sydney — Hundreds of supporters of Israel and Gaza faced off at a Sydney university Friday, bringing echoes of U.S. college protests and Middle East tumult to a campus and continent on the other side of the world.

Rival demonstrators came eye to eye shouting slogans and waving flags. Still, except for a few heated exchanges, the protest and counterprotest passed off peacefully.

But it was another sign that the war in Gaza, approaching its seventh month, and the long-rumbling U.S. culture wars are roiling politics oceans away.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been camped for 10 days on a green lawn in front of the University of Sydney’s sprawling Gothic sandstone edifice — a bastion of Australian academia.

The dozens of tents festooned with banners and Palestinian flags have become a focal point for hundreds of protesters — students and otherwise — who oppose Israel’s ground invasion and bombardment of Gaza.

Deaglan Godwin, a 24-year-old arts and science student and one of the camp’s organizers, said U.S. protests were both an inspiration and a warning.

New York’s Columbia University, the scene of police crackdowns and mass arrests, inspired “us to set up our own camp,” Godwin said.

He said Columbia is “also now a warning, a warning that the government is willing to use quite lethal, brutal force in order to put down Palestinian protesters.”

Similar to their U.S. counterparts, the protesters want to see Sydney University cut ties with Israeli institutions and reject funding from arms companies.

Sydney University administrators are keen not to replicate the U.S. experience.

Vice Chancellor Mark Scott has written to students and staff expressing a “commitment to freedom of expression” and has not called on the police to dismantle the camp.

Australian police were conspicuously absent even during Friday’s protests, which brought about 100 pro-Israel counter protesters face to face with 400 demonstrators at the pro-Palestinian camp.

Public order and riot squad vehicles were parked well out of view, on the periphery of the campus.

Security was left to university guards who exchanged jokes with each other about their ill-fitting high visibility coats while forming a very porous separating barrier between the opposing camps.

A few inquisitive Chinese students stopped to take a look on the edges of the demonstration, while the media surveyed the scene and a right-wing vlogger hunted for any hint of confrontation or violence.

‘Stop hate, mate’

But like the United States, allegations of extremism have been levelled at Sydney’s pro-Palestinian protesters.

Jewish groups have voiced concern that slogans about the “Zionist entity” and “from the river to the sea” are evidence of rising antisemitism.

Against that backdrop, more than a hundred Jewish and pro-Israeli protesters decided to march near the pro-Palestinian encampment Friday, hoping to send a message that Jewish students are safe on campus and that they, too, have the right to be heard.

Wearing T-shirts reading “Stop hate, mate” they sang “Hatikvah” — Israel’s national anthem – a capella and danced to the cheesy Australian pop classic “A Land Down Under.”

Protester David Treves said he hoped the march would show people there is more than one perspective about what is happening in the Middle East.

“I’m not looking to change people’s opinion. I’m looking just to get them to think,” he said, voicing concern that the camp could incite the type of clashes seen in the United States.

“As long as it’s legal, as long as within the law I have nothing against it. There is free speech in Australia” he said. “I wouldn’t go and aggressively just remove the whole thing. But I don’t want it to get out of hand.”

A small group of counter protesters donned tefillin — the black leather boxes and straps usually worn during Jewish prayer that have come to signify more orthodox and conservative views.

Another group of students wearing keffiyeh scarves linked arms in a circle and danced the dabkeh — a Levantine dance popular at weddings.

When the groups came together a few from each camp confronted each other and traded slogans, but the tension was quickly defused.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan — China is preparing to launch a lunar probe Friday that would land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into geological and other differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side.

The unprecedented mission would be the latest advance in the increasingly sophisticated and ambitious space exploration program that is now competing with the U.S., still the leader in space. China already landed a rover on the moon’s far side in 2019, the first country to do so.

Free from exposure to Earth and other interference, the moon’s somewhat mysterious far side is ideal for radio astronomy and other scientific work. Because the far side never faces Earth, a relay satellite is needed to maintain communications.

The Chang’e lunar exploration probe is named after the Chinese mythical moon goddess.

The probe is being carried on a Long March-5 YB rocket set for liftoff Friday evening from the Wenchang launch center on the southern tropical island province of Hainan, the China National Space Administration announced. The launch window is 5-6 p.m. with the target of 5:27 p.m.

Huge numbers of people crowded Hainan’s beaches to view the launch, which comes in the middle of China’s five-day May Day holiday.

After orbiting the moon to reduce speed, the lander will separate from the spacecraft and begin scooping up samples almost as soon as it sets down. It will then reconnect with the returner for the trip back to Earth. The entire mission is set to last 53 days.

China in 2020 returned samples from the moon’s near side, the first time anyone has done so since the U.S. Apollo program that ended in the 1970s. Analysis of the samples found they contained water in tiny beads embedded in lunar dirt.

Also in the past week, three Chinese astronauts returned home from a six-month mission on the country’s orbiting space station after the arrival of its replacement crew.

China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely because of U.S. concerns over the Chinese military’s total control of the space program amid a sharpening competition in technology between the two geopolitical rivals. U.S. law bars almost all cooperation between the U.S. and Chinese space programs without explicit congressional approval.

China’s ambitious space program aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around the same year and launch three lunar probe missions over the next four years. The next is scheduled for 2027.

Longer-term plans call for a permanent crewed base on the lunar surface, although those appear to remain in the conceptual phase.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the U.S. to put a person into space using its own resources.

The three-module Tiangong, much smaller than the ISS, was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later. It can accommodate up to six astronauts at a time and is mainly dedicated to scientific research. The crew will also install space debris protection equipment, carry out payload experiments, and beam science classes to students on Earth.

China has also said that it eventually plans to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists. With the ISS nearing the end of its useful life, China could eventually be the only country or corporation to maintain a crewed station in orbit.

The U.S. space program is believed to still hold a significant edge over China’s due to its spending, supply chains and capabilities.

The U.S. aims to put a crew back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin. They plan to land on the moon’s south pole where permanently shadowed craters are believed to be packed with frozen water.
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pentagon — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in Hawaii on Thursday to meet with leaders from Australia, Japan and the Philippines amid increasing concerns about Chinese military aggression in the Pacific.

Defense officials said the talks would continue the allies’ “historic progress” on cooperation in their defense industries and military activities, including air and missile defense.

Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, called the quadrilateral group an “anti-aggression coalition” whose efforts protect “many countries around the world who depend on the ability for commercial vessels to sail freely and unimpeded through the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.”

“The single biggest reason for what we’re witnessing in Hawaii this week is the increasingly aggressive behavior of the People’s Republic of China,” Bowman told VOA.

 “I think Japan, Australia and the Philippines understand that investments in deterrence are far less costly than dealing with a war that could have been prevented, and they understand that deterrence will be much stronger and more effective if they work with the United States and they work with each other,” he said.

Austin was to meet with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles on Thursday following Australia’s commitment last month to increase defense spending by 20% over the next decade.

Austin also planned to meet with Japanese Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara. During an April state visit in Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced deepening military cooperation, including creation of a trilateral air defense architecture with Australia and trilateral exercises with the United Kingdom.

Trilateral session

The U.S., Japan and Australia were to convene a trilateral meeting following the bilateral talks, where a senior defense official said they were expected to sign a new trilateral agreement on strategic research and development.

Austin then planned to host a quadrilateral meeting with Filipino Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro and their Japanese and Australian counterparts.  It will be the second such meeting of the four countries’ defense ministers.

A senior defense official, speaking to reporters ahead of the meeting, said talks would  focus on deterring actors from activities that could “undermine peace and stability in the region, whether it’s in East Asia, the East China Sea, South China Sea or the Pacific Islands.”

Tensions have risen between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, with China’s coast guard using water cannons last month to threaten Filipino fishing ships. China has also used collision and ramming tactics, undersea barriers and a military-grade laser to stop Philippine resupply and patrol missions.

Bowman said he expected Beijing to complain about the talks as an attempt to form a coalition like NATO in the Pacific.

“I think as a general rule, the People’s Republic of China wants to deal with everything in the region in a bilateral way that allows Beijing to take advantage of power asymmetries. … The bully on the playground … doesn’t want to deal with four or five kids at the same time,” he said.

Last month, Austin spoke with Chinese Admiral Dong Jun in the first dialogue between the two countries’ defense chiefs in nearly 17 months.

The Pentagon said Austin and his Chinese counterpart discussed “defense relations” and global security issues ranging from Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine to recent provocations from North Korea. A Pentagon press release said Austin stressed the importance of “respect for high seas freedom of navigation as guaranteed under international law, especially in the South China Sea.” 

Beijing has asserted its desire to control access to the South China Sea and bring Taiwan under its control, by force if necessary.

Biden has said U.S. troops will defend the democratically run island from attack.
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Sydney — Pro-Palestinian students at four Australian campuses say they will permanently occupy university land until their demands for divestment are met. The protests have been called by activists in solidarity with their counterparts in the United States.

Australian students say they see themselves “part of this global wave” of pro-Palestinian activism. The protests have, so far, been peaceful, although some Jewish students say they feel intimidated by the rallies.

The Australian Union of Jewish Students in New South Wales state told local media that antisemitism was forcing many of its members to avoid going to classes and many were “scared” to go to campus. In response, protest organizers said that antisemitism had no place in their campaign. A university spokesperson said the protest camp was being carefully monitored and that threatening chants or slogans would not be tolerated.

At the University of Sydney, there have been verbal disputes between pro-Palestinian students and others who oppose their actions.

Student activists at four Australian campuses want their universities to divest from all activities that support Israel, as well as a cease-fire and the end of Australian government ties to Israel.

All four universities told local media they supported the rights of students and staff to protest peacefully in accordance with Australian law.

Antony Loewenstein is a Jewish Australian and author of the best-selling book The Palestine Laboratory.

He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the students support their counterparts in the United States.

“There were a lot of Jewish students and others,” he said. “There were Muslims, there were Christians. What they are protesting, yes, is partly what is happening in Gaza, of course, in solidarity with students across the U.S. but also the connections between Sydney University and frankly many Australian universities with defense companies.”

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have continued at universities across the U.S. and there have been counterprotests by activists supporting Israel.

Police officers have massed in Los Angeles on the campus of the University of California. telling pro-Palestinian protesters to leave or face arrest.

Last month, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the country could consider a highly conditional recognition of a Palestinian state. The Canberra government would expect a cease-fire in the war in Gaza, the return of Israeli hostages held by the militant group Hamas, and the exclusion of Hamas from any future Palestinian government as preconditions for recognition.
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Seoul, South Korea — South Korea’s government raised its terror alert level for five diplomatic missions Thursday, warning North Korea could attack South Korean diplomats overseas. 

The country’s terror watch level was raised to “alert” status, the second-highest level in a four-tier system, indicating a “high possibility of a terrorist attack,” according to a statement from South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The statement said the decision was made during a Thursday meeting of South Korea’s Counter Terrorism Center. 

South Korean officials recently received intelligence that North Korea was planning to harm South Korean diplomats, it added, without disclosing the exact nature of the alleged threat.  

The targeted diplomatic missions include South Korean embassies in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, as well as consulates in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok and the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang.  

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to VOA’s request for more details. 

The two Koreas have remained technically in a state of war since their 1950s conflict ended in a truce instead of a peace treaty. However, it has been decades since major sustained hostilities have arisen. OK?

North Korea has a long history of terror attacks and political assassinations against South Korea. In 1983, North Korea bombed a hotel in Rangoon, Burma, now Yangon, Myanmar, during a visit by South Korea’s then-president Chun Doo-hwan. Although Chun survived, 21 others were killed. In 1988, North Korean agents blew up a South Korean civilian airliner, killing 115 people.  

After the airliner attack, the United States formally placed North Korea on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Pyongyang was removed from the list in 2008 amid negotiations over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.  

In 2017, the United States reinstated North Korea on the terror sponsor list after American college student Otto Warmbier died shortly after being released from North Korean custody.  

That year, North Korea also assassinated Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, during a brazen attack at a Malaysian airport.  

North Korea has denied involvement in any terrorist activities. It has not commented on the South’s latest accusations.  
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TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Jeremiah Manele, a former foreign minister and career diplomat, was elected the Solomon Islands’ new prime minister Thursday, winning 31 out of 49 votes from the newly elected National Parliament.

Some analysts say the result means the Solomon Islands under the new government will likely maintain its pro-China foreign policy agenda while adopting a less confrontational approach to handle its relationship with Western democracies, including Australia, the United States and New Zealand.

