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By Yimou Lee for Reuters Combat exercises and training of the navy of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the waters around the Taiwan Island, 2022. Photo: AFP / Xinhua China spent about US$15 billion, or 7 percent of its defence budget, on exercises in the Western Pacific in 2023, according to a previously unpublished Taiwanese estimate, showing Beijing's investment in military activity around Taiwan and its neighbours. The internal research by Taiwan's armed forces, reviewed by Reuters, offers a rare look into a slice of China's defence spending as Beijing has ramped up its military presence amid rising tensions in the region. China claims Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratically governed island ...

By Saleem Ahmad and Saud Mehsud, Reuters Security personnel stand near charred vehicles at the site of a shooting on a highway in Musakhail district, Balochistan province on 26 August 2024. Photo: AFP At least 73 people were killed in Pakistan's province of Balochistan when separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways and security forces launched retaliatory operations, officials said on Monday. The assaults were the most widespread in years by ethnic militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich southwestern province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine. "These attacks are a well thought-out plan to create anarchy in Pakistan," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement. ...

"My heart is broken," Mariah Carey said in a short statement to People. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Mariah Carey has confirmed that her mother Patricia and sister Alison died on the same day over the weekend. No other details, including their cause of death are known at this time. "My heart is broken that I've lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day," the Grammy-winner told People in a short statement. "I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mum before she passed," Carey wrote. "I appreciate everyone's love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time." Carey's mum, Patricia, was a Juilliard-trained opera singer and vocal coach before she and husband Alfred Roy Carey welcomed A...

Wraps are a popular emergency pantry food. Photo: 123rf By Nelli Saarinen, ABC Lifestyle When you need a lunch on the go or something quick for a dinner, few things are as convenient and versatile as wraps or tortillas. They're also a popular emergency pantry food, thanks to their incredibly long shelf-life, even at room temperature. But how do wraps last so long and are they actually healthy? How come wraps last so long?' The longevity of wraps is thanks to several factors, including their packaging, pH and moisture levels as well as ingredients, says Jayani Chandrapala, Associate Professor in Food Science at RMIT University. "It depends on the moisture content that the wraps are within, and also the air levels, because wraps are in airtight sealed bags." Anti-fungal and antimicrobial ...

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of a debate on ABC. Photo: AFP The campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clashed over next month's US presidential debate, with the vice president's team seeking a return to open microphones while her Republican rival threatened to pull out entirely, suggesting the previously agreed-upon ABC network was biased. "Why would I do the Debate against Kamala Harris on that network?" Trump, who is making his third bid for the White House, wrote in a social media post late Sunday night that also accused the network of bias. "Stay tuned!!!" Harris spokesperson Brian Fallon said on Tuesday the vice president's campaign wanted the broadcaster to keep the candidates' microphones on throughout the event, not muted when t...