World News

Guinea’s military junta has set Sept. 21 as the date for a long-promised referendum on the adoption of a new constitution. The referendum would set the west African country on the path of a return to democratic rule. Secretary-general of the presidency Gen. Amara Camara read a presidential decree setting the new date for the referendum on state television late Tuesday. Guinea's junta leader Col. Mamadi Doumbouya has been in power since 2021. He had set a December 2024 deadline to launch the democratic transition. The missed deadline triggered protests and criticism.

Israel’s defense minister says the country's military operation in the Gaza Strip is expanding to seize “large areas” of the Palestinian territory. Officials inside the Palestinian territory say Israeli strikes have killed more than 40 people in strikes overnight and into Wednesday. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday that the operation was “expanding to crush and clean the area" of militants and “seizing large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel.” The defense minister called on Gaza residents to “expel Hamas and return all hostages.” The militant group still holds 59 captives of whom 24 are believed to still be alive. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Rescuers have pulled two men alive from the ruins of a hotel in Myanmar’s capital on Wednesday and a third from a guesthouse in another city. The rescues on Wednesday came five days after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake. But most teams were finding only bodies and concerns were growing that continued military attacks on resistance forces could jeopardize relief efforts. The quake hit midday Friday. The death toll rose to 2,886 with another 4,639 injured. The earthquake also rocked neighboring Thailand and 22 people have been reported dead there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is traveling to Hungary despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him over the war in Gaza. His four-day trip beginning Wednesday highlights his close ties with Hungarian nationalist leader Viktor Orbán. The Hungarian prime minister has vowed to ignore the warrant and accused the ICC of political interference. Orbán’s government has suggested that Hungary may withdraw from the ICC. The court issued the warrant in November and has insisted that Hungary must comply. Rights groups have condemned the visit. They cal it a violation of international law. The trip underscores Orbán’s defiance of global institutions and his alignment with Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Thousands of Palestinians chanted against Hamas during anti-war protests last week in the Gaza Strip. They were the biggest show of anger at the militant group since its attack on Israel ignited the war. Protesters said they were venting anger and desperation as they endure a new round of war and displacement after Israel ended a ceasefire. They leveled unusually direct criticism at Hamas even while remaining furious at Israel, the United States and others for their plight. Public expressions of dissent have been extremely rare since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. The militant group has violently dispersed occasional protests and jailed, tortured or killed those who challenged its rule. Hamas has faced no significant internal challenge since the start of the war.

Export manufacturing and free trade helped transform China and other Asian countries into economic powerhouses. U.S. President Donald Trump's barrages of tariffs are aimed at compelling companies to keep or set up their factories in the United States. That's a challenge for all Asian economies, large and small, in an era when the most populous region of the world is supposed to be driving global economic growth. Higher costs already have led manufacturers to shift away from China to other economies in South and Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. But for now the prevailing uncertainty over what Trump will do next may lead most to sit tight and see what comes next.

Sydney beachfront properties were flooded and coastal infrastructure damaged after a large swell combined with a king tide to batter the shore. Officials said Thursday several homes were evacuated at Botany Bay in Sydney’s south around midnight as waves surged across the coast. Further north at Sydney’s premier Bondi Beach, the coast was lashed by an 18-foot swell. Windows were shattered at a waterfront pool, gymnasium and  restaurant complex. CCTV footage showed waves bursting through glass doors after 11 p.m. on Tuesday. South of Botany Bay at Cronulla Beach, lifeguard Steve Winner said the beach, along with parts of the pavement behind it and electrical infrastructure, had been damaged by 13-foot waves.

Rescue workers have saved a 63-year-old woman from earthquake rubble in Myanmar’s capital. But hope is fading of finding many more survivors. The earthquake that rocked the country Friday is compounding the humanitarian crisis caused by a bloody civil war. The Myanmar fire department in Naypyitaw said the woman was successfully pulled from the rubble early Tuesday about 91 hours after she was buried when the building collapsed. The military-run government has reported more than 2.700 deaths. But the death toll is expected to rise. The earthquake also killed more than 20 people in neighboring Thailand.