Chinese travelers cancel Lunar New Year trips to Thailand over safety concerns
Chinese travelers are canceling plans to visit Thailand during the Lunar New Year holiday, as concerns over the kidnapping of actor Wang Xing continue to reverberate through the country. Net booking volume for trips to Thailand fell 15.6% from Jan. 13 to Jan. 20 from the previous week, after news of the rescue of Wang from a scamming compound along the Thai-Myanmar border this month, according to the marketing agency China Trading Desk.
A defiant Hamas displays its authority in Gaza, posing a challenge to Netanyahu
The Hamas fighters stood on the Gaza boundary once considered crucial for keeping them at bay. Eight heavily armed men, wearing seemingly spotless military uniforms and Hamas' distinctive green headbands, stood atop concrete blocks at the Netzarim corridor on Monday, welcoming the tens of thousands of Gazans returning to what remained of their homes in the north. With their AK-47s strapped to their vests and their faces covered, the fighters took selfies, shook hands and handed water to passers-by.
China heralds DeepSeek as a symbol of AI advancements amid U.S. restrictions
U.S. companies were spooked when the Chinese startup released models said to match or outperform leading American ones at a fraction of the cost.
Defectors offer insight into mindset of North Korean soldiers fighting in Ukraine
Few people understand what may be going through the minds of North Korean soldiers fighting and dying for Russia in the war against Ukraine. But Lee Chul Eun is one of them. Lee, 38, a North Korean defector and former soldier now living in South Korea, said it is “devastating” to see troops from the reclusive, communist-ruled North being sent abroad by leader Kim Jong Un, “only to then give up their youth for a land that is not even theirs but the foreign land of Russia.”
Hamas says 8 of remaining 26 hostages are dead, according to source
Hamas has told Israel that eight of 26 Israeli hostages set to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire are dead, a Middle Eastern official briefed on the matter told NBC News on Monday. It is believed to be the first time that the militant group has said exactly how many hostages are dead or alive. Later, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said these numbers matched information gleaned by Israeli intelligence.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians head to northern Gaza
On Monday, Israel reopened roadblocks to allow more than 650,000 Palestinians waiting to cross from the south after reaching a hostage breakthrough with Hamas.
Israel and Lebanon agree to extend deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw
Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Sunday opened fire on protesters demanding their withdrawal in line with a ceasefire agreement, killing at least 22 and injuring 124, Lebanese health officials reported. Hours later, the White House said Sunday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend the deadline for Israeli troops to depart southern Lebanon until Feb. 18, after Israel requested more time to withdraw beyond the 60-day deadline stipulated in a ceasefire agreement that halted the Israel-Hezbollah war in late November.
Trump says he wants to 'clean out' Gaza and move Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has asked the king of Jordan to take in more Palestinians, adding that Palestinians should leave the Gaza Strip to “clean out” the enclave. The president’s comments, which key figures from Israel’s far right have taken as a boost, came as thousands of Palestinians waited to return to their homes in northern Gaza after the Israeli government accused Hamas of breaching a ceasefire agreement and refused to open crossing points.
Israeli forces kill 15 people in south Lebanon as residents try to return, Lebanese authorities say
Israeli forces killed 15 people in south Lebanon on Sunday as a deadline for their withdrawal passed and thousands of people tried to return to their homes in defiance of Israeli military orders, Lebanese authorities said. Israel said Friday it would keep troops in the south beyond the Sunday deadline set out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that halted last year’s war with Hezbollah, saying Lebanon had not yet fully enforced terms requiring south Lebanon to be free of Hezbollah arms and the Lebanese army to be deployed.
Feminists facing resistance in China find the funny side of things
For women in China, it may feel as if there is little to laugh about these days. The world’s second-largest economy is struggling to recover from the pandemic, and the government is cracking down on feminist activism as it encourages women to embrace “traditional” female roles as wives and mothers.