US, Australian and Philippine forces sink a ship during war drills in the disputed South China Sea

LAOAG, Philippines (AP) — Military force from the United States, Australian and the Philippines launched a barrage of high-precision rockets, artillery fire and airstrikes to sink a ship Wednesday as part of largescale war drills in waters facing the disputed South China Sea that have antagonized...

Albanese rejects China's argument that Australia was at fault for dangerous aircraft encounter

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — China's account blaming Australia for a dangerous clash between their military aircraft in international airspace over the Yellow Sea failed to undermine Australian objections, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday. The Chinese and Australians...

Xi begins Serbia visit on the 25th anniversary of NATO's bombing of the Chinese Embassy

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visit to European ally Serbia on Tuesday falls on a symbolic date: the 25th anniversary of the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war over Kosovo. U.S. jets dropped five bombs on the Chinese Embassy...

More and faster: Electricity from clean sources reaches 30% of global total

Billions of people are using different kinds of energy each day and 2023 was a record-breaking year for renewable energy sources — ones that don't emit planet-warming pollutants like carbon dioxide and methane — according to a report published Wednesday by Ember, a think tank based in London. ...

Editorial Roundup: United States

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad: May 6 The Washington Post on Medicare and Social Security reforms President Biden and former president Donald Trump don’t agree on much, but both have pledged not to touch Social Security...

How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that's probably because it has, at least if you're measuring via internet time. What's now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form? Starting in 2017, when the Chinese social...

Former head of one of China's top state-owned phone companies sentenced to 16 years for corruption

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court sentenced the former head of one of the country's three major state-owned phone carriers to 16 years in prison Tuesday on charges of accepting bribes and abusing his authority, part of leader Xi Jinping’s politically-tinged anti-corruption campaign. ...

A knife attack at a Chinese hospital kills 2 people and injures 21. The motive is unclear

BEIJING (AP) — A knife attack at a hospital in southwestern China on Tuesday killed two people and injured 21 others, authorities said. No motive was given for the attack at Zhenxiong County People’s Hospital in Yunnan province. The suspect is a male from a village in the same...

Police are searching the European parliament office of a far-right German lawmaker whose aide allegedly spied for China

Macron puts trade and Ukraine as top priorities as China's Xi opens European visit in France

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday that focused on trade disputes — including lifting immediate tariff threats on Cognac exports — and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts. Xi was in France for a two-day state visit...