Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared for questioning by a special counsel team on Saturday over insurrection charges related to his December 3 martial law declaration.

Yoon arrived at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office in southern Seoul at 9:56 a.m., two weeks after the special counsel probe was launched and just 85 days after his impeachment.

This marks the ousted President's first appearance before an investigative body in about 5 months, following his arrest and questioning by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) in January.

In addition to his insurrection charges in connection with the failed martial law bid, Yoon is accused of ordering the Presidential Security Service (PSS) to physically block his arrest when the CIO attempted to execute a warrant in January, and directing the PSS to delete records from secure phones used by military commanders shortly after his failed attempt to impose martial law.

Ukraine's accession to the European Union (EU) does not align with Russia's interests, said Vladislav Maslennikov, Director of the European Problems Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry, on Saturday, as the EU is moving towards active militarisation and adopting countermeasures against Moscow.

"I see no reason why we should support the idea of Ukraine joining the European Union, particularly because the EU is moving towards active militarisation, virtually setting the task of constantly opposing us, including in terms of resolving the Ukrainian crisis," Russian newspaper Izvestia quoted the Russian official as saying.

"One should not forget here that the European Union has an article in the Treaty of Lisbon, which is no less significant than Article 5 of the Washington Treaty on collective defence in NATO. This is why Ukraine's accession to the EU does not meet our interests," the official added.

US President Donald Trump has said his administration will send letters to countries "over the next week and a half or so" to tell them about their tariff rates, while noting that his pause on "reciprocal" tariffs could be extended or shortened.

Trump made the remarks as South Korea and other countries have been seeking to strike a trade deal with the United States to avoid or minimise the impact of the reciprocal tariffs, with his pause on the new tariffs scheduled to end on July 8, reports news agency.

"So at a certain point over the next week and a half or so, or maybe before, we're going to send out a letter. We talked to many of the countries," Trump told a press briefing. "So we're just going to tell them what they have to pay to do business in the United States.

Asked whether the pause on the tariffs can be extended, the president said, "We can do whatever we want."

The US Supreme Court ruled that district judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions against the Trump administration's executive order to effectively end birthright citizenship.

In a 6-3 vote along ideological line, Supreme Court justices granted a request by the Trump administration to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by district judges, news agency reported.

"Federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch," Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority, noting that "When a court concludes that the executive branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too."

However, the three liberal justices issued dissents to the decision.

Japan on Friday executed a man convicted of the 2017 serial killing of nine people in Kanagawa Prefecture. The 34-year-old accused Shiraishi Takahiro, dubbed Japan's "Twitter killer," was hanged at the Tokyo Detention House.

This was the first execution carried out in Japan since July 2022, and the first under Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s administration, according to media reports.

Addressing a press conference on Friday morning, Japan’s Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki stated that he carefully considered the matter before approving the execution order for the death row inmate convicted of killing nine people.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday announced that its 12-day military operation against Iran resulted in significant damage to three of the country’s main nuclear facilities, Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, dealing a major blow to the Iranian regime’s nuclear infrastructure.

The IDF asserted that Israel launched ‘Operation Rising Lion’ on June 13 intending to damage the Iranian nuclear and missile projects following the identification of progress in the three programmes whose ultimate goal was to “destroy the State of Israel”.

According to the Israeli military, to thwart the future of the program, 11 senior nuclear scientists who were central knowledge centres in the Iranian weapons group were eliminated, and the inactive nuclear reactor at Arak was also attacked to prevent its future use.

Six people have died due to severe flooding in Rongjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, according to local flood control authorities.

Since Tuesday, the county has been hit by a severe flood not seen in 50 years, with water levels in several rivers rising rapidly. The peak flow reached 11,360 cubic metres per second.

The flood has inundated many low-lying areas and caused significant damage to infrastructure in several townships, resulting in blocked roads, disrupted communications, and stranded residents.

Currently, the water level in the county seat has fallen below the warning level.

South Korean former President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the eighth hearing of his insurrection trial on Monday, but was tight-lipped on a new investigation by independent counsels over his failed martial law bid.

