Junta forces bombed a school in central Myanmar, killing more than a dozen children, the country’s exiled civilian administration told Radio Free Asia on Monday. A jet fired at Sagaing region’s Oe Htein Kwin village in Tabayin township, which is under rebel control. “As far as we know now, 17 young students have died and more than 20 were injured. Some are still missing because of the bomb, so the death toll could be higher,” said Nay Bone Latt, a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office of the National Unity…
Category: RFA
US and China agree to slash tariff for 90 days
TAIPEI, Taiwan – The United States and China on Monday agreed to temporarily suspend most tariffs on each other’s goods after a weekend of marathon trade negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland by officials from the world’s two largest economies, during which both sides touted “substantial progress.” By May 14, the U.S. will temporarily lower its tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China will cut its levies on American imports from 125% to 10%, according to the joint statement. Washington’s 20% duties on Chinese imports relating to fentanyl will…
Junta bombs northern Myanmar after rebels reject peace negotiations
Myanmar’s military launched attacks on four villages in northern Myanmar controlled by an insurgent group, according to a statement published by rebels on Friday, despite both armies agreeing to a ceasefire extension only days earlier. A junta plane attacked villages in Shan state’s Nawnghkio township, bombing Ya Pyin and Tha Yet Cho from Monday to Thursday, according to a statement from the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, which controls the area. International rights groups and insurgents have criticized junta forces for repeatedly violating their own ceasefire declared on April…
Now ‘friends of steel’: Xi and Putin meet in Moscow
The leaders of China and Russia vowed to deepen their “strategic partnership” in a show of solidarity in Moscow on Thursday, casting themselves as defenders of the world order. Russian President Vladimir Putin played host to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the eve of a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. The two sides signed a joint statement to “further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in the new era between China and Russia.” Their meeting comes three years after…
Hong Kong removes protection against land reclamation in Victoria Harbor
Hong Kong’s legislature has passed a law that will make it easier for the government to conduct land reclamation in the territory’s iconic Victoria Harbor, despite long-standing opposition from environmentalists. The opposition-free Legislative Council on Wednesday passed an amendment to an ordinance that was enacted in 1997 to protect the harbor as a “special public asset and a natural heritage of the Hong Kong people.” The amendment eases stringent restrictions on land reclamation and a presumption against such projects without court approval that they satisfy an “overriding public need.” Environmentalists…
Myanmar junta bombs hospital days after declaring ceasefire extension
Junta airstrikes on villages in southeast Myanmar destroyed a hospital and forced over 8,000 residents from their homes, leaving them in urgent need of aid, according to an insurgent administration opposing the military. Junta forces on Monday extended their ceasefire until the end of May, citing the need to help restoration efforts following the country’s 7.7 magnitude earthquake. Military forces have launched hundreds of attacks across the country since then, killing more than 200 people. Heavy artillery fired at the Bago region and Mon state border have left thousands in…
US, China in for protracted trade talks, warn experts ahead of crucial Geneva meet
U.S. and Chinese officials will hold high-level talks in Switzerland this weekend, a first step toward easing trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies over tariffs but experts did not expect immediate breakthroughs. Analysts said Wednesday the talks were a necessary step towards de-escalating tensions amid the ongoing trade war, but negotiations to resolve differences between the two countries may be protracted. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Geneva, the first official engagement between the two countries…
Imprisoned Vietnam activist charged for writing ‘down with communism’
Prominent Vietnamese land rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong is facing a second charge of anti-state propaganda after prison guards found a document in his cell that said, “down with communism,” his wife told Radio Free Asia. Phuong is already serving a 10-year prison sentence related to his dissemination of information about a 2020 land dispute where police clashed with villagers outside Hanoi. Do Thi Thu, Phuong’s wife, told RFA Vietnamese that he has been charged again under Article 117 of the Criminal Code which punishes “making, storing, and disseminating” anti-state…
Myanmar’s ethnic Karen face food shortages amid aid cuts to camps on Thai border
Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese. Myanmar residents forced to flee their homes for camps across the border in Thailand are facing growing hardship amid cuts to international aid, with more than 108,000 people now struggling to access stable food supplies, civil society organizations told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday. Predominantly ethnic Karen from eastern Myanmar’s Kayin state, facing brutal village burnings and airstrikes by the junta, have fled en masse to camps in Thailand, where many have lived for years seeking refugee status with no access to…
Chinese exporters use ‘origin washing’ to evade U.S. tariffs
A flurry of so-called “origin washing” advertisements have flooded Chinese social media platforms, offering exporters ways to avoid steep U.S. tariffs by re-exporting and freight forwarding goods or falsely labeling their place of manufacture. Video ads posted on Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, and Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, show businesses promoting “one-stop re-export and freight forwarding services” via Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand to circumvent growing restrictions on export re-routing via these markets. “Chinese manufacturers that have the U.S. as their main market must find a way to…