A North Korean soldier clad in a super-tight blue outfit in a state media photo has generated a buzz on social media, with some calling him "a superhero," "a captain DPRK," or "a rocket man."

He was among nearly 30 soldiers who posed for a photo with leader Kim Jong Un during an exhibition of weapons systems on Monday. North Korea published photos of the event the following day.

Raúl Isaías Baduel, a former Venezuelan defense minister and ally-turned-critic of the late President Hugo Chávez, died from COVID-19 while in prison, where he had been awaiting trial since 2017 for alleged links to a purported plot to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, the government said Tuesday.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the death of the 66-year-old Baduel on Twitter, saying that "we convey our condolences to his family and friends."

China's recent increase in military exercises and warplane missions near Taiwan — which have raised concerns around the region — were necessary to defend the nation's sovereignty and territory, a Chinese official said Wednesday.

China's military flew 56 planes off the southwest coast of Taiwan on a single day earlier this month, a single-day record that capped four days of a sustained pressure campaign involving 149 flights. All were in international airspace, but the display raised fears that any misstep could provoke an unintended escalation in the region.

Osman Touré was crying from the pain of repeated beatings and torture as he dialed his brother's cellphone number.

"I'm in prison in Libya," Touré said in that August 2017 call. "They will kill me if you don't pay 2,500 dinars in 24 hours."

Lebanon secured their first win in the final round of the FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Tuesday as they edged Syria 3-2 in Amman.

Following the result, Lebanon are now on five points from four matches, three behind second place South Korea, who drew 1-1 against Iran in an empty stadium in Tehran.

Iraq's Shiite militias that often serve as a proxy for neighboring Iran have taken a beating in Iraq's election, while a Shiite cleric who set himself apart by taking a more nationalistic approach has emerged as Iraq's strongest political figure.

The results underscore growing divisions over Iran's heavy-handed influence in the country, weakening Iran's allies as it seeks to revive its nuclear deal with world powers and engage with its regional rival, Saudi Arabia.

Two U.S. Postal Service workers were fatally shot Tuesday at a postal facility in Memphis and a third employee identified as the shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities said. It was the third high-profile shooting in or near that west Tennessee city in weeks.

U.S. Postal Inspector Susan Link said the three postal workers were found dead after the shooting at the East Lamar Carrier Annex in a prominent Memphis neighborhood. FBI spokeswoman Lisa-Anne Culp said the shooting was carried out by a third postal service worker, who shot him or herself.

A strong earthquake jolted the Greek island of Crete on Tuesday, two weeks and a day after another temblor killed a man and damaged hundreds of buildings.

The Geodynamic Institute in Athens said the undersea earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.3 and occurred at 12:24 p.m. local time (9:24 a.m. GMT) off the island's eastern coast.

Iran has arrested 10 people in a southern province it says are linked to foreign intelligence services, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday.

The report said Iran's intelligence agency arrested the 10 after "sophisticated and continuous" surveillance in Bushehr province. It didn't name the countries the suspects were linked to.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will for the first time as premier meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later this month, with Iran at the top of the agenda.

Bennett will travel Oct. 22 to meet Putin in the seaside resort city of Sochi, Russia, to discuss political, security and economic issues, including the Iran nuclear program. Israel and Russia have long kept the diplomatic door open.