Browsing: National
A fleet of 10 Japan-linked vessels was exiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday while a supertanker carrying Saudi crude for South Korea left over the weekend, shipping data on LSEG showed, after the ships were stranded in the Gulf for months because of the Iran war. The Japan-linked ships include six very large crude carriers loaded with 12 million barrels of Middle Eastern crude, two chemical tankers, a vehicle carrier and a container ship, the data showed. The tankers are carrying crudes from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar that were loaded in late February to early March. Most of the vessels are managed by Japanese shipper Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) which had said it would prioritise the safety of its seafarers, cargo and vessels when traversing the strait. Mitsui OSK declined to comment. Separately, South Korean refiner S-Oil said on Monday that the VLCC Long Wind carrying oil for its refinery exited the strait on Saturday. The vessel, loaded with 2 million barrels of Saudi crude in early March, is expected to arrive at Onsan, South Korea, on July 26, LSEG data showed. Related Story Source link
US authorities have reported at least 19 suspected heat-related deaths in New Jersey following a days-long heatwave that swept across the state.New Jersey officials said the suspected fatalities have been recorded since Thursday, with most occurring in the state’s central and northern regions.State Health Commissioner Dr. Raynard Washington said many of the victims were found in homes without air conditioning, while others were discovered outdoors or inside parked vehicles.Governor Mikie Sherrill described the heatwave as the most severe to hit New Jersey in more than 14 years, warning that its dangers extend beyond older adults and people with underlying health conditions to residents of all ages.The heatwave coincided with severe storms that swept across parts of the United States, leaving nearly one million homes and businesses without power. Source link
American flags are planted in the ground in front of a banner of President Donald Trump, hanging from the US Department of Labour building, ahead of…
Police officers walk in front of demonstrators holding placards and flags during a protest ahead of Nato leaders’ summit, in Istanbul, Sunday. (Reuters) US President Donald Trump’s visit to Ankara for the Nato summit could help secure Turkiye’s acquisition of dozens of fighter jet engines, but won’t resolve the F-35 dispute that has soured ties, analysts say. The July 7-8 summit, which is being hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will bring together leaders from the military alliance’s 32 member states. Last month, Trump promised to make Erdogan “very happy” when asked about Turkiye looking to secure F110 jet engines and being readmitted to the F-35 fighter jet programme. Analysts said it would likely mean freeing up fighter jet engines Turkiye wants to use in its flagship KAAN stealth fighter project. “It’s likely to be the green light for the F110 GE engines for the KAAN fighter plane, about 40 of them. There had been obstacles to that supply and very possibly those are now being removed,” Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul-based Edam think tank, told AFP. “Turkiye has produced a couple of prototypes which are flying with the F110 engine, but it has been waiting for the supply of additional engines to increase the number of KAAN platforms,” he said. KAAN is a twin-engine stealth fighter being developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to replace the Turkish Air Force’s fleet of F-16s as Ankara seeks to join the exclusive club of nations producing fifth-generation combat aircraft, notably the US, China and Russia. Although Turkiye will eventually fit the fighter with its own domestically-produced engine — the F110s lacking stealth capability — that project is still in the preliminary design phase, Defence Minister Yasar Guler said in September. Turkiye received a first batch of 10 F110s in September, and talks with the US government to acquire 80 more were “ongoing”, he said. But that’s been held up by a lack of political clearance linked to Turkiye’s 2017 acquisition of a Russian S-400 missile defence system, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in September. Infuriated, Washington expelled Turkiye from its F-35 fighter jet programme in 2019 and imposed CAATSA sanctions a year later, hampering Turkish defence projects and souring ties. “The CAATSA issue must be resolved. The US needs to take steps both regarding the F-35 and the engines for KAAN. KAAN’s engines are currently awaiting approval in the US Congress,” Fidan said, his remarks raising eyebrows back home as Turkiye had said the KAAN would be entirely domestically produced. Ankara’s F-35 exclusion has forced it to refocus on self-sufficiency. “Some argue we should not buy F-35s and invest that money into our own fifth-generation fighter jet programme. And that’s exactly what’s happening with President Trump’s decision to export jet engines,” Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, head of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara said. “Without those engines, Turkiye cannot produce the KAAN jet.” With a KAAN delivery date many years away, only Indonesia has placed an order, signing a $10bn contract to buy 48 fighters, although the Nato summit could generate further interest, Ulgen said. “Looking at the failure of the German-French FCAS initiative, there may be some interest. Spain could potentially become a partner and there may be interest from the Gulf as well… But there are more obstacles to be overcome for it to become a credible offer on the international stage,” he said. Experts expected little