World News

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday oversaw the launch of a new nuclear-powered icebreaker as Russia pushes to develop the Arctic and seeks new energy markets amid sanctions over Ukraine.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Tuesday that Turkey would “soon” unleash a ground operation into Syria against Kurdish targets in defiance of mounting international pressure.

The United States continues to oppose any military action that destabilizes the situation in Syria, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday, adding that Washington has communicated its serious concerns to Ankara over the impact of such an offensive on the goal to fight against Islamic State.

Iran said Tuesday it had begun enriching uranium to 60 percent purity at its underground Fordo site, a technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, saying the move was in response to international criticism.

A US military commander on Sunday warned of the danger facing children living in Syria’s Al-Hol displacement camp for ISIS family members after the beheaded bodies of two Egyptian girls were found in the camp’s sewage system on Tuesday, the Christian Post (CP) reports. US Central Command Gen. Michael Kurilla issued his warning after visiting Al-Hol on Thursday.

Iranian security forces have been firing on protestors in western Iran, as the number of civilian casualties rises to at least 419, the Jerusalem Post reports. The ongoing protests across Iran broke out in mid-September after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in custody following her arrest for not wearing a hijab correctly.

The leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) have agreed to adopt global vaccine passports to “facilitate” all international travel, a move that critics say will increase government control over people’s lives.

UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi issued a blistering statement on the urgent need to prevent a nuclear accident in Ukraine after shelling again took place extremely close to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in the south-eastern part of the country on Sunday, UN News reports.

A total of 37 countries have now signed a 2020 consensus document asserting that there is no international right to abortion, the Christian Post (CP) reports.

A powerful earthquake shook Indonesia’s main island of Java on Monday, killing at least 56 people and injuring hundreds more, authorities said.

The U.S. military on Saturday responded to recent missile launches from North Korea by flying two supersonic bombers alongside South Korean and Japanese warplanes.

Russia has secured an agreement with Iran to begin building hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles on Russian soil, The Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing American and other Western intelligence sources.

The United States is reinforcing defense infrastructure in the Middle East, at a time of tension with Iran, a US official said Sunday, adding that Tehran had likely abandoned a plan to attack Saudi Arabia due to security cooperation.

A Dutch court has found three suspects guilty of downing Malaysia Airlines Boeing flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine eight years ago and sentenced them to life imprisonment, prompting anger in Russia.

Ukraine and Russia have agreed to prolong the United Nations-brokered grain deal for another 120 days, Worthy News monitored.

Iran confirmed Wednesday that a second death sentence in three days had been issued in connection with ongoing protests over the death in custody of Mahsa Amin on September 16, MiddleEastEye (MEE) reports.

An influential governing Dutch party wants to ban parties deemed dangerous for society, in a move that critics say threatens the Netherlands’ liberal, democratic traditions.

The Group of 20 (G20) unanimously adopted a declaration effectively condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but not all countries agreed on who was responsible for Europe’s largest armed conflict since World War Two.

The 35-nation board of governors of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency nuclear watchdog passed a resolution Thursday ordering Iran to cooperate immediately with the agency’s investigation into uranium traces discovered at three undeclared sites, diplomats said.

The secretary general of the NATO military alliance said Wednesday that a missile that landed in Poland killing two people was “most likely” related to Ukrainian air defense systems, though he still blamed Moscow for causing the tragedy. Jens Stoltenberg spoke after a NATO emergency meeting sparked by the first cross-border missile incident since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.