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    Taiwan coast guard says deploys vessels in response to China operation

    TAIPEI — Taiwan's coast guard said Sunday it has deployed vessels "to respond appropriately" to a Chinese operation in waters east of the island democracy, which it said "violates international law". It comes after Chinese state media reported Saturday that the "law enforcement operation" was in response to talks between Japan and the Philippines to draw a boundary in the affected waters. China, which asserts Taiwan is part of its territory, called the talks "illegal" and has claimed exclusive control over the waters. The Chinese ships have been monitored "throughout the entire process" and Taiwan "has deployed the necessary vessels to respond appropriately," the Taiwanese coast guard said in a statement. Taiwan said it had detected four Chinese government vessels departing from Xiamen port which had sailed outside Taiwanese restricted waters southwest of the island. Taiwan's coast guard dispatched more than five vessels "to assist with surveillance". The Chinese vessels were expected to arrive "in the relevant waters" on Sunday, the statement said, adding that "China does not enjoy any

    2 MIN READBy AFP
    Taiwan coast guard says deploys vessels in response to China operation
  • World

    Zelenskyy accuses Russia of deliberate strike on Chernobyl facility

    2 MIN READBy DPA
    Zelenskyy accuses Russia of deliberate strike on Chernobyl facility
  • World

    US plan to use Iranian assets for Gulf reconstruction: reports

    1 MIN READBy DPA
    US plan to use Iranian assets for Gulf reconstruction: reports
  • World

    Is the dream over? Mainland students rethink Hong Kong over costs and cultural fit

    4 MIN READBy SCMP
    Is the dream over? Mainland students rethink Hong Kong over costs and cultural fit
  • World

    Iran FM urges Lebanon president to save country from 'real foe'

    1 MIN READBy AFP
    Iran FM urges Lebanon president to save country from 'real foe'
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World

Explosion at fireworks plant in China kills at least 26 people, state media says

BEIJING — An explosion at a fireworks plant in a central Chinese province killed at least 26 people and injured 61 others, authorities reported Tuesday. China’s official news agency Xinhua said the blast occurred at a fireworks plant in Changsha city of Hunan province on Monday afternoon. State media China Daily said the plant was operated by the Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co. in the Changsha-administered, county-level city of Liuyang , a prominent fireworks powerhouse. Changsha mayor Chen Bozhang said search and rescue at the scene has largely been completed, but verification of the casualties and identification of the victims are still underway. Aerial footage from state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday showed white smoke still billowing in certain areas of the site, with facilities collapsed or damaged. Nearly 500 rescuers were deployed to the scene and residents in danger zones were evacuated by authorities, citing high risks from two black powder warehouses near the explosion site, the Xinhua report said. Authorities were investigating the cause of the blast and poli

May 5, 2026By AP
Explosion at fireworks plant in China kills at least 26 people, state media says
World

Driver plows into people in Germany, killing 2

BERLIN — A driver plowed into people in a busy shopping area in the center of the German city of Leipzig on Monday afternoon, leaving two people dead, authorities said. An additional three people were seriously injured in what officials believe was a deliberate rampage, Mayor Burkhard Jung said. He described it as “a terrible tragedy." An unspecified number of people sustained less serious injuries. The driver, a 33-year-old German citizen, was detained in the car. Police said he was a German-born resident of the Leipzig area. Prosecutors said he is under investigation on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. There was no immediate word on a possible motive. The interior minister of Saxony state, Armin Schuster, said investigators believe the man acted alone. He said that rage and “psychological instability” are often factors in such cases, but added that he wouldn't speculate on whether that was the case here. Police chief René Demmler said the man drove from the Augustusplatz, a major square, along the Grimmaische Strasse into the city's central pedestrianized shopping area.

