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SEOUL. June 30 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with visiting Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova in Pyongyang as the two countries continue to strengthen bilateral ties, the North’s state-run media reported Monday.

The meeting took place on Sunday at the headquarters of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee and was also attended by Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexandr Matsegora, the official Korean Central News Agency reported.

Lyubimova led a ministry delegation to mark the first anniversary of the countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, under which North Korea has sent troops and weapons to Moscow to aid in its war against Ukraine.

Kim said that “extensive and profound exchanges and cooperation in all fields are further expanding and developing day by day” in the wake of the partnership, according to KCNA.

“It is important for the cultural sector to guide the relations between the two countries,” he said. “It is necessary to further expand the exchange and cooperation in the field of culture and art to know well about each other’s excellent cultural traditions and learn more.”

Lyubimova said her visit came at a time when the “solidity and invincibility of the DPRK-Russia friendship and solidarity are being more clearly proved,” KCNA reported.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.

“Cooperation between the two countries in the cultural field has reached the highest level in history,” she added.

The two discussed future plans for cultural exchanges and attended a concert by North Korean musicians and a visiting troupe of Russian performers, the KCNA report said.

Photos released by KCNA showed images of North Korean troops deployed to Russia used as a stage backdrop.

North Korea has sent some 14,000 troops to help Russia recapture lost territory in Kursk Province from Ukrainian forces, according to a recent report from the 11-country Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team. Pyongyang acknowledged sending the troops for the first time in April.

The cultural meeting came on the heels of a pair of visits by Russia’s Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu this month.

On June 18, Shoigu announced that North Korea would send 6,000 military workers and combat engineers to help rebuild the Kursk region.

North Korea is likely to send additional troops to support Russia’s war against Ukraine in July or August, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed-door meeting on Thursday.

RICHMOND, Calif. — An oil tanker sat docked at Chevron’s sprawling refinery in Richmond, Calif., on Thursday — a visible link between California’s appetite for Amazon crude and the remote rainforest territories where it’s extracted. Just offshore, bundled in puffy jackets against the Bay wind, Indigenous leaders from Ecuador’s Amazon paddled kayaks through choppy waters, calling attention to the oil expansion threatening their lands.

Their visit to California helped prompt the state Senate to introduce a landmark resolution urging officials to examine the state’s role in importing crude from the Amazon. The move comes as Ecuador’s government prepares to auction off 14 new oil blocks — covering more than 2 million hectares of rainforest, much of it Indigenous territory — in a 2026 bidding round known as “Sur Oriente.”

The Indigenous leaders say the move goes against the spirit of a national referendum in which Ecuadorians voted to leave crude oil permanently underground in Yasuni National Park.

The preservation push in Ecuador comes as another South American country that includes part of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, is moving ahead with plans to further develop oil resources. On Tuesday, Brazil auctioned off several land and offshore potential oil sites near the Amazon River as it aims to expand production in untapped regions despite protests from environmental and Indigenous groups.

Indigenous voices

Juan Bay, president of the Waorani people of Ecuador, said that his delegation’s coming to California was “important so that our voices, our stance, and our struggle can be elevated” and urged Californians to reexamine the source of their crude from the Amazon — ”from Waorani Indigenous territory.”

On Thursday, the Indigenous delegation joined local Californians in Richmond for a kayaking trip near a Chevron refinery, sharing stories about the Amazon and perspectives on climate threats.

For Nadino Calapucha, a spokesperson for the Kichwa Pakkiru people, the visit to California’s Bay Area was deeply moving. Spotting seals in the water and a bird’s nest nearby felt “like a gesture of solidarity from nature itself,” he told the Associated Press on a kayak.

“It was as if the animals were welcoming us,” he said.

The connection between the Amazon and California — both facing environmental threats — was palpable, Calapucha said.

“Being here with our brothers and sisters, with the local communities also fighting — in the end, we feel that the struggle is the same,” he said.

California is the largest global consumer of Amazon oil, with much of it refined and used in the state as fuel. Ecuador is the region’s top producer of onshore crude.

Bay highlighted a March ruling by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which found that Ecuador had violated the rights of the area’s Indigenous groups by allowing oil operations in and around a site known as Block 43.

The court ordered the government to halt extraction in protected areas and uphold the 2023 referendum banning drilling in Yasuni National Park, where the country’s largest crude reserve lies, estimated around 1.7 billion barrels.

