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North Korea’s Kim voices ‘unconditional’ support for Russia in Ukraine

North Korea’s Kim voices ‘unconditional’ support for Russia in Ukraine

Kim Jong Un stresses Pyongyang-Moscow alliance during Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has told Russia’s top diplomat that Pyongyang is ready to “unconditionally support” all actions taken by Moscow in its war on Ukraine, state media reports, as the two countries held high-level strategic talks. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov is on a three-day visit to North Korea, which has provided troops and arms for Russia’s war on Ukraine and pledged more military support as Moscow tries to make advances in the conflict. Kim met Lavrov in the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, where Lavrov and his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, held their second strategic dialogue, pledging further cooperation under a partnership treaty signed last year that includes a mutual defence pact. Kim told Lavrov the steps taken by the allies in response to radically evolving global geopolitics would contribute greatly to securing peace and security around the world, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA reported. “Kim Jong Un reaffirmed the DPRK is ready to unconditionally support and encourage all the measures taken by the Russian leadership as regards the tackling of the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis,” KCNA said, using the acronym for the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a video on Telegram of the two men shaking hands and greeting each other with a hug. The North Korean leader also expressed a “firm belief that the Russian army and people would surely win victory in accomplishing the sacred cause of defending the dignity and basic interests of the country”. Advertisement The two men otherwise discussed “important matters for faithfully implementing the agreements made at the historic DPRK-Russia summit talks in June 2024”, KCNA said. Relations between Russia and North Korea have deepened dramatically during the last two years of the war in Ukraine, which started with Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022, with Pyongyang deploying more than 10,000 troops and arms to back Moscow. The two heavily sanctioned nations signed a military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to North Korea. Lavrov told Kim that Putin “hopes for continued direct contacts in the very near future”, according to the Russian state news agency TASS. Ahead of the visit, Russia announced that it would begin twice-a-week flights between Moscow and Pyongyang. Lavrov lauded Wonsan as “a good tourist attraction”, adding: “We hope it will be popular not only with local citizens, but also with Russians.” Adblock test (Why?)

Alcaraz vs Sinner: Tennis champions set to resume rivalry at Wimbledon 2025

Alcaraz vs Sinner: Tennis champions set to resume rivalry at Wimbledon 2025

Wimbledon, United Kingdom – Expectations will run high, and so will the temperatures in southwest London, when Carlos Alcaraz steps on Centre Court to defend his Wimbledon title against Jannik Sinner on Sunday. The next instalment of an enthralling rivalry between the top two players in men’s tennis will come under the limelight once again at one of the biggest stages in the game – the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club – on a hot afternoon in the United Kingdom’s capital. Two-time Wimbledon champion Alcaraz expects to be pushed to the limit by world number one Sinner in a meeting that has already drawn comparisons with the great Wimbledon finals of the modern era. “I expect to be on the limit, to be on the line [in the final],” Alcaraz said while speaking to the media moments after Sinner’s near-faultless semifinal 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over Novak Djokovic on Friday. A few hours earlier, the Spaniard had booked a spot in his third consecutive Wimbledon final with a resilient performance against Taylor Fritz, which brought him a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win. It will be the 13th on-court meeting between the two, and their second Grand Slam final in the space of five weeks. Their duel in the French Open final lasted five hours and 29 minutes and added fuel to the fiery-yet-friendly rivalry between the young tennis stars. 🚨 THE REMATCH IS HAPPENING 🚨@janniksin will face @carlosalcaraz in the Wimbledon final on Sunday!@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/JedFZHXoZL — ATP Tour (@atptour) July 11, 2025 Advertisement A French Open final repeat on the cards? Alcaraz knows his opponent all too well and expects nothing short of another spectacle. “Whatever Jannik has is because he has learned from everything – he just gets better after every match, every day,” Alcaraz said of the top seed. The Spaniard said he expected Sinner to be in better shape mentally and physically for the Wimbledon final, but that he was not looking forward to another hours-long match. “I just hope not to be five and a half hours on court again. But if I have to, I will.” Meanwhile, Sinner – the tall, stoic and speedy Italian who stands between Alcaraz and a chance to become only the fifth man to win three straight Wimbledon titles – believes beating the holder will be “very tough”. “I’m very happy to share the court with Carlos once again. It’s going to be difficult, I know that,” Sinner said on Friday. The Australian Open champion said he loves playing Grand Slam finals – Sunday’s will be his fifth in two years. “I always try to put myself in these kinds of situations that I really love. Sundays at every tournament are very special.” The 23-year-old from northern Italy termed Alcaraz as the favourite, given his record at the tournament and on grass courts. “He is the favourite. He won here the last two times. He’s again in the final. It’s very tough to beat him on grass, but I like these challenges.” Alcaraz and Sinner after their epic French Open final [File: Susan Mullane/Imagn Images via Reuters] ‘Fire vs ice’ Out of the 12 occasions that both players have met, four have been at Grand Slams, but this is only their second meeting in the final. The pair’s only other meeting at Wimbledon came in the fourth round in 2022, when Sinner won 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3. Alcaraz, however, brushed aside the reference by saying that both men are changed players from what they were three years ago. “We’re completely different players on grass and on all surfaces.” The 22-year-old from Murcia, in southeastern Spain, will be buoyed by his 5-0 record against Sinner in the past two years. Despite Alcaraz’s success against his nemesis, it is Sinner who has consistently topped the men’s rankings by racking up regular wins and points on the ATP circuit. All things considered, there is not much that separates the two ahead of their highly anticipated match. Just ask Djokovic. While the 24-time Grand Slam champion picked Alcaraz due to his past success at Wimbledon, Djokovic predicted “a very close match-up, like they had in Paris” when asked to choose a winner. Advertisement “I think I will give a slight edge to Carlos because of the two titles he’s won here and the way he’s playing and the confidence he has right now, but it’s just a slight advantage, because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well.” It is not just their contrasting styles of play – Sinner relies on his baseline game and shot speed, while Alcaraz likes to cover the court with his nimble footwork and excellent coverage – but also their on-court personalities that set the two apart while making them an engaging pair to watch. Before the French Open final, Alcaraz said in an interview that a “fire vs ice” analogy fits them perfectly. “I guess you can say I am like fire because of the way I react on court and show emotions, while Jannik remains calm,” the Spaniard said with his trademark smile. Alcaraz is never shy of showing his emotions on court [File: Stephanie Lecocq/Reuters] In the shadow of the greats For the fans, though, the pair offer another chance to pick sides and look forward to tennis tournaments that could pit the two against each other. “It’s a dream final,” Catherine Shaw, a tennis fan who watched both the men’s semifinals on Centre Court, told Al Jazeera. “They are the next big thing when it comes to tennis rivalries, so it’s exciting times for tennis fans.” Stepping out in the shadows of some of the greatest players and rivals – Stefan Edberg vs Ivan Lendl, Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe, Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer – the young players will have big shoes to fill. Both are aware of the weight their match-up carries but refuse to be compared with their heroes just

