US, Iran separately talk with mediators in latest bid to end war

The Korea Times - Sep 29, 2026

U.S. and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, according to officials of both countries. Any further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters. The war began in late February with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, killing thousands of people over seven months and shocking global markets as vital waterways for oil remained choked. The U.S. and Iran have twice previously agreed to ceasefires in mediated peace talks, in April and June. Those agreements quickly unraveled. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who remained in New York after attending the General Assembly, said Iran expected to receive the U.S. response to its latest ceasefire proposals and its conditions for restoring passage of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA. "If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solut

Read full article
More News
Criminal case reopened in Cornell sexual assault case involving Korean student
Sep 29, 2026
Criminal case reopened in Cornell sexual assault case involving Korean student

SEATTLE — A Korean student named as one of seven defendants in a sexual assault lawsuit involving Cornell University is facing renewed scrutiny as prosecutors in New York are reopening the criminal investigation into the 2024 case. Winston Lee, widely believed to be a Korean national, is among seven current and former Cornell students accused in a civil lawsuit filed this month by a former student identified as Jane Doe. She alleges that she was drugged and sexually assaulted by multiple members of the Chi Phi fraternity at its house in October 2024. No criminal charges were filed following the initial police investigation, but Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that his office has begun reconsidering whether charges should be pursued. “I have been asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members,” Van Houten said in a statement. “I have already begun that process, starting with our conversation with Jane Doe and her attorneys.” Van Houten said his office intends to take the case

Wall St declines as oil spikes after Trump rejects Iran peace proposal
Sep 29, 2026
Wall St declines as oil spikes after Trump rejects Iran peace proposal

Wall Street's main indexes fell on Monday after President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to end the conflict, leading to a spike in crude prices that revived inflation worries and drove Treasury yields higher. Limiting declines was Nvidia's 2.1 percent gain after the chip giant announced a $150 billion share repurchase authorization, making it the company's biggest ever increase in share buybacks on record. Iran announced a peace proposal at last week's United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been relayed to the United States through Qatari mediators. While Trump said on Saturday he had rejected the offer, he told Axios on Sunday that he expected U.S.negotiators to continue talks this week. Crude prices jumped 3 percent to around $107-a-barrel and weighed on Treasuries, sending longer-dated yields to fresh multi-decade highs. "Energy has been the one consistent upward pressure on inflation, and anything that continues to put pressure on inflation is going to be something that motivates the Fed to raise rates," Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley W

Senior NK diplomat says nuclear status can never be reversed 'in any circumstances'
Sep 29, 2026
Senior NK diplomat says nuclear status can never be reversed 'in any circumstances'

WASHINGTON — A senior North Korean diplomat reiterated Monday that Pyongyang's status as a "nuclear weapons state" can never be reversed "in any circumstances" or "by any means," stressing that the claimed status has been "uncompromisingly and permanently fixed." Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong made the remarks in an address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, defending North Korea's nuclear deterrent as an "irresistible" force to defend sovereignty and security against external threats. His remarks came a week after South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyon, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi reiterated their "resolute" commitment to the "complete" denuclearization of the North and called on the North to resume dialogue in a joint statement last week. "The DPRK's nuclear deterrent is the absolute might and irresistible force designed from A to Z to safeguard the sovereignty, security and peace against aggression and threat from outside," he said. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Ko

China, US pledge tariff cuts on $60 bil. of goods including agriculture, toys, toasters
Sep 29, 2026
China, US pledge tariff cuts on $60 bil. of goods including agriculture, toys, toasters

BEIJING — China and the United States said they will pursue tariff cuts on $60 billion worth of goods imported from each other, including products from U.S. corn to cosmetics, and from Chinese toys to household appliances, with some notable omissions on each side. Under the U.S.-China Board of Trade, both countries have each recommended $30 billion of trade in non-sensitive goods for more favourable tariff treatment, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement on Sunday night. For the United States, that was "unlocking improved market access" for about 30 percent of U.S. exports to China, he said. The reciprocal tariff reduction effort as well as an extension of a trade truce were among the key takeaways from the second summit this year between President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump, hosted in Washington last week. But statements from neither side indicated the extent of tariff reductions nor any timing for implementation. USTR said the $30 billion valuation for import product lists proposed by each country were based on 2024 import data. One of two lists

Contradicting Trump, Pope Leo says artificial intelligence safety concerns not 'fake news'
Sep 29, 2026
Contradicting Trump, Pope Leo says artificial intelligence safety concerns not 'fake news'

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — Pope Leo XIV said Monday that concerns about artificial intelligence going rogue are not “fake news” and should be taken seriously, insisting that safety issues raised by AI experts should be discussed and acted on. Leo, who dedicated his first encyclical to AI and protecting humanity in its wake, was asked during a press conference about what the United States and China especially should be doing to prevent AI from posing catastrophic risks to humanity. U.S. President Donald Trump has called concerns about AI going rogue a “hoax.” “This is a problem that, I think, we need to sit down and talk about,” the American pope told reporters returning home from France. “We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen.” Trump has been a champion of AI, often warning that the United States must remain ahead of China in the technological arms race. He has said efforts to limit the technology were part of a “conspiracy” by his political opponents. Several AI giants, including Anthropic, have called for a slowdown in development to give s

Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs
Sep 29, 2026
Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs

Anthropic is making a massive bet that AI will transform the global economy more profoundly than industrialization, electricity and the internet, according to its IPO prospectus seen by Reuters. But the cost to get there will be staggering. Anthropic reported a net loss of $42 billion in 2025, and plans to spend $518 billion on cloud, computing and infrastructure obligations in coming year, according to the prospectus. The prospectus details how the company has grown sharply in the last year — while also posting wider losses. Revenue grew 12-fold in 2025 to nearly $4.6 billion, even as the company lost more than $8 billion on an operating basis, excluding writedowns of various liabilities mostly tied to previous fundraising, according to the documents, reported here for the first time. The public sale, which could value it at more than $2 trillion, would capitalize on the rapid rise of the AI startup lab that only came into existence five years ago, and establish it as a benchmark for how Wall Street values AI's leading companies, including rival OpenAI. The plans come as Anthropic con

Ukraine's Zelenskyy says North Korea prepares to deploy another 10,000 troops to Russia
Sep 29, 2026
Ukraine's Zelenskyy says North Korea prepares to deploy another 10,000 troops to Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday there are more than 8,000 North Korean troops on Russian territory and preparations are underway to deploy another 10,000 troops. Citing "new data" on the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia, Zelenskyy said they were "being selected for training and subsequent deployment to Russia." The Ukrainian president said in August that up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers could be sent to fight for Russia, and called on South Korea to provide support for Ukraine's air defence. South Korea announced in July a $100 million aid package for Ukraine, although it excluded lethal weapons. Zelenskyy's comments on Monday came after Seoul and Kyiv were at odds over his announcement last week that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. Seoul expressed regret over his announcement, citing an agreement to keep the transfer confidential. South Korea also protested against what it called a false statement from the Ukrainian presidential office denying that such a confidentiality agreement existed. North Korea has sent

Bangkok floodwaters begin to ease after torrential rains affect 700,000 people
Sep 29, 2026
Bangkok floodwaters begin to ease after torrential rains affect 700,000 people

BANGKOK — Floodwaters in Thailand ’s capital were slowly receding on Monday after nearly continuous rainfall over the weekend, although some neighborhoods and major roads remained inundated. Rain continued intermittently, but Bangkok city officials said conditions had improved enough to accelerate drainage efforts. Water levels in four main canals had risen too high over the weekend to take in runoff from surrounding communities. More rain was forecast across much of Thailand, although Bangkok was expected to receive less. Cambodia and Myanmar were also experiencing severe weather. The weekend flooding affected 329,000 households, or about 700,000 people, the Bangkok Flood Control Center reported, according to Deputy Gov. Tavida Kamolvej. Thai media reported two flood-related deaths in the city and at least 10 nationwide. Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt declared a flood emergency Saturday across all 50 city districts, although some were relatively unscathed. He said authorities were prioritizing assistance for vulnerable residents, including older people and those with disabilities, by deli

OpenAI scraps release of new model over safety concerns
Sep 29, 2026
OpenAI scraps release of new model over safety concerns

San Jose, California—OpenAI has scrapped the release of a new artificial intelligence (AI) model over safety concerns. Saachi Jain, head of safety systems at the ChatGPT developer, told British broadcaster BBC that the new GPT-6.1 Astra model "didn't quite meet the bar" of the company's standards. The system was not always honest with users about what actions it had or had not taken, she explained, adding that it in some cases acted on its own initiative without obtaining user permission. OpenAI's advanced models have repeatedly made negative headlines across the world in recent weeks, prompting serious concern about safety and calls for government regulation. It emerged at the weekend that the company has suspended training of its most powerful AI models following a new incident, which saw one manage to obtain responses from an external chatbot during a test despite not being supposed to have internet access. The software found and exploited a flaw in the network settings, OpenAI said in a blog post. Training will only resume once the company is confident the issue has been fixed, it s

Mediators working to broker US-Iran deal, but major hurdles remain
Sep 29, 2026
Mediators working to broker US-Iran deal, but major hurdles remain

CAIRO — Mediators are working with Iran and the United States on trying to broker a deal to end the fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz , three regional officials and two U.S. officials told The Associated Press, but major hurdles remain between the sides. The indirect talks come as the conflict, which is entering its eighth month, has caused global economic damage and badly battered Iran. Multiple efforts to allow safe shipping on one of the world’s most crucial waterways have failed. The officials divulged that the behind-the-scenes efforts continue even after U.S. President Donald Trump initially said he spurned an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait in a week if the U.S. agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — who stayed in New York after last week’s gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly — will meet with Qatari mediators Monday about the latest discussions, Iranian state media reported Foreign Ministry spokes

Airstrike near a market in Myanmar's Rakhine state kills 49 people
Sep 29, 2026
Airstrike near a market in Myanmar's Rakhine state kills 49 people

BANGKOK — An airstrike carried out by Myanmar’s military near a market in territory controlled by a powerful rebel group killed at least 49 people and wounded 58 others on Monday, the group and a rescue official said. The attack in western Rakhine state was the latest in a series of deadly airstrikes against pro-democracy resistance forces and ethnic armed groups across the country. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, triggering widespread opposition. After security forces suppressed peaceful protests with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, plunging large parts of the country into conflict. Monday’s attack occurred in Kyauktaw township, about 340 kilometers (210 miles) west of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, according to the Arakan Army , a powerful ethnic armed group based in Rakhine which controls Kyauktaw. It was impossible to independently confirm details of the attack. The Arakan Army said in a statement released early Tuesday that a fighter jet dropp

Recommended

Subscribe Now!

About Us

The Journalist Report publishes timely news updates around the clock. We have a group of journalists around the globe to deliver the latest news around so that we can get our users connected.

Copyright © 2015 - 2026 The Journalist Report. All Rights Reserved. TermsPrivacy Policy