Japan farm minister remains on defensive amid series of allegations

The Mainichi - Oct 13, 2026

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese farm minister Kazuo Yana on Tuesday continued to be pressed for answers amid a string of allegations concerning his past con

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Trump says he does not believe China and Russia are helping Iran 'at all'
Oct 13, 2026
Trump says he does not believe China and Russia are helping Iran 'at all'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said late on Monday he did not believe that China and Russia were helping Iran "at all," adding that Moscow and Beijing had "too much to lose" if they enabled Tehran. Trump said on Truth Social that he had seen comments from his critics and opponents that China and Russia were helping Iran. "If they are, it's at a very low level, but I don't believe they are at all. They have too much to lose, and we would know about it, and know about it very fast," Trump wrote. Trump said in July he trusted China and Russia not to help Tehran in the Iran war, but warned that if they did get involved "it would be very bad for them." The United States and Iran have been at war since February 28 when the US and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have since killed thousands and displaced millions. Trump has previously described Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin as "neutral" during the Iran war. Moscow and Beij

IMF raises its forecast for world growth this year but warns of risks from AI boom and debt
Oct 13, 2026
IMF raises its forecast for world growth this year but warns of risks from AI boom and debt

BANGKOK — The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slightly upgraded its outlook for the world economy for this year, while warning of growing risks from rising debt, including the financial frenzy around artificial intelligence. The IMF says it expects the global economy to grow at a 3.1 percent pace this year. That's up from its July forecast for 3.0 percent growth and well below the 3.5 percent expansion in 2025. Growth in 2027 should rebound to 3.4 percent, it said in its latest Economic Outlook. The report, released as world economic and financial leaders gathered in Bangkok for the fall meetings of the IMF and World Bank, predicts that growth in the United States will remain steady at 2.3 percent in 2026 and 2027. Collectively, advanced economies will grow 2.1 percent this year, up from 2.0 percent in 2025, and then slow to 1.9 percent growth next year, it said. The forecasts are based on a nearly 41 percent increase in oil prices this year, at an average of $96 a barrel. Global inflation is foreseen at 4.7 percent in 2026, falling to 4.1 percent next year. They also are based

Fear strikes Yemen's 3rd largest city Taiz as Houthi rebels encircle it in new siege
Oct 13, 2026
Fear strikes Yemen's 3rd largest city Taiz as Houthi rebels encircle it in new siege

CAIRO — As word came of Houthi rebels closing in, Weam Abdullah and her family decided it was time to leave their home in Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city. They had survived a yearslong siege by the rebels earlier in their country’s civil war, and they didn’t want to endure that again. They made it out just in time: Just after Abdullah, her husband and two young children left, the rebels on Oct. 4 captured a key town, largely encircling the city and cutting off most access to supplies from government-held areas. “We already feel dead, there was already despair” in the city, Abdullah said, speaking by phone to The Associated Press from a province further south. “We feel as if we are cursed. Everyone is conspiring against us even though we’re not affiliated with any party or politics.” The Iranian-backed Houthis — even as they escalate attacks on Saudi Arabia with a string of deadly attacks on the airport in the capital Riyadh — are trying to make a major gain in Yemen's 12-year-old civil war by moving on Taiz, a prize they have long sought to capture. Their assault

Experts urge parents to prepare kids for possible livestreamed execution
Oct 13, 2026
Experts urge parents to prepare kids for possible livestreamed execution

This is not an article about politics, capital punishment or whether the Fort Hood shooter deserves to be executed in public for his crimes. Instead, it's focused on the unprecedented parental challenge of handling the near-certain prospect that children will hear of or see footage of the Dec. 3 U.S. execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan if the Trump administration follows through with plans to livestream the event. The danger stretches beyond the broadcast itself, because history shows graphic video from the event could be clipped, copied and pushed into children’s social feeds even if the original stream is restricted. Experts suggest that grownups who care about children start by setting aside matters of politics and public policy — like the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections and the debate over capital punishment . Focus instead on how witnessing someone's death by firing squad might land with young viewers — and how best to reassure and protect them. Here are some guidelines that might help. Keep empathy for kids in mind — and facts at hand Mis- and disinformation reach ch

Indonesia returns 20 green sea turtles to ocean after Bali smuggling raid
Oct 13, 2026
Indonesia returns 20 green sea turtles to ocean after Bali smuggling raid

