The Philippines and Vietnam yesterday agreed to strengthen defence ties to help bolster maritime security in the region and maintain peace in the disputed South China Sea.

Iran says ending the war remains its immediate priority

The explosion in Kaung Tat village happened around noon (0530 GMT) on Sunday, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) said in a statement, in which it said many had died without giving a specific toll.

The explosion was reported to authorities at around 11:00 am (0200 GMT) at Hanwha's plant in Daejeon, about 150 kilometres south of Seoul.

The US Central Command said in a post on X that Iran had shot down a US MQ-1 drone that was operating over international waters.

Sirens sounded across the country

The U.S. has proposed that as a first step, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group would stop all attacks on Israel and in return Israel would refrain from escalation in Beirut, the official said

Pre‑election polls showed left‑wing senator Ivan Cepeda narrowly ahead but facing a strong challenge from hard‑right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella

Netanyahu says Israel will tighten grip on Hezbollah areas

Iran’s chief negotiator warned yesterday the United States is not to be trusted, saying Tehran would not agree to any deal with Washington unless it fully secures Iranian rights.

Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the nineties shooter game “Doom” and say they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing.

Ukrainian drones yesterday struck an oil depot in southern Russia and a pumping station hundreds of kilometres from the front, Kyiv said, with Russian officials confirming strikes in the areas.

Malta’s Labour party yesterday won an unprecedented fourth term in a victory for outgoing Prime Minister Robert Abela, who had called a snap election in light of geopolitical uncertainties.

A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the northeastern United States on Saturday, Nasa said, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tonnes of TNT.

The Trump administration has walked back its announcement that non-citizens seeking permanent US residency, commonly called a Green Card, would need to return to their home country to apply, The New York Times reported.

From their shared hospital room, several survivors freed from a semi-submerged cave in Laos after more than a week underground are advising rescuers on how to find the last two missing men believed to be trapped even deeper inside.

Australia will only receive used nuclear-powered submarines from the United States as part of an agreement to “streamline” the AUKUS deal, with the move branded yesterday as a “cost-effective” measure by Defence Minister Richard Marles.

Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi yesterday rejected accusations of “new militarism” by Tokyo and criticised China for rapidly expanding its military with little transparency, underscoring mounting tensions between the two countries.

Israel’s flag flew over the medieval fortress on Beaufort in Lebanon yesterday as it warned Lebanese civilians to evacuate a large area of the south of the country ahead of stepped up ground operations.

Myanmar has been mired in a civil war since the military grabbed power in a 2021 coup