World
North Korea conducts missile test after making threat over US spy flights
North Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile test in three months on Wednesday, two days after it threatened “shocking” consequences to protest what it called provocative U.S. reconnaissance activity near its territory.
Some experts say North Korea likely tested its developmental, road-mobile Hwasong-18 ICBM, a type of solid-fuel weapon that is harder to detect and intercept than the North’s other liquid-fuel ICBMs. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un previously called the Hwasong-18 his most powerful nuclear weapon, The Associated Press reported.
A long-range North Korean missile fired from its capital region around 10 a.m. flew about 1,000 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 6,000 kilometers before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments. They said the missile was launched on a high angle, in an apparent attempt to avoid neighboring countries.
South Korea’s military called the launch “a grave provocation” and said the South Korean and U.S. authorities agreed to maintain robust, combined defense postures.
Chief Japanese Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also denounced North Korea over its repeated ballistic missile launches as “threats to the peace and safety of Japan, the region and international society.”
The launch came as South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were visiting Vilnius, Lithuania, to attend this week’s NATO summit. In an emergency security council meeting convened in Lithuania, Yoon told officials that North Korea must face consequences over its provocation. Matsuno said Kishida asked him to prepare for a security council meeting over the launch.
Wednesday’s launch came after North Korea earlier this week released a series of statements accusing the United States of flying a military plane close to North Korea to spy on the North.
The U.S. and South Korea dismissed the North’s accusations and urged it to refrain from any acts or rhetoric that raised animosities.
In a statement Monday night, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, warned the United States of “a shocking incident” as she claimed that the U.S. spy plane flew over the North’s eastern exclusive economic zone eight times earlier in the day. She claimed the North scrambled warplanes to chase away the U.S. plane.
In another fiery statement Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong said the U.S. military would experience “a very critical flight” if it continues its illicit, aerial spying activities. The North’s military separately threatened to shoot down U.S. spy planes.
At least five people were killed and more than 30 others injured when a bomb exploded inside a mosque during prayers in Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, police said Wednesday night.
Authorities believe the blast was a suicide attack, citing recovered fragments of a suspected explosive vest. Security forces have cordoned off the area and are searching for additional devices.
No group has claimed responsibility, though such attacks have previously been linked to Boko Haram, which has waged a long-running insurgency in the region.
World
Libyan army’s chief dies in plane crash in Turkey
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation into the crash was under way.
The Libyan army’s chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, died in a plane crash on Tuesday after leaving Turkey’s capital Ankara, the prime minister of Libya’s internationally recognised government said, adding that four others were on the jet as well, Reuters reported.
“This followed a tragic and painful incident while they were returning from an official trip from the Turkish city of Ankara. This grave loss is a great loss for the nation, for the military institution, and for all the people,” Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said in a statement.
He said the commander of Libya’s ground forces, the director of its military manufacturing authority, an adviser to the chief of staff, and a photographer from the chief of staff’s office were also on the aircraft.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media platform X that the plane had taken off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at 1710 GMT en route to Tripoli, and that radio contact was lost at 1752 GMT. He said authorities found the plane’s wreckage near the Kesikkavak village in Ankara’s Haymana district.
He added that the Dassault Falcon 50-type jet had made a request for an emergency landing while over Haymana, but that no contact was established.
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation into the crash was under way.
The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity said in a statement that the prime minister directed the defence minister to send an official delegation to Ankara to follow up on proceedings.
Walid Ellafi, state minister of political affairs and communication for the GNU, told broadcaster Libya Alahrar that it was not clear when a crash report would be ready, but that the jet was a leased Maltese aircraft. He added that officials did not have “sufficient information regarding its ownership or technical history,” but said this would be investigated.
Libya’s U.N.-recognised Government of National Unity announced official mourning across the country for three days, read the report.
Turkey’s defence ministry had announced Haddad’s visit earlier, saying he had met with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and Turkish counterpart Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, along with other Turkish military commanders.
The crash occurred a day after Turkey’s parliament passed a decision to extend the mandate of Turkish soldiers’ deployment in Libya by two more years.
NATO member Turkey has militarily and politically supported Libya’s Tripoli-based, internationally recognised government. In 2020, it sent military personnel there to train and support its government and later reached a maritime demarcation accord, which has been disputed by Egypt and Greece.
In 2022, Ankara and Tripoli also signed a preliminary accord on energy exploration, which Egypt and Greece also oppose, Reuters reported.
However, Turkey has recently switched course under its “One Libya” policy, ramping up contacts with Libya’s eastern faction as well.
World
Trump administration recalls dozens of diplomats in ‘America First’ push
The State Department declined to name those affected, with a senior official calling the recalls a routine step for new administrations.
The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 U.S. ambassadors and senior career diplomats to ensure embassies align with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda, a move critics say could weaken U.S. credibility abroad.
The State Department declined to name those affected, with a senior official calling the recalls a routine step for new administrations. The official said ambassadors are the president’s representatives and must advance his policy priorities.
However, officials familiar with the matter said the recalls largely affect career Foreign Service officers posted to smaller countries, where ambassadors are traditionally non-partisan. Those ordered back to Washington were encouraged to seek other roles within the State Department.
The American Foreign Service Association said some diplomats were notified by phone without explanation, calling the process “highly irregular” and warning that such actions risk harming morale and U.S. effectiveness overseas. The State Department did not respond to the criticism.
The move, first reported by Politico, comes as Trump seeks to place loyalists in senior roles during his second term, after facing resistance from the foreign policy establishment in his first.
Democrats have criticised the decision, noting that around 80 ambassadorial posts remain vacant. Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the recalls undermine U.S. leadership and benefit rivals such as China and Russia.
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