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659 storiesTrump says a phone call with Putin is planned “very soon”
US President Donald Trump said a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin is planned and will take place “very soon”. Trump gave no date or agenda. Russian outlets carried the announcement without reporting any Kremlin comment o…
Lithuania's interior minister asks army to help guard border with Kaliningrad
Lithuania's Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas asked Defence Minister Robertas Kaunasus to send troops to help border guards patrol the border with Russia's Kaliningrad region. He called the move preventive and said the border situation i…
Trump signs order allowing tax-free red-dyed diesel on highways
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday temporarily allowing off-road red-dyed diesel to be used for highway driving and deferring the federal excise tax on that fuel through the end of 2026 without interest or penalties.…
Pennsylvania measles cases pass 1,000, largest state outbreak in decades
Pennsylvania has reported 1,004 measles cases in 2026, the state Department of Health said Monday, including at least 198 hospitalizations and five deaths. State health officials say it is the largest outbreak in any U.S. state in more than…
Senators urge Trump administration to move faster on Russian sanctions
Bipartisan Senate leaders are pressing the Trump administration to clamp down faster on financial flows fueling the war in Ukraine, nearly a month after a sweeping Russian sanctions law was signed. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Be…
Trump repeats Alaska LNG charge threat as Vance says Korea details unresolved
US President Donald Trump said on 2 October that if South Korea does not invest in the Alaska LNG project, Washington can charge it more, and Seoul should be told the amount will double if it does not agree soon. Korean outlets reported tha…
Iran says it handed response to US proposal through Qatari mediators
Iran conveyed a response to a US proposal, with Vedomosti reporting that the answer was passed through Qatari mediators in Doha and concerned the resumption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Bagh…
Trump says he has call scheduled with Putin over suspected plague death in Siberia
President Trump said Tuesday he has a call scheduled with Vladimir Putin about the suspected pneumonic plague case in Siberia, after saying Monday the US was willing to help Russia. The case follows the death of Darya Shipilova, 28, a worke…
Russia says woman at plague institute died of unknown pneumonia, not plague
A woman in her 20s who worked at a plague control research institute in Irkutsk, eastern Siberia, fell ill in late September and died on October 2. Russian public health authorities said on October 4 that the cause was “pneumonia of unknown…
Supreme Court hears Boulder climate suit as justices question both sides
The Supreme Court heard nearly two hours of arguments Monday on whether the city and county of Boulder, Colorado, can sue Exxon Mobil and Suncor Energy in state court to recover costs tied to climate change. Conservative justices questioned…
Trump says US ready to help Russia after pneumonia case in Irkutsk region
US President Donald Trump said Washington could support Russia after a case of pneumonia of unknown etiology was detected in the Irkutsk region. Russia's Rospotrebnadzor said the sanitary situation in Irkutsk and Shelekhov is stable, and th…
Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing visits Malaysia as repatriation of nationals draws criticism
Myanmar’s Min Aung Hlaing travelled to Malaysia on Wednesday for a two-day visit expected to include talks with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar told parliament more than 10,000 people have been repatriated to Myanmar this year, and said…
Russia quarantines hospital as lab worker’s death puts nearly 200 under observation
A female employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died last week of pneumonia of unknown cause, Russian authorities said, and a hospital in the town of Shelekhov was placed under quarantine. Officia…
Russian anti-plague lab technician dies of unknown pneumonia; nearly 200 monitored
A 28-year-old laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Shelekhov, Russia, died of “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” according to the public health agency Rospotrebnadzor. The hospital…
Defense minister: arts, sports military service exemption to be cut and abolished
South Korea's defense minister said on Oct 7 that the goal is to gradually reduce the arts and sports military service exemption and ultimately abolish it, after controversy over remarks by Asian Games football gold medallists about the exe…
Russian anti-plague lab researcher dies; US and EU say they are monitoring
A 28-year-old female researcher at the Irkutsk anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov, Russia, died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of unknown cause, the state agency Rospotrebnadzor said. About 200 people who may have had contact…
WHO says risk low as US presses Russia for transparency on plague lab death
The U.S. State Department is monitoring reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly called on Moscow to be more transparent about the death of a 28-year-ol…
WHO says no plague case in Irkutsk after lab worker's death; experts question Russia's response
A researcher at a plague research institute in Irkutsk, Siberia, died last week after developing pneumonia, and local reports said nearly 200 contacts were placed under medical observation. Russian authorities told the World Health Organiza…
South Korea forecasts a cold, windy Oct. 6 with a 15C day-night temperature gap
South Korea's weather agency forecast a chilly, clear Oct. 6 with morning lows of about 3-14°C and a day-night temperature gap of roughly 15°C in most regions. Gangwon's inland and mountain areas were expected near or below 5°C, with winds …
Kazakhstan considers blocking social media accounts of children under 16
Kazakhstan's government has prepared amendments restricting online platforms for users under 16, and Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said in a reply to a parliamentary inquiry that temporarily blocking social media accounts of children under…