SERANGAN ISLAND, Indonesia — Indonesian authorities on the tourist island of Bali released 20 protected green sea turtles back into the ocean Tuesday after they were found and seized on an empty boat seemingly abandoned by wildlife smugglers fleeing a police raid. Officers conducted final checks on the turtles at a conservation center on Serangan Island, also known as Turtle Island, in southern Bali. They then carefully lifted the turtles using blue cloths and transported them by small truck to the shoreline. Marine police officers in Bali on Saturday foiled an attempt to smuggle 22 green sea turtles, known by the scientific name Chelonia mydas, in the waters off Serangan Island after receiving a report from residents who suspected sea turtle smuggling activity in the area. Two of the 22 turtles are still sick and need to be treated before they can also be released, Gusti Agung Purnama Wirahadi from the Bali Water and Air Police said Tuesday. All of the turtles, which are protected species in Indonesia, were found alive on the boat, but the suspected smugglers had already fled the scen

Trump's diesel deal with Putin draws criticism from a frustrated Congress
Oct 13, 2026
Trump's diesel deal with Putin draws criticism from a frustrated Congress

WASHINGTON — The House speaker stood before Donald Trump during his first term at the White House and pointed a finger declaring that with this president, “All roads lead to Putin.” The stark assessment years ago from Nancy Pelosi echoed anew after Trump’s surprise announcement last week that he struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import tons of Russian diesel to the U.S. as a way to ease sky-high prices at the pumps for Americans ahead of the midterm elections. Trump’s diesel deal with Putin has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats as fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine, violating existing U.S. laws and drawing the U.S. closer to Russia. It joins a growing list of instances where the president has sided with Putin , often at the expense of Ukraine — and America’s own standing. “The harm to the Ukrainians is real,” said William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, in an interview Monday. “And the cost to us, the United States, is high.” It’s not at all clear the Trump-Putin deal

Selma Blair accused of attacking 2 flight attendants, assaulting a police officer and nurse
Oct 13, 2026
Selma Blair accused of attacking 2 flight attendants, assaulting a police officer and nurse

NEW YORK — Actor Selma Blair was arrested after she was accused of injuring two flight attendants on a trip from Los Angeles to New York. She was also accused of kicking a police officer taking her to the hospital and kicking a nurse once she got there. She pleaded not guilty Monday night to two counts of assault for state charges involving the officer and the nurse. And she faces separate federal charges based on what happened on the flight, which her representatives say was brought on by a severe medical emergency. Blair, 54, was detained by police at around 11 p.m. Sunday after the Delta Air Lines jet parked at the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement. Blair and one of the flight attendants were taken to a hospital for evaluation, the Port Authority said. A police officer taking her to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center said in charging documents that while she was securing Blair to a stretcher, Blair pulled a leg from the straps and kicked her repeatedly around the face, neck and chest, causing serious pain an

Canada joins other nations denouncing Iran’s air base attack plot in the UK
Oct 13, 2026
Canada joins other nations denouncing Iran’s air base attack plot in the UK

Canada has joined more than two dozen other countries in denouncing Iran’s apparent involvement in a planned attack on an air base in England.

Fact check: Fake viral videos linked to the Riyadh airport attacks
Oct 13, 2026
Fact check: Fake viral videos linked to the Riyadh airport attacks

Smoke and flames following an attack by Houthi rebels at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid International Airport in recent days. At least 16 people have been killed since last Thursday, according to Saudi authorities. As news of the attacks

White House asks Guilfoyle to resign amid mounting scandals
Oct 13, 2026
White House asks Guilfoyle to resign amid mounting scandals

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said on Tuesday the Trump administration has asked U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign. The news comes after President Trump told reporters on Monday that he was considering firing Guilfoyle and that he was not happy with her amid snowballing scandals. The Wall Street Journal first reported...

French student protests: From confiscated signs to catchy slogans
Oct 13, 2026
French student protests: From confiscated signs to catchy slogans

As French student protests continue, we take a look at how French police have seized some protest signs. We break down whether this is legal, or police intimidation. We also discuss the origin of a slogan that's catching on – "Bismillah, c'est les ténèbres" – and another that allegedly, according to Le Parisien newspaper, has made French President Emmanuel Macron furious.

Egyptian foreign minister urges diplomacy, says ‘no military solution’ to Middle East conflict
Oct 13, 2026
Egyptian foreign minister urges diplomacy, says ‘no military solution’ to Middle East conflict

In a wide-ranging interview with CNA’s Saksith Saiyasombut at the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also discussed opportunities for greater trade and investment with Asia and the growing debt burden on developing countries.

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