Russia agreed to pause strikes on energy in Ukraine President Vladimir Putin of Russia agreed yesterday on a call with President Trump to halt strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure for 30 days, as long as Ukraine does the same, the Kremlin said. Putin declined for now to agree to a broader cease-fire that the U.S. … Read more
Political pressure is mounting over a plan by a Hong Kong conglomerate to sell its Panama ports to BlackRock, the American investor, raising questions about the future of the $19 billion deal. John Lee, the leader of Hong Kong, added his voice on Tuesday to escalating warnings from China, saying the transaction deserved “serious attention.” … Read more
Chinese state media is gloating about drastic budget cuts to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, U.S. government-funded media outlets that have for decades drawn protests from Beijing over their coverage of human rights abuses in China. Voice of America and Radio Free Asia had long transmitted news into countries where access to accurate … Read more
Since the founder of the Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek shook hands with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, last month, officials around the country have been racing to show how they are using the company’s technology. Courthouse officials are using DeepSeek to draft legal judgments within minutes. Doctors at a hospital in Fuzhou, in eastern … Read more
Help may at last be on the way for the Nepali Sherpas who carry heavy loads for foreign climbers through treacherous sections of the world’s tallest peak. When the main climbing season begins next month on Mount Everest, expedition companies will test drones that can ferry loads as heavy as 35 pounds in the high … Read more
Questions swirl as Putin and Trump prepare to speak Preparations are underway for a highly anticipated phone call today between President Trump and President Vladimir Putin. The call would be the first known conversation between the two leaders since Ukraine agreed to support a U.S.-backed monthlong cease-fire. On Sunday, Trump suggested that a cease-fire and … Read more
For decades, the native iguanas of Fiji and Tonga have presented an evolutionary mystery. Every other living iguana species dwells in the Americas, from the Southwestern United States to the Caribbean and parts of South America. So how could a handful of reptilian transplants have ended up on two islands in the South Pacific, over … Read more
Lee Shau-kee, a Hong Kong real estate tycoon who made his immense fortune building tens of thousands of apartments for middle-class descendants of refugees who had fled Communist mainland China, died on Monday. He was 97. His death was announced by the company he founded, Henderson Land Development. It did not say where he died … Read more
It was the site of the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil. Now the terminal at Muan International Airport serves as a community center for grieving relatives of the 179 people who perished in the crash. Families gather here to talk, eat together — some even stay overnight in tents. It was in that … Read more
In September 2019, Bill Gates presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India with an award on behalf of his philanthropic organization, the Gates Foundation, for the Indian leader’s work on improving sanitation. An uproar followed. Three Nobel Peace Prize laureates wrote to Mr. Gates, arguing that Mr. Modi, who was given the award on the … Read more