13:15, 19 May 2019

U.S. sanctions on oil-rich Venezuela appear to be taking hold, resulting in mile-long lines for fuel in the South American nation's second-largest city, Maracaibo. Russ Dallen of the Miami-based brokerage firm Caracas Capital Markets said Sunday ...

18:49, 18 May 2019

Cheered by thousands of supporters in Bolivia's coca-growing Chapare region, President Evo Morales began his campaign for his third consecutive re-election Saturday amid assertions by his opponents that the constitution prohibits him from running again.Morales, ...

19:00, 17 May 2019

A former Colombian rebel leader was re-arrested by police Friday moments after his release from jail by a peace tribunal whose ruling against extraditing him to the U.S. triggered an institutional crisis and revived debate ...

17:51, 17 May 2019

Seventeen people who were arrested in previous anti-government protests were wounded in a prison disturbance in which a 57-year-old Nicaraguan-American dual national was shot dead, a lawyer for several inmates said Friday. Attorney Yonarqui Martínez also ...

23:06, 16 May 2019

When her daughter was 4 years old, Jennifer Jean started a small catering business in Bourdon, a lower middle-class district of the Haitian capital.Starting with the occasional wedding or corporate meeting, she grew the business ...

17:16, 16 May 2019

A high court ruling barring a crusading former prosecutor's candidacy has turned Guatemala's presidential election on its ear less than a month before the vote, and raised concerns about what will happen to years of ...

15:08, 16 May 2019

Fans of the K-pop group NCT 127 donated money in January to name a baby pudu at the Los Angeles Zoo after one of its members, Haechan (HECH'-ehn). This week, the human Haechan got to ...

00:01, 16 May 2019

By day, Peruvian police and soldiers search for and destroy equipment used by illegal gold miners in a part of the Amazon rainforest where mining has transformed once-dense foliage into a desert pocked with dead ...

23:05, 15 May 2019

The Venezuelan government and opposition have sent envoys to Norway to attend talks on ways of ending the South American country's crisis, though their mutual mistrust and differences on key issues are likely to slow ...

23:01, 15 May 2019

Venise Felizor lay on a mattress in a warehouse-turned-shelter on a hot, sticky afternoon with her 20-month-old son, Wesly, in her arms, the boy coughing and wailing after suffering from diarrhea for days.Originally from Haiti, ...

21:34, 15 May 2019

Representatives of the Venezuelan government and opposition traveled to Norway for talks on resolving the crisis in the South American country, officials said Wednesday, opening a new chapter in a political stalemate after months of ...

20:22, 15 May 2019

The latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local):9:15 p.m.Officials in Venezuela say representatives of the government and opposition have traveled to Norway for talks on resolving the political crisis in the South ...

14:41, 15 May 2019

Ecuador has agreed to the return of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has been kicked out of the country four years ago under leftist former President Rafael Correa.Foreign Minister José Valencia and U.S. ...

23:03, 14 May 2019

The administration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has canceled a United Nations climate change workshop to be held in the city of Salvador in August, reaffirming its lack of interest in participating in international efforts ...

23:02, 12 May 2019

In the dusty, dimly lit neighborhoods of San Pedro Sula, everyone knows the unwritten rules: There are places you don't go without permission. If driving, roll down the windows so gang members and their lookouts ...

11:20, 12 May 2019

From the lush tropical garden of the Chilean ambassador's residence, Venezuelan opposition leader Freddy Guevara takes a much-anticipated call from a foreign diplomat and asks him to protect a fellow lawmaker fleeing President Nicolás Maduro's ...

16:58, 11 May 2019

Authorities in Curacao say that 17 crew members and 11 passengers must stay aboard a ship owned by the Church of Scientology that was quarantined at the Dutch Caribbean island following a confirmed case of ...

15:33, 11 May 2019

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó on Saturday said he's instructed his political envoy in Washington to immediately open relations with the U.S. military in a bid to bring more pressure on President Nicolás Maduro to ...

