Aug 31 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreed to establish a secretariat in Saudi Arabia under their Mecca joint defence agreement, which will initially be headed by a Pakistani secretary-general for three years, the three countries said in a joint statement on Monday. • The three coun
Aug 31 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump was sending a message to Iran with his social media post about Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island being blown to smithereens, Vice President JD Vance said on Monday. “The president likes to switch it up on social media a little bit. He would be the first
OSLO, Norway (AP) — The coffin of late King Harald V of Norway traveled through the royal palace to its chapel on Monday, with Queen Mette-Marit joining the procession in her first official appearance since assuming the title. Harald passed away Friday at age 89, and his son, the crown prince, immed
STOCKHOLM, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Sweden’s defence material administration on Monday signed an order for four Naval Group navy frigates during a ceremony in Stockholm attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Sweden in May said it would order the vessels fr
By Emma Farge GENEVA, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Peru has entered the race to lead the International Labour Organization, its website showed on Monday, as the body grapples with a financial shortfall that may force it to cut jobs. • Peru has nominated its former Foreign Affairs Minister Javier Gonzalez-Olae
BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday told Russian President Vladimir Putin that under their “strategic guidance and joint efforts”, the foundations of bilateral ties will be stronger, with brighter prospects, China’s state-run Xinhua reported. “Uncertainties and unpredi
By Saurabh Sharma, Sunil Kataria and Gopal Sharma BIDUR, Nepal, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Headmaster Rajendra Dawadi was in his school in Nepal’s Bidur last Wednesday when his accountant entered, shouting: “The flood is coming, the flood is coming!”, giving an early warning that helped save the lives of 90
PRISTINA, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The party of Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Vetevendosje (VV), and the opposition Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) agreed on Monday to back the election of a new president, a move that could break nearly two years of political deadlock. The proposed cand
An Iranian drone was intercepted early Monday over the United Arab Emirates’ territorial waters, the Defense Ministry said. The attack followed an exchange of fire between Iran and the United States over the weekend, which was the first significant military action in the war for more than a month. H
GENEVA (AP) — A suspect has been arrested after a weekend shooting at a rave in northern Switzerland that left one person dead and five wounded, police said Monday. The 43-year-old Swiss citizen was detained shortly before 1 a.m. Monday, police in Aargau canton (state) said in a statement. They said
ISTANBUL, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Turkey has prepared a plan for the safe passage of grain via the Black Sea and is in contact with both Russia and Ukraine regarding it, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday. Turkey has repeatedly expressed willingness to revive a U.N.-brokered deal that got grain
By Johan Ahlander REYKJAVIK, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Iceland needs to find new ways to strengthen its security after voters rejected restarting accession talks with the EU, the country’s foreign minister told Reuters on Monday, including by seeking bilateral cooperation and deepening ties with the bloc.
By Ben Blanchard TAIPEI, Aug 31 (Reuters) – An increasingly unpredictable Beijing is tightening its grip on the air and sea around Taiwan, Taipei said in an annual review of the Chinese threat that also said China was learning lessons from issues faced by the United States in waging war on Iran. Chi
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Niger’s junta survived its most severe internal threat since seizing power in a 2023 coup when renegade soldiers staged a mutiny over the weekend, triggering a 24-hour standoff that ended with Russian intervention. The mostly young soldiers took some of their colleagues hostage
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Singaporean lawyer and diplomat who led an international conference that adopted the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a Myanmar activist whose group documents human rights atrocities and a former Bangladeshi teacher who has helped provide aid to her count
By Steven Scheer and Lefteris Papadimas JERUSALEM/ATHENS, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Israel and Greece signed a €3 billion ($3.5 billion) defence deal on Monday under which Israel will build a multi-layered air defence system for Greece as Athens pushes ahead with a broader military modernisation programme.
ROME, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Italy’s population will shrink by almost 4 million by 2050, undermining the sustainability of its economy and welfare system as the proportion of elderly people increases, national statistics bureau ISTAT warned on Monday. In new demographic projections extending to 2080, IS
AMSTERDAM, Aug 31 (Reuters) – India must uphold a water-sharing treaty with Pakistan it suspended amid bilateral tensions and must limit work on an hydroelectric plant it is building in the Kashmir region, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague said on Monday. India in April last year suspe
BANDUNG, Indonesia, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The United States and Indonesia launched their annual joint military exercises on Monday, the first since announcing a new defence partnership this year, with drills from tactical airborne jumps and missile firing to jungle training and cyber defence. “Super Ga
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces relentlessly battered Kyiv and cities in the region around the Ukrainian capital for a fifth straight day Monday, leaving some supermarket shelves bare after repeated strikes on warehouses as Ukraine reels from attacks with jet-powered drones. Russia has intensifi
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Mount Sinabung on Indonesia erupted Monday, spewing a column of black ash and smoke 3,500 meters (11,482 feet) from the top of the mountain into the sky over Sumatra island. There were no immediate reports of casualties, evacuations or disruptions to flights in the region.
Aug 31 (Reuters) – Swiss police said on Monday that they arrested a 43-year-old suspect in relation to a deadly shooting incident at a rave in the town of Aarau on the weekend. “Investigations into the exact circumstances of the incident, as well as its background and possible motive, are currently
CAIRO, Aug 31 (Reuters) – An Israeli strike killed at least two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, health officials said. Medics said two people were killed and several others wounded when an Israeli airstrike hit a crowd of people near the municipal public park in Gaza City, an area densely
ROME, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Italy said on Monday it would suspend its open-border arrangements with Spain for another 15 days, extending restrictions it imposed after a mass rush of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta a month ago. The suspension of the EU passport-free Schengen arrangements — wh
ISTANBUL (AP) — Survivors of a ferry disaster off the coast of northern Cyprus that killed eight people described on Monday the moments of terror as they scrambled to escape the sinking vessel. The passengers spoke as rescue teams searched for 18 people missing since the ship carrying 267 passengers
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates’ air force intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters Monday, the Defense Ministry said, an attack that comes after the United States and Iran exchanged fire on the weekend, the first significant military action in a month. Du
Aug 31 (Reuters) – U.S. special envoy John Coale has said he hopes to secure the release of hundreds of additional prisoners from Belarus next month and will go there in person to try to seal the deal. Coale, who said his diplomacy had already persuaded Belarus to free up to 800 political prisoners
By Emma Farge GENEVA, Aug 31 (Reuters) – A U.N. committee said countries are legally obliged to consider reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and take other measures to address the enduring legacy of racial discrimination it says persists today. Guidance published on Monday by the Committee
NAIROBI, Aug 31 (Reuters) – Flight delays at Kenya’s main international airport on Monday affected thousands of travellers as airport workers’ go-slow strike action continued into its second day, with the main union saying negotiations were ongoing. The Kenya Aviation Workers’ Union (KAWU) said the
By Crispian Balmer and Angelo Amante ROME, Aug 31 (Reuters) – In a country famed for political instability, Giorgia Meloni is poised to lead Italy’s longest-lasting government since World War Two, overtaking a record of 1,412 consecutive days set by Silvio Berlusconi in 2005. Meloni, who has tempere
