SINGAPORE (AP) — American Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin vowed Saturday that Washington would not stand for any “coercion and bullying” of its allies and partners by China, while assuring Beijing that the United States remains committed to maintaining the status quo on Taiwan and would prefer dialogue over conflict. Speaking at the so-called Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual forum bringing together top defense officials, diplomats and leaders, Austin lobbied for support for Washington’s vision of a “free, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights” as the best course to counter increasing Chinese assertiveness in the region.
NEW DELHI (AP) — Rescuers waded through piles of debris and wreckage to pull out bodies and free people on Saturday after two passenger trains derailed in India, killing more than 280 people and injuring hundreds as rail cars were flipped over and mangled in one of the country’s deadliest train crashes in decades. The accident, which happened about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Kolkata on Friday night, led to a chaotic scene as rescuers climbed atop the wrecked trains to break open doors and windows using cutting torches to free survivors. About 900 people were injured in the accident in Balasore district in the eastern state of Odisha, said P.K.
NEW DELHI (AP) — The latest deadly train crash in India happened Friday, when two passenger trains derailed — killing more than 200 people, injuring more than 900 and trapping hundreds of others inside more than a dozen damaged rail cars, officials said. More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India daily, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track. Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents happen annually on India’s railways. Most are blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment. Here’s a look at other deadly India train crashes in recent decades: October 2018 — A train ran over a crowd watching fireworks during a religious festival in northern India, killing at least 60 people and injuring dozens more on the outskirts of Amritsar, a city in Punjab state.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and its allies clashed with Russia and China on Friday over North Korea’s failed launch of a military spy satellite this week in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, which Moscow and Beijing refused to condemn. The confrontation was the latest over the North’s escalating nuclear, ballistic missile and military programs, which U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood warned are threatening international peace and security. The failed launch “not only disrupted maritime and air traffic in the region, but it also caused alarm for its neighbors in Japan and the Republic of Korea,” he said.
BEIJING (AP) — China’s Ukraine envoy called on other governments Friday to “stop sending weapons to the battlefield” and appealed for peace talks at a time when Washington and its European allies are ramping up supplies of missiles and tanks to Ukrainian forces trying to recapture Russian-occupied territory. Li Hui said Russian and Ukrainian officials were open to peace negotiations, but he gave no indication they were any closer to happening. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government says it is neutral and wants to serve as a mediator but has supported Moscow politically. Foreign analysts saw little chance of progress from Li’s visits to the countries because neither side is ready to stop fighting, but sending an envoy gave Beijing a opportunity to expand its global diplomatic role.
BERLIN (AP) — The United Nations warned Friday that far too little aid is reaching cyclone-hit areas of Myanmar and the country could face a major food crisis soon if farmers are unable to plant crops. Cyclone Mocha struck the western state of Rakhine and nearby regions last month, killing hundreds of people and damaging thousands of dwellings. “The devastation is truly immense,” said Titon Mitra, a U.N. representative in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city. Strong winds “twisted telecom towers, snapped concrete poles in half and uprooted even 100-year-old trees,” he said. An estimated 700,000 homes have been damaged and rains, combined with storm surges, have wreaked havoc on the agricultural and fisheries sector, according to the U.N.
HONG KONG (AP) — As the 34th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown approaches Sunday, many in Hong Kong are trying to mark the day in private ways in the shadow of a law that prosecuted leading activists in the city’s pro-democracy movement. For decades, Hong Kong was the only place in China where people held large-scale commemorations about the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in which tanks rolled into the heart of Beijing and hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people were killed. People gathered in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park annually to mark the June 4 anniversary with a candlelight vigil.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States signed a trade agreement Thursday with Taiwan over opposition from China, which claims the self-ruled island democracy as part of its territory. The two governments say the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade will strengthen commercial relations by improving customs, investment and other regulation. The measure was signed by employees of the unofficial entities that maintain relations between the United States and Taiwan, a center for high-tech industry. They have no formal diplomatic ties but maintain unofficial relations and have billions of dollars in annual trade. The agreement is intended to “strengthen and deepen the economic and trade relationship,” the Office of the U.S.
BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s defense minister said Friday his country will look into a report that former German air force fighter plane pilots have been training pilots for the Chinese military. News magazine Der Spiegel and public broadcaster ZDF reported Friday that “at least a handful” of former German air force officers are working as trainers in China, and that in several cases they were apparently paid through companies in the Seychelles. They said that such training has been going on for years, that several pilots didn’t respond to requests for comment or were unreachable, and that one rejected the allegations.
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s most decorated living war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith quit his corporate job Friday after a civil court blamed him for unlawfully killing four Afghans, escalating calls for the tarnished national hero to be stripped of his revered Victoria Cross medal. Roberts-Smith, who retired from Australia’s elite Special Air Service Regiment a decade ago, quit his job as state manager of Seven West Media after losing a landmark defamation suit Thursday against newspapers that had accused him of an array of war crimes. The 44-year-old had taken leave since 2021 to focus on his federal court case, which has been financed by the company’s billionaire executive chair Kerry Stokes.
