China on Wednesday (31 March) said it wanted a "democratic transition" in military-ruled Myanmar, but ruled out sanctions at a United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting."China hopes that Myanmar will restore peace, stability and constitutional order as early as possible and continue to steadily advance democratic transition," Ambassador Zhang Jun told the closed-door meeting, according to a statement."Maintaining peace and stability in Myanmar is in the co

A fleet of Chinese ships that sparked a diplomatic row after parking at a reef off the Philippines for weeks are now scattered across the contested Spratly Islands, a government agency said Wednesday, condemning Beijing's "unlawful presence" in the area.Over two hundred ships were first spotted on 7 March at Whitsun Reef, around 320 kilometres (175 nautical miles) west of Palawan Island in the South China Sea.Manila ordered Beijing to withdraw the ships, calling their presence

Qelbinur Sedik was making breakfast when the video call came, and the sight of her sister's name made her nervous. Many months had passed since the two had spoken. In fact, many months had passed since Sedik had spoken to any of her family in China.Sedik was in the kitchen of her temporary home in the Netherlands, where she shared a room with several other refugees, mostly from Africa.

China finalised a sweeping overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system on Tuesday, drastically curbing democratic representation in the city as authorities seek to ensure “patriots” rule the global financial hub.The measures are part of Beijing’s efforts to consolidate its increasingly authoritarian grip over its freest city following the imposition of a national security law in June, which critics see as a tool to crush dissent.The changes would see the number of directly elected repre

The United States (US) led a chorus of concern on Tuesday over a World Health Organisation (WHO)-backed report into the origins of the coronavirus in China, with accusations swirling that Beijing failed to give proper access to investigators.The United States released a statement with 13 of its allies - Britain, Japan and Australia among them - saying the inquiry had lacked the data and samples it needed.WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had earlier made a similar criticism, saying the tea

COVID-19 probably came to people through an animal, and likely started spreading no more than a month or two before it was noticed in December 2019, a World Health Organisation (WHO) draft report finds.The least likely source: a laboratory leak, the WHO's joint international team concluded.The WHO is scheduled to release the final report on its investigation into the origins of coronavirus on Tuesday, but a draft version of the report obtained by CNN shows there's still no smoking g

After weeks of silence as Myanmar ’s military cracked down on civilians protesting against the 1 February coup, the Arakan Army (AA), a major player among the country’s more than two dozen ethnic armed groups, this week announced it was on the side of the people.“The current actions by the Burmese army and police are very cruel and unacceptable,” AA spokesman Khine Thu Khahe said on Tuesday (23 March), adding that “the oppressed ethnic people as a whole will continue to fight for their freedo

Mention the Boxer Rebellion nowadays, and most people in the west would look baffled. Not so the Chinese, who have longer memories.They have not forgotten the invasion launched in 1900 by the United States (US), Britain, Germany, France and other members of the Eight-Nation Alliance to suppress the anti-foreigner, anti-missionary uprising.

The Philippines’ air force has been conducting daily aerial patrols over Chinese fishing vessels moored near a disputed reef, the country’s defence chief said, as he repeated a call to Beijing for their withdrawal from the area.The diplomatic row was touched off earlier this month when some 220 boats were first spotted at the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef, west of Palawan Island.The Philippines ordered China to recall the vessels, describing their presence as an incursion into its so

The recent skirmish in the South China Sea (SCS) between the Philippines and China that some personalities belonging to the political opposition coined as a prelude to the Chinese invasion of the Philippines is a far-fetched, and exaggerated way of describing the incident. It can be recalled that in early March, around 200 Chinese fishing vessels were spotted anchored at Whitsun Reef, a disputed territory in the South China Sea (SCS), which had flickered apprehensions and anxieties i