Kim Jong-un’s daughter – often seen as the frontrunner to become North Korea’s next leader – has made her international debut.

The dictator and his daughter Kim Ju-ae arrived in China’s capital of Beijing last night for the military parade in Tienanmen Square today.

Her presence is a big deal – considering that until three years ago, she had not been publicly introduced.

But the North Korean leader may be looking to present the teenager to his allies as his successor for when he eventually decides to step down.

After the special train carrying ​Kim’s entourage pulled into Beijing Railway Station,​ Ju-ae stood close to him as he was greeted by Chinese officials​, according to photos released by North Korean state media.

It is the first known international appearance by the girl, who has attended multiple weapons tests in North Korea alongside her father.

In fact, Ju-ae was first introduced into the world when she accompanied him to the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

But it was the former American NBA star Dennis Rodman who first slipped up about her existence after travelling to the recluse nation.

According to Rodman, during his 2013 visit to Pyongyang, Kim introduced him to his wife Ri Sol Ju and a baby girl, saying ‘that’s my daughter.’

State media have never identified her by name, but South Korean intelligence says she is Ju-ae, the daughter of Kim and his wife, who they believe married in 2009.

In recent years, North Korean state media have referred to her as the ‘the beloved child,’ or ‘the esteemed child’.

Also in state media, North Korean adults have been shown bowing deeply before her.

At recent public appearances, she has often walked ahead of both her aunt – powerful regime spokeswoman Kim Yo Jong – and mother, linking arms with her father, whispering to him, and holding hands.

South Korean analysts have said that Kim appears to be grooming her as an heir.

But others disagree, citing his relative young age – just 41 – and the extremely male-dominated nature of North Korea’s power hierarchy.

Since its foundation in 1948, the country has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family: Kim’s father Kim Jong Il and his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung.

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Kim Jong-un’s paranoia was on full display after a meeting with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of China’s World War II military parade.

Even surrounded by allies, like the Russian president, North Korea’s leader is going to extraordinary lengths to protect himself while travelling abroad.

Footage shared on a Russian Telegram channel showed staff ‘destroying’ all traces that the dictator had attended the bilateral talks in Beijing. 

They were seen taking away the glass he drank from and vigorously wiping down his seat and every part of furniture he had touched with wet wipes.

The most colourful explanation to the weird behaviour is Kim’s persecution complex.

Whatever the exact reason, the leader has long feared high-ranking traitors and defectors, and has faced multiple assassination plots – one allegedly organised by the CIA.

Less than a year ago, in October, the South Korean National Intelligence Service told parliament that Kim’s security detail had expanded its efforts to protect him, including by using communication-jamming devices and drone detection equipment.

The spy agency did not cite a specific threat against Kim – but noted that despite threats to his safety, he has been making more frequent public appearances.

In his own country, his appearances are normally carefully managed, with any foreigners present forced to go through hours-long security checks beforehand.

The exact security operation around Kim’s trip to Beijing remains veiled, but it is expected that he is flanked by security at all times.

Joined by Putin, he travelled from a formal reception to the negotiations in the same car, the Kremlin said in a post on social media.

After a bilateral meeting between Russian and North Korean delegations, the two leaders held a one-on-one meeting. 

Putin also invited Kim to visit Russia again, following on from the North Korean leader’s last visit to the country in 2023.

Speaking in front of journalists as the talks began, Putin praised the bravery and heroism of North Korean soldiers who fought alongside his own troops to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region.

According to South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent around 15,000 troops to Russia since last year.

It has also sent large quantities of military equipment, including ballistic missiles and artillery, to help fuel Putin’s three-year invasion of Ukraine.

In his opening remarks, Kim said that cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has ‘significantly strengthened’ since the two countries signed a strategic partnership pact in June last year during a summit in the North Korean capital.

Although he did not specifically mention the war, Kim stressed that ‘if there is anything I can do for you and the people of Russia, if there is more that needs to be done, I will consider it as a fraternal duty, an obligation that we surely need to bear, and will be prepared to do everything possible to help.’

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‘He was a spark that ignited every room he entered.’

New nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), giant underwater drones and laser weapons have been unveiled in China’s military parade today in a show of strength against the West.

China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un grinned as the weapons were being displayed during the commemoration of the end of World War II in Beijing.

This is the Chinese leader’s third parade on Tienanmen Square – equaling the total of his three immediate predecessors – so he has proven that he knows how to throw on a good spectacle for other authoritarians.

Much of the weaponry and equipment in the parade is being shown to the public for the first time, according to Chinese media.

One of them is the DF-5C, a new variant of the Dongfeng-5 nuclear ICBM, which is carrying as many as 12 warheads.

It is a two-stage missile that uses liquid fuel, which means its trajectory is propelled by two consecutive rocket stages, each with its own engine.

