عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

In New Year’s Speech, Taiwan President Warns China against ‘Military Adventurism'

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at a rank conferral ceremony for military officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force, at the defense ministry in Taipei, Taiwan December 28, 2021. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at a rank conferral ceremony for military officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force, at the defense ministry in Taipei, Taiwan December 28, 2021. (Reuters)
TT
TT

In New Year’s Speech, Taiwan President Warns China against ‘Military Adventurism'

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at a rank conferral ceremony for military officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force, at the defense ministry in Taipei, Taiwan December 28, 2021. (Reuters)
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks at a rank conferral ceremony for military officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force, at the defense ministry in Taipei, Taiwan December 28, 2021. (Reuters)

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen marked the new year with a message for China: military conflict is not the answer.

"We must remind the Beijing authorities to not misjudge the situation and to prevent the internal expansion of 'military adventurism'," Tsai said on Saturday in her New Year's speech broadcast live on Facebook.

China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has increased military and diplomatic pressure in the past two years to assert its sovereignty claims.

In Chinese President Xi Jinping's New Year address the day before, he said the complete unification of "the motherland" was an aspiration shared by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan says it is an independent country and has repeatedly vowed to defend its freedom and democracy.

"The military is definitely not an option for solving cross-strait disagreements. Military conflicts would impact economic stability," Tsai said. "Our two sides jointly shoulder the responsibility of maintaining regional peace and stability."

Taiwan's stance has always been "to not succumb when facing pressure and to not rashly advance when receiving support," Tsai said.

To ease tension in the region, both Taipei and Beijing must "work hard to take care of people's livelihoods and calm the hearts of the people" in order to find peaceful solutions to problems together, Tsai said.

Tsai also said Taiwan would continue to monitor the situation in Hong Kong, adding that interference in the recent legislative election and the arrests this week of senior staff at the pro-democracy media outlet Stand News "made people worry even more about human rights and freedom of speech in Hong Kong."

Steady governance is Taiwan's most important goal in 2022, Tsai said.

"We will hold fast to our sovereignty, uphold the values of freedom and democracy, defend territorial sovereignty and national security, and maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region."

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Israel Says Haifa Residential Building Suffers Direct Hit in Iran Attack

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

Israel Says Haifa Residential Building Suffers Direct Hit in Iran Attack

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)
Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP)

The Israeli military and medics said on Sunday that a missile fired from Iran hit a residential building in the northern city of Haifa, injuring four people.

The building was hit by a "direct impact of a missile", the military told AFP. When asked if it was a missile fired from Iran, it said: "Yes."

The strike occurred minutes after the military warned it had detected a new round of missiles fired from Iran.

In a separate statement, Israel's emergency service, Magen David Adom, said four people were wounded when a seven-storey building sustained a direct hit.

Images and footage published by MDA show smoke rising from the remains of a flattened building in a densely populated area, and stretchers laid on the road by rescuers for casualties.

The injured included an 82-year-old man, MDA said, adding that he was in a "serious condition".

He was "wounded by a heavy object and the blast", the MDA said, adding that the other three suffered shrapnel and blast injuries.

MDA paramedic Shevach Rothenshtrych quoted residents saying that there were casualties trapped under the rubble on the lower floors, and the 82-year-old was rescued after first responders "managed to move large pieces of concrete with our hands".

His colleague Tal Shustak said that when emergency calls were received, "we were dispatched in large forces to the scene and saw extensive destruction, including glass, smoke and concrete scattered across the ground".

World

China Ready to Cooperate With Russia to Ease Middle East Tension, Foreign Minister Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
TT
TT

China Ready to Cooperate With Russia to Ease Middle East Tension, Foreign Minister Says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)

China is willing to continue to cooperate with Russia at the UN Security Council and make efforts to cool down the Middle East situation, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Sunday. 

Wang said the fundamental way to resolve navigation issues in the Strait of Hormuz is to achieve a ‌ceasefire as soon ‌as possible, adding that China has ‌always ⁠advocated political settlement of ⁠hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation. 

The foreign ministers' call came ahead of a UN Security Council vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz. 

As permanent ⁠UNSC members, China and Russia ‌should "adopt an objective and balanced ‌approach and seek to win greater understanding and ‌support from the international community," Wang told Lavrov, ‌according to a statement from his ministry. 

A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said the ministers discussed ways to achieve a rapid ceasefire and "launch a political-diplomatic dialogue." 

"Satisfaction ‌was expressed at the coincidence in Russia's and China's approaches on most ⁠issues ⁠on the global agenda, including the situation around Iran, related to the unprovoked aggression of the US and Israel against that country," it said. 

China has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Gulf region and Middle East, urging an end to the fighting that has run for more than a month and largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping artery for oil and gas. 

World

Migrants Missing after Mediterranean Capsize: NGOs

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
TT
TT

Migrants Missing after Mediterranean Capsize: NGOs

Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS
Hellenic coast guard performs SAR operation, following migrant's boat collision with coast guard off the Aegean island of Chios, near Mersinidi, Greece, February 4, 2026. REUTERS

Dozens of people are missing after a migrant boat capsized in the central Mediterranean, the NGOs Mediterranea Saving Humans and Sea-Watch said Sunday on social media.

Two people died and 32 were rescued from the boat, which had left Libya on Saturday afternoon with around 105 people on board, according to Mediterranea Saving Humans, AFP reported.

"Tragic Easter shipwreck. 32 survivors, two bodies recovered and more than 70 people missing," the NGO wrote on X, adding that the boat capsized in a search-and-rescue zone handled by Libyan authorities.

Sea-Watch said two commercial ships saved the survivors and took them to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

An aerial video it posted showed two men clinging to the hull of the capsized vessel, and the approach of one of the commercial ships.

Mediterranea Saving Humans said the accident was "the consequence of policies by European governments that refuse to open safe and legal pathways" for migrants.

Lampedusa is a key entry point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.

Since the start of 2026, at least 683 migrants have lost their lives or gone missing on attempts to cross the sea, according to the UN's migration agency IOM.

According to the Italian government, 6,175 migrants arrived on Italian territory over the same period.