- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te is set to deliver a key speech on Thursday as part of the self-ruled island's National Day celebrations that is likely to elicit an angry response from China.
China claims Taiwan as part of its sovereign territory and has not ruled out using force to bring the island under its control.
Beijing has been increasing military and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan, which split from China in 1949 after a civil war and has since transformed into a vibrant democracy.
Relations have remained tense under Lai, who took office in May and has been more outspoken than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending Taiwan's sovereignty.
Beijing calls him a "separatist" and accuses him of escalating hostilities.
Despite his stance on Taiwan's sovereignty, Lai will likely use his National Day speech to "project predictability and pragmatism", said Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub.
Lai is due to deliver his speech in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei at 0230 GMT.
He is expected to talk about Chinese actions towards Taiwan, peace and democracy, and domestic social and economic issues.
Among the foreign guests expected to attend are three members of the US Congress, along with senior officials from some of the 12 states that still have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The United States switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but has remained Taiwan's most important partner and its biggest arms supplier.
Taiwan was on alert for Chinese military drills near the island on National Day after observing "some maritime deployments", a senior security official told AFP on Wednesday.
China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of large-scale war games in the past two years, deploying aircraft and ships to encircle the island.
Beijing accused Lai on Tuesday of "malicious intent to escalate hostility and confrontation" after he said China was not the "motherland" of Taiwan.
Lai said at his inauguration in May that the Republic of China -- the island's official name -- and the People's Republic of China "are not subordinate to each other".
"Lai will signal to Beijing that Taiwan's door is always open, that the Lai government stands ready to hold dialogue with Beijing, so long as the cross-strait dialogue can take place on the basis of equality and mutual respect, rather than on terms unilaterally dictated to by Beijing alone," the Atlantic Council's Sung told AFP.
Beijing severed high-level communications with Taipei in 2016 when Tsai, also a member of Lai's Democratic Progressive Party, took power.
M.Furrer--BTB