Israel's unlikely coalition government, the first ever backed by an Arab party, was forged a year ago to oust right-wing premier Benjamin Netanyahu, but ultimately collapsed over the Palestinian conflict.

As a result, Israel looks headed for new elections -- the fifth in less than four years -- and the threat of widening fissures between the groups that made up the eight-party "change" alliance.

The headlines on the newsstands in Seoul blared fresh warnings of a possible nuclear test by North Korea.

Out on the sidewalks, 28-year-old office worker Lee Jae Sang already had an opinion about how to respond to North Korea's fast-growing capacity to lob nuclear bombs across borders and oceans.

MPs from the Lebanese Forces, al-Kataeb and the "Change" group have said their parties are leaning towards naming Former President of the United Nations Security Council Nawaf Salam as a PM in the binding consultations on Thursday.

"We have met Salam and discussed our program with him, and we are almost unanimous in naming him," MP Waddah al-Sadek said Tuesday.

China ramped up crude oil imports from Russia in May, customs data showed Monday, helping to offset losses from Western nations scaling back Russian energy purchases over the invasion of Ukraine.

On Taiwan's tiny Penghu islands, the missile bases that sit next to white-sand beaches and bustling fish markets are a visceral reminder of the constant threat of attack from China.

Despite the huge military discrepancy between the two sides, many analysts believe Taiwan's location, inhospitable terrain and US support mean China would find a full-scale invasion extremely hard -- and possibly too costly to countenance. 

Ukraine's request to join the European Union may advance Friday with a recommendation from the EU's executive arm that the war-torn country deserves to become a candidate for membership in the 27-nation bloc.

The European Commission's endorsement, while only a tentative step on a path that could take decades to complete, would send a strong symbol of solidarity with Ukraine and further test the EU's united front against Russia amid the invasion of its neighbor.

In the video, a man stands in front of a blackboard in a full classroom, teaching the parts of an AK-47 rifle. He then hands it over to a boy, showing him how to cock it.

Other children crowd around, many who appear to be no older than 10, asking for their turn. The video, leaked online this month, provides a rare window into child soldier indoctrination by Yemen's Houthi rebels. Local residents confirmed to The Associated Press that it was filmed in recent weeks in Yemen's rebel-held province of Amran, northwest of the capital, Sanaa.

Israel marked a major escalation in its years-long campaign of airstrikes in Syria, carrying out an attack last week that shut down the country's main civilian airport in Damascus as Israel steps up efforts to stop Iranian weapons shipments to Hezbollah.

Commercial flights were still halted at Damascus International Airport five days after Friday's pre-dawn airstrikes smashed into its runways, leaving multiple craters, and damaged the air control tower and other buildings.

The European Union wants to strengthen its energy cooperation with Israel in light of Russia's use of gas supplies to "blackmail" its members over the Ukraine conflict, the European Commission chief said.

Iran has started removing 27 surveillance cameras installed by U.N. inspectors at nuclear sites around the country, widening a dispute over Tehran's program as it enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.

Here's a timeline of the major events involving Iran's atomic program, which first came to the country under American aspirations of peaceful energy but later found itself the target of Western fears over the Islamic Republic's intentions.