progress on the lingering F-35 dispute: for Congress to lift the CAATSA sanctions, Ankara would have to get rid of the S-400 — but selling it to a third country would require Moscow’s approval, and returning it to the Russians was not on the cards. “The US administration might wish to… put this issue behind it and sell Turkiye some F-35, but that will go to Congress and changing the congressional decision won’t be easy,” said Professor Mustafa Aydin, an international relations expert at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University. But Matthew Bryza, a retired US envoy and former senior White House and State Department official, said Trump could move to resolve the matter as the F-35 was an executive decision which he could easily reverse. “President Trump can certainly declare that the S-400/F-35 dispute is finished. It’s the CAATSA sanctions that require congressional action. Whether he can persuade Congress to do that, depends on how much political capital he’s willing to expend,” he told AFP of a move that could be “politically costly in the lead up to the midterm elections” due to Turkiye’s opponents in the Greek and Armenian diaspora. Related Story…
Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leader Balendra Shah takes oath as prime minister during a swearing-in ceremony in Kathmandu. (AFP/File picture) One hundred days after taking power promising sweeping reform, Nepal’s 36-year-old rapper-turned-Prime Minister Balendra Shah has upended the government while remaining an elusive public figure.The former mayor of Kathmandu, better known as “Balen”, reached the milestone Sunday and has moved quickly since taking office.Just a day after he was sworn in, police arrested former prime minister KP Sharma Oli and his ex-interior minister on the recommendation of an inquiry commission into the deadly September 2025 uprising that toppled Oli.The two have since been released without charge while investigations continue.Observers say that first move set the tone for the government’s subsequent actions — fast and symbolically loaded but also often legally contested and executed with little patience for institutional processes.Shah has kept an unusually low profile, preferring to communicate through social media and even delivering his victory speech as a rap song.He has also avoided meetings with foreign envoys and relegated visits to neighbouring India and China, the traditional first stops of a Nepali prime minister, to his foreign minister.”In three months, we know very little about the man we have elected as the prime minister,” said journalist Pranaya Rana. “He needs to open up.”‘On an expressway’Few predicted the scale of Shah’s landslide victory in the March 5 general election, the first vote since the youth-driven anti-corruption protests toppled Oli’s government.His rise was powered by the same public anger that drove young protesters onto the streets, fuelled by a lack of economic opportunities and corruption among the entrenched political elite.The government launched a 100-point reform agenda covering governance, anti-corruption measures, service delivery and digitalisation.About 70 measures have been implemented, with the rest underway, according to the government.Shah said in a rare public address to a meeting of the ruling Rastriya Swatantra Party in June that his administration was “on an expressway” towards change.”The brakes will only be applied when we reach our destination,” Shah said.The government has presented a 2.1tn rupee ($13.8bn) spending plan focused on boosting infrastructure, technology, health and education, while pledging to stabilise the economy.”The nation is standing at a decisive crossroad of comprehensive economic reform,” Minister of Finance Swarnim Wagle said as he presented the budget.’Stay vigilant’Shah’s breakneck style has won admirers.”First of all, it has changed the style of working — it started working from day one unlike previous governments,” said journalist Sudheer Sharma. “It seems to be action-oriented.”But it also has fierce critics.Oli’s communist party, the CPN-UML, said in a statement on Friday that the government’s work has been “very weak, immature and controversial”.Shah’s government has pushed reform through ordinances to speed up change despite having the parliamentary majority needed to pass legislation.Some worry the approach is undermining checks and balances.”Work has been done, but the understanding of how it is to be done seems to be different,” said Anusha Khanal, a political researcher who also took part in the protests. “We have to stay vigilant.”One ordinance allows the constitutional council — chaired by Shah — to make decisions, including judicial appointments, by a simple majority.Discussions around constitutional amendments and restructuring Nepal’s federal system have triggered political backlash.Yujan Rajbhandari, 23, who took part in the 2025 protests, told AFP that the government was born “from the womb of the movement” and must listen to its voice.”We have a lot of hope with this government,” he said. “It is good that they are result-oriented, but if that result is not through a due process then it may not be sustainable.”A bid to remove squatter settlements has also been highly criticised.”The first 100 days is the time they have the most goodwill from everyone,” Rana said. “Now, the criticism may mount, even from the public.” Related Story Source link