“Manele is largely going to provide continuity on foreign policy and I think Beijing will welcome that as it indicates that their robust relationship with the Solomon Islands will continue,” Parker Novak, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told VOA by phone.

Thursday’s result comes after last month’s parliamentary election delivered no clear winner. The incumbent government previously led by former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare won 15 seats, losing more than half of the seats it held going into the poll.

After failing to secure the 26 seats required to form a new government, the two main opposition parties struck a coalition deal Saturday. Ultimately, they nominated former opposition leader Matthew Wale to run in Thursday’s prime ministerial election, in which he eventually won 18 votes.

Sogavare said Monday he would not run for prime minister, claiming he had been experiencing pressure from the United States and other Western allies after switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019. He also criticized the media for vilifying him and his family.

Some experts say Sogavare’s decision to withdraw was a result of the ruling coalition’s heavy loss in the parliamentary election.

“To secure the best chance of the coalition maintaining government, a change of leadership was required,” Meg Keen, director of the Pacific Islands Program at Lowy Institute in Australia, said.

Thursday’s election was closely followed internationally as competition increases among major powers, including China and the United States, for influence in the Pacific region in recent years. It is also the first election since Sogavare signed a controversial security deal with China in 2022 that raised alarm among Western countries and opposition forces in the Solomon Islands.

An experienced politician

Some experts say Manele, who served as foreign minister in Sogavare’s administration, is an experienced politician who played an important role during the Solomon Islands’ efforts to deepen diplomatic relations with China in recent years.

“Manele played a role in negotiating the change of recognition to China and the security deal with China, he is on the record saying close relations with China will bring development dividends,” Keen in Australia told VOA in a written response.

She said Manele will likely uphold Sogavare’s signature foreign policy agenda, the “Look North” policy, but adopt a more measured approach to engage with Western countries, given his background as a diplomat for the Pacific Island nation.

“He will be more measured than Sogavare and a less fiery leader,” she added.

Despite his tendency to be less confrontational toward Western countries, some analysts warn that Manele could pose a greater threat to regional security than his predecessor.

While Manele “won’t push the West’s buttons like Sogavare does,” Cleo Paskal, a nonresident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense for Democracies, told VOA in a written response, “if Manele continues with his pro-PRC bent, he is much more dangerous to security in the region because he will feed fodder to those who want to say everything is fine while he continues the same destructive policies as Sogavare.” 

Sogavare, during his five-year tenure as prime minister, embraced a pro-China foreign policy agenda that saw the Pacific Island nation sign a series of security-related agreements with Beijing. Meanwhile, he had repeatedly praised China’s political system and criticized democracy as a cause of “moral decay.”

While Sogavare fails to become the first politician to win two consecutive terms as prime minister in the country’s short democratic history, some experts say he will remain a formidable political force there.

“Manele and Sogavare worked very closely in the previous government, so it would be a bit surprising to think that Manele wouldn’t look to Sogavare for guidance and input,” Tess Newton Cain, an expert on Pacific affairs at the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia, told VOA by phone.

Regional and geopolitical implications

Novak said China will try to maintain a close relationship with the new Solomon Islands government, but it remains to be seen how much impact Chinese aid and development can have on improving the situation, including economy and health care.

“There’s a broader question of how impactful Chinese development aid has been on improving the lives of Solomon Islanders and I think there is a lot of skepticism about that,” he told VOA.

On the other hand, Novak said he thinks it is important for Western countries, especially the United States, to maintain and keep expanding their engagement with the Solomon Islands.

“They need to be proactive in the relationship and this is especially true for the United States,” he said, adding that foreign aid for development should be prioritized.

While Manele will try to stabilize the relationship with the West amid efforts to maintain close ties with China, Keen told VOA that geopolitical competition between major powers will “remain intense” in the Solomon Islands. 

VOA’s Jessica Stone contributed reporting from Washington.
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WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday issued hundreds of fresh sanctions targeting Russia over the war in Ukraine in action that took aim at Moscow’s circumvention of Western measures, including through China. 

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nearly 200 targets, while the State Department designated more than 80. 

The U.S. imposed sanctions on 20 companies based in China and Hong Kong, following repeated warnings from Washington about China’s support for Russia’s military, including during recent trips by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country. 

China’s support for Russia is one of the many issues threatening to sour the recent improvement in relations between the world’s biggest economies. 

“Treasury has consistently warned that companies will face significant consequences for providing material support for Russia’s war, and the U.S. is imposing them today on almost 300 targets,” Yellen said in a statement. 

The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions on thousands of targets since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. The war has seen tens of thousands killed and cities destroyed. 

Washington has since sought to crack down on evasion of the Western measures, including by issuing sanctions on firms in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. 

Technology and equipment

The Treasury’s action on Wednesday sanctioned nearly 60 targets located in Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Slovakia it accused of enabling Russia to “acquire desperately needed technology and equipment from abroad.” 

The move included measures against a China-based company the Treasury said exported items to produce drones — such as propellers, engines and sensors — to a company in Russia. Other China and Hong Kong-based technology suppliers were also targeted. 

The State Department also imposed sanctions on four China-based companies it accused of supporting Russia’s defense industrial base, including by shipping critical items to entities under U.S. sanctions in Russia, as well as companies in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia that it accused of shipping high priority items to Russia. 

The Treasury also targeted Russia’s acquisition of explosive precursors needed by Russia to keep producing gunpowder, rocket propellants and other explosives, including through sanctions on two China-based suppliers sending the substances to Russia. 

The U.S. on Wednesday also accused Russia of violating a global ban on chemical weapons by repeatedly deploying the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops and using riot control agents “as a method of warfare” in Ukraine. 

The State Department also expanded its targeting of Russia’s future ability to ship liquefied natural gas, or LNG, one of the country’s top exports.  

It designated two vessel operators involved in transporting technology, including gravity-based structure equipment, or concrete legs that support offshore platforms, for Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project. 

Previous U.S. sanctions on Arctic LNG 2 last month forced Novatek, Russia’s largest LNG producer, to suspend production at the project, which suffered a shortage of tankers to ship the fuel.  

Also targeted were subsidiaries of Russia’s state nuclear power company, Rosatom, as well as 12 entities within the Sibanthracite group of companies, one of Russia’s largest producers of metallurgical coal, the State Department said. 

