Kim was replying to a message of congratulations from Putin marking Saturday’s 81st anniversary of Tokyo’s surrender in World War ​Two.

The Russian leader said the bond was forged as ​Soviet soldiers fought against Japan and that cooperation would continue “in ⁠all the sectors”.

The North Korean leader expressed hope for the future of ​ties that had “carried forward the history of common struggle for justice and ​precious traditions of friendship”.

Pyongyang and Moscow have grown closer since the reclusive state began deploying troops and weapons to support Russia’s war against Ukraine in what has been Pyongyang’s most ​significant involvement in a war since the 1950s.

The Russian ship Pallada ​arrived at Wonsan port for a goodwill visit on Saturday tied to the liberation ‌anniversary, and ⁠was greeted by North Korean provincial officials and Russian embassy staff, KCNA said.

Also on Saturday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for talks with the rival North aimed at peaceful coexistence, telling Seoul’s Liberation Day ceremony ​that the two ​Koreas need safeguards ⁠to prevent conflict and should work to replace their armistice with a “peace regime”.

Lee urged dialogue to formally end ​the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in a ceasefire ​but no ⁠peace treaty, and said the talks could explore ways to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.

Pyongyang has rejected Lee’s overtures and criticised US-South Korean military exercises as ⁠provocations.

On ​Thursday, Putin drew Tokyo’s condemnation with a visit ​to an island off Hokkaido, claimed by Japan, that Moscow seized in the days after Japan’s ​1945 surrender.

Thirty-six people were seriously ‌injured in the Saturday morning quake in East Nusa Tenggara province, while 77 had minor injuries, Deputy Health Minister Benjamin Paulus Octavianus told a televised meeting.

The quake, followed by some 341 aftershocks, is the ​Southeast Asian nation’s deadliest since a 2022 quake killed hundreds in West Java.

More than 3,300 ​people in the Sikka region self-evacuated or were in a sports arena, ⁠said the disaster mitigation agency BNPB.

Some Sikka residents were stranded outside collapsed homes under a ​makeshift tent made out of tarp, while some people received treatment in a tent outside ​a hospital in the port town of Maumere.

“I only brought my body,” Abdul Mutas, 63, told Reuters after he and his family slept on a tarp surrounded by trees in the town of Sikka. “The tides ​were rising, so we ran,” he said, describing their reaction to the quake.

“Almost all of ​Sikka’s residents didn’t dare stay indoors, so they slept on a porch or a tent outside,” Simon ‌Subandi, ⁠deputy regent of Sikka, told news channel KompasTV.

At least 47 killed in Indonesia after strong quake

More than 3,500 military and police officers have been deployed to the region, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement.

Rescuers reached parts of Maumere that had been blocked by landslides, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said. There ​was no immediate count ​of those missing, but ⁠most of them were trapped under rubble, and more than 1,300 homes were damaged, BNPB said.

Twenty petrol stations were not operational due ​to power outages, said state energy firm Pertamina.

The East Nusa Tenggara government ​is considering ⁠declaring an emergency for the province, BNPB said, which would allow authorities to mobilise resources and funding.

The area of the quake was hit in 1992 by a magnitude-7.5 earthquake that caused extensive ⁠destruction, ​Indonesia’s geophysics agency said.

Rescuers search for survivors as Indonesian quake death toll rises to 40

Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago of 290 ​million people, straddles the “Pacific Ring of Fire”, a seismically active zone where tectonic plates meet, triggering frequent earthquakes and ​volcanic eruptions.

Yonhap said ​multiple North Korean soldiers crossed the ⁠military demarcation line (MDL) in the eastern ​area of the demilitarised zone, in ​the first reported MDL violation by the North Korean military this year.

The soldiers were ​likely patrolling the area when ​they crossed the MDL, and no other ‌unusual ⁠activity was reported after the North Korean soldiers returned, Yonhap said.

North Korea fired several missiles, South Korean military says

The North Korean embassy in Singapore did not ​immediately ​respond to ⁠a request for comment.

North Korean troops violated the MDL ​17 times last year, ​the ⁠news agency said.

The two Koreas are still technically at war after ⁠their ​1950-53 war ended in ​an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

A second strong quake was recorded thousands of kilometres away on Sumatra island in the west of the archipelago 12 hours later, but there were no initial reports of damage or casualties there.

Rescue official Fathur Rahman said the death toll from the Flores island quake had risen to 40 by Saturday evening, with 50 people injured.

Suharyanto, the head of Indonesia’s national disaster mitigation agency, said earlier that people were trapped in several buildings.

“These will be the initial targets of the disaster response teams,” said Suharyanto, who, like many Indonesians, uses one name.

Two helicopters and a plane were being readied to assist in rescue operations.

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen offered help from the bloc’s Copernicus Earth observation satellites.

“Europe stands ready to deploy Copernicus, our eyes in the sky, to support search and rescue efforts. Indonesia, we stand with you,” she wrote on X.