13:28, 11 May 2019

The latest on the political crisis in Venezuela (all times local): 2:25 p.m. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó says he's instructed his political envoy in Washington to immediately open relations with the U.S. military. A supporter of Venezuela's ...

11:51, 20 May 2019

The Latest on the video scandal that's rocked the Austrian government (all times local):6:50 p.m.Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says he wants to fire interior minister over the video scandal that's rocked the government.Austrian Chancellor Sebastian ...

10:10, 20 May 2019

A senior Chinese official has officially handed over a 19-year-old male giant panda to Vienna's Schoenbrunn zoo.Yuan Yuan arrived in Vienna last month and has spent the last few weeks in quarantine. He was chosen ...

09:42, 20 May 2019

The official language of the Cannes Film Festival is, like the Olympics, French. But Cannes is also a Babel, teaming with the tongues of every film industry from around the world.In the international village, where ...

08:55, 20 May 2019

The Kremlin says the arrest of three senior officers of Russia's top spy agency reflects a no-holds-barred fight against corruption.Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday when asked about the arrests that the ...

08:42, 20 May 2019

Pro-Brexit British politician Nigel Farage has been hit with a milkshake while campaigning in the European Parliament election.Farage was left with milkshake dripping down his lapels during a walkabout in Newcastle, northeast England, on Monday. ...

07:26, 20 May 2019

Germany's central bank says it expects the country's economy, Europe's biggest, to turn in a feeble performance in the current quarter after returning to growth in the winter.Solid consumer spending and a construction boom helped ...

05:17, 20 May 2019

Authorities in Turkey have issued detention warrants for 249 people as part of an investigation into alleged cheating during exams to recruit staff to the country's foreign ministry between 2010 and 2013.The Ankara Chief Prosecutor's ...

05:04, 20 May 2019

The five separatist leaders on trial for Catalonia's 2017 secession attempt who were elected to the Spanish Parliament last month have picked up their official credentials under police escort.The Supreme Court allowed the five to ...

04:15, 20 May 2019

A Saudi Arabian freighter allegedly carrying weapons that could be used in the war in Yemen has docked at the Italian port of Genoa, despite protests by harbor workers.The Saudi-flagged Bahri Yanbu is scheduled to ...

03:37, 20 May 2019

Estonia was crippled by cyberattacks on government networks during a dispute with Russia in 2007. Today the tiny tech-savvy nation is so certain of its cyber defenses that it is the only country in the ...

03:13, 20 May 2019

The Latest on Ukrainian politics (all times local): 11 a.m. Ukrainian television star Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been sworn in as president and immediately disbanded Parliament. Disbanding the Supreme Rada was one of his campaign promises, for Zelenskiy had ...

02:50, 20 May 2019

Swedish authorities on Monday issued a request for a detention order against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is now jailed in Britain, a Swedish prosecutor said.Prosecutor Eva-Marie Persson says if the Swedish court decided to ...

02:28, 20 May 2019

Television star Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been sworn in as Ukraine's next president after he beat the incumbent at the polls last month.The ceremony was held at Ukrainian parliament in Kiev on Monday morning.Zelenskiy ditched the ...

02:06, 20 May 2019

Austria's leader is apparently preparing to force out the country's interior minister, a prominent and divisive figure in the far-right Freedom Party, after the country's vice chancellor resigned in a scandal over a covertly filmed ...

13:10, 19 May 2019

The Latest on Switzerland's referendum on tightening Swiss gun laws (all times local):8 p.m.Swiss voters have approved a measure to tighten the Alpine nation's gun laws, bringing the country in line with many of its ...

10:53, 19 May 2019

Tens of thousands of demonstrators opposed to right-wing populism and nationalism took to the streets in a number of European cities before May 23-26 elections to the European Parliament.Marches in Germany were held under the ...

10:25, 19 May 2019

The Latest on migration to Europe (all times local):5:20 p.m.British and French authorities have stopped 29 migrants who tried to cross the English Channel is three small boats over the weekend.FILE - In this Friday, ...