Washington also imposed sanctions on Russian air carrier Pobeda, a subsidiary of Russian airline Aeroflot.  

The U.S. Commerce Department has previously added more than 200 Boeing and Airbus airplanes operated by Russian airlines to an export control list as part of the Biden administration’s sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Sanctions over Navanly

The State Department also targeted three people in connection with the death of late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, the best-known domestic critic of President Vladimir Putin. He died in February in a Russian Arctic prison.  

Russian authorities say he died of natural causes. His followers believe he was killed by the authorities, which the Kremlin denies. 

Wednesday’s action targeted the director of the correctional colony in Russia where Navalny was held for most of his imprisonment, as well as the head of the solitary confinement detachment and the head of the medical unit at the colony where he was imprisoned before his death. 

The officials oversaw the cells where Navalny was kept in solitary confinement, the walking yard where he allegedly collapsed and died and Navalny’s health, including in the immediate aftermath of his collapse, the State Department said. 
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TBILISI — Georgian lawmakers tussled in parliament on Wednesday as lawmakers resumed debating the second reading of a bill on “foreign agents” that has sparked weeks of protest, and a violent police crackdown on Tuesday.

Georgian television showed commotion in the chamber. One pro-government deputy was seen throwing a book at opposition legislators, while others shouted and physically confronted opponents. The foreign agent bill has prompted an upsurge of violence in Georgia’s often-rowdy parliament.

Georgian security forces used water cannon, tear gas and stun grenades against protesters outside parliament late on Tuesday, sharply escalating the crackdown after lawmakers debated the “foreign agents” bill viewed by the opposition and Western nations as authoritarian and Russian-inspired.

During the protests in Tbilisi Tuesday, police detained 63 people and six police officers were injured, Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said.

Levan Khabeishvili, leader of the United National Movement party, Georgia’s largest opposition bloc, spoke in parliament on Wednesday with his face heavily bandaged. His party said he was badly beaten by police at the protest, leaving him with concussion, broken facial bones, and missing four teeth.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote in a post on X on Wednesday: “I strongly condemn the violence against protesters in Georgia who were peacefully demonstrating against the law on foreign influence.”

The EU, which gave Georgia candidate status in December, has said the bill could derail Tbilisi’s hopes of European integration if passed.

Supporters of the bill, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party and former prime minister, say the foreign agent law would bolster national sovereignty amid what he said were Western attempts to lead Georgia into a confrontation with Russia.
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SEOUL, South Korea — Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals and European cities took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and government labor polices and calls for greater labor rights.

May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed in many countries to celebrate workers’ rights. May Day events have also given many an opportunity to air general economic grievances or political demands.

Police in Istanbul detained dozens of people who tried to reach the central Taksim Square in defiance of a government ban on marking Labor Day at the landmark location.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has long declared Taksim off-limits for rallies and demonstrations on security grounds, but some political parties and trade unions have vowed to march to the square, which holds symbolic value for labor unions.

In 1977, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a May Day celebration at Taksim, causing a stampede and killing 34 people.

Wednesday, police erected barricades and sealed off all routes leading to the central Istanbul square. Public transport in the area was also restricted. Only a small group of trade union representatives was permitted to enter the square to lay a wreath at a monument in memory of victims of the 1977 incident.

Riot police apprehended some 30 members of the left-wing People’s Liberation Party who tried to break through the barriers.

In Indonesia, workers voiced anger at a new law they said violates their rights and hurts their welfare, and demanded protections for migrant workers abroad and a minimum wage raise.

About 50,000 workers from Jakarta’s satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi were expected to join May Day marches in the capital, said Said Iqbal, the president of the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions.

They gathered amid a tight police presence near the National Monument park, waving the colorful flags of labor groups and chanting slogans against the Job Creation Law and loosened outsourcing rules during a march to Jakarta’s main sports stadium, Gelora Bung Karno.

“With the enactment of this law, our future is uncertain because many problems arise in wages, severance pay and the contract system,” said Isbandi Anggono, a protester.

Indonesia’s parliament last year ratified a government regulation that replaces a controversial law on job creation, but critics said it still benefits businesses. The law was intended to cut bureaucracy as part of President Joko Widodo’s efforts to attract more investment to the country, which is Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

In Seoul, the South Korean capital, thousands of protesters sang, waved flags and shouted pro-labor slogans at the start of their rally on Wednesday. Organizers said their rally was primarily meant to step up their criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by the conservative government led by President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“In the past two years under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, which organized the rally, said in a speech. “We can’t overlook the Yoon Suk Yeol government. We’ll bring them down from power for ourselves.”

KCTU union members decried Yoon’s December veto of a bill aimed at limiting companies’ rights to seek compensation for damages caused by strikes by labor unions. They also accuse Yoon’s government of handling the 2022 strikes by truckers too aggressively and insulting construction sector workers whom authorities believed were involved in alleged irregular activities.

Since taking office in 2022, Yoon has pushed for labor reforms to support economic growth and job creation. His government has vowed to sternly deal with illegal strikes and demand more transparent accounting records from labor unions.

“The remarkable growth of the Republic of Korea was thanks to the sweat and efforts of our workers. I thank our 28.4 million workers,” Yoon said in a May Day message posted on Facebook. “My government and I will protect the precious value of labor.”

Seoul rally participants later marched through downtown streets. Similar May Day rallies were held in more than 10 locations across South Korea on Wednesday. Police said they had mobilized thousands of officers to maintain order, but there were no immediate reports of violence.

In Japan, more than 10,000 people gathered at Yoyogi park in downtown Tokyo for a May Day event, demanding salary increases that they said could sufficiently set off price increases. During the rally, Masako Obata, the leader of the left-leaning National Confederation of Trade Unions, said that dwindling wages have put many workers in Japan under severe living conditions and widened income disparities.

“On this May Day, we unite with our fellow workers around the world standing up for their rights,” she said, shouting “banzai!” or long life, to all workers.

In the Philippine capital, Manila, hundreds of workers and left-wing activists marched and held a rally in the scorching summer heat to demand wage increases and job security amid soaring food and oil prices.

Riot police stopped the protesting workers from getting close to the presidential palace. Waving red flags and holding up posters that read: “We work to live, not to die” and “Lower prices, increase salaries,” the protesters rallied in the street, where they chanted and delivered speeches about the difficulties faced by Filipino laborers.

