Japanese PM resigns over election setback

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Sunday announced that he will step down as the head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), amid growing calls for him to take responsibility for the party's election setback.

He also said he would not stand as a candidate in the upcoming LDP leadership election triggered by his resignation.

Expressing regret to the public, Ishiba said that the LDP must undergo genuine renewal, warning against "falling into easy populism" and stressing the need for the party to remain a tolerant and inclusive force.

Regarding trade, Ishiba said he had long considered talks on U.S. tariff measures as a responsibility of his administration.

Russia launches massive air attacks on Ukraine

Russia launched 805 drones and 13 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force said Sunday.

As of 8:30 a.m. local time (0530 GMT) Sunday, the air defense had intercepted 747 combat and decoy drones, along with four Iskander-K cruise missiles, said the Ukrainian Air Force in a Facebook post.

Five additional Iskander-K missiles, four Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, and 56 drones struck 37 locations across the country, it added.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said the Russian drone attacks triggered a fire in the country's government building and "emergency crews are working to extinguish the fire."Russia launched 805 drones and 13 missiles in an overnight attack on Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force said Sunday.

Israel intensifies attacks on Gaza City, Palestinian death roll amounts to 11,911

At least 50 Palestinians were killed across the Gaza Strip by the Israeli army on Sunday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

Since dawn on Sunday, the Israeli army has "destroyed more than 50 buildings and partially damaged 100 others, including high-rise buildings housing thousands of citizens," Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a statement.

On March 18, Israel resumed its military operations in the enclave. At least 11,911 Palestinians have been killed and 50,735 others injured since Israel renewed its intensive strikes, bringing the total death toll since October 2023 to 64,455 and the number of injured to 162,776, Gaza health authorities said on Sunday.

OPEC+ to continue increase oil output in October

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, on Sunday decided to ramp up oil output by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd) in October.

The announcement was made after a virtual meeting where member countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, reviewed global market conditions and outlook, according to a statement on the OPEC website.

"The eight participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 137,000 bpd from the 1.65 million bpd additional voluntary adjustments announced in April 2023," the statement said, noting that the global economic outlook is steady, and current market fundamentals are healthy, which is reflected in the low oil inventories.