May 5, 2026By AP
Driver plows into people in Germany, killing 2
World

Russia declares truce in Ukraine to mark Victory Day; Kyiv says it'll cease fire two days earlier

Russia's Defense Ministry declared a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine for Friday and Saturday to mark the 81st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, but it threatened to strike back at Kyiv if it tries to disrupt the Victory Day festivities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in response said his country would observe a truce beginning at 12 a.m. on Wednesday and respond in kind to Russia's actions from that moment on. He did not put an end date on the truce. The announcements on Monday come as Russia prepares to celebrate its most important secular holiday with a traditional military parade on Moscow's Red Square pared down due to what officials say are concerns over possible Ukrainian attacks. Ukraine has been launching drone attacks deep inside Russia to counter its more than 4-year-old invasion. They also follow a familiar pattern of previous attempts to secure ceasefires — most recently around Orthodox Easter — that had little to no impact. The Defense Ministry said if Ukraine attempts to disrupt Saturday's celebrations, Russia will carry out a “massiv

May 5, 2026By AP
Russia declares truce in Ukraine to mark Victory Day; Kyiv says it'll cease fire two days earlier
World

Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, Janelle Monáe take artistic liberties with Met Gala dress code

NEW YORK — Met Gala guests from Beyoncé and Naomi Osaka to Emma Chamberlain did not play it safe this year for the Met Gala, delivering custom works of art in honor of the dress code “Fashion is art.” Beyoncé left the cowboy hat at home and dazzled in a custom Olivier Rousteing sculptural skeleton dress with a cream and dust blue feathered train fitted with a diamond crown for “Queen Bey.” The Grammy winner and husband Jay-Z and daughter Blue Ivy, stopped to pose as a unit on the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps together. Osaka stunned in a edgy Robert Wun white sculptural fitted dress featuring exaggerated shoulders and adorned with red feathers and a matching headpiece. To complete her show-stopping look, Osaka’s wore two-toned red gloves. A similar look by Wun sits inside the Met's Costume Institute exhibit, “Costume Art.” On the carpet, Osaka opened her dress and removed her headpiece for a grand reveal underneath. She wowed in a sleek red beaded gown embellished with the human anatomy. Chamberlain arrived in a breathtaking Mugler by Miguel Castro Freitas hand-paint

May 5, 2026By AP
Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, Janelle Monáe take artistic liberties with Met Gala dress code
World

US vies with Iran for Strait of Hormuz as UAE comes under attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.S. military said it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats targeting civilian ships as it moved to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The United Arab Emirates, a key American ally, said it had come under attack from Iran for the first time since a fragile ceasefire took hold in early April. The U.S. military said two American-flagged merchant ships had successfully transited the strait on Monday as part of a new initiative. The UAE Defense Ministry said its air defenses had engaged 15 missiles and four drones fired by Iran. Authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah said one drone sparked a fire at a key oil facility, wounding three Indian nationals. The British military reported two cargo vessels ablaze off the UAE. Tehran did not outright confirm or deny the attacks but early on Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X that both the U.S. and the UAE “should be wary of being dragged back into quagmire.” In similarly vague terms, Iranian state television earlier quoted an anonymous military official as saying Te

May 5, 2026By AP
US vies with Iran for Strait of Hormuz as UAE comes under attack
World

Trump-Kim meeting 'not currently' scheduled for upcoming Asia trip: White House official

WASHINGTON — A meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not currently scheduled during Trump's upcoming trip to Asia this month, a White House official said Monday, amid speculation that he could seek to revive diplomacy with Pyongyang when opportunities arise. The official's remarks came as Trump plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 and 15 for a high-stakes summit that is expected to cover a range of issues, including trade, the security of Taiwan and the Middle East conflict. "Such a meeting is not currently on the schedule," the official said via email, responding to a question from Yonhap News Agency about whether there is any possibility that Trump may seek to reengage with Kim during his trip to China. The White House has said that Trump was open to dialogue with North Korea "without any preconditions." But observers said that Trump might find it difficult to seek a meeting with Kim during his trip to China as he needs to focus on the high-stakes summit and the peace negotiations with Iran, to name a few. Trump h

