WORLD

BEIRUT, LEBANON | Xinhua | Lebanon’s cabinet on Friday approved an army plan to disarm Hezbollah and place all weapons under state control. Five Hezbollah and Amal ministers walked out in protest, and Hezbollah supporters called for mass demonstrations. Why is Lebanon moving to disarm Hezbollah? How are divergent sides …

BEIJING | Xinhua | At Beijing’s Tian’anmen Square, Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with world leaders, attended on Wednesday morning a grand military parade honoring both China’s victory and the collective triumph of nations that overcame fascism eighty years ago. Standing on the rostrum of Tian’anmen, Xi delivered a speech …

COMMENT | GEBRT KONSTANTY | There is a raging global debate about whether Israel’s actions in Gaza qualify as genocide. The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines the offense as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial …

    JERUSALEM | Xinhua |  At least six people were killed in a shooting attack at a bus stop in Jerusalem on Monday, Israeli authorities said. Police said two assailants opened fire at a bus stop and then at a bus before security personnel and a civilian returned fire, …

COMMENT | Brahma Chellaney |  In 2020, China’s stealth encroachments into India’s Himalayan borderlands triggered deadly clashes and a prolonged military standoff that nearly erupted into war. Five years on, the border crisis remains largely unresolved, yet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently headed to China in an apparent effort to ease friction …

  KABUL | Xinhua |  A total of 107,037 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland from neighboring Iran and Pakistan over the past week, according to a report from the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation issued on Sunday. The ministry stated that all returnees have received essential assistance, including …

TOKYO | Xinhua |  Japanese Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Shigeru Ishiba announced Sunday that he will step down as the LDP head, triggering an early leadership contest within the party. He also said he would not stand as a candidate in the upcoming LDP election. …

TOKYO | TASS | Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced a decision to resign from his post, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday. According to NHK, Ishiba has made this decision in order to avoid a split within his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Survey results all incumbent LDP deputies and …

CAIRO, EGYPT | Xinhua | Two weeks after Hamas accepted a peace proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar, Israel has yet to issue a formal response. Instead, it has focused on bolstering its forces around Gaza City in preparation for an expanded offensive to seize the enclave’s largest urban center. …

TIANJIN, CHINA | Xinhua | The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) convened its largest-ever summit from Sunday to Monday in Tianjin, China’s northern gateway city, drawing participation from over 20 countries and 10 international organizations. At the summit, leaders reaffirmed the Shanghai Spirit, featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect …