Death toll from Vietnam's Halong bay tourist boat accident climbs to 38
HALONG BAY, Vietnam (Reuters) -- The death toll from a tourist boat accident in Vietnam's Halong Bay climbed to at least 38 with several people still missing, the government said, as rescuers continued to search for survivors while bracing for the approach of Typhoon Wipha.
The vessel capsized on Saturday afternoon carrying 48 tourists and five crew members in one of the worst boating accidents in recent years in the popular tourist area.
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Japan Today
29-07-2025
- Japan Today
Taiwan's President Lai postpones Americas visit after typhoon
FILE PHOTO: Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech on anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe in Taipei, Taiwan May 8, 2025. By Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City and Daniela Desantis in Asuncion Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te will delay an expected trip to remaining allies in the Americas that would have taken place next month, embassy officials told Reuters on Tuesday, due to damages from a typhoon and as the island faces more torrential rains. Lai was expected to travel to the Americas next month, as his government seeks to shore up support in a region where many countries have cut diplomatic ties in favor of relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. However, embassy officials in Guatemala and Paraguay said the visit had been postponed until further notice. "It had to be postponed because of the typhoon that caused many natural disasters. There is no new date to reschedule the visit," an embassy official in Guatemala City told Reuters. A spokesperson at Taiwan's embassy in Paraguay's capital Asuncion, where Lai had also been expected to visit, told Reuters the Taiwanese leader did not currently plan to travel abroad. Earlier on Tuesday, Paraguayan ruling party congressman Hugo Meza said that the country was "wasting time" maintaining diplomatic relations with the Taiwanese. Paraguay is the only country in South America that still recognizes Taiwan. Lai had also been expected to make stops in Belize and the United States. Sources told Reuters earlier this week Lai would delay the diplomatically sensitive trip his team had floated to the Trump administration for August. The United States has traditionally facilitated transits by Taiwanese leaders, but Lai's trip was bound to infuriate Beijing at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to negotiate a deal on trade with China. Beijing regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington. One of the sources who spoke to Reuters earlier this week said Lai is set to delay the trip until at least later this year for a handful of reasons, including the need to organize his government's response to extreme weather in Taiwan. A person with direct knowledge of the matter said the trip was not being canceled, and eventual U.S. stopovers were likely to include Texas and another city in the U.S. mainland. Lai had considered stopping in New York and Dallas on the way to and from Latin America. Asked about a delay, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular news briefing no travel plans had been announced so the issue was "hypothetical." "At this point, there have been no ... travel plans for the president (Lai). There has been, as a result, nothing canceled," she said, while reiterating that U.S. transits by high-level Taiwanese officials "were fully consistent with our longstanding policy and practice." "This has not changed," she said. Taiwan is still recovering from Typhoon Danas, which struck its densely populated west coast this month with record winds and brought widespread damage to its electricity grid and some houses. More recent flooding has submerged streets and buildings in several towns across southern Taiwan this week, and its weather administration has warned that more intense rain could trigger more landslides. © (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
Nikkei Asia
29-07-2025
- Nikkei Asia
Taiwan's Lai faces new Trump test after report of nixed New York stop
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te attends a coast guard drill in Kaohsiung on June 8. © Reuters THOMPSON CHAU KAOHSIUNG -- A reported U.S. decision to nix a planned stopover in New York by Taiwan's president has renewed questions about the Donald Trump administration's stance toward Taipei. Lai Ching-te was expected to transit through the U.S. in August en route to Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize. But Washington said he could not visit New York on the way, the Financial Times reported, after China objected.
Kyodo News
28-07-2025
- Kyodo News
Direct flights between Moscow, Pyongyang start amid deepening ties
MOSCOW - Direct passenger flights connecting Moscow and Pyongyang commenced Sunday in the latest sign of deepening bilateral ties in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that started in 2022. The direct flights, scheduled once a month, are operated by Russian Nordwind Airlines. The first flight took off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport for Pyongyang on Sunday and the return flight is scheduled for Tuesday. The regular flights between the countries' capitals are the first since the mid-1990s, Reuters said, citing Russian aviation blogs. According to Russian media, the airline is operating a Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with a capacity of 440 passengers on the route. It began selling tickets from Moscow to Pyongyang on July 18, with prices starting at 44,700 rubles ($565). Many of the passengers who checked in were reportedly North Koreans. North Korean state carrier Air Koryo operates direct flights between Vladivostok in the Russian Far East and Pyongyang three times a week. Russia and North Korea have been stepping up cooperation amid the war in Ukraine, with the two countries' leaders signing a comprehensive partnership treaty in June last year and North Korea sending troops in support of Russia's military operations.
