Taiwan

The U.S. House of Representatives is poised to hold a crucial vote on Saturday on a major aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan — and a possible ban of TikTok.

The votes on the $95 billion foreign aid and arms bills are expected to begin at 1:00 pm (1700 GMT), and embattled Republican Speaker Mike Johnson will need Democratic votes to get them passed.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun via video teleconference Tuesday, in the first substantive talks between the superpowers' defense chiefs in nearly 18 months.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has once again called for robust Western support in the face of Russia's ongoing invasion of his country, drawing parallels with the international backing received by Israel during times of conflict. Zelensky's plea for solidarity came in the wake of escalating Russian attacks and mounting challenges in defending Ukrainian territories.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged allies on Monday to show the same "unity" towards Ukraine as Israel, which said it repelled an Iranian attack over the weekend with Western support.

Ukraine has in recent months grown increasingly frustrated at delays in Western aid, including air defences it says are urgently needed to repel deadly Russian attacks.

U.S. President Joe Biden made "ironclad" defense pledges to Japan and the Philippines on Thursday as he hosted his counterparts amid growing tensions with Beijing, whose actions the three leaders described as "dangerous and aggressive."

The United States and China have agreed to hold "intensive exchanges on balanced growth", the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement, after two days of talks between Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Guangzhou.

Nine people were freed from a winding cave in Taiwan's mountainous east, while two others were located but feared dead, as rescuers pressed on with their search Friday for those still missing after the island's biggest earthquake in 25 years.

When a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan's scenic and largely rural east coast county of Hualien on Wednesday, local official Chang Tung-yao knew exactly what to do, having experienced a similar temblor six years before.

The intense earthquake that rattled Taiwan early Wednesday, led to equipment damage at the semiconductor giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Despite the initial impact, most machinery at the chipmaker resumed normal operations within the day.

A helicopter plucked six miners to safety from a Taiwan quarry Thursday as rescuers worked to free scores of people trapped in highway tunnels after the island's biggest earthquake in a quarter of a century.