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NKorea's Kim Hails Russia Ties as Putin Reportedly Plans a Visit

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometres from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometres from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
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NKorea's Kim Hails Russia Ties as Putin Reportedly Plans a Visit

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometres from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un examine a launch pad of Soyuz rockets during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometres from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed the country's expanding relationship with Russia on Wednesday, as reports suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon visit the country for his third meeting with Kim.
Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have sharply increased since Kim visited Russia last September for a meeting with Putin. The US, South Korea and their partners believe North Korea has supplied artillery, missiles and other conventional weapons to Russia to support its war in Ukraine in return for advanced military technologies and economic aid.
Kim has been pushing to boost partnerships with Russia and China in a bid to strength his regional footing and launch a united front against the United States, The Associated Press reported.
During their September meeting at Russia’s main space launch site, Kim invited the Russian president to visit North Korea at “a convenient time,” and Putin accepted.
On Wednesday, Kim sent Putin a congratulatory message commemorating Russia's National Day, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
“Thanks to the significant meeting between us at the Vostochney Spaceport in September last year, (North Korea)-Russia friendly and cooperative relations developed into an unbreakable relationship of comrades-in-arms,” Kim said in the message.
Kim's comments came as media reports said Putin is expected to visit North Korea as early as next week. If realized, it would their third summit meeting. Their first summit happened in Vladivostok in April 2019.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK, citing unidentified diplomatic sources including high-ranking Russian officials, reported Wednesday that Putin is preparing to visit North Korea and Vietnam next week.
NHK said Putin is expected to seek stronger military ties with North Korea as Russia faces a shortage of weapons in its war with Ukraine, while North Korea is believed to want help with space technology in the wake of its recent failure to put a second spy satellite in orbit in late May.
Earlier this week, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper carried a similar report.
Neither Russia nor North Korea have confirmed reports of a planned trip. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing in late May that “the visit is in the pipeline, and we will make an announcement in due time,” according to Russian news agency Tass.

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World

Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating US-Brokered Three-Day Truce

A drone engine lies near as Ukrainian rescuers and local people inspect the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 May 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
A drone engine lies near as Ukrainian rescuers and local people inspect the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 May 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
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Russia Accuses Ukraine of Violating US-Brokered Three-Day Truce

A drone engine lies near as Ukrainian rescuers and local people inspect the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 May 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)
A drone engine lies near as Ukrainian rescuers and local people inspect the site of a Russian strike on a residential area in Kharkiv, Ukraine, 07 May 2026, amid the ongoing Russian invasion. (EPA)

Russia accused Kyiv of breaking a US-brokered ceasefire on Sunday, while Ukrainian officials said that one person had been killed and more injured by Russian drone and artillery strikes in the past 24 hours.

Two people were injured by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region, the area's Moscow-installed leader Vladimir Saldo said.

Separately, Russia's Ministry of Defense accused Kyiv of committing more than 1,000 ceasefire violations, state media reported, citing a daily briefing on Sunday. The ministry said Ukrainian forces had attacked civilian targets in several Russian regions and carried out strikes against Russian military positions on the front line.

Russia's military “responded in kind” to the ceasefire violations,” the ministry said.

Ukrainian officials said Russia had launched attacks, although they stopped short of accusing Moscow of violating the US-brokered truce that came into force on Saturday.

Ivan Fedorov, head of Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, said one person had been killed and three more injured by artillery and drone attacks in the past 24 hours.

Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of Ukraine's Kherson, said that seven people had been wounded over the same period.

Five people were also injured when a Russian drone attack damaged a nine-storey apartment block in the industrial district of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional administration, said late Saturday.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Russia and Ukraine had bowed to his request for a ceasefire running Saturday through Monday to mark Victory Day, the Russian celebration marking the defeat of Nazi Germany.

Trump said there would also be an exchange of prisoners, declaring that the break in fighting could be the “beginning of the end” of the war.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had said Russian authorities “fear drones may buzz over Red Square” during the May 9 parade in Moscow, followed up on Trump’s statement by mockingly declaring Red Square temporarily off-limits for Ukrainian strikes to allow the Russian parade to go ahead. The Kremlin shrugged off the comment as a “silly joke.”

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Sunday he expects US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who have both taken a leading role in negotiations to end the war, to visit Moscow “soon enough.”

However, he stressed that Moscow would not move from its demand that Kyiv's troops withdraw from Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

“Until (Ukraine) takes that step, we can hold several more rounds, dozens of rounds (of negotiations), but we’ll be stuck in the same place,” Ushakov was cited by the state news agency Tass as saying.

