NewsLite

SEOUL — North Korea will take more action to maintain its military power despite US sanctions pressure that has only made the country stronger, a North Korean foreign ministry official said on April 25.

"US heinous sanctions served as a catalyst and driving force that unleashed a gradual increase in our national strength," state KCNA news agency cited a North Korean senior foreign ministry official as saying, referring to its nuclear tests prompted by international sanctions led by Washington.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said on April 24 that the country would press on with its "overwhelming" military buildup in response to frequent US military drills with South Korea.

"We are used to US sanctions, and we have the ability and great power to stand up to any harsh sanctions," the foreign ministry official said, according to KCNA.

SHANGHAI — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet business leaders in Shanghai on April 25 as ties between Washington and Beijing stabilise, pushing to resolve a raft of issues threatening the newly gained equilibrium between the rivals.

"Face to face diplomacy matters," said Blinken in the short clip posted to X.

Blinken will press China to stop its firms from retooling and resupplying Russia's defence industrial base.

But the official criticised what they called Washington's "stubborn strategy of containing China, and its erroneous words and deeds of interfering in China's internal affairs, tarnishing China's image and undermining China's interests."

CAIRO/JERUSALEM - Israeli warplanes pounded the northern Gaza strip for a second day on Wednesday (April 24) in a fierce assault that has shattered weeks of comparative calm, and Israel said it was moving forward with plans for an all-out assault on Rafah in the south.

The war, now in its seventh month, has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

In the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes have killed at least 79 Palestinians and wounded 86, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

In Washington, Sullivan said the US has seen a marked increase in aid reaching Gaza and especially vulnerable north Gaza since Biden and Netanyahu spoke on April 4.

Billie Eilish has been "in love with girls for [her] whole life".

The 22-year-old pop star is attracted to both men and women — but it took Billie years to really understand her own sexuality.

The singer told Rolling Stone magazine: "I've been in love with girls for my whole life, but I just didn't understand.".

Asked if she ever wants to hide from the exposure, Billie told Allure magazine: "All the time.

A number of crew members have been injured on the set of Eddie Murphy's new movie.

A spokesperson for Amazon MGM Studios told Deadline: "On April 20, an accident occurred on the set of The Pickup during a rehearsed second unit action sequence.

Unfortunately, the sequence did not go as planned and several members of the crew were injured as a result.

Union IATSE, which represents crew members are investigating what happened.

SINGAPORE - Ms Jayanthi Gamage was at work in August 2023 when an e-mail arrived in her inbox.

Ms Gamage was desperate for an employer who would understand her plight and allow her to pursue her degree.

It’s a big achievement to come to Singapore, work as a domestic helper and reach this milestone,” said Ms Kour.

Ms Jayanthi Gamage started her law course at the University of London in 2016 and completed it in 2023.

LIVERPOOL - Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp apologised to fans after a 2-0 loss to Everton in the Merseyside derby that all but extinguished their faint hopes of winning the Premier League title.

"(Leaders Arsenal and Manchester City) must have a very bad moment," Klopp, who looked completely shattered, said when asked about his team's chances.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk was blunt in his assessment, telling Sky Sports "We have to do much better.

"If we play like today we have no chance to consider ourselves in the title (race).".

BOSTON - A Chinese music student was sentenced on April 24 to nine months in a US prison for harassing an activist who posted fliers at the Berklee College of Music in Boston supporting democracy in China and threatening to report her activities to Chinese law enforcement.

But she said a prison sentence was nonetheless warranted to deter other Chinese nationals who come to the United States to study and ensure they know that "no one can engage in criminal conduct, particularly conduct to suppress free speech.".

Human rights groups have complained of threats to academic freedom and monitoring of Chinese students on international university campuses.

In response, Wu posted on a 300-person chat of Chinese Berklee students and alumni on the social media app WeChat a demand that she take down her "reactionary" fliers and threatened to chop off her hands if she posted more.

Said Mr Imran: “My first instinct was to give the person inside some air because I could see he was still moving.

When Mr Imran saw a girl clad in a Temasek Junior College shirt lying motionless on the road, his heart sank.

He said Mr Azril could not see Afifah and kept calling her name.

Mr Imran, a Tampines resident, said he was third in line at the junction when he heard a loud crash.

In 2020, Trump was blocked by the courts in his bid to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat, a unit of Tencent, in the United States.

Mr Chew added: “Make no mistake - this is a ban on TikTok.” He emphasised that TikTok would continue to operate as the company challenges the restrictions.

TikTok is set to challenge the bill on First Amendment grounds and TikTok users are also expected to again take legal action.

Mr Biden signed legislation in late 2022 that barred US government employees from using TikTok on government phones.