Bay appealed to the California government to reconsider if it “should continue receiving crude from the Amazon” — or continue to be “complicit in the violation of rights” happening on Indigenous territory.

Defending Indigenous rights

State Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), who introduced the new resolution, praised the visiting leaders for defending their land and the global climate.

“Their communities are on the front lines asserting their rights and resisting oil extraction,” Becker said on the Senate floor on Monday. “They are defenders of a living rainforest that stores carbon, regulates the global climate, and sustains life.”

Long criticized by environmental justice advocates, the refinery has processed millions of barrels of Amazon crude, fueling concerns over pollution, public health, and the state’s role in rainforest destruction.

The delegation also helped launch a new report by Amazon Watch, an Oakland-based nonprofit dedicated to the protection of the Amazon Basin, which outlines the climate, legal and financial risks of operating in Indigenous territories without consent.

‘Addiction to Amazon crude’

Kevin Koenig, Amazon Watch’s director for climate, energy and extraction industry, said the effects of Amazon crude extend far beyond Ecuador. He joined the Ecuadorian delegation on the kayaking trip Thursday.

“The Golden State, if it wants to be a climate leader, needs to take action,” he told AP. “California has an addiction to Amazon crude.”

Californians need to “recognize their responsibility and their complicity in driving demand for Amazon crude and the impact that that is having on Indigenous people, on their rights, on the biodiversity and the climate,” he added.

California’s future is closely tied to the Amazon’s — the state relies on the rainforest’s role in climate regulation and rainfall, Koenig said, warning that continued Amazon crude imports contribute to the destruction increasing California’s vulnerability to drought and wildfires.

He said environmental and public health damage tied to oil drilling is not confined to South America.

“We’re seeing the same impacts from the oil well to the wheel here in California, where communities are suffering from contamination, health impacts, dirty water,” he said. “It’s time that California lead an energy transition.”

California, one of the world’s largest economies and a major importer of Amazon crude, must take stronger climate action, Koenig added, and called on the state to phase out its reliance on oil linked to deforestation, human rights abuses, pollution and climate damage.

The resolution commends the Indigenous communities of Ecuador for their struggle in defending the rainforest and Indigenous rights.

It also marks the first time California would examine how its energy consumption may contribute to the region’s deforestation and cultural loss. The resolution is expected to be up for a vote within a few weeks, according to Koenig.

Grattan and Vasquez write for the Associated Press.

Tehran, Iran – Suitcases are rolling through Tehran, but this time, it’s not for holidays or family celebrations. They are being packed in haste and out of fear – symbols of the growing anxiety gripping the Iranian capital’s 10 million residents as they face Israeli missiles.

While Iranians scramble to find shelter, dual Iranian-American nationals find themselves caught in the crossfire of war and geopolitical uncertainty.

Amir, a 36-year-old Tesla engineer and dual national, travelled to Tehran from the United States just weeks before Israeli air strikes began hitting targets across Iran. He had been visiting family and spending quiet days with them on Mount Damavand, located roughly 60 kilometres northeast of the capital. His return flight to the US was already booked, but a few days before he was scheduled to travel, Israel launched its attacks.

When the bombs started to fall, Amir found himself gripped by fear, not just of war, but of being drafted and becoming a casualty of politics beyond his control.

“I wasn’t scared at first. Being with my family brought me peace,” said Amir, who preferred not to share his last name for security reasons. He recalled how he had actually been more worried about his family’s safety during the 2022 Iran antigovernment protests, watching from afar in the US. “Back then, I was constantly anxious, glued to the news, worrying about my family. But now, being in Tehran and Damavand, I could see that life was still going on,” he said.

But he soon decided it was too risky to remain in Iran. A US Green Card holder, Amir dreaded the growing possibility of President Donald Trump reintroducing a travel ban on Iranians and feared it would include those with permanent residency, like himself. With a sense of urgency, Amir chose to leave.

Crossing borders, leaving loved ones

Fearing for his life and his future, Amir began a long overland journey. On Monday, he left by overnight bus for the western Iranian city of Urmia, an 11-hour journey. From there, he continued by road to Van, in eastern Turkiye, which took another six hours. He then boarded a domestic flight to Ankara, from where he flew to the US on Thursday.

For Amir, fleeing wasn’t just a logistical challenge; it was emotionally traumatic. “If it weren’t for the fear of being conscripted and the possibility of a new Trump-era travel ban, I would have stayed close to my loved ones,” he said. “It’s harder in the US.”

