International
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North Korea says record-high Japan defence budget would risk ‘turmoil’
SEOUL — North Korea slammed Japan’s reported plans to increase its defence budget, accusing Tokyo on Saturday of preparing for a “war of aggression” as its US ally pursues talks with Pyongyang. Japan has been gradually moving away from its post-World War II pacifist stance, increasing military spending, ramping up defence pacts and deploying missile launchers to its outer islands.…
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Vatican says ‘serious concerns’ over Israel-Lebanon deal implementation
VATICAN CITY — The Vatican expressed “serious concerns” Thursday about problems implementing a US-brokered deal between Israel and Lebanon, following a meeting between Pope Leo XIV and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. During a private, 30-minute audience at the Vatican, Aoun had urged the pontiff to support Beirut’s push to secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon envisaged by…
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North Korea launches missiles, Seoul says, after Trump floats Kim meet
SEOUL — North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles Thursday, Seoul’s military said, hours after US President Donald Trump said he would meet Pyongyang’s Kim Jong Un this year. The latest launches from the nuclear-armed North come as South Korea and the United States hold a shorter edition of their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises, following an order from…
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Australia says relations with Israel ‘difficult’ after aid worker death
SYDNEY — Australia’s top diplomat Penny Wong on Thursday said relations with Israel were “difficult” after it dropped a probe into the killing of aid worker Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom and her colleagues in Gaza. Australian national Frankcom was among a group of seven World Central Kitchen staff killed in April 2024 when their aid convoy was hit by an Israeli…
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Germany, France condemn far-right Israeli minister’s ‘inhumane’ Gaza remarks
BERLIN — Germany and France on Wednesday condemned remarks by Israel’s far-right national security minister, who declared that Israel should kill “30 or 40” people every night in the Palestinian territory of Gaza. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz “strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minister [Itamar] Ben Gvir, which violate international law,” German government spokesman Sebastian Hille said. “They are…
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Visiting Iraq, Iran’s parliament speaker hails ‘new order’ in the region
BAGHDAD — Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday stressed the importance of strengthening the “new order” in the region, on the first stop in a three-day visit to Iraq. Ghalibaf’s trip comes at a time when Iraq is facing American pressure to disarm factions close to Tehran, which wields significant political influence in Iraq. Prime Minister Ali al…
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Kushner to Meet Netanyahu After Talks with Hamas: What’s on the Table?
Al-Taj News – Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and special envoy, will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Monday as part of US efforts to move forward with the implementation of the American peace plan for Gaza, which Netanyahu has so far rejected. Kushner met with leaders of the Palestinian Hamas movement in Egypt on…
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60-Day Deadline Between Iran and the United States Ends Without Agreement
Al-Taj News – The 60-day deadline set by the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding to reach a final agreement between Iran and the United States expires on Monday, August 17, without resulting in the resumption of direct negotiations or an agreement to extend the deadline, amid continued disputes over the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade of Iran. Tehran…
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12 killed as Polish bus veers off Hungary highway
BUDAPEST — A Polish bus crashed into a ditch on a Hungarian highway early Sunday killing 12 people and leaving at least 10 with critical injuries, officials said. The coach, heading from Serbia to Poland, crashed at 01:00 am on the M3 highway near Mezokeresztes, about 140 kilometres east of Budapest, according to police. The bus, with 57 passengers and two drivers,…
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Economic losses from natural disasters fall to $100 bn in first half of 2026: Swiss Re
ZURICH — Economic losses from natural catastrophes worldwide are estimated to have reached $100 billion in the first half of this year, reinsurance group Swiss Re said Tuesday — a sharp decline from the period last year. Despite severe storms in the United States and the deadly earthquakes that struck Venezuela in June, the losses were well below the $152…
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