World

Iran's Supreme Leader Briefs Military Chief on 'New Guiding Measures'

An Iranian woman walks a mosque decorated with a banner depicting Iran's current leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in the capital Tehran on May 9, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
An Iranian woman walks a mosque decorated with a banner depicting Iran's current leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in the capital Tehran on May 9, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
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Iran's Supreme Leader Briefs Military Chief on 'New Guiding Measures'

An Iranian woman walks a mosque decorated with a banner depicting Iran's current leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in the capital Tehran on May 9, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /
An Iranian woman walks a mosque decorated with a banner depicting Iran's current leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in the capital Tehran on May 9, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) /

The head of Iran's armed forces unified command met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and received from him "new guiding measures to pursue military operations and ‌firmly confront ‌adversaries", the ‌semi-official Fars ⁠news reported on ⁠Sunday.

The Fars report said that Ali Abdollahi, who commands the Khatam al-Anbiya Central ⁠Headquarters, had briefed ‌Khamenei ‌on the readiness of ‌the country’s armed ‌forces. It did not say when their meeting took place, Reuters said.

"The ‌armed forces are ready to confront any ⁠action ⁠by the American-Zionist (Israeli) enemies. In case of any error by the enemy, Iran's response will be swift, severe, and decisive," Abdollahi was reported as saying.

World

Iran Responds to US Peace Proposal as Drones Hit Gulf

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Iran Responds to US Peace Proposal as Drones Hit Gulf

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

Iran responded to Washington's latest peace proposal on Sunday, after drones threatened several Gulf region targets and Tehran warned it would not hold back from retaliating against any new US strikes. 

According to state broadcaster IRIB, Tehran's response, passed to Pakistani mediators, focuses on ending the war "on all fronts, especially Lebanon" -- where Israel has kept up its fight with Iran-backed Hezbollah -- as well as on "ensuring shipping security". 

US President Donald Trump had said he was expecting Iran's reply by Friday, but as the wait dragged on, the ceasefire in the Gulf came under increasing strain, including from Sunday's drone strikes, one of which hit and damaged a freighter sailing towards a port in Qatar. 

The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of being behind another attack that targeted its territory in what would be, if confirmed, only the second strike on a Gulf country since the start of the month-old truce. 

"We will never bow down to the enemy, and if there is talk of dialogue or negotiation, it does not mean surrender or retreat," Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on X Sunday. 

Tehran's military chief Ali Abdollahi, meanwhile, met the country's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei and received "new directives and guidance for the continuation of operations to confront the enemy", according to Iranian state television. 

- 'Restraint over' - 

Qatar's defence ministry said a freighter arriving in the country's waters from Abu Dhabi was hit by a drone on Sunday off the port of Mesaieed. 

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said the bulk carrier reported being struck by an unknown projectile. 

"There was a small fire that has been extinguished, there are no casualties. There is no reported environmental impact," it said. 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Iran's Fars news agency reported that "the bulk carrier that was struck near the coast of Qatar was sailing under a US flag and belonged to the United States". 

In a social media post on Sunday, the spokesman for the Iranian parliament's national security commission warned the United States: "Our restraint is over as of today." 

"Any attack on our vessels will trigger a strong and decisive Iranian response against American ships and bases," Ebrahim Rezaei said. 

Iran's Revolutionary Guards had threatened the day before to target US interests in the Middle East if its tankers came under fire -- as they did on Friday when a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iran-flagged vessels in the Gulf of Oman. 

- Drone strikes - 

The United Arab Emirates said that its territory had also come under attack, and called out Iran by name. 

"UAE air defense systems successfully engaged two UAVs launched from Iran," the defense ministry said, in a social media post. 

Iran's neighbor Kuwait also reported an attempted attack. 

"At dawn today, the armed forces detected a number of hostile drones in Kuwaiti airspace, which were dealt with in accordance with established procedures," the military posted. 

In Seoul, defense ministry spokesman Park Il told reporters that a South Korean cargo vessel had been hit on Monday and was damaged by fire before making its way to port in Dubai. 

"On May 4, two unidentified aircraft struck the outer plate of the port-side ballast tank at the stern of the HMM Namu at roughly one-minute intervals, causing flames and smoke," he said. 

Iran has choked off the Strait of Hormuz -- a vital route out of the Gulf for oil, gas and fertilizer, seeking to wield economic leverage over the United States and its allies. 

The US Navy, meanwhile, is blockading Iran's ports, at times disabling or diverting ships heading to and from them. 

Iran has set up a payment mechanism to extract tolls from shipping crossing the strait, but US officials have stressed it would be "unacceptable" for Tehran to control what had been an international waterway and the route of a fifth of the world's oil exports.