Dozens of houses and other buildings were damaged when the 7.7-magnitude quake hit the popular tourist island in Indonesia’s east.

Suharyanto said about 2,000 people had evacuated.

“I have never felt an earthquake this big,” Yulian Juita Ekalia, who lives in Ruteng city more than 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the epicentre, told AFP by telephone.

“It felt like we were on a trampoline; it was really scary,” said the 37-year-old university lecturer, who was jolted awake at around 5:30 am (2130 GMT Friday).

“As I rushed to get outside, everything in the house fell down: the television, my son’s trophies, the dish racks, suitcases on top of the wardrobes. When I got outside, my son and neighbours were already there, screaming in fear.”

Rescue official Fathur told AFP the focus had shifted to locating victims who may be buried under rubble, but rescue efforts were complicated by landslides cutting off roads.

Residents in Nagekeo, an area close to the epicentre, raced for higher ground as the sea retreated early Saturday – a possible sign of an approaching tsunami, AFP journalists witnessed.

A tsunami warning was lifted, but authorities urged people not to return to damaged buildings for fear that aftershocks could bring them down.

Hundreds remained outside hours later as dozens of aftershocks shook Flores, the strongest measured at a magnitude of 6.1.

Waves of up to 1.6 metres (5.2 feet) were measured in some coastal regions of the island, according to Indonesia’s BMKG geological agency.

Fleeing in panic

Yulian said she had dragged her stove outside and was cooking there, fearing further tremors.

She said she saw patients being treated under emergency tents outside a nearby hospital.

Nagekeo resident Yohanes Babo, 56, said he was at a market when the earth started shaking in the early morning hours.

“The shaking was strong. Thankfully, we were already outside the house,” he told AFP.

“People were panicking, running here and there. We’re evacuating for the time being… and trying to get to the hills,” he said.

The epicentre of the shallow quake was located just off the north coast of Flores island, US and Indonesian authorities said.

The extent of the damage is still being assessed. The area is largely rural with few high-rise buildings.

Long queues of people were seen evacuating on foot, by motorbike and car, some piled into the back of pickup trucks, after the initial tsunami warning issued by Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency.

The second, deep onland quake was measured at a magnitude of 6.9 near Pematangsiantar on Sumatra island on Saturday evening, local time.

“I actually didn’t feel it at all, I only found out about the earthquake from BMKG (Indonesia’s geological agency),” Armendo Sinaga, a Pematangsiantar resident, told AFP.

“Maybe because it’s very deep. I don’t see anyone panicking around here.”

The BMKG said there was no tsunami threat from the second strong quake on Sumatra.

Indonesia experiences frequent earthquakes due to its location in the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

Flores was struck by a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in 1992, which triggered a tsunami and resulted in around 2,500 deaths.

A devastating 9.1-magnitude tremor in 2004 struck off the coast of Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed 220,000 throughout the region, about 170,000 of them in Indonesia, in one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

The energy ministries of all three countries, whose grids are interconnected, confirmed outages. They said work was under way to restore power.

Reuters reporters in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, and Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek reported power cuts. Local media in Tajikistan reported outages in the capital, Dushanbe, and second city Khujand.

Electricity shortages are common in Central Asia, where traditional reliance on hydropower has posed problems as climate change leaves hydroelectric stations vulnerable to water shortages.

The Strait of Hormuz is “under Iran’s control and management”, the recently appointed head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary unit said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the United States on Thursday said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and would ratchet up economic pressure on Tehran as ceasefire talks have floundered.

Yemen’s Houthis say they will impose naval blockade against Saudi Arabia

Commodity vessel transits at Hormuz picked up slightly on Thursday, but remained lower than the month’s daily average of 12, based on Kpler data in August so far.

A total of nine vessels transited the strait on Thursday, up from five the previous day, according to Kpler data.

The nine vessels included five entries heading into the Gulf and four exits into the Gulf of Oman, mostly via the Iranian shipping route.

Shipping risk persisted.

Iran says Strait of Hormuz is under its control, Fars news reports

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday evening, with no injuries reported, as the United Arab Emirates accused Iran of carrying out the attack.

Meanwhile, 19 commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Thursday with their transponders on, broadly stable from 20 on the previous day, Kpler data showed.

Some vessels may be sailing at the key waterways with their transponders turned off, which is not considered in the counts.

More than ​360 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours in parts of Chiba prefecture, ​which adjoins the capital Tokyo, inundating roads and railways during one of ⁠Japan’s busiest holiday weeks.

Authorities said four deaths have been confirmed so far, including one ​person trapped in a submerged vehicle, while another person is missing. Soldiers have been dispatched to the ​area to help with relief efforts.

“This case was an extremely unusual situation,” Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai told reporters on Friday morning. “I have responded to many disasters in the past, but I have never experienced ​a case like this.”

More than 22,000 households remained without power on Friday at ​11:00 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to utility provider Tokyo Electric Power. In Chiba city, one of the worst ‌hit ⁠areas, hundreds of people spent the night under foil blankets at government buildings serving as temporary evacuation centres.

The transport disruption left around 7,000 people stranded at Narita, an airport spokesperson said, adding that all flights are scheduled to operate normally on Friday. Japan Airlines ​said some flights may ​experience delays but ⁠no cancellations are currently expected.

Japan orders evacuations as Typhoon Dolphin approaches, cancels 500 flights

Some major highways in Chiba were shut, forcing drivers onto alternative routes and causing heavy traffic, according to highway ​operator NEXCO East.

Several rail services also remained suspended on Friday morning, ​though some ⁠trains connecting Narita to Tokyo had resumed operations, easing congestion at the international transport hub.

Overnight, hundreds of passengers queued to collect blankets, water bottles and snacks from airport staff ⁠before bedding ​down across the terminal building, footage on public broadcaster ​NHK showed.

“We are never going to forget this trip,” one American traveller stranded with his family at the ​airport told NHK.

The three countries signed the “Makkah Joint Defence Agreement“ on Aug. 7, wedding the Muslims countries alarmed at a regional conflagration that has brought Iranian missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters.

They said the accord stipulates that an armed attack against any member would be regarded as an attack on all, similar to NATO’s Article 5 collective defence clause.

At a weekly briefing in Ankara, the ministry said the mechanisms would include the three countries’ defence ministers, foreign ministers, and military chiefs.

Dar clarifies scope, intent of Makkah Joint Defence Agreement

It added that the joint military exercises were also being planned under the pact, while cooperation could include joint production and technology sharing in the defence industry.

Dolphin, the strongest typhoon to hit China this year, has weakened after travelling more than 6,000 km (3,728 miles), but its remnants are drawing tropical moisture deep inland, raising the risk of flooding.

Rainfall records were shattered in parts of the central provinces of Henan and Hubei on Monday and Tuesday, state media reported.

The city of Wugang, home to one of China’s largest steel companies, received 209.5 mm (8.2 inches) of rain, while Xiangyang received 169.1 mm (6.6 inches).

Beijing braces for one-third of its annual rainfall over next 24 hours

Both totals broke single-day August precipitation records.

China, the world’s second-largest economy, is increasingly exposed to destructive weather events that scientists link to climate change.

This year is proving particularly tough due to the emergence of the El Niño weather pattern that is driving up temperatures and fuelling more frequent and intense typhoons.

Beijing has put in place an orange rainstorm warning, its second-highest level, and suspended six bus routes as the deluge disrupted the morning rush hour.

Chinese meteorologists are reaching for a new generation of artificial intelligence weather models to bolster traditional forecasting systems to improve the country’s resilience to extreme weather.

Each year, extreme rainfall causes billions of dollars in economic losses as manufacturing is disrupted and crops are washed away.

The KM Putri Yasmin ferry left Padangbai port in Bali for Lembar port in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara province, I Gusti Lanang Wiswananda, the head of Bali’s rescue agency, told Reuters.

The head of West Nusa Tenggara rescue agency Muhammad Hariyadi told local broadcaster Kompas TV the incident started in the Lombok Strait at 4:39 a.m. on Wednesday (2039 GMT Tuesday).

Hariyadi said more than 200 personnel have been deployed to evacuate all passengers.

Five dead, 41 missing after Indonesian ferry catches fire, authorities say

The ferry was carrying 114 passengers and 17 crew, based on the manifest, Heri Wiyanto, an official at Padangbai port on Bali, told Kompas TV.

Heri said authorities had evacuated 33 passengers so far, while Kompas TV reported all passengers are safe. It was unclear how the ferry caught fire.

“Our military detected at around 6:00 am (2100 GMT Tuesday) a ballistic missile launched by North Korea from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message to reporters, referring to a body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

Japan’s Defence Ministry said on social media that the suspected ballistic missile had “already fallen”, without providing further details.

North Korea fires ballistic missiles as Pyongyang dismisses Seoul’s diplomacy hopes

Joint exercises between South Korea and the United States lasting 11 days are due to start on Monday, a regular fixture of the summer calendar designed to steel them for defence against the nuclear-armed North.

Pyongyang bristles at the drills – calling them rehearsals for an invasion – and has in the past staged pointed test missile launches before and after the exercises.

Both countries expressed ​concern over restrictive ​trade practices that disrupt global supply chains, Australian Prime ​Minister Anthony ​Albanese said in a joint ‌statement ⁠with Vietnamese President To Lam, who is on an ​official visit ​to ⁠Australia.

They agreed to work together ​to support ​supply ⁠chains in areas including critical minerals, ⁠semiconductors ​and clean ​energy, the statement added.

From Tuesday evening ​through Thursday, most areas in Beijing will experience heavy downpours with a cumulative ​rainfall of over 100mm (3.9 ​inches) in 6 hours and more than ‌150mm (5.9 ⁠inches) in 24 hours, according to the city’s meteorological service.

The cumulative rainfall in districts including ​Tongzhou, Daxing, ​Fangshan, ⁠Mentougou, Huairou, and Fengtai may exceed 200mm (7.9 inches) ​in 24 hours.

Extreme rainfall threatens north as China enters peak flood season

That compares ​with ⁠Beijing’s average annual rainfall of 528mm (20.8 inches), the bulk of ⁠which ​is concentrated in ​the months between June and September.

The relationship between Myanmar and the 11-member Association for Southeast Asian Nations has been strained since early 2021 when the military leader ousted an elected civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a nationwide civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000 people and displaced millions.

Myanmar’s leadership has since been banned from top-level ASEAN meetings over their failure to implement a “five-point consensus” peace plan agreed with the bloc.

In a weekend statement, Myanmar’s foreign ministry said an ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar was no longer needed, pointing to an election held around the turn of the year.

“Myanmar is of the view that the appointment and the continued role of the new special envoy of the ASEAN chair are no longer necessary,” the statement said.

The widely criticised election held in December and January was won by a military-backed party in the absence of any substantial opposition, allowing Myanmar’s then junta leader Min Aung Hlaing to transition to become the country’s president.

After talks with Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok last week, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said that Thailand wants peace and stability in Myanmar as part of ASEAN’s peace plan and is not abandoning regional concerns.

However, Myanmar’s pro-military parliament last month passed a motion rejecting ASEAN’s plan, calling it interference and adding that ASEAN should reassess its position on the country.  

Suu Kyi detention

 The foreign ministry statement followed one issued by ASEAN on Friday, which noted a meeting last week between Suu Kyi and an International Committee of the Red Cross official.

Friday’s ASEAN statement also reiterated the bloc’s desire for the current ASEAN envoy — the Philippine foreign minister — to meet with Suu Kyi and called for her unconditional release, alongside other political prisoners.

ASEAN ministers voice serious concern over Middle East situation

The 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner is currently serving an 18-year sentence for a series of offences she denies committing, with no foreign leader or envoy having publicly met her until last week’s meeting with the ICRC representative.

In response to ASEAN’s position on Suu Kyi, the Myanmar foreign ministry said:

“Although the government has commuted her sentences based on humanitarian considerations, the matter of a full and unconditional release shall only be carried out in accordance with the law.”

The fire, which started on August 3, had affected 550 ​hectares as of Sunday and had been ​fully extinguished, Gatot Soebroto, head of the local ⁠disaster mitigation agency, told Reuters.

Gatot said authorities had found ​new fires in areas around the caldera covering some ​20 hectares.

Mount Bromo is an active volcano, and is a popular tourist destination and best known for its “sand sea” caldera. ​The national park covers over 50,000 hectares.

“The fire around ​the caldera is likely to spread further on Monday,” he said.

More ‌than ⁠120 personnel, three water-bombing helicopters, drones and some fire trucks have been deployed to put out the fires around the caldera, he said.

Authorities are still investigating ​the cause of ​the fire, ⁠but Gatot said authorities suspect it was caused by carelessness.

“A person lit a ​fire, then put it out - but the fire ​was ⁠not fully extinguished,” Gatot said, adding this conclusion was reached because the first flame was found along a route ⁠used ​by visitors.

The national park has ​been closed since Saturday evening because of the fires. There have been no ​casualties reported.

Typhoon Dolphin made landfall near Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang province at about 5:30 p.m. (0930 GMT) on Sunday, China’s meteorological authorities said. The storm packed maximum sustained winds of 42 metres per second (151 km/h) near its centre at landfall, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Authorities had moved offshore workers to safety, ordered vessels back to port and increased checks at reservoirs, mountain streams, landslide-prone areas, construction sites and tourist locations.

Torrential rain and flood risk

Torrential rain is forecast through August 10 across Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui, and much of Jiangsu. Parts of central and eastern Zhejiang could receive 250-500 mm (9.8-19.7 inches) of rain, according to forecasters.

After landfall, Dolphin is forecast to track westward before slowing over central and southwestern China and gradually losing strength, Wang Haiping, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Centre, told state broadcaster CCTV.

That could prolong heavy rain and raise the risk of flooding and landslides, especially in mountainous areas and along smaller rivers.

Transport was widely disrupted across the east of the country and more than 1 million people were evacuated from their homes.

In addition to evacuating at least 30,300 people, Shanghai has cancelled about 1,500 flights, according to flight-tracking data provider VariFlight.

A 42-year-old tourist from Guangdong, surnamed Chen, said he was stranded in Shanghai after his family’s flight, scheduled to depart on Sunday, was cancelled because of Typhoon Dolphin.

He said the family had been rebooked on a flight at 10 p.m. on Monday, although they were unsure whether it would be able to take off.

“To us Guangdong people, this typhoon is as ordinary as having a meal and feeling the wind. It’s just part of everyday life,” Chen said, adding that the storm did not appear particularly strong by the standards of China’s southern coast.

In neighbouring Zhejiang province, the city of Wenzhou relocated more than 900,000 residents and opened more than 1,000 emergency shelters.

In Fujian province, authorities evacuated 98,900 people from high-risk areas after raising the typhoon emergency response to Level III, according to Xinhua. Zhejiang, Shanghai and Jiangsu have also activated Level III emergency responses.

Fujian maritime authorities said 55 coastal passenger ferry routes had been suspended, all 115 offshore construction projects halted and 290 construction vessels moved to sheltered waters.

The water resources ministry said the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao and Shuiyang rivers could see major flooding, while smaller rivers in the hardest-hit areas could rise above warning levels.

Authorities warned of a high risk of geological disasters in parts of Zhejiang, while residents in areas covered by a red mountain-torrent warning were told to follow local evacuation orders.

Shanghai’s Yangshan port cleared ships from its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to shelter ahead of Dolphin, the city’s maritime safety administration said. Scientists say global warming has made extreme weather more likely, including stronger typhoons.

As investigations continued into Friday’s rampage, where a 14-year-old boy allegedly shot dead his grandparents at home before killing another six people at his school before ​turning the gun on himself, police said the boy had used social ​media to learn how to use a firearm.

“According to witness interviews, ⁠the perpetrator had begun showing interest in studying the use of firearms for ​some time, about one to two years,” Atthapol Anusit, deputy commissioner of the ​Provincial Police Region 1, told reporters.

Atthapol, who said police had so far interviewed 17 witnesses, said a knife had also been found in the boy’s bag and other evidence found at ​the crime scenes included a firearm, spent cartridge cases, and a personal ​computer.

“After examining the PC, it was found that the child had watched social media content involving ‌violence,” ⁠the deputy commissioner said, but added there was no evidence yet that he had practiced shooting.

Thai teen kills 8 in rampage at home and school before shooting himself

He said that last year a teacher had confiscated a BB gun, a type of air gun, that the boy took to school.

The boy ​had lived with ​his grandparents for ⁠12 years after his parents had separated, Atthapol said.

The Ministry of Education said it would develop new safety protocols over ​the next three months, including mental health screenings and a ​system to ⁠refer at-risk people to specialists, drills for emergency response plans, a drive to stamp out bullying and better detection to stop items from being taken into schools.

Along ⁠with those ​who died, more than 20 people were injured ​in Thailand’s worst mass shooting since 2022, which has reignited debate over firearms control in Southeast Asia’s ​largest gun-owning nation.

The closure took effect from Saturday ​evening, for an undetermined duration, the park ​operator said on its official Instagram page.

The ⁠raging fire has burned an area of ​around 176 hectares (434.91 acres) at Mount Bromo, ​an active volcano that is a popular tourist destination known for its “sand sea” caldera. The wildfire has expanded from ​around 60 hectares on Thursday.

“This closure is a ​crucial step to maintain safety of visitors, staff and people ‌in ⁠the surrounding areas,” it said, adding that people who have bought entrance tickets will be able to reschedule visits or seek a ​refund.

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East Java’s ​disaster mitigation ⁠agency said authorities are deploying water bombing helicopters and water spraying drones ​to bolster efforts to extinguish the ​fire.

Footage ⁠uploaded by the park’s operator on social media showed fire spreading across the slopes of ⁠the ​mountain overnight.

Authorities have not declared ​what caused the fire, and there have been no casualties ​reported.

Typhoon Dolphin has already swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings.

Before its landfall in China, authorities ​moved offshore workers to safety, ordered vessels back to port and increased checks at reservoirs, ​mountain streams, landslide-prone areas, construction sites and tourist locations.

The storm is expected to hit ⁠the coast on Sunday evening and into Monday with sustained winds of up to 162 kilometres per hour (101 ​mph) before weakening and moving inland, China’s National Meteorological Centre said.

That is equal to a Category 2 storm ​on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a storm capable of producing extensive damage to homes, trees and infrastructure.

Torrential rain is forecast through August 10 across Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui, and much of Jiangsu.

Parts ​of central and eastern Zhejiang could receive 250-500 mm (9.8-19.7 inches) of rain, according to forecasters.

After landfall, Dolphin ​is forecast to track westward before slowing over central and southwestern China and gradually losing strength, Wang Haiping, chief forecaster ‌at ⁠the National Meteorological Centre, told state broadcaster CCTV.

That could prolong heavy rain and raise the risk of flooding and landslides, especially in mountainous areas and along smaller rivers.

The water resources ministry said the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao and Shuiyang rivers could see major flooding, while smaller rivers in the hardest-hit areas could rise above ​warning levels.

China maintained a Level ​III flood emergency response ⁠in Zhejiang and Fujian, and Level IV in Jiangsu and Anhui. The emergency management ministry said it had sent teams to Zhejiang and Fujian.

China’s four-level emergency ​system ranks Level I as the most severe.

Japan orders evacuations as Typhoon Dolphin approaches, cancels 500 flights

The natural resources ministry also set ​a Level III ⁠geological-disaster response in Zhejiang and a Level IV response in Anhui, warning of landslides and other hazards in eastern Zhejiang and western Anhui.

Authorities warned of a high risk of geological disasters in parts of Zhejiang, while residents ⁠in ​areas covered by the red mountain-torrent warning were told to follow ​local evacuation orders.

Shanghai’s Yangshan port cleared ships from its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to shelter ahead ​of Dolphin, the city’s maritime safety administration said.

The storm was about 160 km (99 miles) northwest of Kume Island in Okinawa as of 0300 GMT, moving northwest at 15 kph (9 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Five elderly people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with three falling due to the wind, the Okinawan prefectural government said. Domestic airlines, ANA and Japan Airlines, cancelled flights to the region.

The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (89.5 mph) with gusts reaching 216 kph.

Okinawa and Amami island in Kagoshima prefecture are the main areas expected to be affected in Japan.

The China National Meteorological Centre said Typhoon Dolphin was expected to make landfall along China’s eastern and southern coast between late Sunday and early Monday, most likely between Zhoushan city in Zhejiang province and Fuding city in Fujian province.

It is expected to bring winds of 38-45 metres per second (85-101 mph) near its centre.

Japan orders evacuations as Typhoon Dolphin approaches, cancels 500 flights

Rain and strong winds are expected to affect eastern China through August 12, including parts of Shanghai and neighbouring provinces. Some areas of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 mm (23.6 inches) of rain, according to forecasters.

Zhejiang raised its coastal typhoon alert to its highest level, halted port operations and suspended 162 passenger ferry routes.

Ningbo Lishe International Airport in Zhejiang said it will halt operations from 11:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) on Saturday and suspend all flights on Sunday. Shanghai’s Yangshan port had been cleared of vessels by late Friday, while some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta will be suspended from Sunday.

In Taiwan, 63 international flights were cancelled because of the typhoon, the government said. Heavy rain was expected in northern parts of the island over the weekend, though authorities had not ordered evacuations as of Saturday.

China has ordered that, due to the typhoon, ships passing through the Taiwan Strait must heed its traffic control instructions — measures that Taipei denounced as “ridiculous”, saying that Beijing has no right to restrict access to international waters.

China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, also claims the strategic strait. Both Taipei and Washington reject that claim.

Students streamed out of the Debsirin Nonthaburi School, on the capital’s northwestern outskirts, as the wounded were loaded on to ambulances and teachers hugged each other and cried.

In photos circulated by emergency workers, one person is seen lying down on a stretcher outside an ambulance, while another is attended to by a medic.

Police said the shooter, who was 14 years old, fired at least 26 bullets, and was found with 34 additional ammunition rounds.

The gun had belonged to his grandfather, police said. One 18-year-old student told Reuters he initially thought there were firecrackers going off or someone banging an object.

“I didn’t think it was a gun at first,” he said.

“There were many shots: bang bang bang. Then it went quiet. Then it started again.” Lieutenant General Trairong Phophan, a spokesman for the National Police, told Reuters the suspected shooter was among the seven people killed at the school.

Fifteen people were injured, he added.  

Second school shooting

Education Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong told Reuters that both teachers and students were among the casualties. Police identified the perpetrator as a student.

It is the second school shooting in Thailand this year after a teacher died and a student was injured in the south of the country in February.

Emergency worker Kiatikhun Verapongpradith, 47, described arriving as the shooting was ongoing and his team treated students with injuries in the back, chest and arms.

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They found a male teacher lying dead on an upper floor of the school, and in another room they found a female teacher with wounds in her chest and arm.

He said he was called to treat the teenage shooter after hearing a final shot.

“We rushed up and found that the perpetrator had shot himself in the right side of the head and collapsed. When we got up there, we checked his pulse, he still had one, so we started CPR.”

The suspect was then taken to the hospital, he said.

In the 2025 academic year, the school had an enrollment of around 3,100 students and 147 teachers, according to district authorities.

“This is terrible for something like this to happen,” Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters. “I’m sad for those who died and sad for something like this to happen in our country.”  

History of shootings

Gun ownership and gun violence are not uncommon in Thailand, which has seen a series of deadly shootings in the past six years, with children among the victims.

Thailand’s worst mass killing by a single perpetrator in its recent history took place in 2022, when a former policeman ran amok in a three-hour gun-and-knife attack in the northeast that killed 36 people including 22 children stabbed as they slept at a daycare centre.

A gunman killed five people including security guards and a vendor at a Bangkok market in July 2025 before turning the gun on himself, while a teacher died in the southern city of Hat Yai in February this year when a shooter opened fire at a school where she worked.

In 2020, a soldier killed 29 people in a shooting rampage in Nakhon Ratchasima.

And in 2023, a 14-year-old used a modified handgun to kill two people and wound five others at a luxury Bangkok shopping centre.

