Philippines accuses China coast guard of aggressive manoeuvres against its fisheries vessels
MANILA, June 20 (Reuters) - The Philippines accused Chinese Coast Guard ships on Friday of carrying out aggressive manoeuvres and targeting its fisheries vessels with water canons while they were delivering supplies to Filipino fishermen at the disputed Scarborough Shoal on Friday.
One of the four Philippine fisheries vessels involved in the mission was briefly struck by a water cannon, while another evaded being hit, the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement.
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Fact Check: Fire in Chinese parking lot falsely described as Iranian strikes on Israel
A video of a parking lot fire in the Chinese city of Chongqing on June 11 has been falsely described on social media as showing one of the recent Iranian strikes on Tel Aviv. Israel launched its biggest ever military attack against Iran on June 13 after saying it had concluded that Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran, which denies planning to acquire nuclear weapons, responded by firing at least 400 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones towards Israel, Israeli officials said. "An Iranian attack like Tel Aviv has never seen before," reads a June 17 X post, opens new tab on the 16-second clip. However, the video shows a large fire burning at a temporary parking lot for motorcycles in Chongqing's Jiulongpo District two days before the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran began on June 13. The scene in the video corresponds, opens new tab with Baidu Maps imagery, opens new tab of the area from 2019 and visually matches, opens new tab eyewitness footage verified by Reuters on June 12 to show the incident. Jiulongpo District's fire department said on Weibo, opens new tab that the fire had broken out at a motorbike parking facility on June 11. Local fire services said no casualties were reported. Iranian missiles have repeatedly struck Tel Aviv and its outskirts, killing residents and levelling homes, opens new tab. "What happened to us is a catastrophe," Tzvika Brot, mayor of Bat Yam in the Tel Aviv municipal area, told a Knesset committee, the Times of Israel reported, opens new tab. "Twenty buildings out of all the buildings that were damaged are designated for immediate demolition." Miscaptioned. The video was filmed in Chongqing, China, and shows a fire at a temporary parking lot for motorcycles on June 11. It is unrelated to Iranian military strikes on Israel, which began on June 13 in retaliation for Israeli strikes on the same day. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
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6 hours ago
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9 hours ago
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A Chinese asylum seeker has been allowed to stay in Britain because he 'cannot be expected to lie' about his support for Taiwanese independence. The unnamed man had claimed his attendance at pro-Taiwan rallies meant he would be persecuted by the Beijing government if he had to go back. An asylum judge ruled in his favour, concluding that the risk to pro-Taiwanese activists was 'far greater' than in 2022, when the refugee came to the UK. Judge Christopher Hanson said that the man would face questioning by officials if he was returned to China. 'If he is asked about what he has done in the UK, or in relation to any political activities, he cannot be expected to lie,' he said. Taiwan, which lies just off the coast of the mainland, was occupied by the nationalist government following the communist victory in 1949. Beijing regards it as a breakaway state that will eventually come under Chinese control, and tensions between the two have escalated in recent years. The case, disclosed in court papers, is the latest example uncovered by The Telegraph in which illegal migrants or convicted foreign criminals have been able to remain in the UK or halt their deportations after claiming returning them to their home countries would breach their human rights. Ministers are proposing to raise the threshold to make it harder for judges to grant the right to remain based on article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to a family life, and article three, which protects against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Chinese citizen, known as BK, claimed asylum in the UK in January 2022, but his case was dismissed by a lower tier immigration tribunal because he was deemed not high-profile enough to warrant protection. The 39-year-old then appealed to an upper tier tribunal in March this year. The hearing in Birmingham was told that BK had stated that he had been arrested twice because of his pro-Taiwanese beliefs. Since moving to the UK he had attended pro-Taiwanese events, the last of which was in 2022. He also posted his views on Facebook, yet the tribunal heard that there was 'very little evidence of serious engagement'. However, the tribunal was told the risk of persecution to pro-Taiwanese activists had greatly increased since that year. This was mainly down to international tensions and other separatist movements in Xinjiang and Tibet, prompting crackdowns by China. Last year, China launched military drills around Taiwan and even simulated a full-scale attack on the island nation. 'Credible risk of harm' Despite being a low-level activist, the tribunal believed that BK, who is also a Christian, could be prosecuted if he returned to China. Judge Hanson concluded: 'The risk of arrest for worshippers in unlicensed churches is also greater now than it was when BK was last in the country, and greater than it was in certain decisions and documents cited in his First-tier Tribunal hearing. 'I do conclude with a great degree of confidence that the risk to pro-Taiwanese activists in general is far greater than it was when he was last in China. 'Even if the authorities in China have no knowledge of BK's activities in the UK it is likely that on return he will be interviewed by the Chinese authorities. If he is asked about what he has done in the UK or in relation to any political activities he cannot be expected to lie. 'If he continues to express his pro-Taiwanese separatist beliefs, there is a real risk that the authorities in China will become aware. 'If they do, it is likely that further action will be taken against BK, which will increase in severity, especially if it transpires that he is ignoring earlier warnings and penalties, such that the authorities are likely to view him as having a high level of activity and posing a potential threat as a 'hard-line' separatist. 'I conclude that whilst BK may be able to be returned to China as he does not have the type of profile indicated in the report that will give rise to a real risk at this stage, there is a credible risk of harm sufficient to amount to persecution if he continues with his pro-Taiwanese activities in China, and is entitled to a grant of international protection.'