Yoon arrived at the Seoul Central District Court around 10 am to attend the eight hearing of his insurrection trial on charges of leading an insurrection and abusing his power through his December 3 imposition of martial law.

It was Yoon's first trial after his case was transferred to the special counsel team, led by Cho Eun-suk, last week.

Yoon also did not respond to questions about corruption allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee.

An assistant special counsel attended the court for the first time to pursue the indictment, news agency reported.

A suicide bombing at a Damascus church killed at least 22 people and wounded 63 others, marking the deadliest and first attack of its kind on a Christian place of worship in the Syrian capital in several years, officials said.

According to Syrian authorities, two attackers stormed Mar Elias (St. Elias) Orthodox Church in the predominantly Christian Dweilaa neighbourhood during Sunday evening Mass, opened fire on worshippers, and detonated explosive belts near the entrance.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the death toll and reported that women and children were among the victims.

"This was a condemned terrorist act. We first heard gunfire in the courtyard, then two men entered, fired on the congregation, and blew themselves up. Such a crime violates every religion and every shred of humanity," said parish priest Melatios Shtah.

South Korea's key stock index breached the 3,000-point mark for the first time in more than three years on early Friday morning, driven by gains in big-cap tech shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had risen 31.84 points, or 1.07 percent, to 3,009.58 as of 11:15 a.m. It marked the first time the KOSPI hit the 3,000-point threshold since Jan. 3, 2022, reports news agency.

KOSPI surpassed the mark for the first time ever in its history on January 6, 2021.

Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics gained 0.84 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 3.25 percent.

Bio shares were strong, with Samsung Biologics up 1.8 percent and Celltrion gaining 1.87 percent.

South Korea posted a record current account surplus with the United States last year, driven by strong exports of semiconductors, while it recorded a current account deficit with China, central bank data showed on Friday.

South Korea's current account surplus with the US totalled an all-time high of $118.23 billion in 2024, widening from a $87.76 billion surplus the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK), reports news agency.

"The increase was attributable to rising exports of semiconductors and information and communication technology equipment, while the primary income account surplus also expanded due to higher dividend income," the BOK said in a release.

Twenty South Korean nationals and their family members have evacuated Iran via a land route and arrived safely in Turkmenistan amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, the foreign ministry said.

Eighteen South Koreans and two Iranian family members crossed the border into the Central Asian country by transportation provided by the South Korean government Tuesday morning (local time) and arrived in the capital, Ashgabat, the next day, the ministry said.

The eastern border land route chosen by the government is about 1,200 kilometres, and it takes around 16 hours to travel by bus without breaks, a ministry official said.

A rapid response team from Seoul was in Turkmenistan to assist with the evacuation efforts.

North Korea fired around 10 artillery shells from its multiple rocket launcher system on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the South conducted joint air drills with the United States and Japan.

The North fired the shells toward the Yellow Sea at around 10 a.m. from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, the military said, adding that South Korean and US intelligence authorities are conducting an analysis of the latest weapon test.

The North's 240mm multiple rocket launcher puts Seoul and its adjacent areas in target range. Last year, the North conducted a test-launch of what it claimed to be a multiple rocket launcher equipped with a new guidance system, news agency reported.

The weapon test came a day after South Korea, the US and Japan conducted a three-way aerial exercise as part of efforts to strengthen their trilateral security cooperation against North Korean military threats.

North Korea on Thursday condemned Israel's recent air strike on Iran as a "hideous act" of aggression, saying Israel, backed by the United States and the West, is a "cancer-like" entity in threatening peace in the Middle East.

A spokesperson at North Korea's foreign ministry voiced "serious" concerns about Israel's military attack against Iran on Friday, denouncing Israel for raising the danger of a fresh all-out war in the Middle East, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"The present grave situation witnessed by the world clearly proves that Israel, supported and patronised by the US and the West, is a cancer-like entity for the peace in the Middle East and a chief culprit of destroying global peace and security," the official was quoted as saying by the KCNA.

