13 h. ago Taiwan faces possible Beijing squeeze after US quits WHO and other agencies

The United States’ decision to withdraw from dozens of UN and other international organisations may have dealt another blow to Taiwan’s efforts to raise its global profile amid mounting pressure from Beijing. While Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te’s government has sought to play down the impact, observers have warned that Washington’s retreat could further squeeze the island’s already narrow international space. US President Donald Trump on January 7 ordered the US to exit 66 international...

Politics

53 h. ago Iran halts hundreds of executions as Gulf allies pull Trump back from strike, US says

The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from US President Donald Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on demonstrations. Iran was shaken over the past week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic Republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the past few days in the face of repression and a week-long internet...

Politics

53 h. ago US says Iran halted 800 protester executions after Trump warnings

The United States on Thursday said Iran halted 800 executions of protesters under pressure from President Donald Trump, after Gulf allies appeared to pull him back from military action over Tehran’s deadly crackdown on demonstrations. Iran was shaken over the last week by some of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and a week-long internet...

Events

59 h. ago Pushed by Trump, pulled by China: Canada's PM Carney signals strategic reset in ties with Beijing

Pushed by Trump, pulled by China: Canada's PM Carney signals strategic reset in ties with Beijing  Firstpost

Politics

6 d. ago China backs UN as US withdraws from dozens of international bodies

China backs UN as US withdraws from dozens of international bodies  Macao News

Events

6 d. ago Gaza clings to Medecins Sans Frontieres following Israeli aid ban

At a hospital in Gaza, wards are filled with patients fearing they will be left without care if Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is forced out under an Israeli ban due to take effect in March. Last month, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organisations, including MSF, from operating in Gaza from March 1 for failing to provide detailed information on their Palestinian staff. “They stood by us throughout the war,” said 10-year-old Adam Asfour, his left arm pinned with metal rods after he was...

Politics

9 d. ago Online appeal by Chinese woman to boost granny’s funeral attendance gains 130 million views

Dozens of internet users in China turned up for the funeral of a 90-year-old grandmother after her granddaughter made an online plea for attendees. “My grandma passed away. It is a blessing funeral. Can you come to see her off?” the woman said in a post which went viral on the evening of December 22. A blessing funeral, or xi sang in Chinese, refers to proceedings after the death of a person aged 80 or above. According to traditional beliefs, if a person dies at a rather old age, it means his or...

Economics

1 week ago Trump pulls US out of dozens of international organisations, including UN

The Trump administration will withdraw from dozens of international organisations, including the UN’s population agency and the UN treaty that establishes international climate negotiations, as the US further retreats from global cooperation. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order suspending US support for 66 organisations, agencies and commissions following his instructions for his administration to review participation in and funding for all international...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump says pulling National Guard from Chicago, LA and Portland, for now

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday his administration was removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland but he added in his social media post that federal forces would “come back” if crime rates go up. Local leaders in those cities and Democrats have said the deployments, which have faced legal setbacks and challenges, were unnecessary. They have accused the Trump administration of federal overreach and of exaggerating isolated episodes of violence to justify...

Politics

2 w. ago Israel to ban Medecins Sans Frontieres, aid groups from Gaza in 2026 over new vetting rules

Israel on Tuesday said it will suspend over two dozen humanitarian organisations, including Medecins Sans Frontieres, for failing to meet its new rules to vet international organisations working in Gaza. The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs said the organisations that will be banned on January 1 did not meet new requirements for sharing staff, funding and operations information. It accused Medecins Sans Frontieres, one of the largest health organisations operating in Gaza, of failing to clarify the...

Politics

2 w. ago Israel to halt operations of several aid organisations in Gaza starting in 2026

Israel on Tuesday said it had suspended more than two dozen humanitarian organisations, including Médecins Sans Frontières and CARE, from operating in the Gaza Strip for failing to comply with new registration rules. Israel says the rules were aimed at preventing Hamas and other militant groups from infiltrating the aid organisations. But the organisations said the rules were arbitrary and warned that the new ban would harm a civilian population desperately in need of humanitarian aid. Israel...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘60 Minutes’ story on Trump immigration crackdown accidentally airs on Canadian app

A news segment about the Trump administration’s immigration policy that was abruptly pulled from “60 Minutes” was mistakenly aired on a television app after the last-minute decision not to air it touched off a public debate about journalistic independence. The segment featured interviews with migrants who were sent to a notorious El Salvador prison called the Terrorism Confinement Centre, or CECOT, under US President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration. The story was pulled from...

Politics