HONG KONG — Nicole Kidman's latest project is set in Hong Kong, but people who live there are blocked from seeing it, prompting speculation about censorship in a city where civil liberties are shrinking fast . The first two episodes of “Expats,” a six-episode drama about expat women, were released on Amazon Prime on Jan. 26. But when viewers in Hong Kong try to watch it, they instead get a message saying that “this video is currently unavailable to watch in your loca

World News Jan. 30, 2024

LONDON — Elon Musk's social media platform X has restored searches for Taylor Swift after temporarily blocking users from seeing some results as pornographic deepfake images of the singer circulated online. Searches for the singer's name on the site Tuesday turned up a list of tweets as normal. A day earlier, the same search resulted in an error message and a prompt for users to retry their search, which added, “Don’t fret — it’s not your fault.” U

World News Jan. 30, 2024

Almost two years after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war has ground to a virtual stalemate. Ukraine desperately needs support to keep its economy afloat, but political infighting in the European Union and the United States are depriving it of the financial lifeline it needs. As Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to oppose a 50 billion-euro ($54 billion) support package for Ukraine, other EU leaders are losing patience. Ahead of a crucial meeting for the future of the war-torn country

World News Jan. 29, 2024

Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a missile Friday at a United States warship patrolling the Gulf of Aden, forcing it to shoot down the projectile, and struck a British vessel as their aggressive attacks on maritime traffic continue. The attack on the US warship, the destroyer USS Carney, marked a further escalation in the biggest confrontation at sea the US Navy has seen in the Middle East in decades, as Houthi missile fire set another commercial vessel ablaze Friday night. Early Saturday l

World News Jan. 27, 2024

Former President Donald Trump easily won New Hampshire's primary on Tuesday, seizing command of the race for the Republican nomination and making a November rematch against President Joe Biden feel all the more inevitable. The result was a setback for former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who finished second despite investing significant time and financial resources in a state famous for its independent streak. She's the last major challenger after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ended his presi

World News Jan. 24, 2024

BEIJING — A landslide buried 47 people in a remote village in mountainous southwestern China on Monday, state media said. Hours later, two survivors were rescued amid freezing temperatures and falling snow. The disaster struck just before 6 a.m. in the village of Liangshui in the northeastern part of Yunnan province. By evening, nine bodies were retrieved and about 500 people were evacuated from the area. Rescue crews continued to try and find victims who were buried in about 18 homes, t

World News Jan. 23, 2024

BEIJING -- China’s population fell by 2 million people in 2023 in its second straight annual decrease, as births dropped for the seventh straight year and deaths jumped following the end of COVID-19 restrictions, the government said Wednesday. The number of deaths rose by 690,000 to 11.1 million, more than double the previous year's increase. Demographers said the rise was driven by the aging of the population and the widespread COVID-19 outbreaks that started in December 2022 and con

World News Jan. 17, 2024

A Korean Air plane carrying 289 people hit a parked Cathay Pacific aircraft while taxiing to a runway at northern Japan's New Chitose Airport but caused no fire or injuries Tuesday, Japanese media reported. The incident happened only two weeks after a high profile collision between a Japan Airlines airliner and a coast guard plane on a runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Airline passengers had to make an emergency exit due to a fire and five of the six crew members on the smaller plane w

World News Jan. 16, 2024

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese are casting their votes Saturday for a new president and legislature in an election that could chart the trajectory of the self-ruled democracy’s relations with China over the next four years. At stake is the peace and stability of the island 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast of China that Beijing claims as its own, to be retaken by force if necessary. Domestic issues such as the sluggish economy and expensive housing also featured prominently in t

World News Jan. 13, 2024

Russian tourists reportedly going on a ski trip to North Korea will be the first international travelers to visit the country since its borders closed in 2020 amid the global pandemic lockdown. The report, published Wednesday by the Russian state-run Tass news agency, underscores deepening cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang . It also follows the meeting last September between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East. Ta

Foreign Affairs Jan. 12, 2024

HONG KONG (AP) — China's exports grew slightly for a second consecutive month in December even as deflationary pressures persisted, according to official data released Friday that underscored the uneven nature of the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic. Demand for Chinese exports has been weak since the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia began raising interest rates last year to cool inflation that was at multi-decade highs. Exports rose 2.3 p

Economy Jan. 12, 2024

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan is holding its presidential election on Saturday, a race that China has called a choice between war and peace. China considers the self-ruled island about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off its east coast a breakaway province and has threatened to take control over it, by force if necessary. Taiwan's election is closely watched internationally due to the potential for rising military tensions across the Taiwan Strait. At home, voters are concerned with m

Foreign Affairs Jan. 12, 2024

TOKYO (AP) — Japan successfully launched a rocket carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite Friday on a mission to watch movements at military sites in North Korea and to improve responses to natural disasters. The H2A rocket, launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, carrying the optical satellite as part of Tokyo’s reconnaissance effort to rapidly build up its military capability. The governm

Foreign Affairs Jan. 12, 2024

BERLIN (AP) — Tesla says it's temporarily halting most production at its German factory because of attacks in the Red Sea, a vital global shipping corridor. The electric vehicle maker said in a statement Thursday night that its factory near Berlin, which makes Model Y vehicles and batteries, will pause from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11. It’s a fresh sign of how the hostilities in the Mideast are disrupting global manufacturing supply chains, with shipping companies reporting that th

Technology Jan. 12, 2024

HAGATNA, Guam (AP) -- Authorities in the US territory of Guam on Friday vowed to bring to justice those who fatally shot a South Korean visitor in a tourist district. The shooting occurred shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday when the traveler and his wife were walking toward Tsubaki Towers, a hotel on Guam's popular Tumon Bay, from nearby Gun Beach, KUAM-TV reported , citing police. An older model, dark-colored SUV approached them from behind, Guam Police Chief Stephen Ignacio said at a news c

Foreign Affairs Jan. 6, 2024