International Affairs

The departure of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, backed by technocrats and the Hezbollah party, would reopen a vacuum for the premiership in a country whose leaders are carefully chosen based on a sectarian power-sharing system.

Pakistani permanent representative to the U.N. Munir Akram said the United States sought a military alliance with India but this would be "wrong" and "bad for the West."

"Even with a clear idea of ​​the reasons behind and course of World War II, it is hard to fully understand what the masterminds and perpetrators of such an inhumane act were guided by," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Elliot Abrams who once played a role in selling arms to Iran in exchange for fighting socialists in Latin America will now be tasked with taking on Iran after failing to unseat Venezuela's leftist leader.

"Talking CLEAN while doing DIRTY. How ironic!" Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying tweeted.

Global powers, friends and foes alike, are stepping up to show support for Lebanon after Beirut's deadly blast, but the country has often been a venue for intersecting geopolitical interests.

"It is obvious that things could escalate at any moment, so there is an ever-present danger of war between Pakistan and India," Pakistan's permanent representative to the U.N. told Newsweek.

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board members Sharon Squassoni and Scott Sagan looked at South Asia and the Korean Peninsula as likely nuclear flashpoints, but both blamed U.S. policies.

U.S. atom bomb attack survivors Setsuko Thurlow of Hiroshima and Terumi Tanaka of Nagasaki, both 88, still fear nuclear war and worry President Donald Trump's approach to arms control only heightens this threat.

"We have no indication thus far that this was in any way caused by a deliberate attack or bombing of any kind," Lebanese ambassador to the United States Gabriel Issa said in a statement sent to Newsweek.

"I'm really scared this is the start of something much worse," one Beirut resident told Newsweek.

"I have had conversations with European defense ministers and ambassadors regarding this troop movement," Representative Ruben Gallego told Newsweek. "They are worried that it will lessen deterrence against Russia."

President Donald Trump is extending a 13-year national emergency over the situation in Lebanon, where tensions between Israel and Hezbollah compound on a series of crises ravaging the country.

While the U.S. has accused China of trying to build a "maritime empire" in the South China Sea, Beijing says Washington is responsible for wars that killed more than 800,000 people in countries like Iraq, Libya and Syria.

"The U.S. Navy conducts defensive exercises with our partners promoting maritime security in support of freedom of navigation; whereas, Iran conducts offensive exercises, attempting to intimidate and coerce," the 6th Fleet said.

One defense official told Newsweek that Sea Breeze 2020 was "meant to be an exercise that had all Black Sea countries to include Russia working together in, but Russia unprovoked invaded Georgia and then Ukraine."

The World Health Organization told Newsweek that it is aware of North Korea's recent report of an individual possibly infected with COVID-19 crossing into the country, but the country has yet to register any cases of the new coronavirus disease.

The Israeli military told Newsweek it thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah to infiltrate across the Lebanese border, but the group said Israel attacked Lebanon unprovoked.

"We keep in dialogue with European governments to transmit this message of calm and responsibility," Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya told reporters.

A Korean Central News Agency report on a meeting chaired by supreme leader Kim Jong Un said that "the dangerous situation in Kaesong City that may lead to a deadly and destructive disaster."

"All interactions were safe and in accordance with maritime custom as expected," U.S. Navy 6th Fleet spokesperson Commander Kyle Raines told Newsweek.

Exclusive: A plurality of 46 percent of Hong Kong respondents said that the United States should treat Hong Kong differently than the rest of China when it comes to policymaking, according to a Newsweek poll by Redfield & Wilton Strategies.

The U.S. and Iran have both accidentally shot down passenger planes in the heat of battle, killing hundreds of civilians as a result of the longstanding feud between the countries.

A spokesperson for U.S. Central Command confirmed to Newsweek that it was a U.S. F-15 that intercepted a Mahan Air passenger plane, reportedly causing it to rapidly descend, injuring passengers.

"China is increasingly authoritarian at home and more aggressive in its hostility to freedom everywhere else," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

The survey showed close results with more Hong Kong residents saying they'd prefer Trump, and those in Taiwan slightly preferring Biden.

President Donald Trump has hinted at sending U.S. troops from Germany to Poland, to which a senior Russian diplomat warned "all necessary measures will be taken" in response.

An exclusive Newsweek poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies showed that more Hong Kong residents believed closer relations with mainland China "will best serve Hong Kong's long-term strategic interests" than they did for stronger ties with the U.S.

Iran is seeking to extend a 20-year deal with Russia while the Islamic Republic negotiates a quarter-century agreement with China, signaling a new push to establish an international coalition against U.S. economic and political pressure.

Nearly half of those surveyed in an exclusive Newsweek poll anticipate conflict with China over the next decade, but respondents were split as to whether their own government or that of the mainland was more at fault.