An Iranian ballistic missile struck Soroka Hospital in Israel's Beersheba, seriously injuring several patients, doctors, and staff as the conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday.

"Soroka Hospital in Beersheba -- where Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Arab Bedouin receive care -- was just hit by an indiscriminate Iranian ballistic missile. Israel will continue to do what must be done to protect all its people, from all walks of life," the Israel Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), Iran fired around 30 ballistic missiles at Israel on Thursday, and one of them struck the hospital in Beersheba.

President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, took to his social media to narrate the horrific scenes in the hospital after the attack on the civilians.

The government will enhance monitoring of the economy and financial markets and devise appropriate responses based on contingency plans amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, the finance ministry here said on Thursday.

The pledge was made during a meeting on macroeconomic issues presided over by Acting Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il and attended by Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Gov. Ryoo Sang-dai, along with senior officials from the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

"Following Israel's airstrike on Iran, volatility in commodity prices and global financial markets has increased," Lee said, reports news agency.

"The domestic financial market remains relatively stable, but uncertainty remains high due to the Israel-Iran conflict, as well as unclear U.S. tariff policies," he added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the world leaders have expressed admiration for the determination and accomplishments of the Israeli forces.

The escalating conflict between both nations began last Friday when Netanyahu announced the launch of 'Operation Rising Lion' against Iran, a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat of nuclear weapons.

This action prompted swift and aggressive retaliation from Tehran, pushing the region closer to the brink of a broader war.

Heavy rains and flooding triggered by Typhoon Wutip have left seven people dead and caused extensive agricultural and property damage in central Vietnam, reports said on Tuesday.

Four deaths were reported in Quang Binh province and three in Quang Tri province, while one person was injured in Quang Tri, according to the Department of Dike Management and Natural Disaster Prevention.

According to reports, floods have submerged more than 33,000 hectares of rice fields, along with thousands of hectares of aquaculture ponds, while eight ships have been sunk or damaged, news agency reported.

India has urged its nationals in Iran and Persons of Indian Origin(PIO) to evacuate Tehran, shift to a safer location and be in touch with the Embassy, following escalating tensions in the region.

As the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day, the hostilities between the two nations continued to escalate as several missiles from Iran were fired at Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Haifa and dozens of other cities and communities across northern Israel and the occupied Golan Heights, confirmed by the Israeli military.

"All Indian Nationals and PIOs who can move out of Tehran using their own resources, are advised to move to a safe location outside the City," the Indian Embassy in Iran posted on X.

"All Indian Nationals who are in Tehran and not in touch with the Embassy are requested to contact the Embassy of India in Tehran immediately and provide their Location and Contact numbers. Kindly contact: +989010144557; +989128109115; +989128109109," it added.

Bazan, Israel's largest oil refinery company, announced that all of its facilities at the Haifa Port had been completely shut down due to the damage caused by an Iranian missile strike.

Three company employees were killed in the pre-dawn attack on Monday night, which ignited fires at the strategic complex. Video footage showed visible flames, and firefighting teams were still struggling to extinguish the blaze, news agency reported quoting Israeli daily Ha'aretz.

"The power station responsible for part of the steam and electricity production used by the group's facilities sustained significant damage, alongside additional impacts," the company said in a filing to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

"At this stage, all refinery and subsidiary facilities have been shut down," it added.

US President Donald Trump announced he was abruptly cutting short his participation in the G7 summit and returning home early to deal with the Iran-Israel crisis.

" I have to be back early for obvious reasons", Trump earlier told reporters. He said he would be leaving after the formal dinner “with these wonderful leaders”.

He will be missing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Calgary Monday evening and will be participating in the summit of the powerful industrialised democracies, along with a select group of emerging economies, on Tuesday.

The summit was overshadowed by the escalating war of missiles between Israel and Iran that began on Friday.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has voiced rejection of any expansion of the ongoing regional conflict, stressing the urgent need to halt Israeli military operations "on all regional fronts," the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

The Egyptian President made the remarks during a phone call with his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday, in which Sisi warned that continued tension "will inflict grave and formidable harm on all peoples of the region."

