my timesThe Korea Times

World

  • World

    US military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz

    CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisc. — The U.S. military said it shot down four Iranian drones that were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday and then struck some of the Islamic Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response, raising the risk to a shaky ceasefire as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran . “The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” U.S. Central Command said on social media. The military is enforcing a blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s chokehold on the crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments, which has sent energy prices spiking and posed political problems for President Donald Trump's Republican Party ahead of the midterm congressional elections. U.S. Central Command said it hit the radar sites, including an island in the strait, “to defend against further attacks.” It was the latest in back-and-forth attacks that have strained the tenuous ceasefire in the war and efforts to reach a deal to extend that truce. Earlier this week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger termi

    3 MIN READBy AP
    US military says it shot down Iranian drones launched toward Strait of Hormuz
  • World

    Trump's UFC fight at White House combines punches and politics

    3 MIN READBy Reuters
    Trump's UFC fight at White House combines punches and politics
  • World

    NASA reverses evacuation alert order for astronauts aboard space station

    3 MIN READBy Reuters
    NASA reverses evacuation alert order for astronauts aboard space station
  • World

    Bitcoin drops below $60,000, first since October 2024

    1 MIN READBy AFP
    Bitcoin drops below $60,000, first since October 2024
  • World

    US highlights shared denuclearization goal ahead of Xi's NK trip

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    US highlights shared denuclearization goal ahead of Xi's NK trip
Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Read more

World

Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus-like figure follows feud with Pope Leo

U.S. President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure on Sunday, drawing widespread criticism even from some religious conservatives who typically support him, before deleting the post on Monday. The post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, which Trump later said was meant to portray him as a doctor, came amid his escalating feud with Pope Leo, who has criticized the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran as inhumane. Shortly before publishing the image, the president posted a lengthy screed against Pope Leo, calling him “WEAK on crime and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Leo, the first U.S.-born pope, said in response to Trump’s attacks that he had “no fear” of the Trump administration and would continue to speak out. In a forceful speech on Monday in Algiers, he denounced “neocolonial” world powers who are violating international law, without specifically referring to the United States. Sunday’s post, depicting Trump in a white robe with an apparently healing hand on a prone man's head, could create a rift between Trump and the religious right,

Apr 14, 2026By Reuters
Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus-like figure follows feud with Pope Leo
World

IEA is ready to further tap global oil reserves if needed, chief says

WASHINGTON — The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said on Monday he hopes another oil stockpile release is not needed but "we stand ready to act" if the energy shock resulting from the war with Iran requires it. The 32-member IEA agreed last month to release 400 million barrels of oil from reserves, the largest coordinated release ever, in a bid to calm oil markets. The U.S., the world's largest oil and gas producer, agreed to release 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. "I hope, very much hope, we don't need to do it but if it is needed we are ready to act," Birol said. Birol reiterated at an Atlantic Council event that the war has resulted in the worst global energy disruption ever and said that more than 80 oil and gas facilities including production, terminals and refineries across the Middle East have been damaged by war with Iran. Benchmark oil prices are trading near $100 a barrel. Due to the vast extent of the production shut-ins and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the oil releases are "not a solution," Birol said, "it's just reducing

Apr 14, 2026By Reuters
IEA is ready to further tap global oil reserves if needed, chief says
World

Physical oil hits fresh record high near $150 a barrel as Hormuz crisis worsens

LONDON — The price of physical crude oil cargoes for prompt delivery to Europe hit a record high near $150 a barrel on Monday and those for Africa hit new peaks, according to LSEG data and traders, as the U.S. plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz raised concern of a prolonged disruption to supplies. The price of Brent crude futures - the benchmark price for oil in financial markets - rose 6 percent for June delivery to more than $100 a barrel as the U.S. Navy prepared to block ships to and from Iran via the Strait of Hormuz after Washington and Tehran failed to reach a deal to end the war. That is still far short of Brent's all-time high of $147 a barrel set in 2008. However, the price of physical crude cargoes for immediate delivery is significantly higher as the effective closure of Hormuz since the war started on February 28 has sent buyers in Europe and Asia scrambling to secure supplies. The outright price of North Sea Forties crude reached $148.87 a barrel on Monday, LSEG data showed, exceeding its 2008 peak. The divergence highlights how strong demand from Asian and European r

Apr 14, 2026By Reuters
Physical oil hits fresh record high near $150 a barrel as Hormuz crisis worsens
World

Trump vows US will sink any Iran boats that challenge blockade

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump warned Monday that any Iranian attack boats that approach the naval blockade he has ordered around the country's ports will be destroyed, despite international calls for a ceasefire to be respected and negotiations to resume. The U.S. military said the blockade would begin at 1400 GMT and apply to all ships leaving or seeking to dock at Iranian harbours, but as the deadline passed there was no announcement that the measure had come into effect, nor sign of any interceptions. In a social media post, Trump said the bulk of Iran's navy had already been destroyed during the war, but that if any of what he said were Tehran's few remaining "fast attack ships" approach the blockade "they will be immediately ELIMINATED". Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after a delegation led by Vice President JD Vance returned from a meeting with Iranian officials in Pakistan without having secured a deal to end the war launched on February 28 with deadly U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tehran. Last Wednesday, the U.S. and Iran agreed a two-week truce to allow the ne

Apr 14, 2026By AFP
Trump vows US will sink any Iran boats that challenge blockade
World