The missile is capable of striking targets across the globe, including the Western Europe and mainland America.

Hypersonic anti-ship missiles – which China has previously tested against mock-ups of US aircraft carriers – were also paraded.

Those included the Yingji-19, Yingji-17 and Yingji-20.

Multiple other cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles – some equipped with ‘all-weather combat capabilities’ – were shown off as well.

The parade featured drones that can operate underwater and in the air, as well as unmanned helicopters designed to be launched from ships.

The AJX002 underwater drone was a standout.

With a long, black tube-shaped craft, it looks like a narrow submarine with a rear propeller.

The sea-based systems included submarines, surface vessels and a mine-laying system.

Another anticipated weapon was also unveiled – the LY-1 laser, which was mounted on top of an eight-wheeler HZ-155 armoured truck.

As Metro reported yesterday, this is billed to be the ‘world’s most powerful laser defence system’.

Marching in the parade were the traditional People’s Liberation Army (PLA) units from the navy and army, but also new ones like the cyberspace unit.

The new unit is in charge of cybersecurity defense measures, according to the official Xinhua news agency, and also participated in live-fire drills.

Another debut was the information support force, created in 2024 to build network information systems to support military combat readiness.

This is the first major military parade in the People’s Republic since 2019 on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China.

Yet, for many in the West, the defining image of the grand show of military might is not the parade of nuclear missiles, stealth fighter jets, or drones.

It is the sight of Xi, Putin and Kim standing side by side, smiling and joking in an unprecedented show of solidarity against the West.

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The train is called Taeyangho meaning ‘Sun Train’ and has been described as a mobile fortress on rails.

The 19-year-old’s lawyers are locked in negotiations over a plea bargain to bring the teenager home to Teeside.

The suspect, a legal Tunisian national, was staying in a hotel in the Belsunce district of Marseille

I’ve had stun grenades thrown at me and been shot at.

A man was threatened with ‘being sodomised with a Champagne bottle or an enema tube’ while in police custody in Georgia.

Rezo Kiknadze was detained in the capital, Tbilisi, during the early days of demonstrations against the Georgian Dream government’s suspension of its EU membership bid.

The 27-year-old is among the score of protesters who recount episodes of inhumane treatment and violent threats during arrests.

At a court hearing last week, he revealed how officers threatened to bury him alive to pressure him to give false testimony.

Kiknadze said: ‘Those standing by the [police] car window started speaking loudly so I could hear, “The tractor is already here, digging the pit, and if he doesn’t write it, let’s bury him alive”.

‘Then one of them turned to me – or rather, leaned into the car – and said, “Hey boy, write what they are telling you, or else, this is what awaits you”.’

Kiknadze was taken to the Ortachala district of Tbilisi where he was also allegedly threatened with sexual violence, OC Media reported.

He said: ‘One of them said “let’s bring him downstairs and put him on an enema tube or on a Champagne bottle”.

‘Another officer replied, “he might soil himself, it is a dirty job, so let’s put on gloves” .’

Kiknadze has been charged with participating in group violence, which carries a penalty of four to six years in prison.

He was detained while returning home from a clinic appointment by metro.

The protester told the court that two men dressed in all black stopped him inside the metro station before handcuffing him, putting him in a car, and then driving him to Lisi Lake in the northwest of Tbilisi.

This is where the officers abused him and pressured him into giving false testimony and speaking against opposition politicians in Georgia.

Protests have engulfed Georgia since last November when prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of the populist Dream Party, announced the decision to suspend talks aimed at joining the European Union until 2028. 

This came after the European Parliament rejected the results of Georgia’s October 26 parliamentary elections.

He accused them and ‘some European leaders’ of ‘blackmail’.

Since then, there have been protests every day – and the numbers of those arrested oscillate from a few hundred to thousands.

NGO, Civil Georgia, warned that people have been exposed to systematic repression – carried out both by official state bodies and by government thugs, who attack activists not only during the violent dispersal of rallies, but also during the day, in their homes and offices.

It said that at least 11 members of the opposition have been beaten this year, so far. There are also multiple reports of attacks on activists,

The Public Defender reports that at least 85% of those detained from November 28 to December 6 last year were physically abused.

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The document told hospitals to prepare for large numbers of ‘wounded troops’, both French and allied, at ‘short notice’.

Rehearsals for the event in Beijing showed the new weapon mounted on an eight-wheeled truck (Picture: X)

A new weapon dubbed ‘the most powerful laser air defence system in the world’ is expected to be unveiled in China tomorrow…

At least 1,000 people have been killed in a landslide in a region in Sudan.

Days of heavy rain triggered the avalanche of mud and debris on Sunday in the western Darfur region and ‘completely levelled’ the village of Tarasin, in the Marra mountains.

