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PRETORIA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - South Africa's foreign minister on Monday deflected criticism of joint military drills planned with Russia and China, saying that hosting such exercises with "friends" was the "natural course of relations." Naledi Pandor made her comments during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was visiting South Africa 11 months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A South African official, who declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak, said Lavrov would afterwards visit Eswatini, Botswana and Angola.

The isolated nation finds itself grappling with a severe need for humanitarian aid as the need to feed citizens only increases. North Korea has found itself dealing with its worst famine since 1990, as the troubled nation grapples with one of its worst humanitarian issues in history. Scarcity of food and availability of product has decreased significantly since the nation isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation has failed to meet the bare minimum for providing food, the World Food Program reported. Kim's regime is more focused on the North Korean nuclear program instead of feeding its citizens - with...

In Israel the Attorney General is reported close to ordering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step aside and take a leave of absence... The COVID mask mandate has been rescinded in most places in the Navajo Nation which includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah... The US says it has evidence of North Korean arms shipments to Russia... The protests in Peru continue tonight demonstrators in the capital city of Lima... In New Zealand there's only one candidate in the Labor Party to replace Jacinda Ardern... About 30 people have been killed in suspected jihadist attacks... Thousands of Pro-Life...

This follows the “Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act” banning all contracts with foreign-owned companies related to critical infrastructure signed by Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott. A bill has been filed in the Texas legislature that would ban citizens, governments and entities of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia from purchasing land in Texas Republican state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst filed SB 147 to ban certain foreign governments and entities associated with them from purchasing real property in Texas. It follows an executive order issued by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last year but includes fewer countries and far less prohibitions. The bill would...

SEOUL, Jan3(Yonhap)--The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that South Korea and the United States are in talks over sharing information and jointly implementing plans involving U.S. nuclear assets, after U.S. President Joe Biden denied the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises. Yoon said in a recent newspaper interview that the two sides were in talks over joint planning and exercises involving U.S. nuclear assets to counter North Korea's nuclear threats. When asked by a reporter at the White House on Monday (local time) if such discussions were under way, Biden said, "No"...

Why North Korea is the Hardest Country to Escape (and what happens if you're caught)

Blasts were heard at Russia's Engels air base, hundreds of kilometres (miles) from the frontlines in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian media outlets reported early on Monday. There was no immediate official confirmation of the blasts and Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports. The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that two explosions took place. The Russian news outlet Baza reported, citing local residents, that air raid sirens were wailing and an explosion was heard. The air base, near the city of Saratov, about 730 km (450 miles) southeast of Moscow, was hit on Dec. 5 in what Russia said...

"Danny Haiphong: For the last several weeks there has been this intense battle in the city of Bahkmut and the western mainstream media has been kind of sounding the alarm a bit. You've had places like the Guardian, the New York Times talk about how Ukraine has been using artillery and all kinds of weapons at alarming rates to the point where it seems like they are admitting that Ukraine is outgunned here. What is your assessment of the situation right now on the ground in Bahkmut and going forward as we enter this winter phase of this proxy war...

My short answer to the question — Yes! I received an interesting response to my request for opinions on what constitutes the “Endgame” in Ukraine from a man named Matt. Here is his analysis:The end game is to diminish/weaken Russia. The US has determined they cannot fight and win a war against both China and Russia. The US and it’s allies have sought to pick off the weaker of the two. The longer the US bleeds out Russia, via Ukraine, the better. Not all NATO (think Germany) were onboard with the plan. Hence, NATO starts talks with Ukraine about joining....

Al Arabiya English Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to become the Prime Minister of Israel for the third time. He has until December 21 to form a government before taking office. In a wide-ranging interview with a group of print and television journalists at Al Arabiya, Mr. Netanyahu discussed Israel’s relations with Arab states, the US alliance structure in the Middle East, unrest in Iran, Israel’s new hard-right government, the future of the US-brokered maritime border agreement with Lebanon, and the Russia-Ukraine war. Mr. Netanyahu reiterated the paramount importance of normalization with Saudi Arabia, which would be a “quantum leap” toward...

