Day: August 17, 2023

China’s Defense Minister Promises to Boost Cooperation With Russian Ally Belarus

Media Library

TALLINN, Estonia —  Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu on Thursday visited Belarus and said his country would increase military cooperation with Russia’s neighbor and ally, where Moscow is deploying tactical nuclear weapons. Shangfu met with strongman President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk and said “the purpose of my visit to Belarus is precisely the implementation of important agreements at the level of heads of state and the further strengthening of bilateral military cooperation.” Neither side gave details of what the cooperation will entail, but the two countries have agreed to hold…

More Than a Ton of Endangered Pangolin Scales Seized in Thailand

Media Library

BANGKOK —  Thai authorities said Thursday they have seized more than a ton of pangolin scales worth over 50 million baht ($1.4 million) that are believed to have been headed out of the country through a land border. The scales that cover a type of anteater were found Wednesday night in the northeastern province of Kalasin, and apparently were meant to be transported out through Mukdahan province, which shares a border with Laos, Thai police said at a news conference in Bangkok on Thursday. Two male suspects, who were on…

Taiwanese Vice President Returns Home After Sensitive Stopovers in US

Media Library

TAOYUAN, Taiwan —  Taiwanese Vice President William Lai returned Friday from a sensitive visit to the United States, thanking the Taiwanese people for supporting a trip he said showed the island’s “self-confidence” venturing into the international community. “Because of everyone’s hard work, Taiwan’s power is stronger and stronger, and it showed the international community that Taiwan is a force for good, that the international community really pays great attention to Taiwan,” he said. China claims Taiwan as its territory and denounced the transit stops in the U.S., calling Lai a…

Violence Against Aid Workers Shows No Respite, UN Says

Media Library

UNITED NATIONS —  A total of 62 humanitarian aid workers have died this year around the world, the United Nations said Thursday as it prepared to mark 20 years since a devastating attack on the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad. The U.N. observes World Humanitarian Day on Aug. 19 each year as it remembers the suicide bombing, which claimed 22 lives, including that of Sergio Vieira de Mello, then the U.N. high commissioner for human rights and the head of the U.N. mission in Iraq. Besides the 62 deaths this year…

China’s struggling property giant Evergrande files for bankruptcy protection in US

Media Library

China’s Evergrande Group, the world’s most heavily indebted property developer and the poster child for the country’s property crisis, has filed for bankruptcy protection in a US court. The company sought protection under chapter 15 of the US bankruptcy code, which protects its US assets while it attempts a restructuring deal. The code also provides mechanisms for dealing with insolvency cases involving more than one country. Evergrande, once China’s top property developer, was found in 2021 to be struggling with more than $300bn in liabilities, as government officials tightened scrutiny…

UN: North Korea Increasing Repression as People Are Reportedly Starving

Media Library

united nations —  North Korea is increasing its repression of human rights, and people are becoming more desperate and reportedly starving in parts of the country as the economic situation worsens, the U.N. rights chief said Thursday. Volker Türk told the first open meeting of the U.N. Security Council since 2017 on North Korean human rights that in the past its people have endured periods of severe economic difficulty and repression, but “currently they appear to be suffering both.” “According to our information, people are becoming increasingly desperate as informal…

China Evergrande, Giant Developer, Files for Bankruptcy

Media Library

China Evergrande, a behemoth property developer, filed for bankruptcy protection on Thursday more than two years after it defaulted on its debt. The company’s meltdown in 2021 was followed by the defaults of smaller developers and signaled the start of a slow decay of China’s real estate sector that now threatens to inflict damage on the country’s broader economy. Another giant developer, Country Garden, is staring down a default of its own after missing payments to lenders and holding $200 billion in unpaid bills. Evergrande’s bankruptcy petition, filed in the…

Myanmar Shadow Government Official Apologizes to Rohingya

Media Library

WASHINGTON —  In an interview with VOA, the humanitarian minister in Myanmar’s anti-junta shadow government has apologized for failing “to bring justice to the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State,” where Myanmar’s military launched a brutal crackdown in August 2017. Dr. Win Myat Aye served as social welfare minister in the administration of Myanmar’s since-ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the time of the crackdown, which was seen as a massive overreaction to attacks by Rohingya insurgents on government security posts. The soldiers are accused of widespread atrocities…

Oligarch Eugene Shvidler loses bid to overturn UK sanctions

Media Library

8/18/2023, 11:30:18 AM WeWork announces 40-for-1 reverse stock split to retain New York listing Jonathan Wheatley in London © REUTERS WeWork will swap 40 of its existing shares for a single new one to bring its price per share back above $1, making it compliant with the minimum price for continued listing on the New York Stock Exchange, the company said on Friday. Its shares closed at 16 cents on Thursday, having lost 99 per cent of their value from a peak of $13.71 in April 2021. The company, which…

WeWork announces 40-for-1 reverse stock split to retain New York listing

Media Library

8/18/2023, 11:30:18 AM WeWork announces 40-for-1 reverse stock split to retain New York listing Jonathan Wheatley in London WeWork will swap 40 of its existing shares for a single new one to bring its price per share back above $1, making it compliant with the minimum price for continued listing on the New York Stock Exchange, the company said on Friday. Its shares closed at 16 cents on Thursday, having lost 99 per cent of their value from a peak of $13.71 in April 2021. The company, which SoftBank once…