Only a single resident is believed to have survived the disaster, the Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army (SLM) said.

It’s the latest tragedy for the area of Darfur, which is already suffering its darkest chapter amid a famine and claims of a genocide.

The group said in a statement: ‘Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than 1,000 individuals, with only one survivor.’

The ‘massive and devastating’ landslide ‘completely destroyed’ part of the region known for citrus production, it added. 

The group appealed to the United Nations and other aid organisations for help recovering the victims still buried under dirt and debris.

Reports of the landslide comes as Sudan’s ongoing civil war between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – now in its third year – has plunged the country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Many residents from North Darfur state had fled to the Marra Mountains region, after war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) forced them from their homes.

The SLM has mostly stayed out of the violence, but controls parts of the country’s tallest mountain range.

Darfur’s army-aligned governor, Minni Minnawi, described the landslide as a ‘humanitarian tragedy that goes beyond the borders of the region’.

He said: ‘We appeal to international humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene and provide support and assistance at this critical moment, for the tragedy is greater than what our people can bear alone.’

Much of Darfur – including the area where the landslide occurred – remains largely inaccessible to international aid organisations due to the war, which severely limits the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance.

What is happening in Sudan?

Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 after a vicious struggle for power broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

More than 150,000 people have died because of the fighting and more than 13 million have been displaced internally in what the International Rescue Committee described as ‘the biggest humanitarian crisis ever recorded.

After more than two years, the conflict has led to a famine and claims of a genocide in the western Darfur region.

People are facing mass violations of human rights and humanitarian law resulting in mass civilian casualties, and sexual and gender-based violence.

Rather than advancing diplomacy, outside powers are fueling the war by funneling weapons to their allies.

Both SAF and RSF leaders appear to believe that the continued fighting best serves their interests, leaving the northeast African country on a trajectory toward catastrophic humanitarian collapse. 

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Red flags are popping up in Costa.

She only claimed she was pregnant after being caught.

Big smiles, hearty laughs, warm hugs…

The atmosphere at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China feels more like a school reunion, where old classmates compare how much weight they have put on.

Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi – who represent the top three largest powers not aligned with the West – are shown joking like friends as they greet each other at the event earlier today.

It starts with Russia’s president and India’s prime minister holding hands and walking into a meeting hall filled with other world leaders. 

They head straight for China’s president Xi Jinping, enthusiastically shake hands and form a close circle.

In his remarks to open the talks, Modi then describes the partnership with Russia as ‘special and privileged.’ 

And Putin them addresses Modi as a ‘dear friend’ and hails Russia’s ties with India as special, friendly and trusting.

As intended, this anti-Western coalition – dubbed the ‘axis of upheaval’ – appears united to offer an alternative world order, challenging the US.

Keir Giles, a leading analyst on European defence and Russia at Chatham House in London, told Metro that the relationships on display are ‘a visual reminder of the way alliances have formed in the global confrontation.’

He added: ‘The coalition that stands against the liberal democracies has a mutual understanding, which is far more developed and purposeful than that of the group of Western democracies, which are still floundering on how to defend themselves.

‘To some extent, it does represent a broad consensus about how the world should be run – and it is a very different consensus to the one that prevails in Europe and in other Western democracies.’

What Giles thought was ‘most disturbing’ is the way this close relationship on display between Russia and China was ‘mimicked’ by Donald Trump during the summit in Alaska earlier in August.

He explained: ‘Trump also welcomed Putin as though he was greeting an overlord rather than dealing with a pariah state that is vastly weaker that his own.

‘The Alaska Summit is a confirmation that the US’ place in the coalition of democracies is no longer assured.

‘The way in which the US has been so eager to pursue Russia’s desired policies with regards to Ukraine and elsewhere is not a surprise, but still seems to shock to Europe and other democracies around the world.’

The SCO, set up in 2001, is the successor to the Shanghai Five, a grouping of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, set up in 1996.

It now also includes India, Pakistan, Iran, Belarus and Uzbekistan. It is aimed at strengthening relations among member states and promoting cooperation in political affairs, economics, and trade.

Xi told the SCO leaders that the global international situation is becoming more ‘chaotic and intertwined’.

The Chinese leader also slammed the ‘bullying behaviour’ from certain countries – a veiled reference to the US.

He added: ‘The security and development tasks facing member states have become even more challenging.

‘With the world undergoing turbulence and transformation, we must continue to follow the Shanghai spirit…and better perform the functions of the organisation.’

Putin used his speech to defend his invasion of Ukraine, blaming the West for triggering the three-and-a-half year war.

He warned: ‘This crisis was not triggered by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, but was a result of a coup in Ukraine, which was supported and provoked by the West.