The Egyptian leader stressed that peaceful solutions remain "the sole viable means" to ensure security and stability in the region, calling on the international community to play a more active role in compelling all regional parties to act responsibly.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed the tense situation in the Middle East with two senior US diplomats.

The discussions were held in two separate phone calls with the US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and US senior adviser for Africa and presidential adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs Massad Boulos, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The call with Witkoff focused on the rapidly escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly in light of the military confrontation between Israel and Iran, news agency reported.

During the call, Abdelatty stressed the "extreme danger" this escalation poses to regional security and stability. He emphasised the immediate need to reduce military escalation, contain the situation, and return to political and diplomatic solutions to prevent the region from spiraling into a cycle of violence.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday announced that Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck Quds Force command centres in Tehran, intensifying the already deadly confrontation between Israel and Iran.

The attacks, the IDF said, were carried out using "precise intelligence" and targeted facilities involved in orchestrating terrorist activities against Israel.

"The Air Force attacked Quds Force headquarters in Tehran. Air Force fighter jets attacked the headquarters of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian army, under precise intelligence guidance from the Intelligence Department," the IDF posted on X.

"In these headquarters, Quds operatives planned terrorist acts against Israel through the Iranian regime's branches in the Middle East," the post added.

An illustrative graphic released by the Israeli military indicated that 10 sites were hit in the operation.

The Group of Seven (G7) summit unveiled its slimmed-down agenda, prioritising discussions on the global economy and energy security.

Originally scheduled to begin on Sunday, the summit has been shortened to two days and will officially commence on Monday, as world leaders begin arriving in Kananaskis, Alberta, news agency reported.

Monday's schedule includes a 90-minute session among G7 leaders to discuss the global economic outlook, and a working lunch focused on energy security with invited leaders.

The G7 is an informal bloc comprising seven of the world's advanced economies -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States -- along with the European Union. The annual summit serves as a platform to coordinate responses to major global economic and geopolitical challenges.

US President Donald Trump has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to intensify deportation efforts against the "illegal aliens" in major American cities.

The move came after large-scale demonstrations recently broke out in Los Angeles and major cities against the US administration's immigration policies.

"Our Nation's ICE Officers have shown incredible strength, determination, and courage as they facilitate a very important mission, the largest mass deportation operation of illegal aliens in history. Every day, the brave men and women of ICE are subjected to violence, harassment, and even threats from radical Democrat politicians, but nothing will stop us from executing our mission and fulfilling our mandate to the American People," Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

At least two people were killed and 34 others injured in a direct missile strike on residential buildings in Israel on Saturday amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran.

The Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medical service confirmed the casualties following the latest barrage of ballistic missiles launched by Iran.

According to MDA, the strikes caused widespread damage and trauma, with medical teams rushing to provide life-saving treatment and transport the injured to nearby hospitals.

"MDA teams provided life-saving medical treatment and evacuated 21 injured people to Wolfson, Sheba Tel Hashomer, and Shamir-Assaf Harofeh hospitals. Among the casualties: a woman around 60 was rescued without signs of life, a man around 45 was evacuated in critical condition while undergoing CPR and was later pronounced dead, a woman around 60 was seriously injured, two people were moderately injured, and 16 suffered minor injuries from blast trauma and flying debris," the agency said in an official statement.

The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference concluded with more than 170 countries adopting an inter-governmentally agreed declaration committing to urgent action to conserve and sustainably use the world's oceans.

The political declaration titled ‘Our ocean, Our future: United for urgent action’ calls for concrete steps to expand marine protected areas, decarbonise maritime transport, combat marine pollution, and mobilise finance for vulnerable coastal and island nations, among others.

The declaration -- together with bold voluntary commitments by states and other entities -- constitutes the Nice Ocean Action Plan, successfully concluding the five-day conference with a boost to environmental multilateralism.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated further early on Saturday as Iran launched a fresh wave of missile attacks on Israel, according to reports from Iranian state television.

The renewed offensive comes amid a period of heightened hostilities between the two nations.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed the attack, stating that a barrage of projectiles had been launched toward Israeli territory.

