It’s no secret that foreign domestic workers across Asia are subject to poor living conditions and low pay, enjoy few rights and freedoms, and are often abused by their employers. Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, a young woman from Indonesia, was tortured by her employer in Hong Kong, beaten with household items, starved, and withheld rest. Kartika Puspitasari, … Read more
MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian court on Tuesday recorded the first conviction under the nation’s foreign interference laws with a jury finding a Vietnamese refugee guilty of covertly working for the Chinese Communist Party. A Victoria state County Court jury convicted Melbourne businessman and local community leader Di Sanh Duong on a charge of preparing … Read more
By Gram Slattery, Simon Lewis, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump in a second term would likely install loyalists in key positions in the Pentagon, State Department and CIA whose primary allegiance would be to him, allowing him more freedom than in his first presidency to enact isolationist policies and whims, … Read more
Comment on this storyCommentAdd to your saved storiesSave When President Biden cautioned Israel this week that it was losing international support due to the war in Gaza, he could just as well have been warning that his own administration also has a lot to lose. Elected three years ago as the self-described most experienced foreign … Read more
LONDON — The son of jailed Hong Kong media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai met with Britain’s foreign secretary on Tuesday to lobby for the U.K.’s help in securing his release from prison. Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, an outspoken pro-democracy newspaper, faces a long-delayed trial next week over charges he … Read more
Oregon Senator Rob Wyden alleged foreign governments may be spying on Americans through their push notifications in a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) Wednesday. Sen. Wyden asked Apple and Google to share this information with the U.S. government as well, which would evade the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) that protects … Read more
The lobby of Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry contains just 13 flags—one for each of the self-ruling island’s diplomatic allies. Since 1990, the building’s janitors have hauled away 15 more belonging to nations that have been persuaded to jettison Taipei and instead recognize Beijing, as the world’s No. 2 economy flexes its geopolitical muscle to isolate what … Read more
Greece’s health ministry is seeking police help against hoaxers who tried to scare foreign tourists out of several Athens short-term rental apartments by inventing a bedbug crisis ByThe Associated Press December 5, 2023, 12:00 PM FILE – A bedbug is displayed at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, March 30, 2011. Greece’s health ministry is seeking … Read more
CANBERRA, Australia — French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Monday she was open to any resettlement request from tiny South Pacific nations threatened by rising sea levels, similar to Australia’s agreement with Tuvalu. Colonna said France had watched with “great interest” last month when Australia offered Tuvalu a lifeline to help residents escape the … Read more
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban government’s new ambassador to China arrived in Beijing on Friday — the first time Afghanistan’s rulers have officially sent an ambassador to another country since returning to power more than two years ago. No country recognizes the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan, but some, including China, have embassies … Read more