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Chinese, US Militaries Had Constructive Meeting in Hawaii Last Week, Chinese Navy Says

The May 28-29 meeting was attended by representatives from both sides' militaries. (Getty Images/AFP)
The May 28-29 meeting was attended by representatives from both sides' militaries. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Chinese, US Militaries Had Constructive Meeting in Hawaii Last Week, Chinese Navy Says

The May 28-29 meeting was attended by representatives from both sides' militaries. (Getty Images/AFP)
The May 28-29 meeting was attended by representatives from both sides' militaries. (Getty Images/AFP)

China and the US held "candid and constructive" exchanges at a meeting in Hawaii on air and maritime safety last week, agreeing that improved communication could reduce miscalculations and enhance professionalism, the Chinese Navy said.

The May 28-29 meeting was attended by representatives from both sides' militaries, it said in a statement late on Monday.

A separate statement from the US Indo-Pacific Command said that it hosted representatives from the People's Liberation Army in Honolulu for ‌discussions focused on ‌reducing the risk of unsafe and unprofessional ‌encounters.

The ⁠meeting follows a ⁠high-profile summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump last month and could ease concerns about a lack of communication after the absence of top Chinese military officials at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional defense forum, in Singapore over the weekend.

At last month's summit, Xi and Trump ⁠agreed to pursue a "constructive relationship of strategic ‌stability", which analysts say could ‌set practical boundaries for how the two powers interact.

"This shared strategic framing ‌shifts the bilateral dynamic beyond reactive crisis management toward ‌more deliberate, forward-looking stability-building," said Wang Dong, an international studies professor at Peking University.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned of China's historic military build-up and urged Asian countries to boost ‌their defense spending and capabilities.

But he also said relations between the US and China are better ⁠than ⁠they've been in many years and unlike in his address at the forum last year, did not mention Taiwan, suggesting Washington was adopting a measured tone on the contentious issue.

China views democratically run Taiwan as its own territory, and has never renounced the use of force against the island. The US is bound by law to arm Taipei, which Beijing has long been opposed to.

In addition to stressing the importance of communication, the statement by the Chinese Navy also said that China "firmly opposes any action that undermines China's sovereignty and security."

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World

Iran Urges Citizens to Cut Electricity Use after US Strikes

FILE PHOTO: A man walks next to a symbolic mockup of an Iranian missile and an Iranian flag at Imam Hussein Square in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2026. Reuters
FILE PHOTO: A man walks next to a symbolic mockup of an Iranian missile and an Iranian flag at Imam Hussein Square in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2026. Reuters
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Iran Urges Citizens to Cut Electricity Use after US Strikes

FILE PHOTO: A man walks next to a symbolic mockup of an Iranian missile and an Iranian flag at Imam Hussein Square in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2026. Reuters
FILE PHOTO: A man walks next to a symbolic mockup of an Iranian missile and an Iranian flag at Imam Hussein Square in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2026. Reuters

Iran's energy ministry called on citizens to reduce electricity use on Friday after the power grid came under strain following US strikes on energy infrastructure in the south, AFP reported.

The ministry in a statement urged people to switch off air conditioners in peak hours "to help ensure a stable electricity supply in the southern provinces, which are currently facing extreme heat and attacks on electricity supply facilities".

World

UN Agency: Transport of Dead Bodies Within Congo Risks Further Ebola Spread

FILE PHOTO: A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere//File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere//File Photo/File Photo
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UN Agency: Transport of Dead Bodies Within Congo Risks Further Ebola Spread

FILE PHOTO: A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere//File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A health worker in personal protective equipment stands near displaced people waiting for the burial of suspected Ebola victims at the Kigonze displaced persons camp, one month after an outbreak was declared, in Bunia, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Gradel Muyisa Mumbere//File Photo/File Photo

The transport of Ebola victims' bodies between different areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, often for funerals in their home communities, risks further spreading the virus, the UN migration agency said on Friday.

More than 2,000 Ebola cases and 700 deaths have been recorded in Congo and neighboring Uganda as of July 14, and around two-thirds of the deaths occurred outside clinics or ⁠hospitals, said the International ⁠Organization for Migration.

The often fatal viral disease spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids from infected people or animals, and causes symptoms that can include high fever, vomiting and internal and external bleeding. This ⁠particular epidemic is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

Ebola remains highly infectious after death, making funeral practices a critical component of outbreak control.

