Heavy rain expected to bring flooding and landslides Japan is facing another dangerous storm as Typhoon Kong-rey tracks through the Pacific Ocean. The Met Office warned of a potential risk to life as the storm brings maximum sustained winds of 120mph, with gusts of up to 175mph. Heavy rain is ... Read More »
With an eye on Russia, U.S. pledges to use cyber capabilities on behalf of NATO
The United States is expected to announce in the coming days that it will use offensive and defensive cyber capabilities on behalf of NATO if asked, a senior Pentagon official said, amid concerns about Russia’s increasingly assertive use of its cyber capabilities. The 29-nation NATO alliance recognized cyber as a ... Read More »
Iran fires missiles at militants in Syria linked to attack
Iran fired missiles at militants in Syria it blamed for an attack at a military parade in southwestern Iran last week, the Revolutionary Guards said on Monday in a statement published on Sepah News, the Guards’ official news site. Several militants were killed in the missile attack in the Albu ... Read More »
North Korea, South Korea begin removing landmines along fortified border
Troops from North and South Korea began removing some landmines along their heavily fortified border on Monday, the South’s defense ministry said, as part of a pact to reduce tension and build trust on the divided peninsula. Project details were agreed during last month’s summit in Pyongyang, the capital of ... Read More »
US and Canada reach last-minute deal to replace Nafta with new trade agreement
New deal will be called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA Canada and the US have reached a deal to resurrect a free trade agreement with Mexico, a replacement for the Nafta deal which Donald Trump had campaigned against and described as a job-killing disaster. The deal was reached just ... Read More »
EU, China and Russia in move to sidestep US sanctions on Iran
Special Purpose Vehicle aims to keep Iran in 2015 nuclear deal with barter system The European Union, Iran, China and Russia have set out a plan to sidestep unilateral US sanctions designed to cripple the Iranian economy and force the Iranians to renegotiate the nuclear deal signed in 2015. European ... Read More »
‘Break the shell of mistrust’: Shinzo Abe willing to meet Kim Jong-un at summit
Summit could lower tensions between Tokyo and Pyongyang but Japanese PM still wants action on cold war abductions Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has said he is willing to meet Kim Jong-un in a move that could lower simmering tensions between Tokyo and Pyongyang. But he insisted that any summit ... Read More »
Venezuela’s Maduro accuses Chile, Colombia, Mexico of helping drone attack
Venezuela’s socialist president Nicolas Maduro accused the right-wing governments of Chile, Colombia and Mexico on Monday of helping “terrorists” who tried to kill him during a drone attack in early August. The three countries refuted Venezuela’s accusations that they were linked to the attack, which used drones carrying explosives during ... Read More »
Russia sends angry message at Israel by offering Syrians upgraded anti-aircraft weaponry
Russia blames Israel for the downing of a military aircraft last week Moscow has announced it will supply advanced S-300 surface-to-air and jamming systems to Syria within the next two weeks. Speaking on Monday, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed the move would “cool hotheads” in the region. But he also ... Read More »
Iceland volcano: Could Katla erupt and will another ash cloud disrupt European flights?
Volcanologists at odds over high carbon dioxide emissions from ‘highly hazardous’ peak that last blew in October 1918 A huge volcano in southern Iceland is belching higher quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere than previously thought, prompting scientists to warn it could be about to erupt. Should Katla ... Read More »