عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

South Korea President Clashes with Israel on Rights, Disinfo Claims

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with representatives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country's two major umbrella labor unions, at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, South Korea, 10 April 2026. (EPA/Yonhap)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with representatives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country's two major umbrella labor unions, at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, South Korea, 10 April 2026. (EPA/Yonhap)
TT
TT

South Korea President Clashes with Israel on Rights, Disinfo Claims

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with representatives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country's two major umbrella labor unions, at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, South Korea, 10 April 2026. (EPA/Yonhap)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting with representatives of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of the country's two major umbrella labor unions, at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, South Korea, 10 April 2026. (EPA/Yonhap)

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday accused Israel of failing to "reflect" on allegations of rights abuses by its forces, after Israel decried him for amplifying social media "disinformation".

The Seoul leader irked Israel's foreign ministry this week with his comments on a social media video with a caption purporting it showed Israeli soldiers torturing and pushing a "Palestinian kid" off a roof.

"I need to look into whether this is true, and if so, what measures have been taken," Lee said Friday on X.

AFP was not able to immediately identify provenance of the video, which has been widely shared on social media.

However, it appeared to show the different angle of an incident captured by AFPTV in the West Bank two years ago, when reporters saw an Israeli soldier use his foot to push the body of an apparently dead adult man off a roof.

In 2024 the White House called the footage "deeply disturbing" and said it had demanded an explanation from Israel amid its intensifying raids on the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.

Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday the incident was already "investigated and addressed".

"President Lee Jae Myung, for some strange reason, chose to dig up a story from 2024 and to cite a fake account that falsely presented it as a current event," said a ministry social media statement.

"This account is notorious for spreading anti-Israeli disinformation and falsehoods about Israel," it added.

South Korea's foreign ministry attempted to defuse the escalating social media confrontation.

In a statement it said Lee's post -- which drew parallels between alleged Israeli abuses and historical atrocities against Jews and Koreans -- was a call to "universal human rights rather than an opinion on any specific issue".

But on Saturday Lee issued another pointed social media missive, commenting on a news article detailing Israel's backlash against his remarks.

"It's disappointing that you don't even once reflect on the criticisms from people around the world who are suffering and struggling due to relentless anti-human rights and anti-international law actions," he said.

"When I am in pain, others feel that pain just as deeply."

South Korea, an ally of Israel's biggest international backer the United States, has generally maintained a balanced stance on strife in the Middle East, without backing any one side in the conflict.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

US Says It Disables Another Commercial Ship Trying to Breach Blockade and Reach Iran

Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

US Says It Disables Another Commercial Ship Trying to Breach Blockade and Reach Iran

Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Vessels anchored at the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)

The US military has stopped another merchant vessel trying to break through the American blockade of Iranian ports, a US official with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The Gambia-flagged bulk carrier Lian Star ignored multiple warnings from US forces overnight as it tried to enter an Iranian port, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The ship was disabled by US aircraft in the Gulf of Oman and remains adrift there, the official said, adding that US forces have not boarded it.

With the latest action, US military has stopped six ships trying to breach the blockade. One was allowed to proceed.

The US launched the blockade on April 17 in response to Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz after the war began with US and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. A fragile ceasefire has held since April 7.

Now the region and wider world await word on whether a deal is being reached to extend it by 60 days while new talks would be held on Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

Events in the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman have shaken the global economy, with shipments of significant amounts of oil, natural gas and related supplies like fertilizer largely stranded, increasing the strain on consumers and food producers.

The US blockade seeks to limit Iran’s own shipments and further weaken its access to cash, creating more pain for its long-weakened economy.

US President Donald Trump met with advisers on Friday but has yet to decide on whether to move ahead with a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait. Iran has said the deal had not been finalized.

World

Canada’s Broader Citizenship Rules Draw Strong American Interest, Data Shows

Passengers move through the line at the Main TSA Screening Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21 October 2025. (EPA)
Passengers move through the line at the Main TSA Screening Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21 October 2025. (EPA)
TT
TT

Canada’s Broader Citizenship Rules Draw Strong American Interest, Data Shows

Passengers move through the line at the Main TSA Screening Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21 October 2025. (EPA)
Passengers move through the line at the Main TSA Screening Checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 21 October 2025. (EPA)

While US-Canadian relations have frayed under US President Donald Trump, data on Canadian citizenship approvals under recently widened rules suggests many Americans would welcome the chance to become Canadian.

Under the new rules, which allow more descendants of Canadians to claim citizenship compared with just first-generation descendants previously, approvals for proof of citizenship by descent have risen by more than 1,000 per month so far this year, data from Canada's immigration agency shows.

