The US House of Representatives passed a mammoth US$858 billion military spending bill, putting the US budget for weapons and war-making higher than the next nine countries combined. Also attached to the bill was unprecedented US taxpayer funding for Taiwan’s military.
France and the United Kingdom have ceased support for the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, the deadliest currently in operation. These withdrawals followed a decade of fruitless attempts to end hostilities between the West African nation’s government and its rebel Islamists.
Following an investigation that Al Jazeera claims has uncovered new evidence regarding the fatal shooting of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, the international news network announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Israeli military forces at the International Criminal Court.
Lam Wing-Kee, the only one of the Hong Kong Causeway Bay booksellers to remain free, applied for permanent residency in Taiwan last month on the basis of being a professional in arts and culture. While there is a good chance that his application will be accepted, some other Hongkongers are finding greater difficulty.
Germany, led by Social Democratic Party (SDP) Chancellor Olaf Scholz, considers China both an essential economic partner and a “systemic rival.” This seemingly contradictory stance has produced political fractures within the coalition government, but it is part of a pragmatic geopolitical strategy.
Human Rights Watch issued a report earlier this month urging world leaders to move forward with a ban on autonomous weapons systems. This latest plea comes nearly a decade after the organization co-founded the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, and as advanced military drones are operating in the skies over Ukraine.
US progressives in recent days have renewed efforts to push President Joe Biden and Congress to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its atrocities, including war crimes in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng is making it increasingly clear that the territory he administers no longer sees the gambling industry as the key to its future development.
The family of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh expressed hope that the FBI’s newly announced investigation into her death will bring them “closer to justice,” as Israeli officials declared that they will not cooperate, and even condemned the United States for opening a probe at all.
Demonstrations against Iran’s authoritarian regime have continued for nearly two months in spite of the rising number of people killed by state forces and the Iranian parliament’s recent vote to execute protesters.