US President Donald Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked him to review the World Cup suspension of USA striker Folarin Balogun, which was reversed by football's governing body on Sunday, the New York Times reported.Balogun had been sent off for inadvertently treading on Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic in the USA's 2-0 victory in the last 32 on Wednesday. Under FIFA rules, a straight red card automatically triggers a one-game ban that cannot be appealed by the player's team, meaning Balogun was ruled out of USA's last 16 match against Belgium to be played Monday.But Trump called Infantino on Wednesday asking him to review the decision, the New York Times reported, citing three unnamed people familiar with the decision.On Sunday, FIFA took the unusual decision to suspend the ban for one year. Trump quickly thanked the governing body in a social media post for ‘reversing a great injustice.’Belgium's football association said Sunday it was ‘astonished’ at FIFA's decision. Source link
Early in the morning on June 18, a message from an unknown account slipped into the TikTok inbox of a flight attendant in Bangkok with a series of questions: ‘Are you flying to Australia? Do you do carry-for-hire? What is your rate?’The 30-year-old, who flies for a regional budget carrier, ignored the message and forgot about it — until Tuesday, when a Thai Airways flight attendant was charged with importing more than one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin into Australia hidden in several tote bags.The rare detention of a national airline cabin staff has triggered alarm in Thailand, raising questions about security measures at airports and concern that international trafficking networks are targeting air crew in their attempts to get illicit drugs to lucrative markets beyond the Southeast Asian nation.’According to reports, in the first half of this year, there have already been at least six cases of people travelling from Thailand who were charged with commercial drug trafficking,’ Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at a meeting on Friday of the top national anti-drug committee.’This is considered a high number… and it damages the country's image,’ he said.Thailand's main airport operator will improve baggage screening and inspections, including those of crew members, and airlines will take serious disciplinary actions against staff carrying or accepting items on behalf of others, a government spokesperson said.’I don't reply to strangers like this,’ the Bangkok flight attendant told Reuters, referring to the account that messaged her. She asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. ‘We've been constantly warned about this, no carry-for-hire. It's a well-known rule.’The unknown account — named ‘Powder is Powder’ in Thai — was linked to drug trafficking networks that create fake social media accounts to find people to move illicit substances across borders, said Areepak Ngernbamroong, a spokesperson for Thailand's Office of the Narcotics Control Board.’The account has now been shut down,’ Areepak said. ‘The ONCB is investigating, and preliminary findings indicate that the account used many different names.’In a statement following the detention, Thai Airways said it had strict rules governing the conduct of all employees and would cooperate with the relevant authorities.CROSS-BORDER MOVEMENTAfter procuring drugs from neighbouring countries with large production facilities, trafficking networks move the substances through Thailand concealed in items such as clothing, coffee packets, and vases, according to Thai authorities. The cultivation of opium poppies for the production of heroin in neighbouring Myanmar surged to its highest level in a decade in 2025, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported in December.War-torn Myanmar is the world's main known source of illicit opium, amid declining production in Afghanistan, as conflict and economic hardship push more farmers into the illicit trade.In Thailand, trafficking networks target specific groups of travellers, including flight attendants, to help transport the drugs overseas, said Police Major Suriya Singhakamol, Secretary-General of the ONCB.In the case of the Thai Airways flight attendant arrested in Australia, she had initially posted in a social media group where people offer to carry items overseas for a fee, he said.The flight attendant then began communicating with a Facebook user named ‘Rose Rose’, according to Suriya.’They later agreed on a fee of 8,800 baht ($265.46),’ he told reporters.The heroin concealed within the lining of the bags carried by the attendant had an estimated street value of A$500,000 ($347,150), according to the Australian Federal Police.Using similar methods, drug smuggling networks had prepared to send five more packages from the Thai capital Bangkok to Australia and Taiwan between June 30 and July 1, said Suriya.’But authorities seized 24.38 kilograms of heroin, concealed in traditional goods, silk clothing, coffee sachets, and winter jackets,’ he said, adding that Thai agencies were coordinating with Australian and Taiwanese authorities.So far, Thai authorities have taken into custody two people, a Thai man and his Laotian wife, suspected of sending drug parcels from a border province to Bangkok. Source link