Behrouz, a 41-year-old postdoctoral researcher based in San Francisco, faced a similar choice. He had been visiting his hometown of Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, when it was struck by one of Israel’s longest-range missile attacks.

“I tried to stay calm for the first two days,” he recalled. “But then, I had to face the reality: this conflict is nothing like the past. At least for the coming months, the sky won’t be clear or open.”

Traditionally, Behrouz would end his trips to Iran with a walk through the courtyard of the Imam Reza Holy Shrine, picking up saffron and sweets for colleagues back in the US. But this time, he left in a rush. The journey was long: 10 hours by car to Tehran, another nine to Urmia, and then across the Razi border crossing into Turkiye. “It took about 20 minutes to get through the checkpoint,” he said, but what followed was a gruelling 22-hour bus ride to Istanbul.

Behrouz explained he had to leave because of his job. “But my heart is still there with my family, and with the people,” he said, his voice breaking.

“We are against both Israel and the Iranian regime,” he added. “We are millions of ordinary Iranians caught in the middle of decisions made by politicians who don’t represent us.”

Behrouz’s words echo the quiet desperation of many others. Azerbaijani media reported that about 600 Iranian-American dual nationals had crossed out of northwestern Iran via the Astara border into southern Azerbaijan with support from the US embassy. Online, travel coordination flourished in Iranian-American Facebook groups. One user asked: “My flight was scheduled for late June. Should I try to exit through Armenia or Turkiye?” Another advised: “Bring extra fuel. Gas stations are limiting purchases to 10 litres per car.” Some even pooled resources to rent a van for the journey to the Turkish border.

For those managing to leave, the logistics are complex – but often less painful than the emotional burden.

Staying behind – and getting cut off

Not everyone is leaving. Afsaneh, a 43-year-old lifestyle blogger and mother who lives in northern California, had flown to Iran with her seven-year-old daughter before the war began. Despite US State Department warnings urging citizens to leave, she wrote on Instagram that she had no intention of returning – at least for now.

“This is where I want to be,” she wrote in a recent post. “With my family, during this time.”

Others have had no choice but to watch from afar as their loved ones live through the strikes.

Maryam Mortazavi, a 38-year-old Iranian-Canadian living in Toronto, had sent her parents and sister on a summer trip to Iran just two weeks before the air strikes began. Ten days into their stay, bombs hit the northwestern city of Tabriz near their residence.

“I was on a blurry video call with them, hearing explosions and air defence systems,” Mortazavi said. Her family fled to nearby Urmia for safety. By Wednesday afternoon, the Iranian government had shut down internet access. Maryam lost all contact with them.

“I can’t even get out of bed – I’m so worried,” she said, breaking down. “I just hope they find a working VPN and reach me.”

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab.

Nikol Pashinyan’s visit marks Ankara and Yerevan’s second attempt at reconciliation.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is on a rare visit to Istanbul to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in what Yerevan has described as a “historic” step towards regional peace.

The visit forms part of the two countries’ efforts to normalise ties strained over historical disputes and Ankara’s alliance with Azerbaijan, which has been in a long-simmering conflict with Armenia.

“This is a historic visit, as it will be the first time a head of the Republic of Armenia visits Turkiye at this level. All regional issues will be discussed,” Armenian parliament speaker Alen Simonyan told reporters on Friday. “The risks of war [with Azerbaijan] are currently minimal, and we must work to neutralise them. Pashinyan’s visit to Turkiye is a step in that direction.”

Pashinyan’s visit comes a day after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks in Turkiye with Erdogan, during which he praised the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance as “a significant factor, not only regionally but also globally”, and Erdogan reiterated his support for “the establishment of peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia”.

Baku and Yerevan agreed on the text of a peace deal in March, but Baku has since outlined a host of demands, including changes to Armenia’s constitution, that it wants met before it will sign the document.

Pashinyan is scheduled to meet Erdogan at Istanbul’s Dolmabahce Palace at 15:00 GMT, Erdogan’s office said.

An Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs official told the AFP news agency that the pair will discuss efforts to sign a comprehensive peace treaty.

The regional fallout from the Israel-Iran conflict, which began last Friday when Israel launched several waves of air strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities and military sites, will also be discussed.

Armenia and Turkiye have never established formal diplomatic ties, and their shared border has been closed since 1993.

