Floods, landslides in Afghanistan leave 77 dead in 10 days

KABUL, Afghanisan (AP) – Widespread flooding, landslides and lightning strikes triggered by heavy rain and storms across Afghanistan have left 77 people dead and 137 injured over the past 10 days, the country’s Disaster Management Authority said Saturday.

US stocks drift higher ahead of Trump's deadline

NEW YORK (AP) - The U.S. stock market drifted higher in tentative trading ahead of a deadline President Donald Trump has set to bomb Iranian power plants. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

 

China aims to show global leadership with Iran war diplomacy

WASHINGTON (AP) – China is stepping up its diplomacy on the Iran war, putting forward a five-point proposal with Pakistan, rallying support from Gulf countries and opposing a United Nations proposal to use any force necessary to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea’s spy agency says it’s now fair to view the teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as his heir, its strongest assessment yet on the rising political status of the girl who it believes could extend her family’s rule into a fourth generation.

 

 

Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

BANGKOK (AP) – Myanmar’s parliament on Friday elected Min Aung Hlaing, a general who ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in 2021 and kept an iron grip on power for the past five years, as the country’s new president. The move marks a nominal return to an elected government but is widely considered as an effort to keep the army in power.

Risky rescue of US crew relied on subterfuge, Trump says

WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States relied on dozens of aircraft, hundreds of personnel, secret CIA technology and a dose of subterfuge to rescue a two-man F-15E fighter jet crew downed deep inside Iran, a risky mission that President Donald Trump and his top defense aides detailed Monday.

Rubio accuses China of 'bullying' for holding up Panama-flagged ships

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday accused China of “bullying” by detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships – though for a short period of time – after the Central American country seized control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal earlier this year from a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company.

Editorials from The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and others

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

French and South Korean leaders say they'll work together on Strait of Hormuz

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed Friday to work together to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease global economic uncertainties caused by the war in the Middle East.