Facts about Strait of Hormuz as US vows blockade

LONDON — Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained virtually paralysed Monday by weeks of war, with little sign of relief as Washington's deadline for U.S. forces to blockade Iranian ports passed. The crucial waterway normally handles about a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) but has been heavily disrupted since the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 sparked the war. Here is what we know about the situation in the strait: Limited traffic Just 58 commodities carriers have passed through the Strait of Hormuz since a U.S.-Iran ceasefire took effect on Wednesday, according to maritime data provider Kpler. Crossings remain approximately 90 percent below peacetime levels, with no significant increase observed since the ceasefire. The overwhelming majority of ships crossing were either coming from or going to Iran, or displayed ties with countries not hostile to the Islamic republic. Of the 376 passages by commodity carriers from March 1 to April 13, 244 were by oil and gas tankers, and most were heading east away from the Gulf, Kpler data showed. Vessels

Apr 14, 2026By AFP
Facts about Strait of Hormuz as US vows blockade
World

Deadline passes for US Hormuz blockade; Iran threatens Gulf retaliation

The deadline passed on Monday for the start of a U.S. military blockade of ships leaving Iran's ports, and Tehran threatened to retaliate against ports of its Gulf neighbours after weekend talks on ending the war broke down. Oil prices surged, with no sign of a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to ease the biggest ever disruption in supplies. Since the war started on February 28, Iran has effectively shut the strait to all vessels except its own, saying passage would be permitted only under Iranian control and subject to a fee. U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would block Iranian vessels and any ships that paid such tolls and that any Iranian "fast-attack" ships that went near the blockade would be eliminated. U.S. Central Command said the measure would take effect from 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) on Monday. NATO allies including Britain and France said they would not be drawn into the conflict by taking part in the blockade, stressing instead the need to reopen the waterway, through which about one-fifth of the world's oil normally passes. A ceasefire that halted six weeks of

Apr 14, 2026By Reuters
Deadline passes for US Hormuz blockade; Iran threatens Gulf retaliation
World

NATO allies refuse to join Trump's Strait of Hormuz blockade

PARIS/LONDON — NATO allies said on Monday they would not get involved in U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, proposing instead to intervene only once fighting ends, in a move likely to anger Trump and increase strains in the alliance. Trump said the U.S. military would work with other countries to block all maritime traffic in the waterway, after weekend talks failed to reach an agreement to end the six-week conflict with Iran. The U.S. military later specified that the blockade, due to have started at 1400 GMT on Monday, would only apply to ships going to or from Iranian ports. Since the start of the war on February 28, Iran has largely blocked off the strait for all ships apart from its own. It has been seeking to make its control of the strait permanent and possibly collect levies from ships that use it. "The Blockade will begin shortly. Other Countries will be involved with this Blockade," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday. But NATO allies including Britain and France said they would not be drawn into the conflict by taking part in the

Apr 14, 2026By Reuters
NATO allies refuse to join Trump's Strait of Hormuz blockade
World

Hungary's Magyar wants to take over as PM as early as May 5

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s election winner Péter Magyar called Monday on the country's president to convene the parliament to form a new government “as quickly as possible," in hopes that he can take over from Viktor Orbán as prime minister as early as May 5. Speaking at a news conference after his Tisza party's victory Sunday, Magyar said they received “a never-before-seen mandate.” That supermajority would allow Tisza to embark on ambitious program and reforms. “The Hungarian people didn’t vote for a simple change of government, but for a complete change in regime,” he said. Magyar thanked Moscow and Beijing for offering their congratulations and willingness to work with Hungary’s new government. “Hungarians said yesterday they will write their history, not in Moscow, not in Beijing, not in Washington," he added. In his campaign, Magyar pledged to end Hungary’s drift toward Russia and restore its ties with European allies. He promised voters that after 16 years of autocratic governance and the erosion of the rule of law under Orbán, he will root out corr

Apr 13, 2026By AP
Hungary's Magyar wants to take over as PM as early as May 5
World

Israel, Hezbollah clash in strategic Lebanese village ahead of official talks

Fierce fighting Monday rocked the strategic southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, as Israeli troops appeared to encircle the area while Hezbollah militants launched rockets and artillery in an effort to push them back. The clashes in the hilly town that overlooks the U.N.-mandated Blue Line dividing the two countries just over 3.2 kilometers away have intensified over the past week, after Iran and the United States agreed to a temporary truce. On Tuesday, Lebanon and Israel's ambassadors to the U.S. are set to meet in Washington for an in-person meeting in a bid to kick off a landmark series of direct negotiations. Israel has scaled back its attacks in Lebanon, especially in Beirut, after a series of deadly strikes without warning hit the heart of the capital in some of its busiest residential and commercial areas, killing over 350 people. At the same time, Israel appears to have stepped up strikes and ground invasion in southern Lebanon, where it intends to create a security zone along the Litani River, almost 32 kilometers from the border. Bint Jbeil is among dozens of towns and villa

Apr 13, 2026By AP
Israel, Hezbollah clash in strategic Lebanese village ahead of official talks
World

Merger fees lift Goldman Sachs profits as it warns of volatility

Goldman Sachs reported strong first-quarter earnings on Monday, propelled by increased merger advisory fees as it warned of greater volatility amid geopolitical complexity. The New York-based investment bank scored an 18 percent jump in quarterly profit to $5.4 billion, citing a "significant increase in completed mergers and acquisitions volumes." Revenues rose 14 percent to $17.2 billion. While CEO David Solomon did not explicitly flag the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, his statement alluded to heightened international tensions. "Goldman Sachs delivered very strong performance for our shareholders this quarter, even as market conditions became more volatile," Solomon said in an earnings powerpoint presentation. "The geopolitical landscape remains very complex — so disciplined risk management must remain core to how we operate," he said. Monday's batch of results marked the third in a row in which Goldman flagged completed deals as a positive driver. Investment banking fees surged 48 percent in the quarter amid the strong mergers and acquisitions (M&A) flow. The firm also saw an uptick in

Apr 13, 2026By AFP
Merger fees lift Goldman Sachs profits as it warns of volatility
previous page
6970717273
next page

Most Read in World