Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner yesterday signed a coalition deal, paving the way for Sanae Takaichi to become the nation’s first female prime minister.The 11th-hour agreement with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) came just a day before the lower house was due to
SEVEN-MINUTE HEIST: The masked thieves stole nine pieces of 19th-century jewelry, including a crown, which they dropped and damaged as they made their escape
The hunt was on yesterday for the band of thieves who stole eight priceless royal pieces of jewelry from the Louvre Museum in the heart of Paris in broad daylight.Officials said a team of 60 investigators was working on the theory that the raid was planned and executed by an organized crime group.Th
EU countries yesterday agreed to phase out their remaining gas imports from Russia by the end of 2027, breaking a dependency the bloc has struggled to end despite Moscow’s war on Ukraine.Energy ministers meeting in Luxembourg approved a plan by the European Commission to phase out pipeline gas and l
Authorities are seeking to formally arrest most of the 64 South Koreans repatriated from Cambodia for allegedly working for online scam organizations in Cambodia, police said yesterday.The 64 South Koreans were detained in Cambodia over the past several months and were flown to Korea on a charter fl
CHINAEnvoy to WTO removedSenior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang (李成鋼) has been removed from his post as permanent representative to the WTO, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday, just days after US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent described him as “unhinged.” Li, during a visit to Wash
POLARIZATION: In response to the protests, US President Donald Trump shared artificial intelligence-generated videos on his Truth Social page depicting him as a king
Huge crowds took to the streets in all 50 US states at “No Kings” protests on Saturday, venting anger over US President Donald Trump’s hardline policies, while Republicans ridiculed them as “Hate America” rallies. Organizers said 7 million people attended protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, w
Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Saturday accused Washington of violating his country’s sovereignty and killing a fisherman, shortly after US President Donald Trump confirmed that US forces carried out another strike in his military campaign against “narcoterrorists.” Trump has waged an unpreced
Escalating attempts to remove works featuring themes such as LGBTQ lifestyles and race relations from US bookshelves are facing growing resistance from publishers and rights groups, a major topic at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany. Spearheaded by right-wing conservative groups, there has
A crocodile took a dip in a luxury hotel pool in northeastern Australia last weekend, but failed to stir guests relaxing in the sun a few steps away. Video posted on social media showed the juvenile carnivore lying on the bottom of the pool at the Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort in Port Douglas. “I don
VIOLENCE: Hamas-led fighters clashed with at least two armed groups in Gaza and executed a handful of suspects in public in widely condemned street killings
Israel yesterday morning identified the body of a deceased hostage, after Hamas handed over two bodies of what the militant group said are deceased hostages to the Red Cross late on Saturday night. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the body was identified as Ronen Engel. The second body
TUNE CHANGE: Ukraine failed to get Tomahawks, as the US president eyes another diplomatic breakthrough after last week’s Gaza peace deal and ahead of a Russia meeting
US President Donald Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to make a deal with Russia, pouring cold water on Kyiv’s hopes for Tomahawk missiles, as Trump renews a push to settle the war.Trump last month said that he believed Ukraine could take back all its territory, but a day
Thailand’s oldest political party yesterday voted to reinstate as its leader former Thai prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who led the country during a bloody military crackdown on “Red Shirts” protesters.Abhisit, who led Thailand from 2008 to 2011 during the global financial crisis, gained early po
Sixty-four South Koreans detained in Cambodia over alleged online scam operations returned home yesterday, with most expected to face investigation, South Korean authorities said. Their return followed the alleged murder of a South Korean college student who was tortured in Cambodia in August in a c
HEROES: A nonprofit chartered a plane to evacuate the stranded dogs, while teachers who have stayed behind helped wrangle the pets to be loaded at the airstrip to safety
The special delivery arrived in a plastic storage box after a chartered flight in bouncy, single-propeller plane. Veterinarian Susan Shaffer Sookram snipped the zip ties securing the lid and greeted the cargo: four dogs, one with a gray collar bearing its name, Happy.“What a scary ride!” she said. “
Myanmar’s ruling junta yesterday said that it had recaptured a town on a trade highway to China from an ethnic armed group in the country’s war-wracked north.Following a 16-day operation, “on 16 October, Tatmadaw reoccupied Hsipaw completely,” the state-run newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar sai
The British Museum hosted its inaugural fundraising ball yesterday, a glitzy event that has been touted by many observers as London’s answer to New York’s Met Gala.The museum, which boasts one of the largest permanent collections on the planet, said the ball aims to “celebrate London’s status as one
‘PRO-PEACE’: Budapest is the ‘only place in Europe’ where the meeting could be held, as Hungary has been the only country to advocate for peace, the prime minister said
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban yesterday celebrated his country’s status as the host of upcoming talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting where the two leaders are expected to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine.Trump on Thursday announced his s
Former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama, best known for making a statement apologizing over World War II, died yesterday aged 101, officials said.Murayama in 1995 expressed “deep remorse” over the country’s atrocities in Asia.The statement became a benchmark for Tokyo’s subsequent apologies
The Australian government has begun a public education campaign with tips on how to wean children off social media ahead of a national 16-year age limit taking effect in December.Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant yesterday said that information on her agency’s Web site (esafety.gov.a
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