Top 10 world news today: Trump on Hong Kong, China belittles Taiwan and more
Story highlights
Here are the top stories that made rounds in the world arena today
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Hong Kong's global financial center will "go to hell" under tightened Chinese rule. Read more
Amid tensions with Taiwan, China's foreign ministry said today that despite Taiwan increasing its military budget next year its "fight against the mainland is like a worm shaking a tree." Read more
France on Thursday conducted military exercise with Greece off Crete even as it said that it was "temporarily reinforcing" military presence in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Read more
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday said he warned his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that there would be "an enormous price to pay" if Moscow is offering bounties to kill US soldiers or other Western troops in Afghanistan. Read more
Digital Economy Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta ordered authorities to identify “inappropriate” material and singled out 114 posts mostly made to Facebook but also Twitter and YouTube that may be in breach of the Computer Crimes Act. Read more
According to the state of climate report, last year was one of the warmest years on record with "all major greenhouse gases released into Earth’s atmosphere reaching new record high concentrations in 2019." Read more
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai said on Thursday he was overwhelmed by the support he got after becoming the most high-profile person to be arrested under a new national security law and urged patience in a "long-term fight" for democracy. Read more
Israel said on Wednesday it thwarted a cyber attack on its defence industry by a hacking group known as Lazarus, which the United States says is run by North Korean intelligence. Read more
The Philippines plans to launch clinical trials for a Russian coronavirus vaccine in October, with President Rodrigo Duterte expected to be inoculated as early as May next year, the presidential spokesman said on Thursday. Read more
Taiwan announced on Thursday a T$42.1 billion ($1.4 billion) increase in the budget for defence next year as China shared details of its latest combat exercise near the island. Read more