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North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Wednesday toward the sea off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast, South Korean and Japanese authorities said, days ahead of major joint military exercises by Seoul and Washington long denounced by Pyongyang. The missile was launched from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s east coast at around 6 a.m. (2100 GMT Tuesday), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, six days after North Korea fired another ballistic missile from the same area. The launch comes ahead of South Korean and U.S. military drills, dubbed Ulchi Freedom Shield, scheduled for August 17 to 27,…

Rescue crews on Tuesday dug through mountains of rubble in western Colombia, shouting for quiet so they could listen for survivors still trapped under the buildings that collapsed in a powerful earthquake estimated to have killed at least 250 people. The 7.4-magnitude quake, the most devastating to strike Colombia this century, tore through its coffee-growing heartland early on Monday, leaving apartment blocks, homes, schools and health centers cracked, leaning or flattened. Separate reports from affected cities put the death toll at 254 on Tuesday morning, with 101 people killed in Pereira, deep in coffee country, and 95 in Cali, the…

Indonesian firefighters have mostly contained a wildfire that has scorched a large area of a national park on the main island of Java, though crews are battling several remaining hot spots in the popular tourist destination, authorities said. The fire, which began last week, impacted nearly 900 hectares (2,224 acres) across the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park as of Tuesday, after large areas of dry grassland, vegetation and protected edelweiss flowers burned in 36 hot spots, said Rudijanta Tjahja Nugraha, head of the park located in East Java province. The volcanic landscape of Mount Bromo, one of Indonesia’s best-known attractions,…

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said that China does not recognize the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh” illegally set up by India. Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks when asked to comment on the report that India issued on Aug. 7 the “standard names” of 27 locations in the so-called “Arunachal Pradesh.” “Zangnan region is China’s territory,” Guo said, adding that India’s move of attempting to replace names long used by China with its so-called “standard names” is illegal, null and void. Still less will it change the fact that Zangnan region belongs to China, he noted.

China’s premier digital publishing expo will open in late August, featuring for the first time an exhibition area highlighting the integration of traditional Chinese culture and online games. The 16th China International Digital Publishing Expo will run from Aug. 27 to 29 in Jinan, capital of east China’s Shandong Province, according to the expo’s organizing committee. In recent years, the popularity of homegrown games such as “Black Myth: Wukong” has demonstrated technological breakthroughs in China’s gaming industry, while bringing traditional Chinese culture to life through creative transformation and innovative development. In 2025, China’s domestic gaming market generated actual sales revenue…

Chinese and Indonesian navies will conduct a naval navigation exercise in waters east of China’s Taiwan Island in mid-August, China’s Ministry of National Defense announced on Tuesday. During the exercise, frigates of the two navies will carry out a series of drills, including communications exercises and maritime replenishment operations. The exercise aims to enhance the two navies’ joint operational capabilities, deepen practical cooperation and maintain peace and stability in the region, the ministry stated.

China urges the Secretariat of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) to abide by the one-China principle and properly handle Taiwan-related issues, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday. A correspondent cited an official from the PIF as saying that Taiwan will attend the annual leaders meeting scheduled to be hosted in Palau from August 30 to September 4. The Taiwan region was barred from attending last year’s meeting hosted by the Solomon Islands following protests from China. Guo pointed out that on the participation of China’s Taiwan region in the events of international organizations, China’s position is consistent…

China will step up efforts to strengthen ecological conservation during the 2026-2030 period as it continues to pursue green modernization, according to a recently issued development plan. The plan, jointly issued by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Natural Resources and other departments, said China aims to steadily improve the quality of its ecosystems, enhance ecosystem diversity, stability and resilience, and better safeguard the country’s ecological security. A view of Ergun Wetland in Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, July 29, 2026. /VCG The plan also sets specific targets for the period, including keeping the proportion of land…

Heavy rain associated with Typhoon Dolphin continued to affect large parts of China on Tuesday, prompting higher flood-control responses, train suspensions and flood warnings in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin, as well as in central and eastern provinces. Heavy rain hits Beijing, China, August 11, 2026. /VCG Beijing activated a Level II flood-control emergency response, the second-highest level, at 9 a.m. Tuesday as authorities warned of heavy rain and heightened risks of urban flooding and landslides. Most parts of the capital are expected to receive more than 100 millimeters of rain within six hours and over 150 mm within 24 hours from…

ISLAMABAD: National Strategic Command (NSC) Commander General Syed Amir Raza was conferred the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) by President Asif Ali Zardari at a ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and the services chiefs also attended the ceremony on Tuesday. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gillani, federal ministers, other senior officials, and ambassadors of several countries were also present at the event. PM Shehbaz had promoted Gen Raza — who was previously serving as the Chief of the General Staff — from the Lieutenant General’s rank to the rank of “Four-Star…