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Hong Kong's incoming leader John Lee to travel to Beijing

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HONG KONG -- Incoming Hong Kong leader John Lee will travel to Beijing on Saturday to accept a letter that officially approves his appointment as the city’s next chief executive. A government statement confirmed that Lee will go to Beijing with his private secretary and press secretary, as well as his wife. He will return to Hong Kong on Tuesday. Local media including the South China Morning Post r eported that Lee is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during the trip, and will also present the lineup for his cabinet for approval. The meeting will be Lee’s first with China’s top officials since he won the uncontested leadership election on May 8 with 99.2% of all votes from an election committee that is largely made up of pro-Beijing members. Last week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang formally approved the appointment of Lee, signing the approval document during a State Council meeting. Each chief executive-elect typically receives their letter of appointment in person, and mee...
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China's FM visits Kiribati, where fishing ground is at stake

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- China's foreign minister on Friday arrived on the remote Pacific nation of Kiribati, where the future of a vast fishing ground is at stake. The planned four-hour visit by Wang Yi was his second stop on an eight-nation tour that comes amid growing concerns about Beijing’s military and financial ambitions in the South Pacific region. Kiribati closed its borders this year as it tries to stamp out an outbreak of COVID-19. But its government made a rare exception to allow Wang and his 20-strong delegation into the country for face-to-face discussions. At stake in Kiribati is the future of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, a stretch of ocean the size of California that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. In November, Kiribati President Taneti Maamau announced the government planned to end the commercial fishing ban that had been in place since 2015 and begin to sustainably fish the area. Recent Stories from ABC NewsTop Articles READ MORE UN experts:...
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US wins latest legal battle to seize Russian yacht in Fiji

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- The United States on Friday won the latest round of a legal battle to seize a $325-million Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji, with the case now appearing headed for the Pacific nation's top court. The case has highlighted the thorny legal ground the U.S. finds itself on as it tries to seize assets of Russian oligarchs around the world. Those intentions are welcomed by many governments and citizens who oppose the war in Ukraine, but some actions are raising questions about how far U.S. jurisdiction extends. Fiji's Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed an appeal by Feizal Haniff, who represents the company that legally owns the superyacht Amadea. Haniff had argued the U.S. had no jurisdiction under Fiji’s mutual assistance laws to seize the vessel, at least until a court sorted out who really owned the Amadea. Haniff said he now plans to take the case to Fiji’s Supreme Court and will apply for a court order to stop U.S. agents sailing the Amadea from Fiji...
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Russia slams sanctions, seeks to blame West for food crisis

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KYIV, Ukraine -- Moscow pressed the West on Thursday to lift sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis that has been worsened by Kyiv’s inability to ship millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products while under attack. Britain immediately accused Russia of “trying to hold the world to ransom,” insisting there would be no sanctions relief, and a top U.S. diplomat blasted the "sheer barbarity, sadistic cruelty and lawlessness” of the invasion. Russian President Vladimir Putin told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that Moscow “is ready to make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis through the export of grain and fertilizer on the condition that politically motivated restrictions imposed by the West are lifted," according to a Kremlin readout of the call. Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but the war and a Russian blockade of its ports ...
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