There are usually no international flights out of the airport in Mae Sot, a town on Thailand’s border with Myanmar. But in recent days, hundreds of people here boarded direct flights back home to China. They had been rescued from Myanmar, where they were ensnared in a 21st-century scourge — online scam mills that have … Read more
Hamas and Israel to move forward with another swap What may be the last hostage exchange of this phase of the cease-fire was set to go forward late last night. Israel and Hamas have agreed to exchange the remains of four Israelis for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, Israel said, and mediators guaranteed that Hamas would … Read more
President Trump’s intense interest in Ukraine’s minerals seemed to come from out of the blue. He dispatched his Treasury secretary to Kyiv this month to negotiate with Ukraine’s leader, then began ratcheting up the pressure publicly in what appeared to critics like a Mafia don’s extortion scheme. “I want security of the rare earth,” he … Read more
Drake, whose new album topped the Billboard 200 chart this week after Kendrick Lamar had made him a punchline at the Super Bowl halftime show, has canceled four tour dates in Australia and New Zealand because of a “scheduling conflict,” representatives for the rapper said on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear what the conflict … Read more
President Trump’s tough talk on China typically centers on tariffs. But a closer look at the decisions he has made since taking office shows that the president is considering a far wider set of economic restrictions on Beijing, ones that could hasten America’s split from a critical trading partner. The Trump administration has so far … Read more
The Trump administration has opened a broad new front in its global trade conflict, proposing to affix levies reaching $1.5 million on Chinese-made ships arriving at American ports. Such fees would apply even on vessels made elsewhere if they are operated by carriers whose fleets include Chinese ships — an approach that risks increasing costs … Read more
For the first time in almost a decade, South Koreans are having more babies. The 3.6 percent rise recorded in births last year — the first since 2015 — offered a sliver of hope to government officials who have been rolling out greater parental leave and other benefits to try to increase the world’s lowest … Read more
Taiwan watches as Trump turns on Ukraine Taiwan could be forced to consider its political future as President Trump turns against Ukraine and abandons Western efforts to punish Russia. Ukraine and Taiwan share a kinship: small democracies laid claim to by hulking, authoritarian neighbors. President Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president, has already been trying to prevent … Read more
4 Killed and 6 Injured in Highway Bridge Collapse in South Korea
Taiwanese authorities said they had detained a cargo ship crewed by Chinese nationals, which investigators believe may have severed an undersea communications cable near the island on Tuesday. It was the latest in a series of murky incidents that have prompted theories that China and Russia may be turning to cable sabotage as a form … Read more