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,235

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,235

Here are the key events on day 1,235 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Here is how things stand on Sunday, July 13: Fighting Ukrainian officials said Russian air attacks overnight on Saturday killed at least two people in the western city of Chernivtsi and wounded 38 others across Ukraine. The raids also damaged civilian infrastructure from Kharkiv and Sumy in the northeast to Lviv, Lutsk and Chernivtsi in the west. The Russian Ministry of Defence said it attacked companies in Ukraine’s military-industrial complex in Lviv, Kharkiv and Lutsk, as well as a military aerodrome. The United Nations Human Rights monitoring mission in Ukraine said that June saw the highest monthly civilian casualties in three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured. In Russia, a man was killed in the Belgorod region after a shell struck a private house, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Politics and diplomacy North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told visiting Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov that his country was ready to “unconditionally support” all actions taken by Moscow in Ukraine. Earlier, Lavrov held talks with his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, in Wonsan, and they issued a joint statement pledging support to safeguard the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other’s countries, according to North Korean state media. Lavrov also warned the United States, South Korea and Japan against forming “alliances directed against anyone, including North Korea and, of course, Russia”. Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, said his government hoped to reach an agreement with the European Union and its partners on guarantees that Slovakia would not suffer from the end of Russian gas supplies by Tuesday. Slovakia has been blocking the EU’s 18th sanctions package on Russia over its disagreement with a proposal to end all imports of Russian gas from 2028. Slovakia, which gets the majority of its gas from Russian supplier Gazprom under a long-term deal valid until 2034, argues the move could cause shortages, a rise in prices and transit fees, and lead to damage claims. Russia blamed Western sanctions for the collapse of its agreement with the UN to facilitate exports of Russian food and fertilisers. The three-year agreement was signed in 2022 in a bid to rein in global food prices. Advertisement Weapons Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was “close to reaching a multilevel agreement” with the US “on new Patriot systems and missiles for them”. Ukraine was stepping up production of its own interceptor systems, he added. Adblock test (Why?)

Kash Patel torches ‘conspiracy theories’ about Bondi feud amid MAGA furor over Epstein files

Kash Patel torches ‘conspiracy theories’ about Bondi feud amid MAGA furor over Epstein files