Attempts at normalisation

Relations between the two nations have been historically strained over the World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire – atrocities historians and Yerevan say amount to genocide. Turkiye rejects the label, contending that while many people died in that era, the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest.

Ankara has also backed its close ally, Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan, in the long-running Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Armenia. This region, which had a mostly ethnic Armenian population at the time, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia in the late 1980s. In 2020, Turkiye backed Azerbaijan in its second war with Armenia, which ended after six weeks with a Russia-brokered peace deal that saw Azerbaijan gain control of a significant part of the region.

Pashinyan has actively sought to normalise relations with both Baku and Ankara.

Ankara and Yerevan appointed special envoys in late 2021 to lead a normalisation process, and resumed commercial flights in 2022 after a two-year pause.

Earlier this year, Pashinyan announced Armenia would halt its campaign for international recognition of the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide – a major concession to Turkiye that sparked widespread criticism at home.

Pashinyan’s first visit to Turkiye was to attend Erdogan’s inauguration in 2023.

This is Ankara and Yerevan’s second attempt at reconciliation. Turkiye and Armenia reached an agreement in 2009 to establish formal relations and open their shared border, but the deal was never ratified because of strong opposition from Azerbaijan.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said that the relationship between the two countries was ‘getting stronger again’.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Indonesian counterpart Prabowo Subianto as Moscow bids to strengthen ties in the Global South amid Western efforts to isolate the country following its war on Ukraine.

On Thursday, Putin and Prabowo met in the Russian city of St Petersburg and signed a declaration on strategic partnership.

Danatara, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, whose CEOs were also in Saint Petersburg, signed an agreement to create an investment fund worth 2 billion euros ($2.29bn).

In a statement after the talks, Prabowo said that the relationship between the two countries was “getting stronger again”.

“My meeting with President Putin today was intense, warm and productive. In all fields of economics, technical cooperation, trade, investment, agriculture – they all have experienced significant improvements,” he said.

Moreover, during the meeting at the Konstantin Palace, Putin acknowledged Indonesia’s entry into the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) grouping of emerging economies as a full member.

“Our relations with Indonesia are developing steadily. Trade turnover is growing. We have good prospects in a number of promising and very interesting areas of cooperation,” Putin said, according to Russian state news outlet TASS.

“This includes agriculture, space, and energy, as well as military-technical cooperation. Our interaction is very great, and it is growing,” he added.

As Southeast Asia’s largest economy relies primarily on coal as a source of power, despite its massive potential for renewable energy sources such as hydro, solar, and geothermal, Indonesia is seeking to boost power generation while capping its carbon emissions, considering nuclear power as a solution.

With Jakarta maintaining a neutral foreign policy, it has walked a delicate balance between regional competitors, China and the United States.

But Prabowo, who came to power last year, has looked to diversify the country’s alliances instead of relying heavily on Western partners.

His decision to skip the G7 summit in Canada this week in favour of talks with Putin raised fears of a tilt towards Moscow, analysts have said, after the two countries held their first joint naval drills last year.

Meanwhile, the Russian leader said that on Friday, he and Prabowo will take part in the plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

SEOUL, June 18 (UPI) — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held their first bilateral summit Tuesday on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada,-marking a cautious but notable step toward resetting long-strained relations between the two neighboring countries.

While bilateral ties had improved significantly under the previous South Korean administration through closer security and diplomatic coordination, this meeting was closely watched as an early signal of of how President Lee might approach the relationship going forward.

Lee, whose prior remarks on Japan drew criticism from Japanese conservatives, signaled a shift toward a more pragmatic diplomatic posture during the meeting. His tone in Kananaskis suggested a willingness to move forward with Japan despite longstanding tensions.

While both leaders expressed optimism about building a “future-oriented partnership,” concrete outcomes may emerge as talks continue.

Historical grievances, particularly unresolved matters such as wartime forced labor, continue to cast a shadow over the relationship.

Lee reaffirmed South Korea’s stance on these issues, emphasizing the importance of national sentiment and historical accountability. At home, his administration must also navigate a politically divided landscape, as public opinion in South Korea remains deeply sensitive to issues related to historical disputes with Japan.

While the meeting carried clear symbolic weight, the path forward will depend on whether the two governments can translate goodwill into sustained diplomatic progress. The coming months will reveal whether this summit marks the continuation of recent momentum or simply a fleeting moment of diplomatic engagement.

