World

  FILE - A woman in a traditional kimono votes during the general election at a polling station set up at a local school in Tokyo on October 27, 2024. Seoul, South Korea — Japan faced a period of political instability on Monday after its longtime ruling party suffered its worst election performance in 15 years, leaving Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba under pressure to resign and casting doubt on the makeup of the next government. Sunday’s vote saw the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, fail to secure a majority in the country’s powerful lower house, setting off a scramble to find smaller partners to form a government within 30 days. Ishiba, who became prime minister just last month, had hoped the elect...

  Sistan-Baluchistan, Iran DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An attack on an Iranian police convoy Saturday in the country\'s restive southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan killed at least 10 officers, authorities said. Details remain scarce over the attack in Gohar Kuh, some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Initially, reports simply described an attack by "miscreants" without more information. But shortly after, Iranian state media said 10 officers had been killed. HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, posted photos and video of what appeared to be a disabled truck painted with the green stripe used by Iranian police vehicles. One graphic ph...

  The youth center serves as a polling place in Karakalpakstan, western Uzbekistan, Aug. 3, 2024. The country is set to vote in parliamentary elections Oct. 27, 2024. Tashkent, Uzbekistan — A country that appeared to promise genuine political opposition during a parliamentary election campaign five years ago is about to vote again on Sunday — still without any. Uzbekistan\'s dissidents persist in efforts to register their parties despite repeated rejections. And America’s top diplomat in Tashkent continues to encourage the country to stay on the course of reforms. But for many Uzbeks, real democracy remains a remote and not particularly appealing prospect. “What is an independent parliament? What is democracy? We have never had either,” s...

  Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto waves as he leaves the Military Academy after a cabinet retreat in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia, Oct. 27, 2024. JAKARTA, Indonesia — A major labor group in Indonesia has called on the government to bail out troubled textile giant Sritex, after President Prabowo Subianto ordered his ministers to save the firm from bankruptcy. Prabowo, who took office last week, has ordered his cabinet to find solutions for Sritex quickly, after a court last week accepted a petition by one of its trade partners over unpaid debt, which has put the firm, which employs about 50,000 people, on the brink of bankruptcy. Sritex had $1.6 billion of debt as of June. Said Iqbal, chairman of the labour party, a prominent w...

  A woman walks past an open air reception of We continue the Change party, Oct. 24, 2024, in Sofia, as Bulgarians are called to cast ballots on Sunday in the seventh general elections in just over three years. SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgarians were voting Sunday in the seventh general election in more than three years with little hope that a stable government will be formed to stop the country\'s slide into political instability. Voter fatigue and disillusionment with politicians have created an environment where radical political voices, aided by Moscow\'s widespread disinformation, are successfully undermining public support for the democratic process and boosting the popularity of pro-Russian and far-right groups. The never-ending electi...

  Palestinians pray over bodies of relatives, killed in an overnight Israeli airstrike, in Beit Lahia the northern Gaza Strip on Oct. 27, 2024. TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli strikes on northern Gaza have killed at least 22 people, mostly women and children, Palestinian officials said Sunday, as the Israeli offensive in the hard-hit and isolated north entered a third week and aid groups described a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel said it targeted militants. In a separate development, a truck rammed into a bus stop near the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, wounding 35 people, according to Israel\'s Magen David Adom rescue service. The circumstances were not immediately clear. It occurred near the headquarters of Israel\'s Mossad spy agency. The r...

  Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte takes an oath as he attends a senate probe on the drug war during his administration, in Manila on October 28, 2024. MANILA, Philippines — Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte strongly defended his deadly drug war as he testified on Monday at a senate probe of the crackdown. Police said the campaign left more than 6,000 people dead, but rights groups estimate tens of thousands of mostly poor men were killed by officers and vigilantes, often without proof they were linked to drugs. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating allegations that the killings were a state-sanctioned "crime against humanity." "Do not question my policies because I offer no apologies,...

  Barcelona's Lamine Yamal gestures after scoring his side's third goal during a Spanish La Liga match between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, Oct. 26, 2024. Madrid — Real Madrid, the Spanish league and the local government on Sunday condemned racist insults against Lamine Yamal during Saturday\'s "clasico," and Madrid said it was working to identify those who abused the Barcelona forward. Madrid said it "has opened an investigation in order to locate and identify the perpetrators of these deplorable and despicable insults so that the appropriate disciplinary and judicial measures can be taken." The league said it was going to formally denounce the "intolerabl...