‘The second reason for the crisis is the West’s constant attempts to drag Ukraine into Nato.’

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The pair began foaming at the mouth and convulsing.

The youngster went missing in early July.

At least 250 people have been killed and another 1,000 wounded after a 6 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border.

The powerful tremor was recorded at 11.47pm and was centered 17 miles east-northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province.

It was only five miles deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage.

Entire villages in the province of Kunar are believed to have been destroyed and dozens of houses turned into rubble, Taliban sources say.

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He was showing signs of hypothermia but is now in a stable condition.

Aaron Prout died from his injuries after the game.

‘The story here is about Palestine. The story here is how people are being deliberately deprived of the very basic means to survive’.

Jessica Cariad Hopkins was originally from Hertfordshire (Pictures: Facebook)

A British woman is dead after being repeatedly stabbed in Cambodia due to an apparent ‘love triangle’.

Jessica Cariad Hopkins, 34, was found Friday…

Oliver was last seen in Marbella, where he lives with his separated parents (Picture: CNDES)

One of Vladimir Putin’s mouthpieces has waded into the case of a British toddler who is feared to have been ‘abducted’ by his Ru…

A gigantic Labubu, life-sized statues of Iron Man, Louis Vuitton bags, TV screens and a piano – these are some of the items looted from the home of an Indonesian politician who branded the ongoing protests ‘stupid’.

The Southeast Asia country has descended into chaos over an increase of lawmakers’ salaries, with demonstrations boiling over after the killing of a taxi driver who was hit by a police armored vehicle in the capital, Jakarta.

At least three people have been killed in a fire blamed on protesters at a regional parliament building in Makassar, the capital of the South Sulawesi province.

Rescuers retrieved three bodies on Saturday morning, and five people were hospitalized with burns or with multiple broken bones after jumping from the building, said Fadli Tahar, a local disaster official.

Parliamentary offices have been looted, as well as the mansion of Ahmad Sahroni, a member of the NasDem Party, Detik News reported.

Why are there protests in Indonesia?

Nationwide protests began in Jakarta on Monday after lawmakers backed a hike to their allowances.

In addition to their salaries, members of parliament will now benefit from a monthly housing stipend of 50 million rupiah (£2,263) – nearly 10 times the minimum wage in the capital and about 20 times the onein poor areas of the country.

A video from the parliament hearing showed them dancing in celebration, all the while Indonesia’s poverty rate stands at nearly 10%.

Critics argue the new allowance is not only excessive but also insensitive at a time when most Indonesians are grappling with soaring living costs and taxes, as well as rising unemployment.

The protests grew wider and more violent following the death of 21-year-old ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan in Jakarta on Thursday.

A video on social media, apparently showing his death, shocked the nation and spurred an outcry against the country’s security forces.

Kurniawan was reportedly completing a food delivery order when he was caught in the clash.

Witnesses told local television that the armored car from the National Police’s Mobile Brigade unit suddenly sped through the crowd of demonstrators and hit Kurniawan, causing him to fall.

Instead of stopping, the vehicle ran over him.

On Saturday, hundreds of ride-hailing drivers and students in Bali staged a solidarity demonstration over Kurniawan’s death in a rare protest on the tourist island.

They called for police reform and the release of those arrested during the demonstrations.

Protesters marched to Bali’s regional police headquarters and riot police fired rounds of tear gas at them to push back those who tried to reach the heavily guarded compound.

Clashes between riot police and protesters erupted in multiple cities across Indonesia on Friday, including in Medan, Solo, Yogyakarta, Magelang, Malang, Bengkulu, Pekanbaru and Manokwari in easternmost Papua region.

TikTok suspends live video feeds

In the light of the protests, the app, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, confirmed that it had suspended its live feature in Indonesia for several days.

The government had this week summoned representatives of social media platforms, including Meta Platforms Inc and TikTok, and told them to boost content moderation alleging that disinformation had spread online.

The government says that this has spurred the demonstrations against it – not the issues with the economy or the killing the the taxi driver.

What has Indonesia’s president done so far?

The protests are the first major test to president Prabowo Subianto nearly year-old government.

As the demonstrations spread outside Jakarta, he cancelled a planned trip to China.

The president had been due to attend a ‘Victory Day’ on Wednesday for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II following Japan’s surrender.

Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a video statement: ‘The president wants to continue monitoring the protests directly…and seek the best solutions.

‘Therefore, the president apologizes to the Chinese government that he could not attend the invitation.’

Is it safe to travel to Indonesia right now?

The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to parts of Indonesia – but most are area where there is volcanic activity, rather than connected to the protests.

Foreign embassies in Jakarta, including the US and Australia, have advised their citizens in Indonesia to avoid demonstration areas or large public gatherings.

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The 53-year-old was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead soon at 11:30am local time.