In a brief statement, the military said, “Another barrage has been fired towards Israel,” though the total number of missiles and specific areas targeted were not immediately disclosed.

In central Israel, at least 10 civilians sustained injuries after an Iranian missile reportedly struck near residential areas. Emergency services responded swiftly to treat the wounded and assess the extent of the damage.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated to safety in south China's Hainan Province as Typhoon Wutip, the first typhoon of the year, approaches near.

As of 8 p.m. Thursday, the province had evacuated a total of 16,561 people from construction sites, low-lying flood-prone areas, and regions at risk of flash floods.

All the province's 30,721 fishing vessels had either returned to ports or taken shelter elsewhere, with over 40,000 people working on the vessels having been evacuated ashore.

As Typhoon Wutip continued to strengthen, the provincial meteorological service maintained a Level III typhoon alert as of 11 a.m. Friday.

As of 10 a.m. on Friday, the storm's centre was located over coastal waters near Ledong Li Autonomous County, with maximum sustained winds near the centre reaching 28 metres per second. By 8 p.m., downpours are expected in many parts of the province.

Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets, guided by precise intelligence, struck the Iranian regime's uranium enrichment site in the Natanz area overnight, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced on Friday.

"This is the largest uranium enrichment site in Iran, which has operated for years to achieve nuclear weapons capability and houses the infrastructure required for enriching uranium to military-grade levels," read a statement posted by the IDF on X.

"As part of the strikes, the underground area of the site was damaged. This area contains a multi-story enrichment hall with centrifuges, electrical rooms, and additional supporting infrastructure. In addition, critical infrastructure enabling the site's continuous operation and the Iranian regime's ongoing efforts to obtain nuclear weapons were targetted. We will continue to operate to prevent the Iranian Regime from acquiring nuclear weapons," it added.

Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Sa'ar continues to hold a "marathon of calls" with his counterparts around the world after the launch of 'Operation Rising Lion' by Israel Defence Forces (IDF) against Iran to remove the "Iranian threat of annihilation", the country's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

One of the first conversations Sa'ar held early Friday morning was with German Foreign Minister Wadephul. Sa'ar informed his German counterpart of the unanimous Cabinet decision and the subsequent IDF action.

"We made this decision at the last possible minute, after all other avenues had been exhausted. The whole world saw and understood that the Iranians were not ready to stop and we had to stop them. The latest IAEA report illustrated the serious Iranian violations. We know that challenging days lie ahead, but we have no other choice," Sa'ar told the German Foreign Minister.

Later, Sa'ar held a phone call with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday called Israel's attack on Iran a ‘unilateral action’, asserting that the US had no involvement.

The statement came after Israel launched major airstrikes against Iran in the early hours of Friday, significantly escalating tensions in the region and raising the spectre of a broader conflict between the long-standing rivals.

“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran. We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region. Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defense. President Trump and the Administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with our regional partners. Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel,” said Rubio.

Texas National Guard troops are "on standby" in areas across the state where protests are expected against the Trump administration's ongoing immigration raids, a spokesperson for Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has said.

"Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles," Abbott's spokesperson, Andrew Mahaleris, said in a statement on Wednesday (local time). "Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be swiftly held accountable to the full extent of the law."

The advocacy group Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight, known as FIEL, is organising a "Chant Down the Walls" protest in Houston on Friday. Additionally, "No Kings" protests are scheduled for Saturday in more than two dozen Texas cities, including Houston, Austin, Lubbock, and Longview, according to a report by the Texas Tribune.

Tokyo on Thursday raised serious concerns over the incident of a near-miss collision between a Chinese aircraft and a Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (MSDF) patrol plane over international waters in the Pacific and urged Beijing to avoid any such recurrence.

Addressing a press conference, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Japan's stance was conveyed to China through diplomatic and defence channels over the incident.

"The government has raised serious concerns with the Chinese side, including to the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo, through the vice minister of foreign affairs, and has strongly urged them to prevent such incidents from recurring," Hayashi said