U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that South Korea and the United States have finalized a cooperation framework on critical minerals, with expectations that it will help tackle non-market policies and unfair trade practices, according to his department.

On April 18, 2026, President Donald Trump signed a landmark executive order in the Oval Office designed to dramatically accelerate the research and regulatory review of psychedelic drugs, most notably the controversial compound ibogaine.

New Delhi said two Indian-flagged vessels were involved in incidents in the Strait of Hormuz earlier today and summoned its Iranian ambassador over the matter.

Israel-Lebanon direct talks at the ambassador level are underway on Tuesday at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles agreed Wednesday to continue strengthening security cooperation.

The United States is ramping up efforts to regulate the fast-growing cryptocurrency sector, with Scott Bessent calling on lawmakers to act quickly.

The United States may try to seize the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to fabricate evidence of Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program, Alexander Stepanov, military expert with the Institute of Law and National Security at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, has said.

Iran has appointed Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr as the new secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani who was killed in a strike last week, officials said on Tuesday.