Anadolu Agency is here with a rundown of the latest developments around the world. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was evacuated after a loud explosion was heard at a venue, according to national broadcaster, NHK. Jack Teixeira, the man accused by federal investigators of leaking classified Pentagon documents that sent shockwaves through critical US relationships, made his first appearance in court. The US charged several leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel with illicitly producing fentanyl and distributing it in Mexico’s northern neighbor, further sanctioning several entities in China for allegedly supplying the precursor chemicals to make the drug. Lawmakers in the US state of Montana voted to ban the popular Chinese-based social media app, TikTok. France’s highest constitutional authority upheld controversial pension reforms championed by President Emmanuel Macron despite broad public opposition. Acknowledging that the issue of women’s rights and interests in Afghanistan was ‘very important,’ China has, however, said it was ‘not the whole of the Afghan issue.’ The 4th ministerial meeting of countries neighboring Afghanistan in the Uzbek city of Samarkand emphasized the need to develop a joint action mechanism to provide humanitarian aid to Afghans and restore the country’s economy. The UN said Yemen is releasing nearly 900 detainees over the course of three days. At least five suspects were arrested in northwestern Trkiye as part of anti-terror operations against the Daesh/ISIS terror group. The US and South Korea held joint air exercises one day after North Korea launched a new solid-fueled Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu announced an unexpected combat readiness check of the Russian Pacific Fleet with the participation of Aerospace Forces. Ghana become the first country to receive regulatory approval to market the malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford. The expulsion of 15 Russian diplomats from Norway is a ‘deliberate escalation of hostility” against Moscow, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. G7 countries and the EU leveled serious accusations against Switzerland, saying Bern is insufficiently implementing sanctions against Russian assets, the Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger reported. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has confirmed to IMF its support of $1 billion to Pakistan, the Pakistani finance minister announced. A heavy tropical cyclone lashed the northwestern Australian coast, damaging properties and leaving a trail of dirt, local media reported. Nearly a quarter million Palestinians performed the fourth Friday prayers of the month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, according to a statement by the Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem. The Russian foreign minister said Iran, Russia, Syria and Trkiye are agreeing on a date, place and parameters of a quadrilateral meeting.
Source: Anadolu Agency