China says U.K. warship in Taiwan Strait shows "evil intentions"
CBSN
Taipei — China bristled on Monday over Britain's decision to send a Royal Navy warship sailing through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, saying the act "harbored evil intentions." China claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, and has increased pressure on the small island in recent years to accept Beijing as its capital.
The Royal Navy announced that the HMS Richmond, a frigate deployed as part of a U.K. aircraft carrier strike group, was sailing through the Taiwan Strait on Monday in a move that challenges Beijing's claim to the sensitive waterway.
"After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea, we are now en route through the Taiwan Strait to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Navy," read a tweet from the official account for HMS Richmond.
Russia launched a barrage of missiles at Ukraine Thursday in its first major retaliation for Ukraine's attack earlier in the week on a military facility in the Russian region of Bryansk. That strike saw the Ukrainians use American-made and supplied long-range missiles known as ATACMS, which President Biden had given the Ukrainian forces permission to fire deeper into Russian territory only two days earlier.
Amersham, England — Family and friends of One Direction star Liam Payne, who died last month after falling from a Buenos Aires hotel room, gathered for his funeral in Britain on Wednesday. Payne's former bandmates Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson were among mourners at the private service at St Mary's Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, just outside London.