Bloomberg Japan backed a US push for the United Nations Security Council to vote on Monday on fresh sanctions against North Korea, saying that Kim Jong Un’s nuclear program poses the most serious threat since World War II. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Sunday urged tougher sanctions including curbing oil supplies to North Korea. He warned that the regime’s advances …

JEDDAH / Reuters Arab countries and Qatar should enter into direct talks to solve a diplomatic dispute, Russia’s foreign minister said on a trip to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, urging all parties to restore regional unity. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups – a …

BEIRUT / Reuters A rocket-bearing Iranian military vessel confronted an American battleship in the Gulf and warned it to stay away from a damaged Iranian fishing boat, Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, but the US Navy denied any direct contact with Iranian forces. The American battleship turned away after the warning from the Iranian vessel, which belonged to the …