Author: Reporter

China announced on December 3 that it is banning exports to the United States of gallium, germanium, antimony, and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications, as a general principle, lashing back at U.S. limits on semiconductor-related exports. The Chinese Commerce Ministry announced the move after the Washington expanded its list of Chinese companies subject to export controls on computer chip-making equipment, software and high-bandwidth memory chips. Such chips are needed for advanced applications. The ratcheting up of trade restrictions comes as President-elect Donald Trump has been threatening to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China and other...

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te arrived in Hawaii for a two-day transit in the U.S. as part of a trip to the South Pacific, his first since assuming office. The stopover in Hawaii and one planned for the territory of Guam have drawn fierce criticism from Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and objects to official exchanges between the self-ruled democracy and the U.S., the island’s biggest backer and military provider. There were no high-ranking U.S. or Hawaii state officials to greet Lai at the Honolulu hotel on December 1 where supporters cheered in Mandarin, some waving Taiwanese...

In the groundswell of fury and defiance that erupted among South Koreans after their president declared martial law, curtailing the country’s hard-won freedoms, it was perhaps the iconic moment. As parliamentarians scrambled to get inside the National Assembly building to reverse the emergency measure, a woman in a leather coat confronted one of the soldiers who was trying to stop the lawmakers, grabbed his automatic rifle and tried to tug it away while yelling “Aren’t you ashamed?” As the soldier backed away, he raised the rifle’s barrel toward the woman. She pressed on, grabbing it as it was pointed...

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared poised to survive an impeachment attempt after lawmakers from the ruling party staged a boycott of the special parliamentary session on December 7. Many legislators departed the chamber ahead of the scheduled vote that was triggered by Yoon’s brief declaration of martial law on December 3. With fewer than the required 200 members present. The motion to impeach Yoon requires two-thirds support to pass. The opposition parties that jointly brought the impeachment motion control 192 of the legislature’s 300 seats. At least eight additional votes from Yoon’s People Power Party would be...

The last time Syrian President Bashar Assad was in serious trouble was 10 years ago, at the height of the country’s civil war, when his forces lost control over parts of the largest city, Aleppo, and his opponents were closing in on the capital, Damascus. Back then, he was rescued by his chief international backer, Russia, and longtime regional ally Iran, which along with Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militia helped Assad’s forces retake Aleppo, tipping the war firmly in his favor. Now, as insurgents pursue a shock offensive that quickly captured not just Aleppo, but the key city of Hama...

As forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad make swift and significant advances in Syria, Türkiye is watching closely for any spillover. Türkiye, which shares a 566 mile-long frontier with Syria, has been a main backer of opposition groups aiming to topple Assad since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011. The conflict led to a refugee influx and Türkiye now hosts 3 million Syrians. Turkish officials have strongly rejected claims of any involvement in the offensive that is being led by the jihadi group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as well as an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian...