The Vatican and China are preparing to renew a historic deal on the appointment of bishops that has slightly thawed icy relations, but has angered the United States. Pope Francis has given the go-ahead for the renewal of the agreement, which is still in "experimental" mode, for another two years, AFP news agency reported on Tuesday. The extension is expected to be signed next month, according to a source close […]
China has carried out "provocative military movements" in the Himalayan border area disputed between the two countries overnight from Saturday to Sunday, according to an Indian army statement, in a fresh flare-up between the two nuclear-armed countries. Indian troops pre-empted Chinese army's activity on the Pangong Tso Lake in Ladakh, part of which was transgressed by the Chinese soldiers in May, the statement said on Monday, adding that Indian troops […]
Rescue efforts ended at a two-story restaurant in a northern China village that collapsed during an 80th birthday celebration for a resident, leaving 29 dead, authorities said Sunday. The Ministry of Emergency Management said another 28 people were injured, seven of them seriously, when the building suddenly crumbled on Saturday. A total of 57 people were brought out alive, the ministry said. There was no immediate word on what caused […]
China has fired two missiles, including one dubbed an "aircraft-carrier killer", into the South China Sea, according to a news report, in a pointed warning to the United States as tensions in the disputed sea lane rise to new levels. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Thursday that Beijing fired one intermediate-range ballistic missile, DF-26B, from Qinghai province and another medium-range ballistic missile, DF-21D, from Zhejiang province on […]
The administration of US President Donald Trump has formally notified the United Nations that it wants all UN sanctions on Iran restored, claiming significant Iranian violations of the 2015 nuclear deal, in a move that drew swift rejections from countries that remain part of the agreement. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered the notification to the president of the UN Security Council on Thursday, and later told reporters the US […]
North Korea is pressing on with its nuclear weapons programme, and several countries believe it has "probably developed miniaturised nuclear devices to fit into the warheads of its ballistic missiles," according to a confidential UN report. The report by an independent panel of experts monitoring UN sanctions said the countries, which it did not identify, believed North Korea's past six nuclear tests had likely helped it develop miniaturised nuclear devices. […]
New Zealand has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in protest against a "deeply concerning" national security law that China imposed on the semiautonomous city. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said on Tuesday that "New Zealand can no longer trust that Hong Kong's criminal justice system is sufficiently independent from China." "If China in future shows adherence to the 'one country, two systems' framework then we could reconsider this […]
A group of men has forced open a door at the Chinese consulate in the city of Houston and entered the diplomatic mission shortly after staff there vacated the building on the orders of the United States government. The closure of China's Houston consulate on Friday marks a sharp deterioration in relations between the world's two biggest economies, with China retaliating by ordering the shutdown of the US mission in […]
US President Donald Trump has indicated that it was "always possible" he would order the closure of more Chinese consulates in the United States, after the US gave Beijing 72 hours to shut its consulate in Houston further souring ties between the two countries. Trump, at a White House news conference on Wednesday, noted that a fire had been spotted on the Houston consulate's grounds after the US Department of […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