Poor drivers joined the protest and called to end a government modernization program they fear would eventually lead to the removal of their dilapidated jeepneys, a main mode of public transport, from Manila’s streets.
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SYDNEY — The leaders of Australia’s state, territory and federal governments met Wednesday to combat gender-based abuse.  

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described violence against women in Australia as an “epidemic,” and campaigners say gender-based violence in Australia must be declared a national emergency.  

The Canberra government has said statistically, a woman has been killed in Australia every four days this year. 

Officials at the Wendesday’s meeting in Canberra said they want to find immediate, effective and practical ways to address family violence and the abuse of women.

Various measures have been agreed, including a five-year $650 million plan to help vulnerable women who have been unable to leave a violent relationship because of a lack of money.

The federal government says it will look at ways to reduce people’s exposure to “violent pornography” and measures to combat male extremist views as well as violent and misogynistic content.  

Authorities are proposing serious penalties for sharing sexually explicit material using technology like artificial intelligence. Legislation will also be introduced in early August to outlaw the release of private information online with an intent to cause harm – an abusive practice also known as doxxing.

Albanese told reporters in Canberra Wednesday that all jurisdictions were working together.

“This is indeed a national crisis, and it is a national challenge, and we are facing this with a spirit of national unity,” he said. “Today is about who we are as a nation and as a society. We recognize that governments need to act but we also recognize that this is an issue for the whole of society.”

Thousands of people attended rallies in major towns and cities across Australia over the weekend. The protests followed a mass stabbing earlier this month in Sydney in which six people, including five women, were murdered at a shopping center.

Demonstrators demanded not only tougher laws to protect women, but also a cultural change in men’s treatment of women and attitudes toward them.

Rosalind Dixon, a law professor at the University of New South Wales, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that remanding suspected abusers in custody pending court hearings and electronic monitoring for those who are released would be positive steps.

“There are global models and precedents; France, Spain, (the) United States – they’ve all experimented in this area,” she said. “There’s a lot to learn. I think we should be looking first and foremost at how we can limit bail and add tracking in addition fairness and civil rights protections around those measures as a lesson from overseas.”

Concern over gender violence in Australia isn’t new.  

In 2021, there were nationwide rallies against sexual misconduct and harassment in the federal Parliament and in Australian society more broadly.
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Taipei, Taiwan — China says it has begun revising its National Defense Education Law, a move analysts say aims to expand military training at universities, high schools and even middle schools. The proposed changes also seek to improve defense education starting with students as young as primary school.

According to state media reports, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress – the country’s rubber stamp legislature – began its first reading of the revisions last week. The changes are also open for public comment until late May, though it is unlikely that a broader debate will be allowed.

While the previous version of the law was a looser guide, the proposed changes say high school students and those at institutions of higher learning should receive basic military training during school. Junior high school students are also allowed to receive military training, according to the revisions.

In addition, the responsibility for military training is put more squarely on central and party authorities, the Ministry of Education and the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission – China’s top national defense body. The revisions also call on local military bases and central authorities to strengthen the direction, oversight and organization of military training for students.

State media have offered some details on the revisions, noting that the changes are for “national defense awareness” for all of society and to help the world’s second-biggest economy adapt to “many new domestic and international changes.” Reports, however, do not elaborate on what that might mean.

Analysts who spoke with VOA’s Mandarin Service see a connection between the proposed changes and the impact China’s economic downturn and global geopolitical tensions are having on the ruling Chinese Communist Party, or CCP.

Timothy Heath, a senior fellow for international defense at the RAND Corp., says the revisions are part of a more systematic approach to national defense education that aims to strengthen Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s authority.

“The attempt to legislate loyalty betrays the reality of declining popular support for the CCP amid a softening economy, worsening real estate market, and persistent corruption and malfeasance,” Heath said in an emailed response. “The law also reflects the CCP’s anxiety over an increasingly unsettled international order in which conflicts appear to be rising.”

Willy Lam, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, said that since Xi took over in 2012, he has focused on patriotism and national defense awareness. Last year, China’s Defense Ministry also confirmed an ongoing push to embed militias, known as the “People’s Armed Forces” in Chinese companies and state-owned enterprises.

“This is all aimed at strengthening the public’s preparation for military struggle,” Lam said.

Although it is not clear when the revisions will be passed, the changes follow a string of other national security moves by Beijing over the past year. Those include last year’s passage of revisions to an anti-espionage law, a broad and ongoing public campaign to counter foreign spies and changes to the country’s Patriotic Education Law, which went into effect in January.

Over the past year, U.S. officials have repeatedly noted China’s aim to have the capability to invade Taiwan by 2027. China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as part of its territory. Beijing says unification is the only option for the island of 23 million, and that that must happen, by force, if necessary.

Analysts also say that while the extra emphasis on national defense awareness could feed into already rising nationalist sentiments and feed hostility or prejudice against the outside world, it could also encourage more young Chinese to join the military.

“The law may aim in part to bolster recruitment for the PLA [People’s Liberation Army], which has consistently failed to attract adequate numbers of educated young people, despite high unemployment rates for urban youth,” Heath said.

China’s National Defense Education Law was first passed in 2001 and last modified in 2018.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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MAE SOT, THAILAND — The battle between Myanmar’s military and rebel groups for control of the southeastern border town of Myawaddy has seen thousands of refugees cross into neighboring Thailand in April.

But while many return to Myanmar when there is a lull in the fighting, others are seeking a more permanent escape from the conflict.

Myanmar is experiencing a critical time during its over three-year-long post-coup conflict with rebel groups gaining significant territory and launching unprecedented attacks on the Myanmar regime. 

Armed ethnic groups have captured bases in northern Shan state and Rakhine state since October.

The most significant success came via the Karen National Union, or KNU, who earlier in April announced it had forced the surrender of hundreds of Myanmar’s military soldiers who had been in control of Myawaddy.

The junta have since regained a foothold by occupying a base in Myawaddy, but are still fighting to retain full control from the KNU and its allies.

Local media report that junta reinforcements were advancing on Myawaddy as of Monday evening.

The border town connects billions of dollars’ worth of trade passing between Myanmar and Thailand each year.

Saw Thoo Kwei is a small business owner in Myawaddy. He said the situation in the town has deteriorated since the recent conflict. 

