UN marks one year of Ukraine war with vote as Germany and China clash over supply of weapons – video

The United Nations overwhelmingly isolated Russia by calling for a ‘comprehensive, just and lasting peace’, demanding Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stop fighting. Marking one year since Moscow’s invasion, the resolution was adopted with 141 votes in favour and 32 abstentions. Six countries joined Russia to vote no: Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria. China abstained from the vote – accusing the west of ‘adding fuel to the fire’ – a day after Beijing’s top diplomat visited Moscow and pledged a deeper partnership with Russia The Guardian

North Korea Announces Cruise Missile Drill

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA —  North Korea launched four “strategic cruise missiles” Thursday as part of a drill meant to demonstrate Pyongyang’s “deadly nuclear counterattack capability,” state media announced. The four Hwasal-2 cruise missiles flew along a 2,000-kilometer orbit for about 170 minutes before hitting a “preset target” in the sea off North Korea’s east coast, according to the Korean Central News Agency. “The drill clearly demonstrated once again the war posture of the DPRK nuclear combat force bolstering up in every way its deadly nuclear counterattack capability against the hostile…

Pakistan threatens to send Uyghur refugee families back to China

Niyaz Ghopur, a Uyghur refugee in Pakistan, got a scare when police and intelligence officers showed up at his home about two weeks ago to tell him that he and his family would be repatriated to China if they didn’t renew their U.N.-issued refugee cards. The Pakistani officers threatened to detain all eight members of his family, saying they didn’t have legal documents allowing them to remain in the country. This was alarming for Ghopur, 67, whose family had fled China in 2016, fearing for their lives.  Soon after landing…

US Army Officials Confident in Competition with China

WASHINGTON —  Not all branches of the U.S. military are equally worried about keeping pace with China’s military expansion. While U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro warned earlier this week that he needed more ships to meet the threat posed by China’s rapidly expanding naval forces, top Army officials believe U.S. ground forces still hold a critical edge over their Chinese counterparts. “The human dimension of the United States Army, I think, is a comparative advantage,” U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth cautioned during a breakfast in Washington on Thursday with…

The U.S. Intelligence Playbook to Expose Russia’s Ukraine War Plans

WASHINGTON — A year ago, the United States did something extraordinary — it released previously classified intelligence that exposed Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine. Last week, Antony J. Blinken, the secretary of state, made a similar move when he warned China’s top foreign policy official, Wang Yi, against providing weapons to Russia. In a previous era, the warning might have remained private, at least for some time. But a new intelligence playbook honed just before and during the war in Ukraine has redefined how the United States uses its classified…

Cambodia Confirms First H5N1 Bird Flu Death Since 2014 

phnom penh, cambodia —  Health officials in Prey Veng province have confirmed the death of an 11-year-old girl from H5N1, Cambodia’s first known human “bird flu” infection since 2014. Panharith Seng, director of the Prey Veng provincial health department, told VOA Khmer on Thursday that many chickens and ducks in the area where the girl lived had died of H5N1. The girl, a resident of Roleang village in Romlech commune, began showing symptoms of fever, cough and sore throat on February 16. She was diagnosed Wednesday after suffering a fever…

Tibetans tell relatives abroad not to call them during Tibetan New Year

Tibetans in Tibet have told their relatives in exile to refrain from contacting them this week during the Tibetan New Year, called Losar, citing fears of being persecuted by Chinese authorities amid an increase in surveillance activities and surprise security searches during the politically sensitive time, sources in the region said. Chinese authorities have clamped down on Tibetans during Losar, celebrated Feb. 20-26 this year, with cellphone checks and raids in Lhasa, Xigatse and Chamdo, the sources said. Before the holiday, authorities warned against holding events that could endanger national…

Chinese ship threatens and confiscates catch of Vietnamese boat off Paracel Islands

A Chinese ship confiscated the catch of a Vietnamese fishing boat anchored in the waters off the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Feb. 19, the state-sponsored Tuoi Tre Newspaper reported. The incident  is one of several recent cases of Chinese ships intimidating Vietnamese fishing boats around the islands, which are claimed by Vietnam, China and Taiwan, the paper said. It happened when the Vietnamese crew was forced to anchor in a rocky area to avoid strong winds near the Paracel Islands, about 355 kilometers from the…

North Korean parents will be punished if their children watch foreign media even once

North Korea has threatened to punish parents if their children are caught watching foreign media, suggestive dancing or talking like a South Korean, even if it is their child’s first offense, sources in the country told Radio Free Asia. The threats, issued during weekly meetings of neighborhood watch units nationwide, increase pressure on parents to educate their children “properly” in socialist ideals and are the latest measure to prevent the spread of South Korean pop culture among the country’s youth. Parents previously could be held responsible if their teens had…

Can China Be the JCPOA’s Last Hope?

Advertisement Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s three-day visit to Beijing has revived China’s balancing act in the Persian Gulf after the setback that followed Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s trip to Saudi Arabia in December. Symbolically, Beijing has reassured Iran that it is a partner worth no less than Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. But little suggests that the economic breakthrough once again claimed by the Iranian authorities will eventually follow the umpteenth signature of tens of Memoranda of Understanding between the two countries. In fact, the primary impediment to…