Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

TAIPEI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Seventy-one Chinese air force aircraft including fighter jets and drones entered Taiwan's air defence identification zone in the past 24 hours, the island's government said on Monday, the largest reported incursion to date.

Of the aircraft, 43 also crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, an unofficial buffer between the two sides that lies within the defence zone, Taiwan's Defence Ministry said in a report, as Beijing continues military activities close to the Chinese-claimed island.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen (R) and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the widening and upgrading of National Road No. 41 in Kampong Speu province, Cambodia on Dec. 26, 2022. Cambodia broke ground for the widening and upgrading of National Road No. 41 with Chinese funds on Monday to cope with rising flows of the road traffic. (Photo by Ly Lay/Xinhua)

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) — Dozens of hungry and weak Rohingya Muslims were found on a beach in Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh on Sunday after weeks at sea, officials said.

The group of 58 men arrived on Indrapatra beach at Ladong, a fishing village in Aceh Besar district, early Sunday, said local police chief Rolly Yuiza Away. Villagers who saw the group of ethnic Rohingya on a rickety wooden boat helped them to land and then reported their arrival to authorities, he said.

BAZHOU, China (AP) — Yao Ruyan paced frantically outside the fever clinic of a county hospital in China’s industrial Hebei province, 70 kilometers (43 miles) southwest of Beijing. Her mother-in-law had COVID-19 and needed urgent medical care, but all hospitals nearby were full.

“They say there’s no beds here,” she barked into her phone.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s military sent 71 planes and seven ships toward Taiwan in a 24-hour display of force directed at the island, Taiwan’s defense ministry said Monday, after China expressed anger at Taiwan-related provisions i n a U.S. annual defense spending bill passed on Saturday.

China’s military harassment of self-ruled Taiwan, which it claims is its own territory, has intensified in recent years, and the Communist Party’s People’s Liberation Army has sent planes or ships toward the island on a near-daily basis.

TOKYO (AP) — Heavy snow in large swaths of Japan has killed 17 and injured more than 90 people and left hundreds of homes without power, disaster management officials said Monday.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military fired warning shots and scrambled aircraft after North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace on Monday, South Korean officials said, days after the North launched two ballistic missiles in its latest testing activities.

Several North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border and were detected in the South’s territory on Monday morning, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said.

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities are going door to door and paying people older than 60 to get vaccinated against COVID-19. But even as cases surge, 64-year-old Li Liansheng said his friends are alarmed by stories of fevers, blood clots and other side effects.

“When people hear about such incidents, they may not be willing to take the vaccines,” said Li, who had been vaccinated before he caught COVID-19. A few days after his 10-day bout with the virus, Li is nursing a sore throat and cough. He said it was like a “normal cold” with a mild fever.

BEIJING, Dec 25 (APP):The China-Pakistan Youth Exchange Community paid a three-day visit to the Gilgit-Baltistan region and distributed 1,700 packages of food, tarpaulins, quilts, blankets and other supplies among the local people.

Following the recent floods, a significant number of GB people are living in tents and makeshift wooden houses as their homes have been devastated by the deluge.

BEIJING, December 25. /TASS/: Sino-Russian relations are strong as a monolith and do not change under the influence of the unstable international situation, Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi said on Sunday at a symposium dedicated to the Chinese diplomacy.

"Relations maintained between China and Russia are firm as a monolith. They are not susceptible to interference and provocations; major changes in the state of affairs do not hurt them," the Minister said.