Hezbollah has begun a major strategic review in the wake of its devastating war with Israel, including considering scaling back its role as an armed movement without disarming completely, three sources familiar with the deliberations say. The internal discussions, which aren’t yet finalised
At least 15 Palestinians were killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, according to local health officials, as US President Donald Trump said he expected Hamas to respond to his "final proposal" for a ceasefire in Gaza in the next 24 hours. Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan
A senior Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has set up have the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, in a rare comment contradicting rival China’s long-held position. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 af
Weeks before the Dalai Lama ruled out China's role in choosing his successor, President Xi Jinping met a Tibetan Buddhist monk installed three decades ago by Beijing as the faith's No. 2 leader, the Panchen Lama. The monk was appointed after the six-year-old chosen by the Dalai Lama for the positi
Russia said on Thursday it had accepted the credentials of a new ambassador of Afghanistan, making it the first nation to recognise the Taliban government of the country. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow saw good prospects to develop ties and would continue to support Kabul
Iran remains committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday, a day after Tehran enacted a law suspending cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. "Our cooperation with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) wi
Hamas is seeking guarantees that a new US ceasefire proposal for Gaza would lead to the war's end, a source close to the militant group said on Thursday, as medics said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed scores more people. Israeli officials said prospects for reaching a ceasefire dea
China’s embassy in Fiji denied on Thursday that Beijing wanted a military base or sphere of influence in the Pacific Islands, after Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka said islands were trying to cope with a powerful China seeking to spread its influence. “The claims about Chin
As the chair of the International Campaign for Tibet, Richard Gere is the best-known supporter of the Dalai Lama and his people. On Thursday, he vowed to keep fighting for the Tibetan cause even after the eventual death of the elderly Nobel laureate and as China seeks to impose its will on the comm
Rescuers were searching Thursday for 30 people who were missing after a ferry sank and four people died the previous night near Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. As of Thursday afternoon, 31 people had been rescued from the ferry's 53 passengers and 12 crew members, the National Search and
Thailand's deputy premier Phumtham Wechayachai was confirmed on Thursday as the new caretaker prime minister, a government statement said. Phumtham, 71, is a veteran Pheu Thai Party politician who has long worked with the influential former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the driving force in the
Viral rumours of impending disaster stemming from a comic book prediction have taken the sheen off Japan's tourism boom, with some airlines cancelling flights from Hong Kong where passenger numbers have plunged. Japan has seen record numbers of visitors this year, with April setting an all-time mo
Thailand’s new Cabinet members took their oaths of office Thursday, including the suspended prime minister who is under an ethics investigation for her remarks to a senior Cambodian leader. Paetongtarn Shinawatra was suspended as prime minister Tuesday, the same day Thailand's king endorsed