09:47, 19 May 2019

A leading conservative candidate in next week's European Parliament elections has promised Bulgarians tight measures against illegal migration.Manfred Weber said in Sofia that "the state must win over the human traffickers in the fight against ...

04:57, 20 May 2019

Sudan's ruling generals and protesters behind months of mass demonstrations that drove autocrat Omar al-Bashir from power have failed to strike a deal but agree to keep talking.That's after the latest round of negotiations between ...

03:57, 20 May 2019

Former South African president Jacob Zuma is in court facing charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering.Zuma, 77, appeared at the High Court in Pietermaritzburg in eastern KwaZulu-Natal province Monday on charges of receiving bribes ...

03:51, 20 May 2019

Egypt says security forces killed 12 members of a militant group with suspected links to the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in shootouts in Cairo, just hours after a roadside bomb struck a tourist bus near the ...

01:01, 20 May 2019

In April 2015, President Omar al-Bashir traveled to the heart of Sudan's conflict-ravaged Darfur region to congratulate one of his hand-picked commanders on a recent victory over rebels.Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, ...

10:20, 19 May 2019

A roadside bomb hit a tourist bus on Sunday near the Giza Pyramids, wounding at least 17 people including tourists, Egyptian officials said. The officials said the bus was travelling on a road close to the ...

05:48, 19 May 2019

Corruption and the need for economic growth are the main campaign issues as Malawi goes to the polls Tuesday for a presidential election that pits the incumbent against his own vice president as well as ...

07:13, 18 May 2019

Congolese art collector and businessman Sindika Dokolo feared being jailed if he returned to his country as an opponent of the longtime president.During his five years in exile, a court convicted him in absentia on ...

12:04, 17 May 2019

Protesters flooded the streets of Algeria for the 13th straight Friday, climbing atop police vans that were blocking the main demonstration site in the capital in a bold show of defiance.Security forces earlier fired tear ...

10:10, 17 May 2019

The 36-year-old French-Senegalese director Mati Diop is the first black woman filmmaker in competition in the 72 years of the Cannes Film Festival.Her film, "Atlantics," is about women left behind in Dakar when many of ...

04:36, 17 May 2019

The North African kingdom of Morocco is using new tactics to cut into the surge of migrants seeking to use it as a springboard to get to Europe, stopping about 25,000 attempts to reach Spain ...

19:13, 16 May 2019

The Latest on a Navy SEAL charged in the death of a US Army Green Beret (all times local):8:10 p.m.A U.S. Navy SEAL has been sentenced to a year in military prison for his role ...

03:12, 16 May 2019

Sudanese opposition leaders behind protests that drove President Omar al-Bashir from power last month are criticizing the ruling military council for unilaterally suspending negotiations with their representatives over a peaceful transfer of power to civilian ...

22:04, 15 May 2019

Still a month out from the playoffs, Super Rugby will begin to take on knockout significance for some teams from this weekend's 14th round.With four or five matches remaining, depending on byes, some teams perched ...

08:59, 14 May 2019

A police officer says a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of a district headquarters in Somalia's capital, killing at least three people.Capt. Mohamed Hussein says the bomber tried to enter the ...

02:19, 14 May 2019

A Sudanese medical union says six people have been shot and killed in overnight clashes between security forces and protesters behind the uprising that ousted President Omar al-Bashir.The Sudan Doctors Committee, which is part of ...

16:10, 13 May 2019

Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins, a refugee from Liberia who became the first black mayor in the state, announced Monday he is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Steve Daines.Collins ...

11:35, 13 May 2019

The Latest on the uprising in Sudan that ended President Omar al-Bashir's 30-year reign last month (all times local):6:30 p.m.Sudan's state news agency says prosecutors have charged ousted President Omar al-Bashir with involvement in killing ...

04:22, 13 May 2019

Sudanese protesters who drove President Omar al-Bashir from power last month are resuming negotiations with the ruling military council in renewed efforts to find common ground on forming a transitional government.Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, a spokesman ...

10:37, 12 May 2019

South Africa's president is vowing to purge his party of "bad and deviant tendencies" as he prepares to appoint a new Cabinet following a victory in national elections.The 57% share of the vote was the ...

04:02, 11 May 2019

South Africa's ruling African National Congress is preparing to celebrate its win in national elections, with the formal announcement coming later on Saturday.With 99.9% of votes counted, the ANC has 57% of the vote. It ...

11:06, 20 May 2019

Iran has quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium, semi-official news agencies reported Monday, just days after saying it would resume higher levels of enrichment if world powers do not repair the nuclear accord following the ...

03:44, 20 May 2019

South Korea vowed Monday to move quickly on its plans to provide $8 million worth of humanitarian aid to North Korea while it also considers sending food to the country that says it's suffering its ...

01:28, 20 May 2019

The Palestinians are giving a cool reception to an American plan to hold a conference next month to unveil the first phase of its Mideast peace plan. The White House announced Sunday that it will hold ...

00:37, 20 May 2019

Prime Minister Scott Morrison looked set on Monday to form a majority government as vote counting from Australia's weekend election allayed fears that his conservative coalition may have to rule in the minority following its ...

23:56, 19 May 2019

Shares were mixed in Asia on Monday, with India and Australia leading gains for the region following elections that looked set to keep incumbents in office.Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.3% to 21,343.09 after ...

22:58, 19 May 2019

A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in ...

22:53, 19 May 2019

A prominent rights group in Indian-controlled Kashmir is advocating for the United Nations to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate what it calls the endemic use of torture by government forces who have faced ...

22:10, 19 May 2019

Prime Minister Scott Morrison looks set to form a majority government as counting of votes from Australia's election allays fears his conservative coalition may have to rule in the minority.With 76 seats needed for majority ...

21:50, 19 May 2019

Apa Sherpa has stood on top of the world more times than all but one other person. Now he wants to make sure no one feels compelled to follow in his footsteps.As a boy growing ...

17:59, 19 May 2019

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Iran that it will face destruction if it seeks a fight, while Iranian officials said their country isn't looking for war. Trump spoke after a rocket hit near ...

17:33, 19 May 2019

The latest on developments in the Persian Gulf region and elsewhere in the Mideast amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran (all times local): 2:30 a.m. The U.S. military command that oversees the Mideast has confirmed ...

09:01, 19 May 2019

Syrian government forces have unilaterally ceased fire in the northern Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold, Russia said Sunday, while opposition activists reported continued shelling and airstrikes.Fighting erupted in Idlib late last month, effectively ...

01:37, 19 May 2019

Across Iran's capital, the talk always seems to come back to how things may get worse. Battered by U.S. sanctions and its depreciating rial currency, Iran's 80 million people struggle to buy meat, medicine and other ...

23:12, 18 May 2019

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has thanked "all Australians" for returning his conservative coalition to power in a shock general election result, and has vowed to get straight back to work. While the opposition center-left Labor Party ...

21:02, 18 May 2019

Indians are voting in the seventh and final phase of national elections, wrapping up a 6-week-long long, grueling campaign season with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party seeking reelection for another five years.The voting ...

19:36, 18 May 2019

Australia's ruling conservative coalition won a surprise victory in the country's general election on Saturday, defying opinion polls that had tipped the center-left opposition party to oust it from power and promising an end to ...

15:03, 18 May 2019

Israel hosted the Grand Final of the 64th Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, with Madonna set to showcase Europe's annual music extravaganza. Some 200 million people around the world were expected to be watching as 26 ...

10:51, 18 May 2019

The Smithsonian's initiative on documenting Asians in America started humbly enough two decades ago, with a borrowed exhibit in a borrowed museum wing and a tiny staff.There was a National Museum of the American Indian ...

09:08, 18 May 2019

India's marathon general election, known as the world's largest democratic exercise, is nearing the finish line.The first of the election's seven staggered phases was held on April 11. On Sunday, the final phase will take ...

03:13, 20 May 2019

Pork lovers worldwide are wincing at prices that have jumped up to 40 percent as African swine fever in China's vast pig herds sends shockwaves through global meat markets.China produces and consumes two-thirds of the ...