“During a particularly intense period of conflict, I found myself having to seek refuge near the border in Myanmar for one night,” he told VOA. “As the situation gradually cooled down, I returned home. [But] I can’t stay here long because of the conflict,” he added.  

The 30-year-old owns a grocery store in Myawaddy, but the weeks of fighting between government troops and rebels have affected everyday life in the town.

“Currently, there is no policing in Myawaddy, not even traffic police. Most government offices are closed. There is no fighting in the city, but people are living in fear. Many civilians are worried about heavy artillery like mortar shells,” he said.

His business is also suffering from the uncertainty, which has prompted Saw Thoo Kwei to make plans to leave Myanmar.

“Small businesses don’t have many stocks to sell due to road blockages. The fighting in Myawaddy has really hit our business hard. We’re seeing fewer customers, which means sales are down, and sometimes we have to shut the shop.

“With the power cuts and prices shooting up, it’s getting tough. We have to worry about thieves targeting our shop when things get tense, showing how unsafe Myawaddy can be. My only viable option is to relocate to Thailand,” he said.

Since April, the fighting has continued despite the KNU announcing its forces had retreated from one base in the town. The tussle for control of Myawaddy led to at least 1,300 refugees crossing from Myanmar into Thailand, The Associated Press reported on April 20, citing Thai officials. 

But that number may be higher as volunteers aiding the refugees told Myanmar Now that 3,000 were returned to Myanmar when fighting in the border town had temporarily quietened.

Thailand shares a 2,400-km (1491-mi) -long land border with Myanmar. 

Thailand’s border town Mae Sot, which sits across the Moei river from Myawaddy, has long been accustomed to receiving thousands of people from Myanmar, with many fleeing the war.

In one undisclosed safehouse in Mae Sot, nearly a dozen Myanmar refugees have fled the conflict in recent weeks.

Kyaw Zin Oo, a physics teacher from the Ayeyarwady region, told VOA he needed to leave Myanmar to avoid being conscripted by the junta.

“I arrived here 17 days ago. I had two choices, to go with the [Myanmar military] or here. I chose to come to Thailand because I see more of a future here. I have friends who have joined the revolution. I thought about joining but I thought I can still support them from here by donations and sending food to them.”

Other refugees, who didn’t want to be identified, said they left Myanmar because the junta had targeted them and their family because of their participation in anti-military protests.

Myanmar’s military enacted a conscription law in February that makes 14 million men and women eligible to be drafted into the military and says it will conscript up to 60,000 new recruits a year. The Irrawaddy reports that the military has begun recruiting Rohingya people despite the ethnic minority group suffering appalling atrocities by Myanmar’s military in 2017.

The junta is looking to bolster its ranks so it can resist the momentum gained by rebel groups in recent months.

Chi Lin Ko, a farm worker from Yangon, sits in a bamboo-crafted hut in a highway lay-by in Mae Sot, pondering his next move. The 19-year-old farm worker left Myanmar over a month ago.

But the prospect of fighting for the military spooked him.

“I received a [military conscription] pamphlet at my home. My neighbors joined, but I came here because I didn’t want to join the military. I’ve heard there is a paid salary, but by enlisting in the military there’s no way I can leave after I’ve joined,” he said.

If Chit Lin Ko were to ever pick up arms, it wouldn’t be for the Tatmadaw. “If I didn’t have any family, I would go and fight with the revolutionary groups,” he said.

One of the reasons the teenager left Myanmar was to financially support his family.  Myanmar’s conflict has devastated the country’s economy, which is 10% lower than it was in 2019, according to a December report by the World Bank.

“I have a family and need to look after to them, so I need to make money,” Chit Lin Ko said.

The U.N. says at least 45,000 Myanmar refugees have entered Thailand since the military coup over three years ago.

Although Thailand’s government has recently pledged to welcome “100,000” Myanmar refugees, Thailand is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and has no specific domestic legal framework for the protection of urban refugees and asylum-seekers.

Since the military seized power in Myanmar, nearly 5,000 people have been killed and over 26,000 people arrested, according to rights groups. 
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ISLAMABAD  — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Tuesday that an overnight attack on a Shiite mosque in a western region bordering Iran had killed at least six people, including a child.  

An Interior Ministry spokesman reported that an “unknown armed person” stormed the mosque in the Guzara district in Herat province and sprayed worshippers with bullets before fleeing.  

“Six civilians were martyred and one was injured,” Abdul Mateen Qani said on social media platform X.  

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting, but suspicions fell on a regional Islamic State affiliate known as Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), or Daesh. 

The extremist Sunni group has taken credit for plotting almost all recent attacks on Shi’ite mosques, hospitals, and public gatherings in the country.  

Hassan Kazemi Ghomi, the Iranian ambassador in Kabul, condemned Monday’s attack, calling IS-K a “common external threat” to both countries and the region at large.  

“We consider Afghanistan our partner in the fight against terrorism, and cooperation in this area will be a top priority,” Ghomi, also the special presidential envoy for Afghanistan, wrote on X.  

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, denounced the mosque shooting. 

“Investigations and accountability for perpetrators and protection measures for Afghanistan’s Shi’a communities are urgently needed,” the UNAMA stated on X.  

IS-K has also routinely plotted deadly bomb attacks against leaders and prominent religious scholars linked to the ruling Taliban.  

The violence has increased since the then-insurgent Taliban reclaimed power in 2021 when the United States and NATO withdrew their troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of war with the Taliban. 
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Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu is expected to strengthen ties with China following the landslide win by his party in recent parliamentary elections. The polls, held under the shadow of rivalry between India and China for influence in the archipelago, are being seen as a setback for India’s bid to limit Beijing’s presence in the Indian Ocean region. Anjana Pasricha in New Delhi has a report.
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Taipei, Taiwan — China’s leader Xi Jinping kicks off a six-day trip to Europe this Sunday, his first visit to the continent since 2019. The trip will include stops in France, Serbia and Hungary and comes amid rising tensions over trade with the European Union and concerns over Beijing’s support of Russia. 

Some analysts say that while Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict are likely to come up during the trip, Xi will be looking first to address trade tensions during the trip and to double down on Beijing’s close relationship with Budapest and Belgrade. 

“In light of Europe’s growing appetite to investigate what they view as China’s unfair trade practices, [Xi’s European tour] is a trip to disrupt the EU’s efforts to adopt tougher trade measures against China,” said Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy, an expert on EU-China relations at National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan.