Olena Zelenska, wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, traveled to Paris France for a three-day visit December 12-14. As reported by Le Monde, “Members of the Ukrainian government will also come, including Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and several ministers in charge of reconstruction, including Yulia Svyrydenko (economy), Oleksandr Kubrakov (infrastructure) and German Galushchenko (energy).”

Now that Kim Jong-un North Korea's ruler has displayed his believed to be 12-or 13-year old daughter to the world for a second time in recent days, it's time to ask questions. Notions of virility and succession loom large but is there more to this? Kim enjoyed three personal one on one meetings with Donald Trump the President of the United States. The ICBM launch linked to these public appearances with his underage daughter sends a message directly to the United States. The missile has a 9,320-mile range which means it can reach the entirety of the United States. Has...

North Korean scientists have made a "wonderful leap forward in the development of the technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles," Kim said, without elaborating. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country's ultimate goal is to possess the world's most powerful nuclear force, as he promoted dozens of military officers involved in the recent launch of North Korea's largest ballistic missile, state media reported on Sunday.

The B-1B supersonic bomber. (Credit: US Military News) Two U.S. Air Force supersonic B-1B bombers flew with South Korean and Japanese warplanes in a joint exercise Saturday in a response to North Korea’s Thursday test of an intercontinental missile. That missile landed just 124 miles from Japan in the East Sea.South Korean military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff described the maneuvers in a statement:“South Korea and the US conducted a joint air drill today with the US Air Force’s B-1B strategic bomber redeployed on the Korean peninsula,” they said, adding that the drill saw the participation of some of the...

SEOUL, Nov. 19 (Yonhap)--North Korea revealed Kim Jong-un's daughter for the first time Saturday in photos showing them atending the test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day. The North's state media reported that Kim inspected the launch of the Hwasong-17, the country's largest ballistic missile, at Pyongyang International Airport on Friday. He was present at the scene "together with his beloved daughter and wife," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. Photos released by the agency showed his daughter in a white winter jacket standing and walking, together with Kim in front of the missile sitting...

Vice President Harris on Friday lashed out at North Korea after its most recent missile launch during an appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, calling the move a “brazen violation” of U.N. security resolutions. North Korea launched what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to multiple reports, a rocket with the potential to reach across continents, early on Friday.

The latest suspected ICBM was fired at 10:15 local time (02:15 GMT) from near the North Korean capital Pyongyang, military chiefs in Seoul said. It reached an altitude of 6,100km on a lofted trajectory and travelled 1,000km (621 miles), reaching a speed of Mach 22, South Korea's military said. A lofted trajectory means the missile flies much higher into space but across a shorter distance than it would if fired on a normal trajectory. But Japan's defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said the missile had sufficient range to reach the US. "Based on calculations taking the trajectory into account, the ballistic...

SEOUL, Nov. 18 (Yonhap)-North Korea fired an apparent long-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Friday, the South Korean military said, in apparent protest over the United States' move to reinforce its "extended deterrence" protection of South Korea and Japan. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 10:15 a.m. It did not provide other details...

Russian drones attacking an ammunition dump in the Ukrainian city of Krasnormeysk... A federal jury finding a former aide to President Trump not guilty... What happened when Paul Pelosi was attacked... Here in York, Pennsylvania Friday evening a big jump in gasoline prices... The price of oil dramatically higher... Inflation will rage until 2025... Protesters in the rain tonight in Dresden, Germany as demonstrations against government COVID, economic and Russia policies continue... More shortages on French supermarket shelves... Twitter's new owner Elon Musk is reorganizing... Meanwhile the Anti-Defamation League calling for a Twitter ad boycott... The Republican Trafalgar Group polling...

Japanese government officials say North Korea launched what may have been a ballistic missile Thursday morning. But they confirmed that it did not fly over Japan, as earlier feared. Japan's Defense Ministry has confirmed that the missile has disappeared over the Sea of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard has announced that North Korea may also have launched two additional missiles. All are believed to have fallen. The government continues to monitor the situation...