AUSTRALIA Manhunt in bush continues Police yesterday said they would not rest until they catch a 56-year-old gunman who fled into the bush two days earlier after allegedly killing two officers. Detectives said they were speaking to the man’s partner and searching rugged, forested terrain near the small town of Porepunkah, in Victoria’s northeast. The…
The British government on Friday extended the deadline until October to decide on whether to approve China’s plans to build the largest embassy in Europe in London after Beijing refused to fully explain why the plans contained blacked out areas. China’s plans to build a new embassy on the site of a two-century-old building near…
Reuters, HONG KONG and BEIJING Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui (許智?) has been granted asylum in Australia, the former lawmaker said on Saturday, more than four years after he left Hong Kong, where he faces criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Hui said he received written notice from the Australian Department of Home…
SOUTH KOREA Court rules on ‘Baby Shark’ The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a 30 million won (US$21,648) damage claim by an American composer who accused a South Korean kids content company of plagiarizing his version of Baby Shark, ending a six-year legal battle over the globally popular tune. The top court upheld lower court rulings…
IRAQ Shopping mall fire kills 61 A fire tore through a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut overnight, killing at least 60 people, authorities said yesterday, as grief-stricken families searched for missing relatives. Officials have launched an investigation into the blaze, the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected. At…
By Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNA The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today thanked the UK and France after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron pledged their commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. “We jointly reaffirm our commitment to peace and stability in the Korean peninsula,…
LIMITED EFFECT? The policy shows Taipei’s ban on sensitive components being sourced from ‘red’ supply chains is on the right track, the defense ministry said By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter, with CNA China yesterday placed the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and seven Taiwanese companies on its export control list to “safeguard national…
French-speaking King Charles III, who is hosting French President Emmanuel Macron for a state visit today, professes a long-standing love of France, describing it as “an essential part” of his life. The visit, at the invitation of the monarch, is a rare privilege full of spectacular pomp and circumstance, and an opportunity to strengthen a…
By Fion Khan / Staff writer, with CNA A British Royal Navy patrol vessel yesterday sailed through the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the British Office Taipei said today. The ministry said that it welcomed the transit of the HMS Spey as affirmation that the UK is taking concrete action to…
By Chung Li-hua and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writer The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has proposed amendments to laws governing cross-strait relations that would require all public servants to obtain prior approval to visit China, Hong Kong or Macau. The proposed changes are part of efforts to implement President William Lai’s…