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North Korean Leader, Daughter Try Out New Tank

A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (2-L) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) visiting the Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 of the Capital City Defense Corps of the North Korean Army in North Korea, 19 March 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). EPA/KCNA
A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (2-L) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) visiting the Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 of the Capital City Defense Corps of the North Korean Army in North Korea, 19 March 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). EPA/KCNA
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North Korean Leader, Daughter Try Out New Tank

A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (2-L) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) visiting the Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 of the Capital City Defense Corps of the North Korean Army in North Korea, 19 March 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). EPA/KCNA
A photo released by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (2-L) and his daughter Kim Ju Ae (L) visiting the Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 of the Capital City Defense Corps of the North Korean Army in North Korea, 19 March 2026 (issued 20 March 2026). EPA/KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and daughter Ju Ae tried out the country's new battle tank in large-scale military drills, state media reported on Friday, in the latest sign that she was being groomed as his heir.

Photos released by state media showed a chuffed-looking Kim sitting on top of the moving tank in his trademark leather jacket as the teenage Ju Ae's head popped out of a hatch during the exercises on Thursday.

The drills at the Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 involved armored units firing anti-tank missiles while rear sub-units targeted simulated enemy drones and helicopters, clearing the way for infantry and tanks, the Korean Central News Agency said.

According to KCNA, the tank possesses advanced mobility, firepower, and defensive systems, including protection against missiles and drones.

"Watching with great pleasure the tanks violently make a charge, shaking the earth, he (Kim) expressed satisfaction that the majestic scene of tanks imposingly advancing forward represents the inherent bravery and pluck of our army," the agency reported.

The drill comes amid heightened regional tensions, following recent North Korean missile tests and just-concluded springtime military exercises by South Korea and the United States.

The Kim family has ruled North Korea with an iron grip for decades, and a cult of personality surrounding their "Paektu bloodline" dominates daily life in the isolated country.

In February, South Korea's national intelligence service said that Ju Ae, thought to be in her early teens, has been clearly "designated as a successor" to her father.

This perception has been stoked by a string of recent high-profile outings including watching a test of nuclear-capable rocket launchers last weekend and firing a pistol last week.

Pyongyang's state media released an image of Ju Ae firing what looked like a pistol with one eye closed, flames shooting from the muzzle of the gun, AFP reported.

Ju Ae was publicly introduced to the world only in 2022 when she accompanied her father to an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

Before then, the only confirmation of her existence was from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who visited the North in 2013.

Ju Ae has drawn attention for her taste in luxury fashion, appearing in Gucci sunglasses and wearing a Cartier watch.

At other times, she has mirrored her father's distinctive style, wearing matching leather jackets and dark glasses.

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World

Running App Reveals Location of France Aircraft Carrier in Mediterranean

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)
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Running App Reveals Location of France Aircraft Carrier in Mediterranean

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, deployed to the Mediterranean following Iranian drone strikes on Cyprus on the Mediterranean Sea, on March 9, 2026, on the sidelines of his trip to Cyprus to discuss regional security. (Photo by Gonzalo Fuentes / POOL / AFP)

A member of the French navy using an app to track his jogging performance broadcast the exact position of his country's flagship aircraft carrier, a newspaper has reported.

France deployed the Charles de Gaulle -- and accompanying frigates -- to the Mediterranean in early March shortly after US-Israeli strikes on Iran sparked war in the Middle East.

It has been in the eastern Mediterranean since March 9 as part of what Emmanuel Macron has called a "purely defensive" posture in support of France's allies in the conflict.

Le Monde newspaper reported on Thursday that the runner jogged in circles on a ship in movement on March 13 in the middle of the sea northwest of Cyprus, according to his public profile on the Strava fitness tracking app, while satellite images showed the aircraft carrier was in the immediate vicinity at the time.

The same person had also been running in Copenhagen, Denmark, in late February, across a bridge from Malmo, Sweden, where the Charles de Gaulle was anchored at the time, Strava data showed.

