Panama’s president visits China following break with Taiwan

BEIJING — Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela is making his first state visit to Beijing after breaking off relations with Taiwan and establishing formal ties with...

Human rights repression in China seen worsening under Xi

BEIJING — Activists are describing a drastic deterioration in China’s treatment of human rights campaigners as the country’s most powerful leader in a generation associates China’s...

UN committee urges Myanmar to give citizenship to Rohingyas

Rival US and Russian resolutions defeated on Syria weapons

Rival U.S. and Russian resolutions to extend the mandate of experts trying to determine who was responsible for chemical attacks in Syria were defeated Thursday at...

Brunei envoy appointed as new ASEAN Secretary General

MANILA — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), at the conclusion of Philippine chairmanship for 2017, announced the appointment of Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi, a...

ASEAN shuns mention of China’s new islands, arbitration loss

MANILA, Philippines—Southeast Asian nations avoided mention Thursday of China’s construction of islands in the South China Sea and a U.N.-linked arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s claims...

Christian Arabs protest Greek patriarch on Israel land deals

LOD, Israel—Dozens of Christian Arabs have protested against the Greek Orthodox patriarch of the Holy Land, demanding the resignation of Theophilos III for allegedly selling church...

China renews call for North Korea, US ‘freeze for freeze’

BEIJING—China on Thursday reiterated its call for an agreement between North Korea and the U.S. under which the North would gain concessions if it freezes its...

Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe seemed invincible but era ends

Egypt tries to avoid a fight as allies escalate against Iran

CAIRO – Egypt faces high expectations from Saudi Arabia and its other Gulf Arab benefactors that it will have their back as tensions rise with their...