Czech Republic’s president-elect Petr Pavel has been in phone contact with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-Wen, a highly uncommon diplomatic breakthrough given the lack of formal relations between the two states. The Chinese Foreign Ministry had said earlier in the week that it was in touch with Pavel’s government regarding this
On November 24th, 2022, a fire in the Uyghur majority town of Ürümqi, Xinjiang, killed ten people and injured nine others. This raised additional questions of China’s strong enforcement of its zero-COVID policy, which could have prevented residents or firefighters from attending to the disaster. Since February of 2022 China
Amongst the misery and destruction of war in Ukraine, global forces and organizations are pointing fingers at who the true “bad guy” is and what broader geopolitical implications have culminated to this point of horrific conflict. Russian President Putin continuously slammed the West, in particular the U.S., for its “dictatorship”
A boat carrying around 120 Rohingya refugees became stranded off Indonesia’s Biere District, Aceh. The boat was found on Sunday, according to Badruddin Yunus, a leader of the Biereun fishing community. Officials prevented local fishermen from helping the boat, according to a community leader. Local legal aids also told BenarNews that
In the past two years, Israel has struck chemical facilities in Syria twice to prevent the Syrian renewal of chemical weapon production, as the Washington Post reported last Monday. The report cited unidentified current and former U.S. intelligence officials, which was then confirmed by Reuters staff familiar with the operation.
A series of arrests of protestors in Bangkok led to a call for a parliamentary review of Thailand’s laws regarding security legislation, including those punished for insulting royals and criticizing the government. The Pheu Thai Party, Thailand’s largest opposition party, proposed that the parliament investigate and rethink how such laws
Colombia is one of the world’s most bio-diverse countries, and tens of thousands of animals and plants it has are part of the nation’s heritage. However, there has been a rise in environmental crime that continues to damage the ecosystem, including deforestation and oil theft. In 2020, an increased 8%
Latvia has requested permanent U.S. aid at its border with Russia, including U.S. Patriot Missiles, according to Defense Minister Arkis Pabriks on November 29th. NATO met amongst its 29 parties in Latvia’s capital Riga on Tuesday, with attendees including the NATO’s Chief and U.S. Secretary of Defense Antony Blinken. The
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is supposedly engaging in risky behavior as it takes part in a call with Peng Shuai. This communication was meant to reassure the public of her safety following a three weeks of inactivity. Peng Shuai is a 35-year old World Doubles number one as ranked
Abu Dhabian crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan will be visiting Turkey for the first time in years, as the two states continue to repair tense relations. An anonymous Turkish official stated that no date has been finalized yet for the meeting, but the visit is supposedly scheduled to
On Monday, November 8th, Iran stated that the United States should guarantee its adherence to Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal if it shall be revived. The United States had previously abandoned the Iran Nuclear Deal under former president Donald Trump. The deals were settled upon after a grueling two years of
On Monday, October 25th, the Syrian government claimed that Israel carried out attacks against the Southern border, according to state media. The state media did not mention what was hit or if there were any casualties, but rather just that there was “a new aggression in the southern region.” The
A Russia-led bloc started conducting the largest drills in years at the Tajikistan-Afghanistan border on October 18th, hinting at rising tensions between the two nations. Russia is primarily concerned about the intrusion of Islamist militants in former Soviet territory, which is seen as a southern buffer zone for the country.
At last five Indian soldiers and two militants were killed in a series of gun battles in Kashmir on Monday, October 11th. The incident is a result of a violent shootout between suspected rebels and occurred in a mountain pass near the Line of Control in the Himalayan region dividing
In 2020, 227 environmental activists were killed – more than four per week. This is a record high for the second consecutive year, according to a report by Global Witness. Environmental activists are defined as those who defend land and water against economic agendas and resource-consuming industries. Global Witness has