And by making stops in Serbia and Hungary, Ferenczy said Xi hopes to show that China remains influential in Central and Eastern Europe despite the growing number of countries withdrawing from the Beijing-led initiative known as “Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern Europe.” 

“For Beijing, the symbolism of the trip to Serbia and Hungary is important as the stop in Budapest serves as an opportunity to amplify divisions within the EU,” she told VOA by phone. 

Investigations piling up

Since last month, the EU has launched investigations against several Chinese products, including green energy products and security devices, and initiated a probe into China’s public procurement of medical devices. 

The EU also increased scrutiny over several Chinese companies over the last week, toughening safety rules against Chinese fashion retailer Shein and opening formal proceedings against Tiktok under its Digital Services Act.

Beijing has repeatedly characterized Western countries concerns about Chinese excess capacity in some sectors as “baseless hype” and urged the EU to “stop wantonly going after and restraining Chinese companies under various pretexts.” 

Rebalancing trade

Despite Beijing’s objection to concerns expressed by Brussels, France has reiterated the need for European countries to rebalance trade relations with China during recent bilateral meetings between Chinese and French officials. 

“The European Union is a very open market, the most open in the world. But the current deficits with a certain number of countries, including China, are not sustainable for us,” said French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne during his trip to China last month.

During a phone call with French President’s Diplomatic Counselor Emmanuel Bonne on April 27, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing hopes “the French side will push the EU to continue to pursue a positive and pragmatic policy toward China,” Wang said.

While France supports the EU’s efforts to rebalance trade relations with China, some experts say French President Emmanuel Macron will try to maintain a cooperative relationship with China. 

“France wants to demonstrate that it is one of the major countries that can maintain channels of communication at all levels with China,” Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in Brussels, told VOA by phone.

On April 25, Chinese and French armed forces agreed to establish a mechanism for maritime and aerial cooperation and dialogue, which Beijing characterized as “a vital step” to implement the consensus reached by Xi and Macron. 

While trade issues will likely dominate Xi’s meeting with Macron, some analysts say the French president will try to address the issue of China’s ongoing support for Russia. 

“Macron will try to convince Xi to agree [to reduce] China’s support to Russia, but in Europe, hopes that Sino-Russian collaboration will diminish are fading away,” Philippe Le Corre, a Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, told VOA in a written response. 

Friend-shoring in Serbia and Hungary 

In Hungary and Serbia, Ferenczy said Xi will focus on deepening bilateral cooperation in different sectors, especially infrastructure projects, and Beijing’s role as “a strategic investor” in both countries. 

“We need to see his trip to Hungary and Serbia in the context of the Belt and Road initiative since Beijing is trying to revitalize the infrastructure project in Europe,” she told VOA, adding that the Belgrade-Budapest Railway will be an important part of China’s attempt to expand its flagship infrastructure project in Central and Eastern Europe. 

In recent months, the Hungarian government under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has tried to attract large amounts of Chinese investment – especially in the electric vehicle sector – while deepening security cooperation with Beijing.   

During an interview with Chinese state broadcaster CGTN last week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto expressed his opposition to the EU’s anti-subsidy investigation against Chinese EVs and said he “looks forward to the potential impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Hungary’s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry.” 

Havren in Brussels said since Hungary is a member of the EU, the relationship with Budapest is particularly important to China. “Hungary could impact possible sanctions or anything that is of importance to Beijing in the EU,” she told VOA. 

While the trip is unlikely to change the current dynamics between the EU and China, Havren said Xi will try to use China’s relationship with middle powers like France and its “iron-clad friendship” with countries like Hungary to make itself “more visible and relevant” in Europe.  
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Islamabad — Authorities in Pakistan said Monday that militants had “unconditionally” released a senior judge who had been held hostage for two days in a volatile northwestern region.

Judge Shakirullah Marwat was kidnapped, along with his driver, on Saturday from a road near the militancy-hit district of Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.

Mohammad Ali Saif, a provincial information advisor, confirmed to VOA the judge’s safe recovery, but he would not share further details.

Marwat was traveling to Dera Ismail Khan when dozens of armed men ambushed his vehicle.

The driver, who was briefly held captive, conveyed the kidnappers’ demands to Pakistani authorities for the release of their imprisoned relatives and militant partners in exchange for the judge’s freedom.

On Sunday, militants sent a video to journalists in which Marwat had stated that he was taken hostage by the Pakistani Taliban. He had also pleaded with the provincial and federal governments and the country’s chief justice to urgently meet militants’ demands to secure his recovery.

While police claimed the judge was “rescued” in a security operation, highly placed official sources told VOA that local tribal elders had helped secure the release of the hostage through negotiations with his captors. It was unclear immediately whether any prisoner exchange or ransom was involved.

Separately on Monday, a Pakistan military statement said that it carried out a pre-dawn “intelligence-based” operation against a suspected militant hideout in a district adjoining Dera Ismail Khan and killed “four terrorists.”

Pakistan’s border areas have lately experienced a dramatic surge in deadly attacks against security forces by militants linked to the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban.

Last week, eight Pakistani customs officials tasked to counter weapons smuggling were also killed by suspected TTP militants in separate attacks in Dera Ismail Khan.

Pakistan says TTP is orchestrating the violence from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, killing hundreds of civilians and security forces in recent months. The neighboring country’s fundamentalist Taliban authorities reject the charges, saying no foreign militant groups are based on Afghan soil.
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SYDNEY — Solomon Islands incumbent Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said he would not be a candidate when lawmakers vote next week for a new prime minister, and his political party would instead back former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele.

The two major opposition parties in the Solomon Islands struck a coalition deal on Saturday as they vie with Sogavare’s party to form a government after an election delivered no clear winner.

Last week’s election was the first since Sogavare struck a security pact with China in 2022, inviting Chinese police into the Pacific Islands archipelago and drawing the nation closer to Beijing.

The election is being watched by China, the U.S. and neighboring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security.

Sogavare announced he would not be a candidate for prime minister at a televised press conference on Monday evening.

Sogavare said his government had been “under pressure from the United States and western allies” and he had been “accused of many things.”

“Geopolitics is at play, after we made a very important decision in 2019,” he said, referring to his government’s decision to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing.

Manele said that if he was elected as prime minister he would have the “same foreign policy basis – friends to all and enemies to none.”

