The Pacific archipelago is one of only 12 countries in the world to diplomatically recognise Taiwan and is now caught in the middle of the growing rivalry between the US and China.
Until now, citizens from the southern African kingdom could travel to Hong Kong visa-free for up to 90 days, like for many other countries. No official reason has been given, but the measure comes a few days after Nauru gave in to pressure from Beijing and dropped Taipei.
Today's news: China tries to push Iran to curb Houthi attacks in the Red Sea; Under threat of going underwater within the next 25 years, elections are held in Tuvalu;Taiwan initiates compulsory conscription extended to one year in response to the Chinese threat; The earth continues to shake on the border between Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China; The precision landing of its space lander on the Moon boosts the ambitions of Japan's space programme.
Today's news: progress on the ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, but Hamas wants an end to the war; In Islamabad, a Belucian garrison was removed and protesters were booked; As Beijing forges alliances in the Pacific, Taiwan asks Biden to join the US-led 'Indo-Pacific economic framework'; Modi's India expels French journalist Vanessa Dougnac, correspondent of the Catholic newspaper La Croix.
Today's news: Taiwan says it has detected six more Chinese spy balloons flying over the island; In May, construction will begin on a new mosque in Ayodhya, India; Putin says he plans to visit Pyongyang soon; Israeli Foreign Minister Katz and his Palestinian counterpart al-Maliki will attend the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels separately: Tajikistan continues the work of "de-Russification" of its civil code.
Today's news: Two of the three hostages featured in the Hamas video dead; North Korean hackers share clandestine money laundering networks with fraudsters and traffickers in Southeast Asia; An Iranian court handed down an additional 15-month sentence to Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi; Tajikistan and Uzbekistan 'do not recognise' the outcome of the vote in Taiwan.