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Chinese President Xi Jinping warned the world was facing a choice between peace or war at a massive military parade in Beijing on Wednesday, flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un in an unprecedented show of force. The event to mark 80 years since Japan's defeat at the end of World War Two was largely shunned by Western leaders, with Putin and Kim - pariahs in the West due to the Ukraine war and Kim's nuclear ambitions - the guests of honour. -snip- "Today, mankind is faced with the choice of peace or war, dialogue or...

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has criticised the UN's nuclear agency and accused western powers of "double standards" as he joined the leaders of China, Russia and North Korea for a military parade in Beijing. The Iranian leader was one of 26 heads of state in the Chinese capital for a once-a-decade event showcasing China’s growing firepower and diplomatic clout alongside its closest international allies. Mr Pezeshkian told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV he backed Beijing's drive to reform systems of global governing, which he said should take a multilateral and "justice-oriented" approach.

A Venezuelan court granted an arrest warrant Monday for opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who claims to have rightfully won July elections that authorities awarded to incumbent Nicolas Maduro.The court, the prosecutor's office said on Instagram, had granted its request for a warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia for "serious crimes."The office had earlier published its request to the court on social media, in which it listed the alleged crimes that stem from the opposition's insistence that Maduro and his allies stole the July 28 presidential vote.

China kicked off its largest-ever military parade on Wednesday, a show of its growing firepower and geopolitical clout as President Xi Jinping seeks to cast Beijing as the custodian of a post-U.S. international order. Flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, a smiling Xi strolled up a red carpet to take his seat for the lavish event at Tiananmen Square to mark 80 years since Japan's defeat at the end of World War Two. More than 50,000 spectators packed into stands joined a vast choir singing patriotic songs as the dignitaries took their seats on the...

As Beijing rolled out its largest military parade in decades, US President Donald Trump trained his guns at Xi Jinping, accusing the Chinese President of “conspiring” with Russia and North Korea against the United States. "Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America," Trump said in a post directed at Xi on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. His remarks coincided with a show of force in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2. Xi was joined by Russian President Vladimir...

Beijing is set to witness one of the largest diplomatic gatherings on Wednesday, with the world particularly focused on the participation of China’s President Xi Jinping, his Russian and Iranian counterparts, along with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. While it will be Kim’s maiden participation in any multilateral event since he assumed power in 2011, it will also be the first time that the leaders of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea will be at the same place, attending Beijing’s military parade to commemorate the Chinese victory against the Japanese aggression and end of World War II, as well...

A sharp exchange between the United States and China erupted at the United Nations this week, as China’s ambassador criticized President Donald Trump’s pro-life policies, particularly his decision to defund the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The confrontation highlighted deepening tensions over global abortion policies and the U.S. commitment to halting taxpayer funding for organizations linked to abortion. During a recent UN meeting, China’s ambassador accused the Trump administration of undermining women’s health by withdrawing financial support from UNFPA, an agency long criticized by pro-life advocates for its ties to China’s population control programs. “The U.S. is obstructing critical health...

By John Crewdson, Tribune senior correspondent. Reporting and research assistance was provided by Drew Crosby in Madrid MADRID -- The most sweeping criminal indictment to arise thus far from the Sept. 11 attacks reflects a quiet but dramatic change in understanding by investigators here and across Europe of the terrorist organization known as Al Qaeda, and the international Islamic radical-terrorist network of which, they now agree, it is merely a part. As laid out in the indictment, the defendants' alleged activities--from arranging travel and providing introductions to procuring false documents and, especially, moving money--provide the first detailed look at one...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the strengthening cooperation between Russia and China within the BRICS group, stating that the two countries are actively working to enhance the bloc’s influence as a core mechanism of the international architecture. In an interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS, Putin said the two nations are jointly promoting initiatives aimed at expanding the economic development opportunities of member states. “We are actively cooperating with China within BRICS to enhance its influence as one of the core mechanisms of the international architecture. Together, we are promoting initiatives aimed at expanding...

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with President Xi Jinping in China next week, attend a security summit, and be the "main guest" of Xi's at a military parade on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Kremlin said on Friday. -snip- Ushakov said Putin would be attending as "the main guest" and be seated on Xi's right, while North Korea's Kim Jong-Un would sit on Xi's left.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un will attend a military parade in Beijing, marking the first public appearance of the two leaders alongside President Xi Jinping in a show of collective defiance amidst Western pressure. No Western leaders will be amongst the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week except for Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a European Union member state, according to the Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday. Against the backdrop of China's growing military might during the "Victory Day" parade on September 3, the three leaders will project a...