FBI Director Kash Patel on Saturday squashed rumors of a rift inside the Trump administration’s law-and-order team, just hours before the president himself defended Attorney General Pam Bondi amid Jeffrey Epstein probe backlash. The criticism came after the FBI and Department of Justice on Sunday released a memo shutting down theories about an alleged Epstein client list, finding a tell-all document exposing his associates did not exist. Fueling the fire was a one-minute gap in a surveillance video from Epstein’s cell, which was part of the evidence the DOJ released. The review found the disgraced financier died by suicide in jail in 2019. INSIDE DAN BONGINO’S TENSE MEETING WITH WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS OVER JEFFREY EPSTEIN FALLOUT Fox News reported Friday that Patel’s No. 2, Deputy Director Dan Bongino, was considering resigning if Bondi stayed on as head of the Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI. There were unconfirmed reports that Patel might step down as well, but he shot that down with a social media post Saturday, saying “conspiracy theories” about a potential resignation over Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files “just aren’t true.” “The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been,” Patel wrote. “It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump — and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me.” Hours after Patel’s post, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to express unhappiness with his follower’s reaction. Trump supporters posted videos to social media Saturday afternoon charring MAGA hats in protest. “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB,” Trump wrote. “We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.”  FBI’S DAN BONGINO AND ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI CLASH OVER HANDLING OF EPSTEIN FILES He went on to describe Epstein as a “guy who never dies” and shifted blame to former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA director John Brennan, and the Biden administration. “They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands,” Trump wrote. “Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it?” The president claimed that one year ago, the country was “DEAD,” but is now “the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World.  “Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about,” Trump wrote. Rumors about a change in leadership were triggered by Patel’s apparent X biography change, where his title as FBI Director was removed to only read, “Fmr Chief of Staff @DeptofDefense.” 10 REASONS THE DOJ AND FBI FACE BACKLASH OVER EPSTEIN FILES FLOP Multiple sources told Fox News Digital Bongino and Bondi butted heads at a White House meeting Wednesday, with Bongino accusing Bondi of a “lack of transparency from the start” in the Epstein files probe.  The former Secret Service agent-turned FBI official allegedly raised his voice at Trump’s White House chief of staff before storming out, and has since been weighing resignation over the episode, insiders said.  Bondi and Patel, however, have presented a united front. Sources close to Bondi claim she has “no intention of stepping down” and the pair are in constant communication. “Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital, emphasizing that Trump’s law-and-order lineup is working “seamlessly and with unity.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “President Trump has assembled a highly qualified and experienced law and order team dedicated to protecting Americans, holding criminals accountable, and delivering justice to victims,” Fields added. “This work is being carried out seamlessly and with unity. Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.” The FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Fox News’ David Spunt, Amanda Macias, Jake Gibson, Ashley Oliver and Brie Stimson contributed to this report.

Border czar Tom Homan’s message to anti-ICE protesters: ‘You want some? Come get some’

Border czar Tom Homan’s message to anti-ICE protesters: ‘You want some? Come get some’

Trump administration border czar Tom Homan fired up the crowd at Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit Saturday night when a heckler asked Homan, “Are you an MS-13 member?” But the heckler’s comments added fuel to Homan’s fire as he delivered fiery closing remarks, saying, “Tom Homan is going to run the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen. Take it to the bank.” “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A,” the crowd chanted as Homan exited the stage. About five minutes into Homan’s speech, he was interrupted by a heckler who was escorted out by security, lighting a fire for the rest of the speech.  HOMAN ACCUSES DEMS, MEDIA OF PUSHING ‘FAKE’ STORIES ABOUT ICE AFTER AGENTS CLASH WITH CALIFORNIA RIOTERS Homan had a message to the anti-ICE protesters across the United States, including to those who gathered outside the summit in Tampa, Florida, Saturday night.  “You want some? Come get some,” Homan said. “I’m tired of it. For the men and women of ICE, I deserve your respect. They’re the finest 1% this country has. And Tom Homan isn’t going anywhere. Tom Homan isn’t shutting up.” When the heckler asked Homan if he was an MS-13 member, referencing the Salvadoran transnational criminal gang that has been targeted through Trump’s deportation rollout, Homan said federal immigration officers are dealing with these types of detractors on a daily basis.  BORDER CZAR HOMAN DEMANDS DEMOCRATS STOP COMPARING ICE TO ‘NAZIS’ AFTER OFFICER SHOT BY DETENTION FACILITY “This guy wouldn’t know what it’s like to serve this nation. This guy ain’t got the b—- to be an ICE officer. He hasn’t got the b—- to be a border patrol agent,” Homan continued, as the crowd cheered him on.  As the heckler was escorted out, Homan added, “This guy lives in his mother’s basement. The only thing that surprised me is [he] doesn’t have purple hair and a nose ring. Get out of here, you loser.” While the crowd continued cheering Homan’s fiery speech, he assured that those protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would not intimidate agents because “we’re going to do the job that President Trump gave us to do.” Homan said he has never seen “such hate against the men and women of ICE and in the Border Patrol,” and those protesting don’t have the courage to put on a badge and stand in their place.  While Homan said he was disappointed he didn’t see any protesters when he arrived at the summit, protesters had lined the streets outside Saturday afternoon, rejecting Trump’s agenda and his crackdown on illegal immigration.  The demonstrations on Saturday followed protests that deteriorated into riots in Los Angeles last month as rhetoric against ICE agents has reached a boiling point.  Federal immigration law enforcement officers have been targeted since Trump signed his “big, beautiful bill,” which includes legislation for robust immigration reform, into law last Friday. There have been at least two ambushes in Texas, and protesters clashed with federal officers at the Portland, Oregon, ICE center.  The brazen border czar had made it clear his speech might contain some profanity Saturday night, telling the crowd at the top of his remarks, “Sometimes, I’m harsh. But if I offend anybody here tonight, I don’t give a s—.” Homan also applauded Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, telling the crowd, “Under his leadership, we got the most secure border in the history of nation, and we did that in seven weeks. President Trump did in seven weeks what Joe Biden couldn’t or wouldn’t do in four years.” Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.