US: No reason for China to react to Taiwan leader stopover

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is putting out the word that planned stopovers in the United States by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in the coming weeks fall in line with recent precedent and should not be used as a pretext by China to step up aggressive activity in the Taiwan Strait....

Japan's PM offers Ukraine support as China's Xi backs Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise visit Tuesday to Kyiv, engaging in dueling diplomacy with Asian rival President Xi Jinping of China, who met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin to promote Beijing's peace proposal for Ukraine that Western nations have...

'Winnie the Pooh' film pulled from Hong Kong cinemas

HONG KONG (AP) — Public screenings of a slasher film that features Winnie the Pooh were scrapped abruptly in Hong Kong on Tuesday, sparking discussions over increasing censorship in the city. Film distributor VII Pillars Entertainment announced on Facebook that the release of...

Google suspends Chinese shopping app amid security concerns

HONG KONG (AP) — Google has suspended the Chinese shopping app Pinduoduo on its app store after malware was discovered in versions of the app from other sources. Google said in a statement Tuesday that it suspended the Pinduoduo app on the Google Play app store out of “security...

Ignoring experts, China's sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives

BEIJING (AP) — When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn’t ready for a massive onslaught of cases, with hospitals turning away ambulances and crematoriums burning bodies around the clock. Chinese state media claimed the decision to...

Ignoring experts, China's sudden zero-COVID exit cost lives

BEIJING (AP) — When China suddenly scrapped onerous zero-COVID measures in December, the country wasn’t ready for a massive onslaught of cases. Hospitals turned away ambulances, crematoriums burned bodies around the clock, and relatives hauled dead loved ones to warehouses for lack of storage...

Russia's reliance on China rises amid Ukraine sanctions

BEIJING (AP) — Like a salesman buttering up his best customer, President Vladimir Putin gushed about China's economic success as he welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin. “We even feel a bit envious,” Putin said Monday as Xi grinned. That was more...

Japan, China push opposing visions in top-level visits

BANGKOK (AP) — Asia’s stake in Europe’s war was made crystal clear Tuesday when the leaders of the region's two richest countries sat in the capitals of Russia and Ukraine in strong shows of support for the opposing sides. With the world's eyes on Chinese President Xi Jinping's...

NHK says Japanese leader Fumio Kishida is in Kyiv, showing support for Ukraine as China's Xi Jinping visits Russia

Japan's Kishida heading to Ukraine for talks with Zelenskyy

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was heading to Kyiv early Tuesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that coincide with the Chinese leader's visit to Moscow. Kishida will “show respect to the courage and patience of the Ukrainian people who...