07:31, 18 May 2019

In a 2013 speech in Kazakhstan, Chinese president Xi Jinping mentioned a plan to “jointly build an economic belt along the ‘Ancient Silk Road’” and a month later in Indonesia, the president said, “The two ...

04:32, 17 May 2019

The legacy of American architect I.M. Pei stretches from west to east, from the Louvre museum to his native China, where he helped fuse tradition and modernity as the country opened up after the Cultural ...

06:32, 15 May 2019

What do tilapia, Jane Austen and Chinese revolutionary poster art have in common? All have been used to rally public support around China's position in its trade dispute with the U.S., as the ruling Communist Party ...

08:44, 14 May 2019

Diplomats have visited a Canadian think tank expert whose detention in China is believed to be an attempt to pressure Canada to release Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. Canadian consular officials visited with Michael Kovrig on Monday, ...

10:26, 12 May 2019

China's intensified tariff war with the Trump administration is threatening Beijing's ambition to transform itself into the dominant player in global technology. The United States is a vital customer and source of technology for Chinese makers ...

22:01, 10 May 2019

Hong Kong's legislative assembly descended into chaos Saturday as lawmakers for and against controversial amendments to the territory's extradition law clashed over access to the chamber.At least one person was taken from the chamber on ...

14:20, 10 May 2019

A family of American citizens has been held captive in China since June 2018. The family, a mother, daughter, and son have been denied exit from China, and are being used as bait to capture their ...

03:52, 09 May 2019

The tariff war between Washington and Beijing poses one of the biggest challenges yet for Chinese President Xi Jinping, potentially exposing his political vulnerabilities at a time when the Chinese economy is already slowing. The U.S. ...

03:18, 09 May 2019

A Chinese court held an appeal hearing Thursday for a Canadian who was sentenced to death for drug smuggling in a case that has deepened a diplomatic rift between the two countries. The intermediate-level court in ...

21:58, 08 May 2019

S-240, a bill that targets human organ trafficking, was unanimously passed on the evening of April 30 in the Canadian House of Commons. It was introduced by the Senate and was already approved by the ...

04:53, 03 May 2019

For three years, Chen Chun has published articles on his public WeChat account touching on politics, philosophy and current affairs — subjects that are often censored on Chinese social media.More recently, the writer in southern ...

10:37, 02 May 2019

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called out China as one of the world’s most egregious persecutors of religious faiths in its 2019 annual report released on April 29. The report also states ...

03:08, 01 May 2019

A forum was hosted in the U.S. Congress on April 25, 2019 to mark the 20th anniversary of the April 25 peaceful appeal. April 25, 1999, is a significant date for China and Falun Gong practitioners. ...

02:11, 27 Apr 2019

President Xi Jinping has called for more countries to join China's sprawling infrastructure-building initiative after he promised to improve standards in response to complaints about debt and other problems.Speaking at a gathering of leaders to ...

12:35, 26 Apr 2019

China's president is trying to address criticism about the Belt and Road Initiative regarding a lack of transparency, environmental risks, and debt in financing infrastructure projects

01:45, 26 Apr 2019

China's Belt and Road infrastructure initiative meshes perfectly with the goals of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.Putin's comments to a Belt and Road forum in Beijing may help alleviate ...

23:57, 25 Apr 2019

The Latest on China's Belt and Road infrastructure building conference. (all times local): 12:45 p.m. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says China's Belt and Road initiative offers a chance to help reverse the effects of climate change. Pakistani ...

21:58, 25 Apr 2019

President Xi Jinping has promised to promote high financial standards for China's Belt and Road infrastructure-building initiative as Beijing tries to dispel complaints the multibillion-dollar project leaves developing countries with too much debt.Xi avoided mentioning ...

11:07, 25 Apr 2019

Anecdotal reports suggest that both the U.S. and Chinese governments are tightening restrictions on travel by academics between the two countries, leaving experts worried about the impact those action

20:29, 12 May 2019

Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) practitioners from Canada and supportive lawmakers celebrated the 27th annual World Falun Dafa Day in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday. The attendees condemned the persecution of ...

