABYLON, Iraq (Reuters) – The ancient city of Babylon, first referenced in a clay tablet from the 23rd century B.C., was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Friday, after a vote that followed decades of lobbying by Iraq. The vote, at a UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, made
READING, England (Reuters) – Boris Johnson, who could be Britain’s prime minister by the end of the month, said he backed the people of Hong Kong every inch of the way and cautioned China that “one country, two systems” should not be cast aside. Britain has repeatedly pressed China to honor its commitment to protect
BEIJING/LONDON (Reuters) – China told Britain to keep its hands off Hong Kong on Wednesday while London called for Beijing to honor the agreements made when the city was handed over in 1997, escalating a diplomatic spat over the former British colony. Beijing denounced British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt as “shameless” and said it had
BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – China on Tuesday condemned violent protests in Hong Kong as an “undisguised challenge” to the formula under which the city is ruled, hours after police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who stormed and trashed the legislature. A representative of China’s Hong Kong affairs office denounced the demonstrators, who
The storming of Hong Kong’s legislature by masked demonstrators generated extraordinary scenes, even in a city with a history of raucous protest. The territory’s leader, Carrie Lam, condemned those involved for what she said was their “extreme use of violence”. But demonstrators insist they were standing up for their rights in the former British colony
Anti-government protesters laid siege to Hong Kong’s parliament on Monday as the territory marked its China handover anniversary, smashing windows, battling police armed with pepper spray and plunging the city further into crisis. The angry scenes ramped up tensions in the financial hub which has been rocked by three weeks of historic demonstrations against a
Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday condemned “the extreme use of violence” by masked protesters who stormed and ransacked the city’s legislature in an unprecedented challenge to Beijing’s authority. The semi-autonomous financial hub has been thrown into crisis by weeks of massive demonstrations over a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland. But on
Donald Trump stepped onto North Korean soil Sunday as he met Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong Un in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula, in a symbolic diplomatic spectacle and a first for any American president. After shaking hands with Kim over the line that marks where their two countries and their allies fought each other
Police in Hong Kong used pepper spray and batons against anti-government protesters who had seized highways early Monday ahead of what is expected to be a huge pro-democracy rally on the anniversary of the city’s handover to China. The semi-autonomous city has been shaken by huge demonstrations in the past three weeks, when protesters have
SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas on Sunday, Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said, raising hopes for a revival of stalled nuclear talks. Trump arrived in Seoul late on Saturday for talks with Moon
OSAKA (Reuters) – The United States and China agreed on Saturday to restart trade talks and that Washington would hold off on imposing new tariffs on Chinese exports, signaling a pause in the trade hostilities between the world’s two largest economies. The truce offered relief from a nearly year-long dispute in which the countries have
OSAKA (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he hoped for productive talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a trade war that is casting a shadow on global growth, but said he had not made any promises about a reprieve from escalating tariffs. The trade feud and signs of a global slowdown
