Briefly

DPRK

Top leader vows to beef up defense

The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea vowed to beef up national defense capabilities at a key meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea, state media reported on Tuesday. Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the WPK, made the remarks at the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 9th Central Committee of the WPK held from Saturday to Monday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He said the United States and the Republic of Korea are "getting ever more undisguised in their moves toward the reinforcement and modernization of armed forces in the region", including support for the ROK's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarine capability and that they held "a military confab of the 'Nuclear Consultative Group'", aggravating the situation on the Korean Peninsula, said the report.

LITHUANIA

Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene resigns

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene announced her resignation on Tuesday, triggering the formation of a new government following changes within the ruling coalition. Following the resignation, President Gitanas Nauseda has 15 days to nominate a candidate for prime minister, who must then secure the approval of the Seimas, the parliament. The new coalition will be the third governing alliance formed by the Social Democrats since the parliamentary elections in 2024.

GUATEMALA

President rules out US military operations

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo ruled out US military operations against organized crime in his country, telling Agence France-Presse on Monday that his country's constitution "does not allow the operation, the conduct of joint military operations" with foreign armed forces. US "conducting military operations, carrying weapons … the law does not allow it", the president said in an exclusive interview with AFP. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told CBS News a week ago that targeted strikes could be deployed in Guatemala and Ecuador to target criminal gangs and drug trafficking. Guatemala is, however, part of an anti-drug-trafficking alliance promoted by President Donald Trump. Arevalo noted that the agreement provides for "training, support at the level of tactical operations for the planning of raids, and intelligence sharing".

UNITED STATES

Database for checking citizenship blocked

A federal judge on Monday struck down a White House database containing citizens' private information, ruling it unlawful. "The federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote. This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens," Judge Sparkle Sooknanan from the US District Court for the District of Columbia wrote in a ruling. Federal agencies were scrambling to comply with an executive order aimed at reshaping federal elections, so they "haphazardly combined and repurposed" the private information of US people, Sooknanan said.

QATAR

13 dead after blast at gas facility

Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured in an explosion at a gas processing facility inside Qatar's massive Ras Laffan Industrial City, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar's energy minister said on Monday, in one of the deadliest gas industry accidents in more than two decades. Liquefied natural gas facilities were not impacted by the explosion on Sunday.

AGENCIES-XINHUA