WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters): U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday accused China of taking "incredibly aggressive action" in a recent clash with India over a disputed section of the nuclear-armed neighbors' border, saying the incident could not be assessed in isolation.   On the night of June 15, Chinese forces and Indian troops fought for hours with rods and clubs, resulting in a dramatic escalation that left 20 Indian soldiers killed, with so

BEIJING, July 8 (Reuters): A landslide buried nine people on Wednesday in China's Hubei province, the People's Daily newspaper reported, after some of the heaviest rain in decades brought floods that have killed more than 100 people.   The landslide occured in Huangmei County in the early hours and efforts were being made to rescue the people, the newspaper said.   From June 1 to July 7, accumulated rainfall in the regions of Hubei, Anhui, Zhejiang an

BEIJING, July 8 (Reuters): China said on Wednesday the United States holds the key to breaking the stalemate on the Korean Peninsula, amid renewed tensions as Pyongyang refuses to return to denuclearisation talks with Washington.   Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian made the remarks during a press briefing in Beijing.   U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun earlier on Wednesday rejected reports that he was seeking to meet North Korean offi

WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters): Almost half of nearly 5,000 active FBI counter-intelligence cases now underway are related to China, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday.   "We've now reached a point where the FBI is opening a new China-related counter-intelligence case about every 10 hours," Wray said in an address to the Hudson Institute thinktank. "Of the nearly 5,000 active FBI counter-intelligence cases currently underway across the countr

BEIJING, July 7 (Reuters): Hong Kong's new National Security Law will shake up digital surveillance in the city, with strict new company compliance measures that echo the mainland's years-long crackdown on anti-government content.   Foreign tech companies have balked at the laws, with Facebook, Twitter and Google among those saying they would suspend requests for data pending clarification of what is required.   Experts on Chinese internet laws say th

WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters): U.S. President Donald Trump is considering several executive orders targeting China, manufacturing and immigration, his chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters at the White House on Monday, though he offered few details.   "It's dealing with a number of executive orders that may go all the way from dealing with some of the immigration issues that we have before us, to some of the manufacturing and jobs issues that are before us,

New Delhi, July 6 (IANS): Facing social media onslaught over it being a Chinese company, US-based video meet platform Zoom on Monday that they are clear about its identity and plan to significantly invest and hire local talent in the country over the next five years.   Velchamy Sankarlingam who is President of Engineering and Products at Zoom said India is and will continue to be an important market for Zoom.   "We do recognize that as we continue to introduc

TAIPEI, July 06 (Reuters): Taiwan would welcome a visit by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, its foreign ministry said on Monday, a trip that would infuriate Beijing which views him as a dangerous separatist.   The Dalai Lama has not visited the Chinese-claimed, democratic island under the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen, who first took office in 2016. He last came in 2009.   In a birthday message via video link to supporters in Taiwan on Su

Beijing, July 6 (IANS): Authorities in China have stepped up precautions after suspected bubonic plague cases were reported in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the media reported on Monday.   According to China's state-run Global Times newspaper, the first case was reported as suspected bubonic plague on Saturday at a hospital in Urad Middle Banner, in Bayannur city.   It is not yet clear how or why the patient might have become infected, reports the BBC.

Leh, July 6 (IANS): Around 30,000 troops of Indian Army are in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LoC) in Ladakh, following the additional deployment of three brigades since the violent face-off last month.   Highly placed sources told IANS that in normal times six brigades, that is two divisions are maintained along the LAC in Ladakh, even as troops are deployed in and out on a rotation basis. However, after the June 15

SYDNEY/SINGAPORE, July 3 (Reuters): Many Hong Kong residents are scouring for new jobs and homes overseas, fearful that a new national security law imposed by Beijing will crush coveted rights not enjoyed on the mainland and herald a new authoritarian era for China's freeest city.   Beijing bypassed the city's legislature to approve the law directly this week, heightening anxiety over its impact on the former British colony of 7.4 million people that is a global

HONG KONG, July 3 (Reuters): A Hong Kong man who carried a sign saying "Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times" as he drove a motorcycle into police during a protest this week has become the first person charged with inciting separatism and terrorism under a new security law.   Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong late on Tuesday after weeks of uncertainty, pushing China's freest city and one of the world's most glittering f

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters): Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are discussing a plan to create an unofficial parliament-in-exile to keep the flame of democracy alive and send a message to China that freedom cannot be crushed, campaigner Simon Cheng told Reuters.   Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, was convulsed by months of often violent pro-democracy, anti-China protests last year against Chinese interference in its promised freedom

TAIPEI, July 2 (Reuters): Taiwan citizens should avoid unnecessary visits to or transit through Hong Kong, Macau or mainland China after the passing of an "outrageous" national security law for the former British colony, a Taiwan government official said on Thursday.   The law, imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing, targets crimes like secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison. It has been widely condemned in C

SAN FRANCISCO, JULY 1 (IANS): Apple has reportedly stopped updating thousands of mobile games on the China App Store under the pressure from the Chinese government to comply with the law of the land, the media reported on Wednesday.   According to a report in The Financial Times, Apple has blocked updates on tens of thousands of revenue-generating iPhone games on its App Store in China.   "Apple has frozen updates for tens of thousands of mobile games on its

BEIJING, July 1 (Reuters): China has asked four U.S. media organisations to submit details about their operations in the country, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday in what it described as retaliation for U.S. measures against Chinese media outlets.   The Associated Press, UPI, CBS, and National Public Radio are required to provide information about their staff, financial operations and real estate in China within seven days, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian t

HONG KONG, July 1 (Reuters): Hong Kong police fired water cannon and tear gas and arrested more than 300 people on Wednesday as protesters took to the streets in defiance of sweeping security legislation introduced by China that critics say is aimed at snuffing out dissent.   Beijing unveiled the details of the much-anticipated law late on Tuesday after weeks of uncertainty, pushing China's freest city and one of the world's most glittering financial hubs on to

BRUSSELS/TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters): China's passage of a national security law for Hong Kong drew international condemnation on Tuesday, with the United States, European Union, Britain and Japan criticising measures that set the stage for radical changes to the former British colony.   The law approved earlier by China's mostly rubber-stamp parliament follows months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which was guaranteed freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland

WUHAN, China/BEIJING, June 30 (Reuters): Six months after the World Health Organization learned of "viral pneumonia" cases that would become the COVID-19 pandemic, life in Wuhan, the city where it emerged, is returning to normal, although masks remain ubiquitous and emotional scars linger.   A city of 11 million, Wuhan was locked down for two months starting in late January in a draconian measure that helped stamp out the virus at its initial epicentre. Hubei

SHANGHAI, June 30 (Reuters): A new flu virus found in Chinese pigs has become more infectious to humans and needs to be watched closely in case it becomes a potential "pandemic virus", a study said, although experts said there is no imminent threat.   A team of Chinese researchers looked at influenza viruses found in pigs from 2011 to 2018 and found a "G4" strain of H1N1 that has "all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus",