Reuters: World

Japan PM Kishida to step down as scandals prove too much Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will step down in September, ending a three-year term marred by political scandals and paving the way for a new premier to address the impact of rising prices. "Politics cannot function without public trust," Kishida said in a press conference on Wednesday to announce his decision not to seek re-election as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader. "I will now focus on supporting the newly elected LDP leader as a rank-and-file member of the party," he said. read more

Israeli hardliner Ben-Gvir draws anger with Jerusalem prayer call Israeli hardliner Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Tuesday Jews should be permitted to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as Temple Mount, launching a fresh challenge to rules covering one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly denied there would be any change to rules that prohibit Jews from praying at the site, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews, and rebuked Ben-Gvir, the national security minister. read more

Elon Musk to interview Trump on X social media network Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is due to interview Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on the X social media network on Monday in an event that could inject more surprises into the turbulent U.S. presidential election. The interview, scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time (0000 Tuesday GMT), could provide the former president an opportunity to seize the limelight at a time when his campaign is seen as sagging. read more

Cause of fatal Brazil plane crash remains unknown An ATR-72 turboprop plane operated by regional carrier Voepass crashed on Friday in a residential area near Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing all 62 passengers aboard. Investigators have recovered the plane's so-called black box containing voice recordings and flight data, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days, the head of Brazil's aviation accident investigation center, Cenipa, said on Sunday. read more

Sao Paulo plane crash: All 61 on board killed A regional turboprop plane fell into what aviation experts called a flat spin before crashing in a residential neighborhood near Sao Paulo in Brazil on Friday, killing all 61 people on board. Regional carrier Voepass said the plane, bound for Sao Paulo's international airport, took off from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, and crashed at around 1:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) in the town of Vinhedo, some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo. read more

Town at centre of teenage Taylor Swift plot stunned by online radicalization The teenager who Austrian authorities say planned to unleash a "bloodbath" at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna this week only recently showed hints of being radicalized on the Internet into committing acts of violence, according to people who knew him. Identified by Austrian media as Beran A., the 19-year-old was said by neighbours to have been reserved but friendly before his arrest this week thrust him into international headlines when authorities announced they had thwarted the planned attack. read more

Meta says Malaysian PM Anwar's posts on Haniyeh assassination were removed in error Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab apologised on Tuesday for erroneously removing Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's social media posts in which he expressed condolences to a Hamas official about the assassination of the group's leader Ismail Haniyeh. Meta was sorry for "an operational error", adding that the content had been restored with "the correct newsworthy label," a Meta spokesperson told Reuters. read more

Jordan's foreign minister to hold talks in Iran as tensions rise Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will travel to Iran on Sunday in a rare visit to discuss regional developments with his Iranian counterpart following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iranian state media reported. Regional tensions have spiked following the assassination of Haniyeh on Wednesday, which came a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut which killed Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander from the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. read more

Slain Hamas leader Haniyeh buried in Qatar amid vows of revenge against Israel Hamas' top leader Ismail Haniyeh was buried in Qatar on Friday following his assassination in the Iranian capital Tehran, and his possible succcessor told mourners his death would only make the Palestinian militant group more determined in its struggle against Israel. Haniyeh's death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures as the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel nears its 11th month and concern grows that the conflict is spreading across the Middle East. read more

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran, Hamas says Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the early hours of the morning in Iran, the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Wednesday, describing the strike as a "severe escalation" that would not achieve its goals. Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing in ceremony for the country's new president, and said it was investigating. read more

Anti-Maduro protests spread as Venezuelan opposition says he stole vote Opponents and supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro planned to rally on Tuesday as protests and clashes spread after a weekend election was awarded to the long-ruling socialist despite opposition claims of a landslide victory. Renewed instability in the South America oil producer brought divided international reaction: the United States said Maduro's reelection had no credibility and was mulling more sanctions, while China and Russia congratulated him. read more

Don't bomb Beirut: U.S. leads push to rein in Israel's response The United States is leading a diplomatic dash to deter Israel from striking Lebanon's capital Beirut or major civil infrastructure in response to a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights, five people with knowledge of the drive said. Washington is racing to avert a full-blown war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah after the attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan killed 12 youths at the weekend, according to the five people who include Lebanese and Iranian officials plus Middle Eastern and European diplomats. read more