Category: East Asia

Cyprus has claimed that the British government’s poor communication caused a drone attack on the UK base in the country, dragging them into the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The government in Nicosia also refused to rule out renegotiating the use of RAF Akrotiri, one of two bases the British have maintained since the end of colonial rule of the island in 1960.
Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis told reporters on Monday: “This is something that we must say we view with dissatisfaction… There was no clear clarification that the British bases in Cyprus would under no circumstances be used for any purpose other than humanitarian reasons in Sunday’s statement by the UK prime minister.”
A drone struck RAF Akrotiri shortly after midnight on Monday, causing minor material damage to an aircraft hangar. Another two drones were intercepted by British warplanes around midday on Monday after they were scrambled from the air base.
Senior Cypriot officials say the attack was ca..

Pope Leo XIV has issued a heartfelt plea for peace amid escalating U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, warning that continuing violence risks plunging the Middle East into an “irreparable abyss.”

The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday in what President Donald Trump said was a massive operation to destroy the country’s military capabilities and eliminate the threat of it creating a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it would defend its homeland as the Revolutionary Guard launched counterattacks, firing drones and missiles at Israel. Further strikes were launched at U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
The strikes follow weeks of pressure from Trump on Tehran to make a deal to constrain its nuclear program. In the lead up to the strikes, Washington built up a significant fleet of American warships in the region.
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers arrived in January to bolster the number of warships in the region. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and four accompanying destroyers later were also dispatched from the Caribbean.
At least 165 people were reported killed at a gi..

Over 60 South African nationals, including nine children, have been deported from Ireland following an operation by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. The deportations, which took place on Saturday, were carried out under orders issued by Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan. The group removed comprised 28 men, 26 women, and nine children, all part of family units.
They left Dublin on a chartered flight on Saturday and arrived in South Africa on Sunday.
The group were accompanied on the flight by gardai members, medical staff, an interpreter and a human rights observer.
Gardai said 10 of the individuals had been convicted of offences in Ireland.
open image in galleryA United Airlines Boeing 757-224 comes in to land at Dublin Airport (PA Archive)Mr O’Callaghan said: “Charter flights are now a routine and essential part of immigration enforcement for the state.
“Without effective enforcement measures, our immigration laws would be undermined, and I want to ensure that there is publi..

The United States and Israel have launched a wide-scale military attack on Iran, plunging the Middle Eastern region into turmoil as Tehran retaliates.
Several nations, including Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan, have since been targeted following the attacks ordered by Donald Trump and Israel on Saturday morning.
It has prompted the closure of airspaces within the region, with global airlines cancelling flights throughout the Middle East and Dubai International Airport, the biggest global aviation hub, suspending all travel.
Confirming the attacks, Donald Trump said the US had launched “major combat operations”, aimed at “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime”, including to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The US President called the regime “a vicious group of very hard, terrible people”, adding that “its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world..

Flights between Western Europe and the Middle East have been severely disrupted after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and many other airlines are cancelling flights.
The “major combat operation” confirmed by Donald Trump on Saturday morning has had a major impact on flights in the region, as Iran and Iraq’s airspaces were closed due to the escalating action.
With missiles being launched from Israel against Iran, and retaliatory strikes from Iran, flights that would normally cross those countries are being forced to divert.
A video from the flight tracking service Flightradar24 shows the overnight stream of aircraft from the Gulf crossing northeast Iraq. But from around 6 am GMT, the pattern ends with aircraft instead flying west over Saudi Arabia.
British Airways has cancelled its flights linking London Heathrow with Bahrain and Tel Aviv until 3 March. Saturday’s link to Amman is also grounded.
A spokesperson told The Independent: “We are c..