HONG KONG — China hit back Wednesday against international criticism of a new national security law passed in Hong Kong, dismissing concerns that it will further erode civil liberties in the Chinese territory. The United States and other governments have expressed opposition to the legislation, known as Article 23, which Hong Kong lawmakers passed unanimously…
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto was announced the winner of the presidential election in the world’s third-largest democracy Wednesday over two former governors who vow to contest the result in court over alleged irregularities. Subianto, who was accused of abuses under the past dictatorship and chose the son of the popular departing president as his running…
UNITED NATIONS — The General Assembly is set to vote Thursday on what would be the first United Nations resolution on artificial intelligence, aimed at ensuring the powerful new technology benefits all nations, respects human rights and is “safe, secure and trustworthy.” The United States, which sponsored the resolution, has said it hopes the world body will…
Russia fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv before dawn Thursday in the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in 44 days, officials said. Air defenses shot down all the incoming missiles, though 13 people including a child were injured by falling wreckage, they said. Residents of Kyiv were woken up by loud explosions…
Russia plans to evacuate about 9,000 children from a border region because it is being shelled continuously by Ukraine, an official said Tuesday, reflecting Kyiv’s increasing focus on striking targets behind a front line that has barely shifted in recent months. The children will be moved from the Belgorod region farther east, away from the…
The Vietnamese Communist Party has accepted the resignation of President Vo Van Thuong, the government said on Wednesday, in a sign of political turmoil that could hurt foreign investors’ confidence in the country. The government said in a statement that Thuong had violated party rules, adding that those “shortcomings had negatively impacted public opinion, affecting…
British Health Minister Maria Caulfield called the allegations “pretty severe” and said it was “serious stuff to be accessing notes that you don’t have permission to.” “From a health perspective, it’s not acceptable to be looking at people’s notes, but it has been spotted and action has been taken,” she said in an interview with…
Japan’s central bank raised interest rates on Tuesday for the first time since 2007, ending the world’s last negative rates regime on early signs of robust wage gains this year. The BOJ raised its short-term interest rates to around 0% to 0.1% from -0.1%, according to its statement at the end of its two-day March policy meeting….
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire drill of nuclear-capable “super-large” multiple rocket launchers designed to target South Korea’s capital as he vowed to strengthen his war deterrent in the face of deepening confrontations with rivals, state media said Tuesday. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observing the Western…
Lawmakers in Gambia referred an attempted repeal of the 2015 ban on female genital cutting for further committee discussions on Monday. Gambian activists fear a repeal would overturn years of work to better protect girls and women. The legislation was referred to a national committee for further debate and could return to a vote in…