21:58, 08 May 2019

S-240, a bill that targets human organ trafficking, was unanimously passed on the evening of April 30 in the Canadian House of Commons. It was introduced by the Senate and was already approved by the ...

10:37, 02 May 2019

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called out China as one of the world’s most egregious persecutors of religious faiths in its 2019 annual report released on April 29. The report also states ...

08:54, 02 May 2019

Group says the tool monitors people’s movements by tracing their phones, vehicles, and ID cards, and notes “suspicious” behavior like whether an individual fails to socialize with their neighbors or uses an “unusual” amount of ...

03:08, 01 May 2019

A forum was hosted in the U.S. Congress on April 25, 2019 to mark the 20th anniversary of the April 25 peaceful appeal. April 25, 1999, is a significant date for China and Falun Gong practitioners. ...

21:41, 23 Apr 2019

Mr. Deng Chenglian, a successful businessman in Shanghai, was arrested at home a year ago. He was sentenced to four years in prison and fined 8,000 yuan just four days ago. Mr. Deng was brought into the Fengxian ...

09:31, 22 Apr 2019

The U.S. State Department’s recently released Human Rights Report for 2018 is its yearly attempt to hold other governments accountable, while saying nothing about controversial American government actions during the year. The aim is to enhance generally the ...

23:19, 17 Apr 2019

Ms. He Lianchun of Mengzi City, Yunnan Province, suffered from a heart problem and severe sciatic nerve pain that made it difficult for her to walk. After she began to practice Falun Gong in June ...

22:54, 10 Apr 2019

UCANews.com, a Catholic news source serving the Asian region, carried a commentary article titled “China's genocide unlike any other” by Benedict Rogers on April 4, 2019. Benedict Rodgers is deputy chair of the U.K.’s Conservative Party ...

05:32, 10 Apr 2019

The award-winning documentary film “Letter from Masanjia” tells the true story of the extraordinary courage and hope of a man named Sun Yi, despite the unimaginable horrors he endured as a prisoner of conscience in ...

05:52, 08 Apr 2019

Several major news outlets in the United Kingdom recently published articles or produced programs calling for an end to the killing of prisoners of conscience for organs in China, including the BBC, The Guardian, Sunday Express, and Scotsman. A ...

22:44, 04 Apr 2019

Ms. Guan Xuelin, 53, is from Leshan City, Sichuan Province. She was arrested on September 20, 2014, after being reported by an elderly man after she had talked to him about Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa, also ...

18:10, 04 Apr 2019

US representatives, the US ambassador for international religious freedom and activists called for addressing mass detention of the Muslims in Xinjiang and other human rights violations of the Uighurs

20:41, 28 Mar 2019

Washington spotlights China’s crackdown on people of faith including detention of 1 million Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang

09:20, 26 Mar 2019

Forbes published a report titled “Will We Get To The Bottom Of The Truth On Forced Organ Removal In China?” by Ewelina U. Ochab on March 21, 2019. The Forbes article began by mentioning the UN International Day for ...

17:36, 16 Mar 2019

A former aircraft engineer currently living in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province was recently sentenced to three and a half years in prison. His latest conviction was preceded by multiple arrests and a cumulative seven years ...

18:28, 14 Mar 2019

According to information compiled by Minghui.org, another 139 Falun Gong practitioners were confirmed to have been sentenced to prison for their faith since July 2018. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline ...

11:35, 14 Mar 2019

China’s attempt to eradicate distinct ethnic and religious identities in Xinjing is nothing less than a systematic campaign of cultural genocide

20:14, 13 Mar 2019

A once happy family in Yingkou City, Liaoning Province was shattered after the Chinese communist regime began to persecute Falun Gong in July 1999. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a self-improvement system that ...

08:30, 13 Mar 2019

Trump administration considering sanctions, but lawmakers say they have seen no meaningful actions to pressure China