That compares with just 275 additional approvals in ‌December 2025, when the ‌new law went into effect.

The data also shows ‌that ⁠roughly 48% of ⁠the additional approvals through February originated from the US.

Immigration lawyers say the high percentage of Americans reflects the historically close ties between the two neighboring countries, while signaling that many Americans see Canada as an attractive place to live or study, especially given recent US political uncertainty.

"The biggest thing is it gives our family options," said William Hunnewell, a 41-year-old based in Seattle who applied earlier this year and expects a ⁠response in nine months to a year. His great-grandfather was ‌a homesteader in Saskatchewan before World War One ‌and his grandfather was born in Canada.

"If my kid wants to study or ‌live in Canada, she can just go — there's no visa, no deadlines," he ‌said.

Most new citizens approved under the law will likely remain abroad but many want to keep their options open, said Nick Berning, a US-based immigration lawyer.

"Current interest in Canadian citizenship is definitely influenced by US politics," Berning said. "They want to stay in the US, but ‌if things become untenable, they want a way out."

Political divisions have deepened in the US, where polls show growing dissatisfaction ⁠with the Trump ⁠administration. Ties between the US and Canada have also grown tense since Trump imposed stiff tariffs on Canadian goods and talked of annexing Canada as the 51st state.

Canadian approvals this year under the newly established category for proof of citizenship totaled 1,140 in January, 1,255 in February and 1,405 in March, according to data that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provided to Reuters.

Canada's new citizenship law responded to a 2023 court ruling that found limiting citizenship to the first generation born abroad was unconstitutional.

People who have lived outside Canada for generations can now be considered citizens if they can prove descent. That is in sharp contrast with Canadian government efforts in recent years to lower immigration targets.

Berning noted, however, that new citizens who have never lived in Canada cannot pass citizenship on indefinitely to children born abroad.

World

Tens of Thousands March in Support of Türkiye’s Deposed Opposition Leader

Ozgur Ozel, the ousted chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and supporters, visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Türkiye, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Ozgur Ozel, the ousted chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and supporters, visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Türkiye, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Tens of Thousands March in Support of Türkiye’s Deposed Opposition Leader

Ozgur Ozel, the ousted chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and supporters, visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Türkiye, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)
Ozgur Ozel, the ousted chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), accompanied by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and supporters, visits the mausoleum of modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in Ankara, Türkiye, May 30, 2026. (Reuters)

Tens of thousands of supporters of the deposed leader of Türkiye’s main opposition party marched through central Ankara on Saturday.

Ozgur Ozel was removed from his post at the head of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, by court order on May 21. Many people consider the ruling to be a politically motivated bid to neutralize the opposition.

Crowds earlier gathered in Guven Park in the heart of the Turkish capital to hear Ozel deliver a speech condemning his removal. They then joined him on an impromptu march to the mausoleum of Türkiye’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

"They are attempting to replace the CHP’s elected chairman and appoint a trustee," Ozel told supporters. "Today is the day to restart our march to power. I wish this were an internal party matter. This is not an internal matter for the CHP. This is a matter between (President) Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the nation."

The appeals court ruling overturned a 2023 party congress vote that appointed Ozel as CHP leader. The court decision replaced him with his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, sparking outrage among party supporters.

Ozel, 51, succeeded the 77-year-old Kilicdaroglu after 13 years of mostly ineffective opposition to Erdogan.

Ozel has framed the court case, which centered on alleged irregularities in the congress vote, as the latest legal attack on the CHP. Criminal cases across the country, mostly alleging corruption in CHP-run municipalities, have seen hundreds of elected officials and party members detained.

The government insists that Türkiye’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

As people were gathering in Guven Park, Kilicdaroglu was holding a rival gathering at the CHP headquarters in Ankara, which police stormed last Sunday to remove Ozel and his supporters.

Addressing a much smaller crowd, Kilicdaroglu condemned the previous party administration for overseeing widespread corruption.

The CHP is level with the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in most recent opinion polls and although the next election is not due until 2028, many expect Erdogan to push for early elections.

Ozel delivered a serious blow to the AKP in the 2024 municipal elections, strengthening the opposition’s grip on key cities it had won five years earlier, including Istanbul and Ankara.

The CHP mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, emerged as the likeliest challenger to Erdogan, who has ruled Türkiye since 2003, in the next presidential poll. But he has been imprisoned since March last year as he faces several criminal cases that could see him sentenced to decades behind bars.