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North Korea Rejects Call to Halt Nuclear Tests

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 29, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 29, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo
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North Korea Rejects Call to Halt Nuclear Tests

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 29, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on January 29, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo

North Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday rejected an international statement urging it to halt nuclear tests, with a spokesperson calling it "a grave political provocation against our state" by "hostile forces".

A meeting of ministers from the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty — a grouping of Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands — said any new nuclear test by North Korea would be irresponsible and unacceptable.

The meeting in New York on Tuesday urged Pyongyang to fully comply with all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The spokesperson for North Korea's foreign ministry described the country as a responsible nuclear-armed state, in a statement carried by state media KCNA, Reuters reported.

In another statement carried by KCNA earlier in the day, North Korea's foreign minister Choe Son Hui said Pyongyang's nuclear weapons status is irreversible.

Choe was responding to a separate meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week between the United States, South Korea and Japan at which they reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearisation of North Korea.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, agreed in 1996, bans "any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion" anywhere in the world, with the goal of reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons.

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Rubio Says No Pause in US Intel Sharing with Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press at Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press at Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Pool Photo via AP)
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Rubio Says No Pause in US Intel Sharing with Ukraine

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press at Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press at Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied on Monday that there had been any suspension of intelligence sharing with Ukraine and called on President Volodymyr Zelensky to "focus" on ending the war with Russia.

"There has been no pause," Rubio told reporters when asked about Ukraine's claims that the United States had briefly halted the sending of intelligence to help counter Russia's missile attacks.

The Ukraine leader told US media on Sunday that the move had been "deblocked by the American side" after a three-day suspension.

Rubio, who is in Uzbekistan for talks with Central Asian officials, said that President Donald Trump wanted Zelensky and Russia's President Vladimir Putin to concentrate on ending the Russian invasion, now into its fifth year.

"What he (Zelensky) should be focused on and what we want to be focused on is bringing an end to this war," Rubio said.

"That's what we want everybody to be focused on. That's what we want the Russians to be focused on. That's what we should be focused on. That's what the president has made a priority: is trying to bring a war and an end to this war," the top US diplomat said.

Trump, who says he has made a deal with Russia to secure fuel exports in exchange for the easing of sanctions, has made renewed attacks on Zelensky in recent days over the war.

The US leader wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday that he was making "great progress" in negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine, but claimed: "Zelenskyy doesn't care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him... he doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did."

"Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States," Trump said.

World

Istanbul Storm Death Toll Rises to Five

Women work to clean debris on a football pitch covered with mud one day after heavy rain caused flooding in the Ayazaga district of Istanbul on October 16, 2026. (AFP)
Women work to clean debris on a football pitch covered with mud one day after heavy rain caused flooding in the Ayazaga district of Istanbul on October 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Istanbul Storm Death Toll Rises to Five

Women work to clean debris on a football pitch covered with mud one day after heavy rain caused flooding in the Ayazaga district of Istanbul on October 16, 2026. (AFP)
Women work to clean debris on a football pitch covered with mud one day after heavy rain caused flooding in the Ayazaga district of Istanbul on October 16, 2026. (AFP)

A fifth body was recovered Sunday amid the cleanup from torrential rains that hit Istanbul this week while a new fatality was reported from flooding in a nearby city, authorities said.

The heavy rain had led to flash floods and widespread chaos in Türkiye's biggest city starting on Thursday when three people died. Another body was found on Friday. Media reports said the latest body was a Turkmenistan national.

Two more people are still missing.

A new storm hit the city on Saturday night causing flooding in the Pendik district of Istanbul and the nearby city of Kocaeli.

One flash flood carried away a car in Kocaeli and one person died and another is missing, authorities said.

World

One Dead Near Barcelona as Torrential Rain Sparks Floods in Spain

Parked cars are half-submerged in a flooded park area after heavy rainfall that hit the area early in the morning, in the town of Algeciras, southern Spain, 18 October 2026. (EPA)
Parked cars are half-submerged in a flooded park area after heavy rainfall that hit the area early in the morning, in the town of Algeciras, southern Spain, 18 October 2026. (EPA)
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One Dead Near Barcelona as Torrential Rain Sparks Floods in Spain

Parked cars are half-submerged in a flooded park area after heavy rainfall that hit the area early in the morning, in the town of Algeciras, southern Spain, 18 October 2026. (EPA)
Parked cars are half-submerged in a flooded park area after heavy rainfall that hit the area early in the morning, in the town of Algeciras, southern Spain, 18 October 2026. (EPA)

A powerful Mediterranean storm submerged streets and disrupted travel in Spain on Sunday after claiming the life of a woman outside Barcelona and trapping residents.

Weather agency AEMET had issued warnings for torrential rain as the storm approached on Saturday, issuing the highest red alert in the eastern region of Valencia, scarred by Spain's deadliest floods in a generation in 2024.

Emergency services in the regions of Valencia, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Balearic Islands, which include the holiday hotspots of Mallorca and Ibiza, reported hundreds of incidents linked to flooded homes, roads, fallen trees and material damage.

The Catalan fire service announced that a woman who had fallen into a stream on Saturday in Cabrera de Mar, around 25 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of Barcelona, was found dead in the sea.

Mass telephone alerts were sent in Valencia as well as Ibiza and neighboring Formentera, urging the population to avoid unnecessary travel and exercise caution.

In Ibiza, roads were transformed into lakes of murky water on which giant refuse bins floated, partially submerging cars, and beach resorts that concentrate the island's famous nightclub scene were deserted.

The main motorway to Ibiza airport was closed, with at least five flights cancelled, 16 diverted and others delayed, according to operator Aena.

The army deployed its emergencies unit from the mainland to help deal with the emergency in Ibiza and Mallorca.

In the Andalusian province of Almeria, the emergency services said the deluge left "people isolated by the water" and reported "37 rescues" since Saturday.

Outside the popular tourist destination of Malaga on Saturday night, 10 people were trapped in the tunnel of a beach promenade as the water surged above their ankles, forcing firefighters to save them, they said.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the Mediterranean storms that typically hit eastern Spain in autumn as the sea absorbs heat during the summer, leading to increased evaporation and heavier rainfall.

This week, AEMET announced that last month was mainland Spain's hottest September on record, after the country registered its warmest summer between June and August.