Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the party, Sanseito, is widening its appeal with a 'Japanese First' campaign ahead of Sunday's upper house vote.

Thaksin faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted in the closed-door trial in Bangkok, where he stands accused of breaching strict lese majeste laws that shield Thailand's royal family from abuse and criticism.

Aviation experts have said a preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions over whether one of the pilots of Air India flight 171 cut off fuel to the Boeing 787's engines seconds after takeoff, leading to an irrecoverable situation.

Trump had threatened Indonesia with a 32 percent tariff rate effective Aug. 1 in a letter sent to its president last week.

Raids on agricultural sites Thursday resulted in the arrests of 200 undocumented migrants, as part of US President Donald Trump's wide-ranging anti-immigration crackdown, and clashes between law enforcement officials and protesters.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced that Washington was sanctioning the outspoken a special rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council, Francesca Albanese, "for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [ICC] action against US and Israeli officials, companies and executives".

"In May, the secretary reviewed and approved thoughtful plans submitted by the bureaus, which included a targeted reduction in domestic workforce," Michael Rigas, deputy secretary of state for management and resources, said in a statement.

Beijing and Moscow should work to "unite countries of the global South and promote the development of the international order in a more just and reasonable direction", Xi said, according to Xinhua.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and President Xi Jinping during his visit to Beijing.  

Trump and Rutte unveiled a deal under which the NATO military alliance would buy billions of dollars of arms from the United States -- including Patriot anti-missile batteries -- and then send them to Ukraine.

The comments by Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israeli settlement construction, mark a rare and pointed public intervention by the US following the death of a Palestinian American in the Israeli-occupied territory.

The indirect negotiations in Qatar appear deadlocked after both sides blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of hostages and a 60-day ceasefire after 21 months of fighting.

The Israeli military, which has recently intensified operations across Gaza, said that in the past 24 hours the air force "struck more than 150 terror targets".

The Red Sea is a critical waterway for oil and commodities, but traffic has dropped sharply since Houthi attacks off Yemen's coast began in November 2023 in what the Iran-aligned group said was in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.