Italy severs links with Paragon spyware after allegations of targeting critics and migrant rescuers spark outrage.

Italy has terminated its contracts with Israeli spyware company Paragon, after revelations that the surveillance technology was used against critics of the government – including journalists and migrant rescue workers – prompted political uproar and calls for a full investigation.

The move was confirmed in a parliamentary report released on Monday by the intelligence oversight committee COPASIR, which found that Italy’s intelligence services had initially paused, then cancelled their use of Paragon’s spyware.

The timeline of the contract’s end remains unclear, especially since Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government had told parliament in February that the deal was still active.

Both the Italian government and Paragon confirmed the termination, but offered diverging narratives.

The controversy has provoked condemnation from opposition parties and media freedom advocates. Italy’s journalists’ union, FNSI, urged prosecutors to determine whether state surveillance laws were broken.

Paragon’s software was allegedly used to target individuals in Italy, including a journalist and members of the migrant rescue organisation Mediterranea, which has frequently criticised Meloni’s right-wing government.

Meta-owned WhatsApp revealed in January that the spyware had been deployed against dozens of users globally — including some in Italy.

Italian government denies illegality

The government has admitted that seven Italians were targeted, but maintains that any surveillance was lawful and overseen by a public prosecutor. It denied engaging in illicit spying and said it had tasked the National Cybersecurity Agency with reviewing the matter.

One of those allegedly targeted, Francesco Cancellato, editor of investigative outlet Fanpage, had claimed to the Reuters news agency and others that he was placed under surveillance.

But COPASIR said it found no evidence supporting the claim. Paragon, in a statement to Fanpage, said it halted services to Italy once Cancellato’s case came to light and claimed the Italian government refused a joint probe into the matter.

Meloni’s office has declined to comment. Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers are demanding that the government explain its role in parliament.

The report also revealed that Italy’s intelligence services had authorised the use of Paragon’s spyware in 2023 and 2024 to monitor a small number of individuals in connection with criminal investigations, including suspected “terrorism”, people smuggling and espionage.

COPASIR defended the surveillance of Mediterranea members Luca Casarini and Beppe Caccia, saying it was not due to their activism but their suspected links to irregular migration. The spyware’s use on them was approved by Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, Meloni’s top intelligence adviser, on September 5, 2024.

Mantovano did not respond to requests for comment.

Last month, a Sicilian court ordered Casarini, Caccia and four others to stand trial for allegedly aiding irregular immigration – a case widely seen as a test of Italy’s approach to migrant rescues. All deny the charges.

Kremlin announcement comes as Wagner Group quits West African state of Mali.

Russia is working to enhance its economic and military ties in Africa, Moscow has outlined.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared on Monday that Russia’s presence in Africa is “growing”. The move is part of an ongoing bid by Moscow to step into a geopolitical vacuum in West Africa as Western powers retreat amid a series of military coups in the region.

“We really intend to comprehensively develop our interaction with African countries, focusing primarily on economic and investment interaction,” Peskov told reporters.

“This also corresponds to and extends to such sensitive areas as defence and security,” he added.

Russia’s growing security role in parts of Africa, including in countries such as Mali, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, is viewed with concern by the West, and has come at the expense of former colonial power France, whose forces have departed or been expelled from several West African countries over recent years, and the United States.

The Kremlin’s ambition appears undimmed by recent reports that Russian paramilitary group Wagner is leaving Mali after helping the military government fight armed groups.

The Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force, said it will remain in the West African country in Wagner’s place.

Mali, ruled by a military government that seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, has never officially admitted Wagner’s presence, insisting only that it was working with Russian instructors.

During the same period, however, the government broke ties with France and pivoted towards Russia for political and military support.

The Africa Corps was created with support from the Russian Ministry of Defence after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and commander Dmitry Utkin led a failed mutiny against the Russian army leadership in June 2023 and were killed two months later in a plane crash.

According to several Telegram chats used by Russian mercenaries seen by the Reuters news agency, about 70 to 80 percent of the Africa Corps is made up of former Wagner members.

Replacing Wagner with Africa Corps troops would likely shift Russia’s focus in Mali from fighting alongside the Malian army to training, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel programme at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

“Africa Corps has a lighter footprint and focuses more on training, providing equipment and doing protection services. They fight less than the ‘Rambo-type’ Wagner mercenaries,” Laessing told The Associated Press news agency.