May 5, 2026By Yonhap
Trump-Kim meeting 'not currently' scheduled for upcoming Asia trip: White House official
World

Putin declares May 8-9 ceasefire with Ukraine to mark WWII anniversary, Defence Ministry says

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a two-day ceasefire in the conflict with Ukraine on May 8-9 to mark the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War Two, Russia's Defence Ministry said. The ministry added that it counted on the Ukrainian side to follow suit and that Russia would launch a massive retaliatory missile strike on the centre of Kyiv if Ukraine attempted to disrupt Victory Day celebrations. "Despite the capabilities at our disposal, Russia has previously refrained from such actions on humanitarian grounds," it said in a statement, adding however that it was ready to act if the ceasefire was not respected. "We are warning the civilian population of Kyiv and staff at foreign diplomatic missions of the need to leave the city in a timely manner," it said.

May 5, 2026By Reuters
Putin declares May 8-9 ceasefire with Ukraine to mark WWII anniversary, Defence Ministry says
World

Oil prices jump 6% as Iran sets UAE oil port ablaze, strikes vessels in Hormuz

NEW YORK — Oil prices jumped about 6 percent on Monday as Iran stepped up attacks on the United Arab Emirates and ships in the Middle East Gulf over the past 24 hours, the most serious escalation since a U.S.-Iran ceasefire came into force in early April. Brent futures rose $6.79, or 6.3 percent, to $114.96 per barrel at 12:54 p.m. EDT (1654 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $4.23, or 4.2 percent, to $106.17. A South Korean ship was hit by an explosion in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Iranian drones caused a fire at a UAE oil port, as Tehran demonstrated its grip on Middle East oil after U.S. President Donald Trump said his Navy would open the strait. The U.S. military said it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Tehran as the U.S. launched an operation to free up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, said on Monday. Iranian military officials, meanwhile, denied that Iranian small boats were sunk. About 20 percent of global oil and liquefied natur

May 5, 2026By Reuters
Oil prices jump 6% as Iran sets UAE oil port ablaze, strikes vessels in Hormuz
World

Trump says Iran fired at S. Korean vessel, urges Seoul to join Strait of Hormuz mission

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran has taken shots at a South Korean cargo ship and other targets, noting that it is time for Seoul to participate in a mission to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Trump made the remarks in a social media post as the United States launched an operation, called Project Freedom, to guide commercial vessels stranded by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, out of the waterway, a key shipping route for oil, fertilizer and other commodities. "Iran has taken some shots at unrelated Nations with respect to the Ship Movement, PROJECT FREEDOM, including a South Korean Cargo Ship. Perhaps it's time for South Korea to come and join the mission!," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "We've shot down seven small Boats or, as they like to call them, 'fast' Boats. It's all they have left. Other than the South Korean Ship, there has been, at this moment, no damage going through the Strait," he added. Trump's comment came after Seoul's foreign ministry said that an explosion occurred on a Panama-flagged ship operated by HMM Co., a major South Korean

May 5, 2026By Yonhap
Trump says Iran fired at S. Korean vessel, urges Seoul to join Strait of Hormuz mission
World

US destroys 6 Iranian small boats, shoots down missiles, drones, admiral says

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said on Monday it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Tehran as the U.S. launched an operation to free up shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, declined to comment on whether he thought a ceasefire begun on April 8 remained in effect. But he acknowledged ongoing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) efforts to "interfere" with President Donald Trump's operation to open the critical waterway to commercial traffic. "The IRGC has launched multiple cruise missiles, drones, and small boats at ships we are protecting. We have defeated each and every one of those threats through the clinical application of defensive munitions," he said. Cooper said he "strongly advised" Iranian forces to remain well clear of U.S. military assets as it launches the operation, which he said involved 15,000 U.S. troops, U.S. Navy destroyers, over 100 land- and sea-based aircraft and undersea assets. "The U.S. commanders who are on the scene have all the authorities n

May 5, 2026By Reuters
US destroys 6 Iranian small boats, shoots down missiles, drones, admiral says
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