After the 2023 shooting, Anutin, who was then serving as interior minister, ordered a raft of gun control measures, including a short-term ban on new licenses, import restrictions, and banning of people under 20 years from shooting ranges.

Longer-term measures also included a medical certificate assessing the mental health and psychological condition of gun owners as well as a specified validity period for some gun licenses.

Thailand had an estimated 10.3 million firearms in civilian possession, equating to around 15 guns per 100 residents, the highest rate in Southeast Asia by a wide margin, according to a 2017 estimate by the Small Arms Survey.

The quake, ​recorded at 10:38 a.m. local time, was located about 21 km (13 miles) ​southwest of Mamburao, Occidental ​Mindoro, at a depth of 10 km, ‌PHIVOLCS ⁠said in an initial advisory.

Reuters witnesses in Manila said the shaking was felt in ​an office ​building ⁠in the capital.

Employees at a state ​agency building were asked ​to ⁠evacuate as a precaution.

PHIVOLCS said no damage was expected from ⁠the ​earthquake, though aftershocks ​were possible.

The Category 1 typhoon had maximum ​sustained winds of 144 kph (89.5 mph) with ​gusts reaching 198 kph and was nearing a ⁠chain of islands between the Kyushu region and ​Okinawa prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Authorities issued ​evacuation orders for nearly 260,000 residents in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, while Toyota suspended work at nine factories on Friday.

Dolphin ​was expected to maintain its strength as it ​approached Okinawa prefecture, raising the risk of winds that could damage ‌or ⁠collapse some structures, authorities warned. A linear rain band — or a narrow band of intense precipitation and thunderstorms — could also develop, possibly triggering flooding, the ​weather agency ​said.

Southern, central China brace for flood risk after typhoon

The large storm ⁠was also enveloping much of the southernmost main island of Kyushu with ​strong winds, including Kumamoto prefecture, still reeling ​from ⁠last week’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake.

Some 6,700 Kumamoto residents remain in evacuation centres after many houses collapsed. The weather agency ⁠has ​also warned of heatstroke risks ​with temperatures expected to reach 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) in ​some areas.

“Extreme heat on a scale we have never experienced is continuing day after day. Heatwave conditions once seen only in foreign news reports have now become our reality,” President Lee Jae Myung told a heatwave response meeting on Thursday.

Lee ordered ministries and local governments to mobilise all available personnel and resources until the heatwave eases, stressing protection of lives and safety, stronger safeguards for vulnerable residents and stricter enforcement of rest breaks for outdoor workers during the hottest hours.

The forecast temperature would bring Seoul close to its record high of 39.6 C, set in August 2018, during the country’s last historic heatwave.

The warning came as Seoul endured another stifling night before what forecasters say could be one of the hottest days in the city’s modern history.

Temperatures in some neighbourhoods barely slipped below 30 C overnight, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), while media showed crowds seeking refuge in streams, department stores and other air-conditioned spaces.

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The Korea Baseball Organization cancelled all 10 games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday after some spectators fainted in the heat, media reported, including one fan who collapsed during a game in Incheon.

Meteorologists say Typhoon Dolphin, despite posing no direct threat to South Korea, may be contributing to the scorching conditions.

The KMA said Dolphin has helped strengthen easterly winds that cross the Korean Peninsula’s mountainous spine and descend over western regions as hot, dry air, intensifying heat in Seoul and elsewhere.

The move comes days after the United States imposed fresh tariffs on China and 59 other countries, adding to a series of recent trade measures.

The US actions “seriously harm China’s legitimate rights and interests”, a commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

“China can only take necessary countermeasures in response, including strengthening export controls on drones, and their key components and technology to the US.”

Beijing’s measures also include suspending factory follow-up inspections by Chinese certification bodies, blacklisting US compliance testing companies, and launching national security investigations into imports of office printers and copiers, according to the ministry.

It also imposed sanctions on six US businesses, including biotech company Applied DNA Sciences and geoscience research firm Stratum Reservoir, barring organisations and individuals within China from “engaging in relevant transactions, cooperation, or other activities with them”.

The six entities “have assisted and supported illegal US sanctions related to Xinjiang; the nature of their actions is egregious”, the commerce ministry said.

The UN has warned of possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang region targeting the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority – accusations China vehemently denies.

China’s top trade official He Lifeng expressed “serious concern” to US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a call over the recent restrictions, state news agency Xinhua reported.

China also accused the United States last week of seeking to “suppress” Chinese companies, after Washington banned imports of humanoid and quadruped robots manufactured abroad in a move separate from the new tariffs.

China and the United States spent much of last year embroiled in an escalating trade war but reached a truce when US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met last October.

The latest US tariffs against China and other trade partners however have threatened that truce, with Beijing warning Washington against waging a trade war.

Ross’ body, wrapped in black fabric, was found on July 18 in a green suitcase left in an abandoned construction site in the busy Kypseli neighbourhood, where the suspect lived.

A post-mortem examination could not determine the cause of death due to decomposition, but did not rule out asphyxiation, one official said.

The suspect, a professional boxer according to his wife, was born in Afghanistan. He had been granted asylum and was involved in volunteer work with the victim, according to the police officials. He was arrested on Sunday and will appear in court on Wednesday as a first chance to to respond to the charges.

The suspect denies the murder accusations, one of the officials said. He told police he found Ross’ body in an apartment bathroom, panicked, placed it in a suitcase and tried to dispose of it.

He faces manslaughter, robbery and illegal gun possession charges after police found a knife and a replica pistol in his apartment, the official said. Those charges could change as the case develops.

Police say he used Ross’ bank card to withdraw money after her death and may have used her phone to send messages suggesting she was alive.

He is due to appear before a prosecutor at 0700 GMT.

Ross, a certified psychotherapist and volunteer aid worker with Christian and refugee organisations, arrived in Greece on June 29, one of the officials said.

She initially stayed at a friend’s flat in Piraeus before moving to a central Athens flat managed by a non-governmental organisation. The suspect and his 28-year-old wife, a U.S. national, held keys to the flat. On July 15, Ross planned to return to her friend’s home in Piraeus. No one in her circle had seen or spoken to her since then.

Buddhist monks in maroon robes chanted prayers and around 500 mourners lit candles and incense in a square in the Nepali capital.

World-renowned British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, 43, was among the victims along with six elite Nepali guides, killed in the avalanche on Thursday.

“Nepal has lost a generation of accomplished mountaineers,” said Tul Singh Gurung, president of Nepal National Mountain Guide Association.

The gathering observed a minute’s silence in their memory, in front of a banner with photographs of the 10 climbers.

At the centre, candles were arranged in the shape of Nepal’s national flag, flickering in the dusk.

“This is a big loss for our mountaineering sector,” said Man Raj Gurung, an international mountain guide.

“I think it might take years for us to see such climbers again, because not everyone will be willing to take on such a risky job.”

News of the avalanche has prompted tributes from across the climbing community and beyond, with figures such as Britain’s Prince William offering condolences.

The Ministry of Natural ​Resources will focus on the prevention ⁠of shallow landslides, which are widespread, ​and debris flows triggered by extreme rainfall, ​according to CCTV.

Areas of focus include the Yaxia Hydropower Project construction site, the Yanshan-Taihang Mountains, ​the Three Gorges Reservoir Area ​and the Wumeng Mountains.

Landslide death toll rises in China’s Gansu Province as heavy rains continue

China will explore methods to ‌identify ⁠and monitor geological hazard risks using aerospace remote sensing.

Last month, landslides triggered by flash floods in northwestern Gansu province ​killed 25 ​people ⁠and another landslide in Chongqing in the southwest caused by ​a collapsed mountain left 51 ​dead.

China ⁠last year counted more than 270,000 geological hazard sites nationwide that collectively pose ⁠a ​threat to the safety ​of some 11 million people.

Twenty vessels — 12 tankers and eight bulk carriers — passed through the Bab el-Mandeb ​strait on Monday, Kpler shipping data showed, steady from ​the previous day.

Of these 20 crossings, there were a ⁠total of 12 exits and eight entries, mostly with their ​transponders on.

Any progress in US-Iran talks appeared to be uncertain. ​Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that no negotiations with the US were taking place and no meetings were scheduled.

This came after US ​President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was holding off ​on new attacks on Iran pending ongoing talks to end their war ‌and ⁠to settle claims over the control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Traffic remained largely slow at Hormuz, with six vessels —three tankers and three bulk carriers — transiting the strait on Monday, down from seven ​on the previous ​day, according ⁠to Kpler data.

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These six vessels included five entries and one exit, all via the Iranian shipping ​route.

Some vessels may still be sailing with their ​transponders ⁠turned off, which are not considered in the counts.

The risk of vessel attacks kept shipping sentiment cautious at the key waterways, prompting ⁠some ​Saudi-flagged supertankers to change course in the ​Gulf of Aden and divert to southern Africa amid threats by Yemen’s Houthi movement ​to target Saudi shipping.

The US and 10 Asian and European allies on Friday issued a joint statement that North Korea was using skilled workers under false identities to fund its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

An unnamed spokesperson for the North Korean Foreign Ministry dismissed the joint warning as “a stereotyped political accusation with a sinister purpose to tarnish the image of our state,” state news agency KCNA reported.

“It is illogical that the US, which has possessed and operated the biggest cyber force in the world by monopolizing the core resources of cyber space, is talking about ‘cyber threat’ from other countries. And it is a mere excuse for justifying its illegal policy on placing pressure on sovereign states,” the spokesperson added.

Friday’s alert from the US and allies said that North Korean IT workers were impersonating nationals of other countries to obtain work and income on online platforms, and remit the money to government agencies.

It warned that North Korean workers were using AI tools to further obscure their true identities.

North Korea faces a slew of international sanctions over its weapons and nuclear programs. It is believed to operate widespread cybercrime, cryptocurrency and money laundering activities to fund them.