Top Asian News 4:56 a.m. GMT

Associated Press

Updated 19 November 2024 at 11:56 pm·1-min read

Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai begins to testify in his national security trial

HONG KONG (AP) — Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai began testifying Wednesday in his landmark national security trial, telling the court about his 2019 meetings with former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during Hong Kong's anti-government protests, but said he did not ask the U.S. officials to take action. Lai's case is widely seen as a measure of press freedom and judicial independence in the Asian financial hub. Lai testified that he asked Pence to voice his support for Hong Kong but not for the U.S. government to take any action, saying, “It's beyond me." During the same trip to the U.S., Lai also met with Pompeo and discussed the situation in Hong Kong with him, noting it was a similar conversation to the one he had with Pence, he said.

HuffPost
Joe Biden Calls Himself 'Stupid' For Not Doing 1 Donald Trump Thing
The president said he "learned something" from the president-elect.
INSIDER
Malaysia's 99-year-old former prime minister — who was re-elected at 92 — shares his simple longevity secret
Mahathir was reelected as Malaysia's prime minister in 2018, at age 92. In comparison, Joe Biden, at 82, is the oldest American president.
France 24
Russia threatens to retaliate after Ukrainian ATACMS strike in Rostov
Moscow on Wednesday accused Kyiv of firing US-supplied ATACAMS missiles on a military airfield in its southern Rostov region and threatened to retaliate. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine's "destructive" approach made peace impossible. Russia on Wednesday vowed retribution against Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of firing Western-supplied missiles on a military airfield in its southern Rostov region.President Vladimir Putin has previously threatened to launch a hypersonic ballistic missi
The Independent
South Korean defence minister who proposed martial law attempts suicide in custody
South Korean police raid president’s office as Yoon Suk Yeol faces charges of staging an insurrection
BBC
Syria rebels burn tomb of Bashar al-Assad's father
Armed men are seen celebrating in Hafez al-Assad's burning mausoleum in the family's hometown.
The Independent
Netanyahu makes it clear: Biden is no longer in charge
ANALYSIS: US-Israel policy appears to now be fully running through Mar-a-Lago after shocking developments in the Golan Heights, writes John Bowden
The Independent
Israel’s warplanes pound Syria as it destroys Assad’s naval fleet
After the fall of the Assad regime, the Israeli military has taken control of a UN-controlled buffer zone in the Golan Heights and hit targets across the country
Associated Press
Trudeau says Americans are realizing Trump's tariffs on Canada would make life a lot more expensive
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that Americans “are beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive" and said he will retaliate if Donald Trump goes ahead with them. Speaking at an event put on by the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Trudeau also said dealing with Trump will be “a little more challenging” than the last time because Trump’s team is coming in with a much clearer set of ideas of what they want to do right away than after his first election win in 2016. The U.S. president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico unless they stem the flow of migrants and drugs.
HuffPost
Trump Mocks Trudeau After Canadian Leader Warns Tariffs Will Hurt Americans
The president-elect has pledged to levy a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Canada on his first day in office.
CNN
Video points to Assad regime’s involvement in large-scale trafficking of illicit drugs
Social media video surfaced Wednesday allegedly showing a warehouse in Syria stacked with captagon, an illicit drug that had transformed the country into a narco-state under former President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
INSIDER
Here's what we're seeing Russia's warships and aircraft doing in new satellite images of Syria amid regime change
The sudden collapse of the Assad government has raised questions about the future of Russia's military footprint in Syria.
Reuters
China sends largest naval fleet in decades to region, threat level severe, Taiwan says
TAIPEI (Reuters) -China is deploying its largest navy fleet in regional waters in nearly three decades, posing a threat to Taiwan that is more pronounced than previous Chinese war games, the Taiwanese defence ministry said on Tuesday. Speaking in Taipei, defence ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said the scale of the current Chinese naval deployment in an area running from the southern Japanese islands down into the South China Sea was the largest since China held war games around Taiwan ahead of 1996 Taiwanese presidential elections. China's military has yet to comment and has not confirmed it is carrying out any exercises.
The Telegraph
West should not fear us, Syria’s rebel leader insists
The leader of the Syrian rebel coalition which toppled the Assad dynasty has sought to reassure Western nations they have nothing to fear from his victory.
The Daily Beast
Trump Sends Don Jr.’s Fiancé Kimberly Guilfoyle Abroad After Split Rumors
Donald Trump has appointed former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle as his ambassador to Greece—just hours after pictures published by the Daily Mail showed her fiancée, Donald Trump Jr., hand-in-hand with another woman. “For many years, Kimberly has been a close friend and ally,” the president-elect said in his announcement, which he posted to Truth Social. “Her extensive experience and leadership in law, media, and politics along with her sharp intellect make her supremely qualified to represen
Reuters
Russian Foreign Ministry says Moscow is not willing to make concessions on Ukraine
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Moscow was not ready to make concessions when it came to Ukraine and that President Vladimir Putin's own proposals on how to end the conflict needed to be implemented. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made her comments in the context of a call by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end "the madness." Zakharova said Russia was ready to engage with the new U.S. administration on Ukraine, but had not yet received any serious, workable options to address what she said were Russia's legitimate security concerns and worries about the rights of Ukraine's Russian-speaking population.
The Independent
Syria – live: Tomb of Assad’s father set on fire by rebels while Israel strikes Syrian military 480 times
Israel denies penetrating Syria beyond buffer zone in occupied Golan Heights
The Telegraph
Will the Senate approve Tulsi Gabbard? Our experts are united
Once is a mistake. Twice is a pattern. That’s the conundrum facing the Trump transition team right now, as rumours swirl that Tulsi Gabbard might be next on the senatorial chopping block.
The Telegraph
India’s new Russia-made warship comes with Ukrainian engines
An Indian navy warship commissioned in Russia features engines manufactured by a Ukrainian company.
The Independent
Trump’s border czar reveals which city is first for mass deportations
Tom Homan told Democratic officials to ‘get the hell out of the way’ of his sweeping anti-immigrant agenda
Reuters
Can a US missile defense system shield Guam from Chinese threat?
An SM-3 interceptor erupted into the night sky over Guam late on Tuesday, its engine briefly illuminating the northeast corner of the island as it accelerated toward its target: a ballistic missile. U.S. Missile Defense Agency and military personnel monitored the radars and telescopic cameras tracking both projectiles; this was not an attack, but a complex test. Within minutes, the ballistic missile - air-launched from a U.S. Air Force C-17 - was pulverized by the kinetic energy of the SM-3.

Latest stories