The new US ambassador to New Zealand and several Pacific island nations said on Friday that securing Cook Islands seabed minerals was a top priority, and that China's push for influence in the Pacific carried risks for small island states.Jared Novelly, US ambassador to New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa, said in a press conference that critical minerals had moved rapidly up his agenda over the last year.’When I was getting briefings in October, November last year, the critical minerals thing was kind of a lesser item,’ Novelly said. ‘Fast forward to February, March of this year, critical minerals, and particularly in the Cooks, is either 1A or 1B of my priorities.’ Washington has made securing critical minerals a strategic priority as it seeks to reduce its reliance on China-dominated supply chains and support defence and clean-energy industries. The Cook Islands' waters contain deposits of polymetallic nodules, sought for batteries and other technologies, and the government has allowed exploration, but not commercial extraction. In February, the Cook Islands and the US signed a non-binding framework on critical minerals research and supply-chain security, including deep-sea minerals in Cook Islands waters. It has also signed an exploration and research agreement with China.Novelly, a Missouri businessman and sports team owner who is the inaugural US ambassador to the Cook Islands, said he planned to spend time in the country and would look to introduce US companies that could help with the minerals' extraction. The Cook Islands government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.He said he also believed he needed to warn Pacific countries to be cautious in dealings with Beijing.’China has made no bones about they want a base in the Pacific, they want an expanded presence there,’ he said, adding that island nations needed to understand ‘what a debt trap is’ and that ‘there can be strings attached’. China in recent years has become a major player in the region, in development finance, ports, airports and telecommunications, and has sought a greater role in the military, policing, digital connectivity and media. Beijing says its relationships in the region are based on mutual respect and delivering benefits to the Pacific people.Novelly said he was also exploring ways to support Pacific economies beyond aid, including by reducing the cost of remittances.US FACES MORE SCEPTICAL KIWISNovelly arrived in New Zealand earlier this week and presented his credentials to the governor general on Wednesday before hosting the embassy's annual July 4 party.Novelly said Washington respected New Zealand's role in the South Pacific, including defence cooperation, but said partners needed to spend more on security. ‘It's important that you care as much about your defence as we care about your defence,’ he said, echoing US policy towards partners and allies around the globe. Novelly arrives as New Zealanders' views of the US have fallen. A June survey by the Asia New Zealand Foundation found that, for the first time in a decade, they viewed Washington as more of a threat than China.But Novelly said it was not something he had experienced on his visits to the country and ‘there seems to be a very friendly camaraderie that occurs between folks from the US and Kiwis.’On New Zealand's nuclear-free policy, which restricts visits by nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed vessels, Novelly said any change was a decision for Wellington but that he would like to see a US aircraft carrier visit in Auckland harbour.’I would really like the opportunity to work with New Zealand on that,’ he said. Source link
People in Guam and the Northern Marianas readied themselves Saturday as the second “super typhoon” since April drew closer to the US territories, bringing the equivalent of category-5 hurricane winds.Bavi was moving westward with sustained winds of 269 kilometres per hour (167 miles per hour) and gusts of 324kph (201mph), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said in an update at 7:00pm local time (0900 GMT).The eye of the storm was expected to pass Monday very close to the small island of Rota between Guam and Saipan, the main island of the Northern Marianas, with winds set to strengthen to 278kph, the JTWC forecast.”My girls were saying to me it’s scary. But it will be okay. My house is concrete so the worst that can happen is a window could blow in,” local Arabella Paulino, 48, told AFP on a Guam beach as the sky darkened and rain fell intermittently.”Typhoon Sinkalu in April wasn’t as bad as Mawar in 2023. That brought my whole house down,” said her friend Derma Soaladaob, 51. “I stay up north, but I’m going to a hotel. I have a concrete house but with the noise and the wind, it’s scary.”Guam was set to go into “Condition of Readiness 2” — meaning a typhoon was expected in 24 hours — from 10:00pm, with emergency shelters due to open Sunday from 7:00am, the governor’s office said.Residents were told to bring to the shelters “enough food and water to last seven days for each family member” as well as medicines, bedding and personal hygiene products. Pets were not allowed.Any plans for celebrating the United States’s 250th anniversary on Saturday — also Liberation Day for Saipan — have been quickly overtaken by storm preparations, with both Guam and the Northern Marianas declaring a state of emergency.Many of the islands’ roughly 200,000 inhabitants have queued at petrol stations in recent days and thronged hardware stores to buy plywood to board up their windows while also stocking up on food, water and other essentials.Jeff Garcia, 48, who lives in Kagman Village in the Northern Marianas, told AFP that safety was the top priority, adding that they had “weathered super typhoons before.””We bought basic needs like water, candles, batteries, and canned goods… As a community, our greatest defence is our unity, our preparation and our discipline,” he said.Still recoveringThe Northern Marianas archipelago is home to around 40,000 people, and nearby Guam — a separate US territory — around 170,000. Major battles were fought in the area in World War II.Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which hit in mid-April, knocked out power for tens of thousands of people, uprooted trees, overturned cars and ripped metal roofs off buildings.A cargo ship, the MV Mariana, suffered engine failure and overturned in the storm. The body of one crew member was recovered and five others were missing, presumed dead.The American Red Cross warned that some locals were still in temporary shelters or under makeshift roofs, even as it deployed disaster teams and supplies ahead of Bavi’s arrival.Em Marilla, 42, who lives in As Lito village on Saipan, told AFP the thought of “going through it all again without electricity and water is really sad.””Furthermore, the application process for assistance takes far too long, and having to keep spending out of pocket for our daily needs is truly draining,” she said.Lherie Galvan, 50, an accountant in San Antonio village, said: “I’m tired of preparing, planning and fixing our roof.””It’s another anxiety to recover from. We need more psychiatrists on the island and financial assistance.”Children already have trauma but at a young age they know how to prepare — pack their things for emergencies.”Warming oceans The world’s oceans experienced their hottest June on record and could set fresh highs in the months ahead, the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said on Wednesday.Warmer oceans help tropical storms to intensify and add more moisture, which can fall as heavy rain.The World Meteorological Organisation warned on Friday that El Nino, which typically occurs every two to seven years and lasts nine to 12 months, has already begun in the tropical Pacific and is likely to be strong.The natural climate phenomenon warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns. Related Story Source link
The 2026 Korea Beauty Festival (KBF) is attracting thousands of international visitors to Seoul, further reinforcing South Korea’s reputation as a global destination where beauty, wellness, technology, and tourism converge. Organized by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the festival officially opened on June 24 and has quickly emerged as one of the country’s most anticipated tourism events, offering travelers immersive experiences that extend far beyond traditional shopping.At the heart of this year’s festival is the KBF Beauty House, a large-scale pop-up exhibition at HiKR Ground, one of Seoul’s most accessible tourism and cultural landmarks. The venue brings together leading Korean beauty brands under one roof, allowing international visitors to explore, compare, and experience the latest innovations in skincare, cosmetics, haircare, and wellness.Unlike conventional beauty exhibitions, the 2026 festival places a strong emphasis on personalization and technology. Visitors can undergo advanced skin diagnostics powered by artificial intelligence, receive personal colour analyses, and obtain customized skincare recommendations tailored to their individual needs. These interactive experiences demonstrate how digital innovation is transforming the global beauty industry while making professional beauty consultations more accessible to travelers.Following the overwhelming success of its first exhibition phase, held from June 25 to 28, the festival expanded into a second phase running from July 1 to 19 on the fourth floor of HiKR Ground. The new exhibition features an enhanced lineup of 11 participating companies, showcasing both established and emerging Korean beauty brands. Several popular exhibitors from the festival’s opening days—including beall·Heumm, ECLAT HARMONIE, and Dr. HAN K-BEAUTY CARE CENTER—have extended their participation in response to strong public demand. Visitors continue to enjoy customized hairstyling, professional makeup consultations, and traditional Korean beauty experiences that blend modern techniques with the country’s rich cultural heritage. The second phase also introduces new attractions, including AI-powered smart mirror scalp analysis, personalized skincare matching services, therapeutic Gua Sha massage experiences, and creative lifestyle activities such as custom sock-making. These additions reflect the festival’s broader vision of beauty as an integral part of a holistic wellness lifestyle rather than merely cosmetic enhancement. To further enhance accessibility for international tourists, the Korea Tourism Organization has partnered with nine major global online travel agencies (OTAs), including Trip.com and Klook, to launch the KBF Special Promotions campaign. Running through September 30, the initiative enables overseas travelers to reserve exclusive beauty and wellness experiences before arriving in South Korea. The curated travel packages include skincare and makeup masterclasses inspired by K-pop celebrities, premium spa and wellness programs, healing tours, and exclusive booking discounts. Visitors can also benefit from promotional offers, including discount coupons for Olive Young, one of South Korea’s largest health and beauty retail chains. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the festival reflects the rapid global expansion of K-beauty and its growing influence on international travel trends. Rather than serving solely as a platform for cosmetic products, the event is designed to position South Korea as a leading destination for beauty tourism by offering immersive, hands-on experiences that appeal to visitors of all ages and nationalities.The Korea Beauty Festival also demonstrates how South Korea continues to integrate technology, culture, healthcare, and tourism into a seamless visitor experience. By combining artificial intelligence, personalized wellness services, cultural traditions, and internationally recognized beauty expertise, the festival offers travelers a unique opportunity to experience Korean beauty from an entirely new perspective.As global demand for K-beauty products and wellness experiences continues to rise, the 2026 Korea Beauty Festival stands as a compelling example of how experiential tourism is shaping the future of travel. Through innovation, collaboration, and cultural exchange, the festival not only promotes South Korea’s beauty industry but also strengthens Seoul’s position as one of Asia’s premier destinations for wellness and lifestyle tourism. Source link