- Wednesday, 30 July 2025
China has granted visa-free access to citizens of 75 countries: NIA
Wang Zhizhong, head of the National Immigration Administration (NIA), also noted that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the number of countries eligible for visa-free transit to China has increased to 55, while the number of entry ports has expanded to 60 across 24 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities.
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M8.8 quake off Russia triggers tsunami in Japan, 60-cm waves detected
Vast areas of Japan's Pacific coast were hit by tsunami waves as high as 60 centimetres on Wednesday after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula in the morning, with the weather agency keeping its evacuation warning in place. The warning, covering areas stretching from Hokkaido in northern Japan to Wakayama Prefecture in the west, disrupted rail, road and air transportation along the coast and led the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to halt the release of treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.
Evacuations in Japan and US as major earthquake off Russia triggers widespread tsunami warnings
Tsunami waves as high as 3-4 metres (10-13 feet) have been reported in Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula while 30cm (12in) waves have hit a city in Hokkaido, northern Japan
Magnitude of earthquake in Kamchatka reaches 8.7
The magnitude of the earthquake in Kamchatka, in Russia's Far East, according to various estimates, reached 8.7, which makes it the strongest earthquake since 1952, the Telegram channel of the Kamchatka branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences reported.
Powerful quake in Russia's Far East causes tsunami, Japan and Hawaii order evacuations
A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula on Wednesday, damaging buildings and generating a tsunami of up to 4 metres (13 feet) that prompted warnings and evacuations stretching across the Pacific Ocean.
3 men convicted in ancient gold coins theft
Three men were convicted Tuesday in the theft of hundreds of ancient gold coins from a German museum in 2022 and handed prison sentences ranging up to 11 years. A court in the southern city of Ingolstadt convicted the defendants of gang robbery over the museum heist, German news agency dpa reported. A fourth defendant was acquitted of involvement in the museum heist but convicted for other thefts carried out by the group.
60,000 have died in Israel-Hamas war
Over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war, Gaza's Health Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry, part of the
Thai, Cambodian generals agree to halt strikes, reinforcement until Monday
Thai and Cambodian generals agreed on Tuesday to hold their fire and stop military movements along their border until next Monday, when the two defence ministers are due to meet. Royal Thai Army spokesman Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree said Thai and Cambodian field commanders had agreed on a temporary ceasefire, to stop military mobilisation and to open communication channels for use in emergency situations.
Thailand accuses Cambodia of violating hours-old ceasefire
Thailand has accused Cambodia of "deliberately" violating a ceasefire the two countries had agreed on Monday to end border clashes that have killed at least 33 people and displaced thousands.
Police officer among four dead in shooting at New York City office building
A New York City police officer is among four people killed in a shooting inside a Midtown Manhattan high-rise.
UN meeting on Israel-Palestinian two-state solution
The U.N. General Assembly is bringing high-level officials together this week to promote a two-state solution to the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict that would place their peoples side by side, living in peace in independent nations.
Thailand and Cambodia agree to ‘immediate and unconditional’ ceasefire, Malaysian PM says
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire in a significant breakthrough to resolve deadly border clashes that entered a fifth day, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Monday. Anwar, who chaired the talks as head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, said both sides have reached a common understanding to take steps to return to normalcy following what he called frank discussions.
Indian Airlines report 183 tech faults in aircraft this year
Indian airlines have reported 183 technical faults in their planes this year, while there was a nearly 6 per cent decline in technical glitches last year compared to 2023, the government said on Monday. The civil aviation ministry also informed the Rajya Sabha that, post the Air India plane crash on June 12, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) enhanced the check and inspection of the critical component of safety assurance in order to identify and rectify immediate systemic issues.
