Author: Grace Thompson

HONG KONG — With sleek looks mirroring the U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk, the Chinese military’s advanced Z-20 helicopter packs a punch but may make its biggest impact at sea, analysts said as it was displayed at China ’s biggest air show in Zhuhai on Tuesday. The Z-20’s potential at sea to plug gaps in the Chinese navy’s ability to protect itself from submarines is attracting scrutiny from regional defense attaches and security scholars charting its evolution after a decade of development. State media recently highlighted the first armed assault version of the helicopter, and on Tuesday, the military showcased the Z-20J armed naval variant — a key step toward a full-blown anti-submarine platform, the Z-20F. Although China is fielding ever-more advanced warships as pa...

HONG KONG — Thirty-five people were killed and another 43 were injured when a driver deliberately rammed his car into a crowd outside a sports center in southern China , police said Tuesday. A 62-year-old man was detained at the scene after he drove his small off-road vehicle into people exercising at Zhuhai Sports Center late Monday, local police said in a statement , calling the incident "serious and vicious." Police identified the man by his last name, Fan. He was in a coma after harming himself with a knife in his car, police said, adding that he was still being treated and couldn’t be questioned. Police said that Fan was dissatisfied with the division of property after his divorce, according to an initial investigation. Fan is now under criminal detention. ...

The New York Jets, 2-3 through five weeks, could have looked at the glass as half full. In a 10-9 loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 4, New York missed a potential game-winning field goal late in the fourth quarter. And against the Minnesota Vikings the following week, the Jets were driving for a potential game-winning score until Aaron Rodgers threw an interception, his third of the game, to fall 23-17. An optimist would say that New York was under .500 but that its last two losses had come by a combined seven points. It was a field goal away from being 3-2. One fewer bad throw away from somehow being 4-1. And despite their 2-3 record, the Jets entered Week 6 only one game behind the Buffalo Bills for the lead in the AFC East. Instead, New York decided to fire head coach Robert S...

HONG KONG — Businesses and consumers in China found the annual Singles’ Day shopping festival less attractive this year due to a sluggish economy, forcing e-commerce firms to look abroad for growth. Online service provider and e-commerce platform Alibaba started the now-famous event on Nov. 11, 2009, offering attractive discounts to entice shoppers to spend more. The extravaganza, also known as “Double 11,” has since expanded to other platforms in China — such as JD.com and Pinduoduo — and abroad. It has long been regarded as a barometer of consumer sentiment. While Singles’ Day was previously a one-day event, shopping platforms in China now kickstart the festival weeks ahead to drum up sales volume. Even some brick-and-mortar stores join the festival b...

BAKU, Azerbaijan — U.S. climate envoy John Podesta urged governments to keep faith in the country’s promise to combat global warming , saying President-elect Donald Trump can slow, not stop, the transition from fossil fuels when he returns to office in January. The annual U.N. climate summit began on Monday in Baku, Azerbaijan, with many country delegations concerned that Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 will hinder progress to limit planetary warming. Trump has promised to again remove the United States, the world’s most significant historic greenhouse gas emitter, from international climate cooperation and maximize the country’s already record-high fossil fuel production. “For those of us dedicated to climate action, last we...

New Zealand offered a historic national apology on Tuesday to victims and families of hundreds of thousands of young people and vulnerable adults who were subjected to physical and sexual abuse in institutions over the last 70 years. The apology follows a report by a public inquiry in July that found some 200,000 children and vulnerable adults in state and faith-based care experienced some form of abuse from 1950 to 2019. “It was horrific. It was heartbreaking. It was wrong. And it should never have happened,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said with around 200 abuse survivors and families watching on from the public gallery at Parliament in the capital, Wellington. “Today, I am apologizing on behalf of the government to everyone who suffered abuse, harm and neglect wh...

Former President Donald Trump has clinched a second term in the White House, and his Republican Party has won control of the Senate. But control of the House of Representatives is still up for grabs, as is the size of the incoming Senate majority. In the fight for the House, Democrats are facing an uphill climb to net the four seats needed to flip the chamber, while Republicans only need to win a handful more competitive races to hold onto the majority. With more than a dozen House races still uncalled and many looking close, Democrats would need to hang onto all of their competitive seats and flip a few Republican-held seats to get to the 218 seats needed for the majority. With votes still being counted, here's a look at the key races that remain uncalled by the NBC News Decision De...

An American World War II warship that played a key role in Allied campaigns in the Pacific has been discovered at the bottom of the Indian Ocean more than 80 years after it was sunk. The U.S.S. Edsall was found 200 miles east of Christmas Island, south of Java, by the Royal Australian Navy. The discovery has revealed the final resting place of more than 200 servicemen who died when it was sank by Japanese forces on 1 March, 1942, three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. "Captain Joshua Nix and his crew fought valiantly, evading 1,400 shells from Japanese battleships and cruisers, before being attacked by 26 carrier-dive bombers, taking only one fatal hit," Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Australia, said in a joint video statement recorded with Vice Admiral Mark Hammond...