"If we don't really manage the dead bodies well, if we don't engage the community ... then it means there will be more spread within the community," Reuters quoted Andrew Mbala from IOM as saying.

IOM officials said the ⁠transport ⁠of bodies across districts within Congo was a particular challenge as families seek to bury relatives in their home communities.

"There hasn't been any crossing of dead bodies to another country, but we have seen a lot of crossings of dead bodies within the country," said Mbala.

Such movement risks carrying the virus into new areas if bodies are not handled safely, the IOM warned.

World

China Warns of Reciprocal Countermeasures after US Shortens Foreign Journalist Visas

FILE PHOTO: A truck loaded with bicycles drives out of a collection area for shared bicycles near Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), China, July 6, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A truck loaded with bicycles drives out of a collection area for shared bicycles near Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), China, July 6, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo/File Photo
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China Warns of Reciprocal Countermeasures after US Shortens Foreign Journalist Visas

FILE PHOTO: A truck loaded with bicycles drives out of a collection area for shared bicycles near Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), China, July 6, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A truck loaded with bicycles drives out of a collection area for shared bicycles near Beijing's Central Business District (CBD), China, July 6, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo/File Photo

The Trump administration announced Thursday it will drastically shorten visas for foreign journalists in the US to 240 days, down from years, and cut those for Chinese journalists to only 90 days, raising concerns over press freedom in the United States and prompting China to warn of possible reciprocal countermeasures.

The rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security will do away with the “duration of status” system, which allows foreign journalists to stay and work in the United States as long as they meet eligibility requirements.

That will be replaced with a fixed period of time, though the visas may be extended.

The agency says it's necessary to better vet the visa holders. But advocates for foreign journalists oppose the change, saying the drastically shorter stay would severely restrict their ability to live and work in the States.

The even shorter visa rule for Chinese journalists, which does not include those from the “special administrative regions” of Hong Kong or Macao, is particularly harsh and could add tensions to the already fraught relations between Washington and Beijing, despite both leaders stating they intend to stabilize ties.

The decision comes at a time when President Donald Trump is targeting news organizations with multiple threats and legal actions at home and his administration is tightening immigration policies, though foreign journalists are not considered immigrants.

The rule will take effect 60 days after it’s published in the Federal Register. Congress can reject a rule, but it's extremely rare.

“We are outraged that the Trump administration has cruelly limited the duration of visas for foreign journalists from a period of up to five years to a fixed eight months,” the advocacy group Reporters with Borders said in a statement. “This change destroys international journalists’ ability to report from the US and makes it extremely difficult for international outlets to operate here at all.”

“The relentless cycle of visa renewals restricts press freedom, as journalists will feel compelled to avoid drawing the administration’s ire, lest their applications be rejected,” The Associated Press quoted it as saying.

The Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement calling the new visa policy “the behavior of a backsliding democracy, not the international vanguard of free speech.”

In proposing the change in August 2025, the federal agency said the rising number of foreign journalists in the US “poses a challenge” to its ability “to monitor and oversee these nonimmigrants while they are in the United States.”

It added that students and foreign visitors also will see their previous rule of “duration of status” replaced with fixed periods by the same decision.

By admitting them into the country for a fixed period, the Department of Homeland Security said it could better vet the visa holders to ensure their activities are permissible. The visas can be extended.

The first Trump administration sought to change the visa rules in 2020, but the proposal was withdrawn in 2021 when President Joe Biden took office.

But the White House then tightened visas for Chinese journalists to only 90 days, in response to the treatment of US journalists in China, including the expulsion of three Wall Street Journal reporters, as tensions flared up during the COVID-19 pandemic between the two countries.

The Biden administration later relaxed the rule, allowing stays to increase to up to a year.

When the Trump administration proposed to revive the 90-day rule last year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it opposed “the US’s discriminatory move targeting a specific country.”

China warns of reciprocal measures China's Foreign Ministry called the decision “discriminatory” and said it would affect the work of Chinese media in the US.

“China urges the US to immediately revoke its discriminatory policies targeting Chinese journalists and effectively safeguard their lawful rights and interests in the US,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian at a daily briefing in Beijing.

He added that “China reserves the right to take reciprocal countermeasures.”