WPH

Naval drills hosted by Iran with the participation of Russia and Oman and observed by nine other countries began in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, Iran’s state TV said. The exercises, dubbed “IMEX 2024,” are aimed at boosting “collective security in the region, expand multilateral cooperation and display the goodwill and capabilities to safeguard peace, friendship and maritime security,” the English-language Press TV said. Participants …

KYIV, UKRAINE — The involvement of North Korean regular troops to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would be a serious escalation of the war, France and Ukraine’s foreign ministers said at a joint press conference in Kyiv on Saturday. France’s Jean-Noel Barrot, who was making his first trip to Ukraine since becoming foreign minister in September, is also set to visit the east of the country, …

NAPLES, ITALY — G7 defense ministers started talks on Saturday against a backdrop of escalation in the Middle East and mounting pressure on Ukraine as it faces another winter of fighting. Italy, holding the rotating presidency of the Group of Seven countries, organized the body’s first ministerial meeting dedicated to defense, staged in Naples, the southern city that is also home to a NATO base. Italian …

MELBOURNE, Australia — King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in Sydney on Friday for the first Australian visit by a reigning monarch in more than a decade, a trip that has rekindled debate about the nation’s constitutional links to Britain. The Sydney Opera House’s iconic sails were illuminated with images of previous royal visits to welcome the couple, whose six-day trip will be brief by …

seoul, south korea — North Korea claimed Saturday it had discovered the remains of at least one crashed South Korean military drone in the capital Pyongyang, releasing images of the device that some analysts confirmed was South Korean. The nuclear-armed North recently accused Seoul of using drones to drop anti-regime propaganda leaflets on the capital. Pyongyang’s defense ministry spokesperson said security authorities found the remains of …

washington — Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday reiterated her call to end the bloodshed in Gaza, underscoring that the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar creates an opportunity “to end this war and bring the hostages home.” She spoke between campaign events in Michigan, a state home to the largest percentage of Arab Americans in the country, many of whom are outraged over the Biden …

bangkok — Vietnam is anxious for international media to tell its story, but a restrictive environment makes accurate and impactful coverage difficult, say media analysts. That conflict of interests will be tested by the decision of The New York Times to open a bureau in the Southeast Asian country, where limited options exist for local independent journalism. The announcement of the newspaper’s return to the country …

geneva — A U.N. official Friday accused the Israel Defense Forces of repeatedly targeting U.N. peacekeepers along the blue line, the U.N.-drawn provisional border between Israel and Lebanon. “We have been targeted several times and deliberately attacked once inside the borders in Naqoura, injuring two peacekeepers,” Andrea Tenenti, spokesperson for UNIFIL, the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, told journalists in Geneva from Beirut. “They hit the …

Some observers say Israel is attempting to promote internal divisions in Lebanon as part of its campaign against Hezbollah. But even amid a devastating war, some Lebanese see an opportunity to unify the country. Jacob Russell reports from Aitou, in the north of Lebanon. …

JAKARTA, INDONESIA — Analysts expect a departure in style and substance from Prabowo Subianto, set to be inaugurated Sunday as Indonesia’s eighth president, compared to predecessor Joko Widodo.   “Prabowo will be a foreign policy president and have a hands-on approach in dealing with foreign policy matters,” said Fadli Zon, his longtime political party confidant and the chairperson of the House Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation.   “Just look …

An Iranian newspaper implying that the public needed to have the patience of the Biblical figure Job in waiting for President Masoud Pezeshkian to lift restrictions on the internet now faces potential criminal charges. The reported case against the pro-reform newspaper Ham Mihan represents one of the first media freedom issues to be faced under Pezeshkian, himself a reformist who has promised to ease a …

BEIJING/LONDON — China and Britain took steps toward further reconciliation on Friday, with Beijing heralding the new Labour government’s plan to develop “pragmatic” bilateral ties as a “new starting point.” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is only the second top U.K. diplomat to visit China in six years, and his trip seeks to demonstrate that Britain is taking a strategic approach to building ties with Beijing, …

Taipei, Taiwan — It has been seven years since the Paris-based press freedom advocacy organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) established an Asia-Pacific office in Taipei. The organization’s new Director General Thibaut Bruttin led a delegation to Taiwan this week and met with Taiwan President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday. Taiwan ranked first in Asia this year in the “World Press Freedom Index” released by Reporters Without Borders, …

The United States and its allies are pressing ahead with efforts to enforce UN sanctions on North Korea, despite what they describe as a lack of cooperation from Russia and China. VOA’s Bill Gallo joined a Canadian military flight on the front lines of those efforts, and reports from the East China Sea. …