Gal Luft, a Dual U.S.-Israeli Citizen, Allegedly Evaded FARA Registration While Working to Advance the Interests of China in the United States and Sought to Broker the Illicit Sales of Chinese-Manufactured Weapons and Iranian Oil to China... U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Gal Luft, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen and co-head of a Maryland think tank, engaged in multiple, serious criminal schemes. He subverted foreign agent registration laws in the United States to seek to promote Chinese policies by acting through a former high-ranking U.S. Government official; he acted as a broker in deals for dangerous weapons and Iranian...

Worshippers were forced to flee a Melbourne synagogue early Friday morning after it was set ablaze in an arson attack Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony called “act of hate.” Sixty-plus firefighters were called to Adass Israel synagogue in the Victorian state capital just after 04:00 local time on Friday (17:00 GMT Thursday), finding the building fully ablaze when they arrived. Local media outlets confirmed people were inside at the time for morning prayers and they had reported seeing firebombs thrown by masked assailants. One person was injured and the fire caused extensive damage.

This is just a rough AI translation of the original Japanese to English below: “On the 4th, North Korea's KIM JONG-UN, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, met with the secretary of the General Secretary of Security Council of Russia Mr SHOIGU. The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the 5th. Mr. Kim promised to unconditionally support Russia's position on Ukraine and other international issues. KCNA reported, "Mr. Kim has promised that North Korea will continue to unconditionally support Russia's position and foreign policy." According to KCNA, Kim said that North Korea would responsibly comply with...

Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, traveled to Pyongyang on Tuesday under the direct orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin, signaling a deepening of strategic military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. The visit, Shoigu's second in less than two weeks and third meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in just three months, comes as Moscow seeks to draw Pyongyang closer in its protracted war effort in Ukraine. Observers say the visit suggests a bid by Russia to leverage shifting global attention — particularly the West’s growing preoccupation with escalating tensions between Israel and Iran — to secure...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid an emotional tribute to soldiers killed while fighting for Russia in its war against Ukraine, saying his ‘heart aches’ in a rare admission of military losses. Kim made the comments on Thursday at a ceremony in Pyongyang, where he met with commanders of a unit that had fought for Russia in the western Kursk region, according to North Korean state media KCNA. He praised them as “a heroic army,” with state media photos showing Kim pinning commendation badges on soldiers’ uniforms. Photos released by KCNA also showed Kim pinning badges on the...

The British government sought on Tuesday to limit the information it would disclose at a planned inquest into the death of Alexander V. Litvinenko, a former officer in the K.G.B. who succumbed to radiation poisoning in London more than six years ago. The coroner hearing the case said that it may now be postponed. “Due to the complexity of the investigation which necessarily precedes the hearings,” the coroner, Sir Robert Owen, said, “it may not be possible to adhere” to the planned May 1 start date for the hearings. The inquest would be the first — and probably the only...

The world's leading authority on food insecurity has confirmed a famine in Gaza. In a report published Friday, the United Nations-backed group of experts finds that over half a million people parts of north Gaza are at risk of dying from starvation, and hundreds of thousands more people face catastrophic shortages as the famine spreads to other areas. "As this Famine is entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed. The time for debate and hesitation has passed, starvation is present and is rapidly spreading," the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, report says. The images of skeletal children...

Shenghua Wen, 42, received around $2 million (€1.7 million) from North Korean officials to ship firearms and ammunition from California. A Chinese national in California has been sentenced to eight years in prison for shipping firearms and ammunition to North Korea. North Korean officials paid Shenghua Wen around $2 million (€1.7 million) to ship two containers of weapons and other items from Long Beach in California to North Korea via Hong Kong in 2023, according to the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles. The 42-year-old pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic...

Evidence outlined in a Pentagon contractor report suggests that financial subversion carried out by unknown parties, such as terrorists or hostile nations, contributed to the 2008 economic crash by covertly using vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system. The unclassified 2009 report “Economic Warfare: Risks and Responses” by financial analyst Kevin D. Freeman, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, states that “a three-phased attack was planned and is in the process against the United States economy.” While economic analysts and a final report from the federal government's Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission blame the crash on such economic...