Beijing (AFP) – China warns that US military support for Taiwan increases the “risk of conflict” across the strait, after the US Congress allocated $8 billion in military support for the island. The support, which was given final approval on Tuesday night, is part of a wider $95 billion package of assistance to allies including Ukraine and Israel alongside Taiwan.
Qingyuan (China) (AFP) – Victims of severe floods in southern China’s Guangdong province race to salvage personal belongings from the muddy waters, as authorities warn of more heavy rains to come.
New York (AFP) – Students continue to hold pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York, with some camping out to show solidarity with the people of Gaza. “Everyone was here showing out for each other and for the Palestinian people,” says D.P., one student at the camp who only gave her initials. Other students express concerns about campus safety and point to anti-Semitic incidents. “A person was yelling at me, screaming at me, calling me a Zionist and a murderer,” says Melissa Saidak, a student at Columbia University’s School of Social Work.
Tampa (AFP) – US President Joe Biden slams former president Donald Trump for his role in restrictiNG abortion rights in the country, telling a Florida crowd that voters will hold his Republican predecessor and opponent personally “accountable” in the upcoming presidential elections in November.
Buenos Aires (AFP) – Thousands of students march through downtown Buenos Aires in protest against budgets cuts to higher public education, research and science, declared by right-wing president Javier Milei’s new government IMAGES
London (AFP) – Londoners share their thoughts after the UK parliament passed the government’s Rwanda asylum plan, following months of political back-and-forth. Many are critical of the scheme, calling it “appalling”, “horrific” and “a shame”, echoing warnings from rights groups and the UN, who have voiced concern over the legislation.
Cambridge (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Unrecorded in the history books and sworn to silence by the Official Secrets Act, dozens of UK women whose code-breaking work helped crack Nazi messages and shorten World War Two are now the focus of an exhibition at Cambridge University. At least 77 women from Newnham College were drafted in to Bletchley Park, the code-breaking centre north of London where the German Enigma encryption was cracked.
Geneva (AFP) – The UN says the British government’s controversial Rwanda plan, under which undocumented asylum seekers would be sent to the East African country to have their claims heard, “seriously hinders the rule of law in the UK.” The new legislation is a flagship policy of the ruling Conservative party and aims to deter migrants from making dangerous cross-Channel journeys.
Warsaw (AFP) – Britain will gradually boost its defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2030, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces during a visit to Poland. “Over the next six years, we’ll invest an additional 75 billion pounds in our defence,” Sunak says alongside Jens Stoltenberg, NATO chief. SOUNDBITE
Hualien (Taiwan) (AFP) – Workers in the eastern Taiwan city of Hualien clear debris and try to stabilise buildings left leaning by a series of powerful tremors that struck overnight on April 22. The government says they were aftershocks from the deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit the island more than two weeks ago, killing at least 17 people. So far, authorities have reported no casualties as a result of the latest quakes.