Election results on Wednesday showed Sogavare’s OUR party won 15 of the 50 seats in parliament, while the opposition CARE coalition has 20. Independents and micro parties won 15 seats, and courting the independents will be the key to reaching the 26 seats needed to form a government. Sogavare said on Monday his party had support for 28 seats.

Lawmakers are expected to vote on May 8.
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Bangkok — A court in Thailand on Monday sentenced one of the kingdom’s leading democracy activists to a further two years imprisonment on royal insult charges.

It is the latest charge levelled against prominent human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, who now faces more than 10 years in prison.

He is currently in jail after he was handed down a four-year sentence in January over three messages posted on Facebook in 2021, adding to the four years he was already serving for a prior lese-majeste conviction.

Critics say the government has used the strict legislation to silence dissent, prosecuting scores under a tough law that protects King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his family.

The Criminal Court in Bangkok sentenced Arnon for two years and 20 days over his calls at a Harry Potter-themed rally in 2021 to amend Thailand’s royal defamation laws.

He was found guilty of four charges including violation of lese-majeste, defying the emergency decree, and using a loudspeaker without permission, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said.

Thailand’s youth-led pro-democracy protests in 2020 saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets to make unprecedented calls to reform the monarchy.

Sentencing him, the criminal court also fined him 150 baht ($4) for use of the loudspeaker.

Arnon is among more than 150 activists who have been charged in recent years under lese majeste laws, often referred to as “112” after the relevant section of the criminal code.
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SYDNEY — Australia, one of Ukraine’s largest non-NATO donors, has announced a military aid package worth around $65 million to support Kyiv’s war effort following Russia’s invasion.

The package includes funding for drones, short-range air defense systems, inflatable boats and generators, as well as equipment like helmets, masks and boots.

The additional funding was announced by Australia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, during a brief visit over the weekend to Ukraine.

Marles told local media that the Canberra government is committed to “supporting Ukraine to resolve the conflict on its terms,” adding that “their spirit remains strong.”

Australia is also part of a multinational program to train Ukrainian troops in the United Kingdom through Operation Kudu.

Canberra has also joined the U.K.-led so-called “drone coalition” to boost Ukraine’s aerial defenses.

Vasyl Myroshnychenko,Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that Australia’s help will make a difference in his country’s fight against Russia. 

“We are extremely grateful for the package that was announced and that Australia has joined the drone coalition, especially now that we see how the nature of war is changing,” Myroshnychenko said. “The role of drones is becoming more important, and we have to have a steady supply of those drones and that was a very important contribution from Australia to help us get that advantage on the battlefield.”

The new package brings Australia’s overall financial support to Ukraine to more than $650 million.

Previous aid included supplying armored vehicles, infantry carriers, lightweight towed howitzers, and munitions.

Australia’s announcement follows a $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine signed last week by U.S. President Joe Biden.

The Canberra government also has imposed restrictions on hundreds of Russian politicians, including President Vladimir Putin, military commanders and businesspeople. They are the most sweeping sanctions Australia has ever put on another country.

Additionally, Canberra has banned imports of Russian oil, petroleum, coal and gas.

More than 11,000 Ukrainians on various types of Australian visas, including visitors’ permits, have come to Australia since Russia invaded in February 2022.
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BEIJING — China will send a robotic spacecraft in coming days on a round trip to the moon’s far side in the first of three technically demanding missions that will pave the way for an inaugural Chinese crewed landing and a base on the lunar south pole.

Since the first Chang’e mission in 2007, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, China has made leaps forward in its lunar exploration, narrowing the technological chasm with the United States and Russia.

In 2020, China brought back samples from the moon’s near side in the first sample retrieval in more than four decades, confirming for the first time it could safely return an uncrewed spacecraft to Earth from the lunar surface.

This week, China is expected to launch Chang’e-6 using the backup spacecraft from the 2020 mission and collect soil and rocks from the side of the moon that permanently faces away from Earth.

With no direct line of sight with the Earth, Chang’e-6 must rely on a recently deployed relay satellite orbiting the moon during its 53-day mission, including a never-before attempted ascent from the moon’s “hidden” side on its return journey home.

The same relay satellite will support the uncrewed Chang’e-7 and 8 missions in 2026 and 2028, respectively, when China starts to explore the south pole for water and build a rudimentary outpost with Russia. China aims to put its astronauts on the moon by 2030.

Beijing’s polar plans have worried NASA, whose administrator, Bill Nelson, has repeatedly warned that China would claim any water resources as its own. Beijing says it remains committed to cooperation with all nations on building a “shared” future.

On Chang’e-6, China will carry payloads from France, Italy, Sweden and Pakistan, and on Chang’e-7, payloads from Russia, Switzerland and Thailand.

NASA is banned by U.S. law from any collaboration, direct or indirect, with China.

Under the separate NASA-led Artemis program, U.S. astronauts will land near the south pole in 2026, the first humans on the moon since 1972.

“International cooperation is key (to lunar exploration),” Clive Neal, professor of planetary geology at the University of Notre Dame, told Reuters. “It’s just that China and the U.S. aren’t cooperating right now. I hope that will happen.”

South pole ambitions

Chang’e 6 will attempt to land on the northeastern side of the vast South Pole-Aitkin Basin, the oldest known impact crater in the solar system.

The southernmost landing ever was carried out in February by IM-1, a joint mission between NASA and the Texas-based private firm Intuitive Machines.

After touchdown at Malapert A, a site near the south pole that was believed to be relatively flat, the spacecraft tilted sharply to one side amid a host of technical problems, reflecting the high-risk nature of lunar landings.

The south pole has been described by scientists as the “golden belt” for lunar exploration.

Polar ice could sustain long-term research bases without relying on expensive resources transported from Earth. India’s Chandrayaan-1 launched in 2008 confirmed the existence of ice inside polar craters.

Chang’e-6’s sample return could also shed more light on the early evolution of the moon and the inner solar system.

The lack of volcanic activity on the moon’s far side means there are more craters not covered by ancient lava flows, preserving materials from the moon’s early formation.

So far, all lunar samples taken by the United States and the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and China in 2020 were from the moon’s near side, where volcanism had been far more active.

Chang’e-6, after a successful landing, will collect about 2 kilograms of samples with a mechanical scoop and a drill.
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