Reuters: World

Texas governor seeks pardon of man convicted of murder in Black Lives Matter shooting Texas Governor Greg Abbott said on Saturday he is seeking the pardon of an Uber driver convicted of murder a day earlier in the July 2020 shooting death of a man at a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Austin, the state capital. Abbott, in a post on Twitter, said he will pardon Daniel Perry, 37, a U.S. Army sergeant, as soon as a request from the parole board "hits my desk." The Republican governor noted that he can grant pardons only on the recommendation of the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles, but that he is allowed to request pardons. read more

China simulates striking Taiwan on second day of drills China's military simulated precision strikes against Taiwan in a second day of drills around the island on Sunday, with the island's defence ministry reporting multiple air force sorties and that it was monitoring China's missile forces. China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, began three days of military exercises around the island on Saturday, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a brief visit to the United States. Chinese state television reported that the combat readiness patrols and drills around Taiwan were continuing. read more

U.S. Navy sends guided-missile submarine to Middle East The U.S. Navy said on Saturday a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine was operating in the Middle East in support of the Bahrain-based U.S. Fifth Fleet. The USS Florida entered the region on Thursday and began transiting the Suez Canal on Friday, Commander Timothy Hawkins said in a statement. "It is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and is deployed to U.S. 5th Fleet to help ensure regional maritime security and stability," Hawkins said. source

Chinese planes cross Taiwan Strait median line as angry China starts drills Seventy-one Chinese military aircraft crossed the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday as China began drills around Taiwan in anger at President Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The three-day drills, announced the day after Tsai returned from the United States, had been widely expected after China condemned her Wednesday meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy in Los Angeles. read more

China announces drills around Taiwan after US Speaker meeting China will hold three days of military exercises around Taiwan from Saturday, the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theatre Command announced, the day after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen returned from a trip to the United States. China will hold "combat readiness patrols" and exercises around in the Taiwan Strait and to the north, south and east of Taiwan "as planned", it added in a brief statement without offering other details. Tsai met U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy while in Los Angeles on Wednesday, angering Beijing, which views Taiwan as its own territory. read more

With lavish treatment of Macron, China's Xi woos France to "counter" U.S. China's Xi Jinping has given French President Emmanuel Macron an unusually lavish welcome on a state visit, which some analysts see as a sign of Beijing's growing offensive to woo key allies within the European Union to counter the United States. The two leaders visited southern China together on Friday, where Macron was due to drink Chinese tea with Xi in a former residence of his father in the city of Guangzhou, capital of the economic and manufacturing powerhouse of Guangdong province. Such forays by Xi with visiting leaders are rare. Diplomats say it underlines the importance Beijing attaches to this relationship with a key member of the EU as it looks for support against what Xi has called "all-round containment, encirclement and suppression" by the U.S. read more

Israeli strikes target Hamas in Lebanon and Gaza after rocket attack Israel's military hit sites in Lebanon and Gaza early on Friday, in retaliation for rocket attacks it blamed on the Islamist group Hamas, as tensions following police raids this week on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem threatened to spiral out of control. Loud blasts rocked different areas of Gaza, as Israel said its jets hit targets including tunnels and weapons manufacturing sites of Hamas, which controls the blockaded southern coastal strip, as well as a heavy machine gun used for anti-aircraft fire. As daybreak neared, the military said it had also struck Hamas targets in southern Lebanon, where residents around the area of the Rashidiyeh refugee camp near the southern city of Tyre reported three loud blasts. read more

Tennessee Democrats face House expulsion vote after gun control protest Tennessee's Republican-controlled House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on Thursday on whether to expel three Democratic members for their roles in a gun control demonstration at the statehouse last week. Republican Representatives Andrew Farmer, Gino Bulso, and Bud Hulsey filed three resolutions on Monday to expel their Democratic colleagues. The resolutions on Monday passed in a preliminary vote along party lines, 72-23. Last Thursday's protest saw hundreds of demonstrators flood into the statehouse four days after a Nashville school shooting ended with three 9-year-old children and three school staff members dead. read more

China to inspect ships in Taiwan Strait, Taiwan says won't cooperate China's Fujian maritime safety administration launched a three-day special joint patrol and inspection operation in the central and northern parts of the Taiwan Strait that includes moves to board ships, it said on its WeChat account. The move comes amid heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosting Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California on Wednesday, becoming the most senior U.S. figure to meet a Taiwanese leader on U.S. soil in decades. The maritime safety authority in the southeastern Chinese province said on Wednesday the operation included "on-site inspections" on direct cargo ships and construction vessels on both sides of the Taiwan Strait "to ensure the safety of vessel navigation and ensure the safe and orderly operation of key projects on water". read more

US, Britain walk out at UN on Russian wanted for war crimes The United States, Britain, Albania and Malta walked out on Russia's envoy for children's rights - whom the International Criminal Court wants to arrest on war crimes charges - as she spoke by video to U.N. Security Council members on Wednesday. Britain and the United States blocked the informal meeting on Ukraine, convened by Russia to focus on "evacuating children from conflict zones," from being webcast by the United Nations. The diplomats left the U.N. conference room where the discussion was being held as Russian Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova spoke. read more

Why are Turkey and Hungary against Sweden joining NATO? Sweden's path to NATO membership remains blocked by Turkey and Hungary as neighbour Finland officially joined the 30-member alliance on Tuesday after its application was ratified in record time. Analysts do not expect Turkey to ratify Sweden's application until after Turkey's May 14 election at the earliest. Even then, it is unclear what would trigger a change of heart by President Tayyip Erdogan. Hungary is seen following Ankara's lead. read more

Cross-border fire in Gaza after Israeli police raid Al-Aqsa mosque Israeli police entered Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound before dawn on Wednesday and clashed with worshippers, in what police said was a response to rioting that set off a furious reaction across the West Bank and crossborder strikes in Gaza. The incident, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover, came amid fears that tensions built up during a year of escalating violence could be unleashed at the Al-Aqsa mosque, where clashes in 2021 set off a 10-day war with Gaza. Overnight, at least nine rockets were fired from Gaza, prompting air strikes from Israel, which struck what it said were Hamas training camps, setting off ground-shaking explosions that were heard across the blockaded coastal strip. read more