The French armed forces told AFP appropriate measures would be taken if the report was true, as members of the navy were regularly reminded about the risk of security breaches using such apps.

"The reported case -- if confirmed -- does not comply with the current instructions," it said.

Running app profiles have given away sensitive information before.

World

Israeli Reservist Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for Iran

A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March 2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March 2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
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Israeli Reservist Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for Iran

A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March 2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN
A long exposure showing the interception of a ballistic missile in the skies above Tel Aviv, as sirens sounds across central Israel, 20 March 2026. EPA/ABIR SULTAN

Israeli police said on Friday they had arrested an army reservist who served on the Iron Dome air defense system on suspicion of passing secrets to Iran.

The arrest comes as Israel and the United States are locked in a war with Iran that has spread across the Middle East.

"Raz Cohen, a 26-year-old resident of Jerusalem who served in the reserves in the Iron Dome system, was recently arrested on suspicion of committing security offenses involving contact with Iranian intelligence," Israeli police said.

"Over the course of several months, the citizen maintained contact with Iranian intelligence operatives and, under their instructions, was asked to carry out various security missions, including passing on sensitive security information."

Iran has been firing barrages of missiles at Israel in retaliation for a US-Israeli bombing campaign that began on February 28 with the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Israel's state-of-the-art air defenses have managed to intercept many of the missiles fired by Tehran, but there have been deaths and damage to some strategic sites.

According to Israeli rescue services and authorities, Iranian missile fire toward Israel has killed 15 civilians in the country since the start of the war.

Four Palestinian women also died after Iranian missile fire in the occupied West Bank, the Ramallah-based health ministry said.

World

Italy, Germany and France Offer Help with Hormuz Only after Ceasefire

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File
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Italy, Germany and France Offer Help with Hormuz Only after Ceasefire

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands say they are ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz" post-ceasefire. Giuseppe CACACE / AFP/File

Six major international powers said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to" ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though three stressed that any initiative would take place post-ceasefire.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands said Thursday they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz".

The grouping said they "welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning", as they condemned "in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf".

But Italy, Germany and France made clear later Thursday that they were not talking about any immediate military help, but rather a potential multilateral initiative after a ceasefire.

The declaration came as an effective Iranian blockade of the strait has paralyzed commercial shipping through the crucial maritime chokepoint, which in peacetime sees a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass through it.

The war, which erupted on February 28 when the United States and Israel began bombing Iran, has led Tehran to retaliate with strikes across the Gulf region.

Twenty-three commercial vessels, including 10 tankers, have reported incidents or having been attacked.

The situation has left around 20,000 seafarers stranded on approximately 3,200 vessels west of the strait, according to the International Maritime Organization.

"We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict," the allies' joint statement said.

"We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping," it added.

"Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law, including under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"The effects of Iran's actions will be felt by people in all parts of the world, especially the most vulnerable."

- Not a 'war mission' -

US President Donald Trump has urged other world powers, and NATO, to help reopen the Hormuz Strait to commercial shipping.

But they have rebuffed his call in the short term while insisting they were open to discussions and planning.

Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the statement by the six countries should not be seen as a "war mission".

"No entry into Hormuz without a truce and a comprehensive multilateral initiative", for which "it is right and appropriate for the United Nations to provide the legal framework", he said in a statement.

And in Berlin, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that any German military involvement "would depend on the situation after a ceasefire... and whether we could participate within the framework of an international mandate".

Military involvement would also require approval by the German parliament, he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters his country planned to sound out permanent members of the UN Security Council on the possibility of establishing a UN framework for future plans -- once the ongoing exchange of fire had ended -- to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

"We have initiated an exploratory process, and we will see in the coming days whether it stands a chance of succeeding," he said in Brussels following a European summit that took place on Thursday.

A UK defense official told reporters at a briefing Wednesday that "the level of threat is such that I don't see many nations being willing to put warships into the middle of that threat right now".

The defense official noted London has sent a "small number" of additional military "planners" to US Central Command to "help with the planning and option development for... whatever comes next in the Strait of Hormuz might look like".