WELLINGTON — New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday said he received the support of National Party lawmakers after calling a confidence vote on his leadership, following days of speculation that some within the party were seeking to replace him. 

“I moved a formal motion of confidence in my leadership and that motion was passed,” Mr. Luxon said in a prepared statement that he read after a party room meeting. “I have the support of my caucus as their leader. Caucus has answered clearly and decisively and has backed my leadership and that matter is now closed.” 

After reading the statement, Mr. Luxon left the room and refused to answer questions. No details were given on whether the vote in support was unanimous or the size of the majority. 

Mr. Luxon leads the National Party, the biggest party in New Zealand’s three-party ruling coalition, and serves as prime minister. If his party were to replace him as leader, he would also lose the premiership. Confidence votes are rarely aired publicly in New Zealand, where party caucus deliberations are usually secret. In addition, while parties choosing to replace their prime minister are not uncommon in some countries, it has not happened in New Zealand since 1997. 

Mr. Luxon, a former airline executive, has seen both his personal and his party’s popularity fall over the past year as the economy has failed to gain steam, unemployment has remained high and inflation has started to pick up again. Several polls have shown Mr. Luxon’s National Party struggling to exceed 30%, with some polls indicating the ruling coalition might not have the numbers to win an election. 

In a 1News Verian poll released late on Sunday, support for the National Party fell 4 ⁠percentage points to 30% and indicated that if the election were held today, the current coalition government would not win sufficient seats to ⁠retain power. Support for Luxon as the preferred prime minister also fell 4 points to 16%. Support for Chris Hipkins, leader of ⁠the Labor Party and a former prime minister, fell one point to 19%. 

This is a particular concern for lower-ranked National Party lawmakers and those in marginal electorate seats, who fear that if the party can’t turn its fortunes around ahead of a Nov. 7 election, they will lose their jobs. — Reuters 

TOKYO — Japan on Tuesday unveiled its biggest overhaul of defense export rules in decades, scrapping restrictions on overseas arms sales and opening the way for exports of warships, missiles, and other weapons.

The move aimed at strengthening Japan’s defense industrial base marks another step away from the pacifist restraints that have shaped its postwar security policy.

Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are also straining US weapons production, expanding opportunities for Japan. At the same time, US allies in Europe and Asia are looking to diversify suppliers as Washington’s long-held security commitments look less certain under President Donald Trump.

“No single country can now protect its own peace and security alone, and partner countries that support each other in terms of defense equipment are necessary,” Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a post on X.

The revision approved by Ms. Takaichi’s government removes five export categories that had limited most military exports to rescue, transport, warning, surveillance and mine-sweeping equipment. Ministers and officials will instead assess the merits of each proposed sale.

Japan will keep in place three export principles that commit it to strict screening, controls on transfers to third countries and a ban on sales to countries involved in conflict. But in a presentation outlining the changes, the government said exceptions could be made when deemed necessary for national security.

PHILIPPINES WELCOMES SHIFT
Japanese officials and diplomats have told Reuters that countries ranging from Poland to the Philippines are exploring procurement opportunities as they modernize their forces. One of the first deals could be the export of used warships to Manila, two of the sources said.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. welcomed Japan’s rule change, saying in a statement that it would provide access to defense “articles of the highest quality” that would “strengthen domestic resilience” and “contribute to regional stability through deterrence.”

The Philippines, together with Japan’s southwestern island chain, forms part of what military planners call the First Island Chain, a string of islands that hems in China’s access from its coastal waters to the Western Pacific.

As Beijing’s regional influence grows, Manila and Tokyo have deepened security ties. In September they signed an agreement making it easier for their forces to operate in each other’s territory and in January eased rules for exchanging military supplies.

“This historic step will not only enhance the defense capabilities of countries collaborating with the Japan-US alliance but also strengthen our collective capacity to maintain peace throughout the region and safeguard freedom even further,” George Glass, the US Ambassador to Japan, said on X.

JAPAN ALSO BUILDING UP ITS OWN MILITARY
Tokyo hopes defense exports will shore up its industrial base by boosting production volumes, lowering per-unit costs and adding manufacturing capacity it could draw on in a military crisis.

Contractors such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries can build advanced systems including submarines, fighter aircraft, and missiles, but for decades have depended on small orders from a single customer, Japan’s Self-Defense Forces.

“It has driven up costs and inefficiencies. By expanding the markets, they hope to benefit from economies of scale and pump some new life into Japan’s industrial base, especially with many of the smaller companies,” said Jeffrey Hornung, an expert on Japanese security policy at the RAND Corporation.

Japan is pressing ahead with unprecedented efforts to bolster its military – buying missiles, stealth jets and drones it says are needed to deter any threat posed by China, including around its islands near Taiwan.

Beijing has said its intentions in East Asia and elsewhere are peaceful.

Tokyo is also developing a next-generation fighter jet with Britain and Italy for deployment in the mid-2030s, part of a strategy to share development costs and gain access to new technology.

Japan has steadily increased defense spending in recent years to 2% of GDP, and Ms. Takaichi’s government is expected to announce further rises this year when it releases a new security strategy. — Reuters

MYANMAR’S new military-backed government wants to hold peace talks with opposition armed groups by the end of July, the country’s junta leader-turned-president said, but two key rebel groups rejected the offer on Tuesday.

State media reported that President Min Aung Hlaing, who led a coup five years ago that plunged the Southeast Asian country into a civil war that continues to rage, told a government meeting that he wanted rebel groups that were not part of a ceasefire deal to join talks to be held within 100 days.

“For groups that have not yet engaged in dialogue and negotiation, we also invite them to come participate in discussions by the final deadline of July 31,” he said, and mentioned opposition groups such as the Karen National Union, the Chin National Front, and the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front.

Min Aung Hlaing referred to signatories of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in his remarks, a deal that was in place before the 2021 coup threw it into question.

Saw Taw Nee, a spokesperson for the KNU, dismissed the government proposal.

“The KNU has already withdrawn from the NCA since the 2021 coup. We have no plans to return to negotiations or follow the NCA path,” he said.

CNF spokesman Salai Htet Ni said his group was seeking a federal democratic system free of the influence of the military.

“Since we are fighting a military-political battle for this, we have nothing to discuss with those who currently call themselves an ‘administration’ after merely changing their appearance from the military,” he said.

Myanmar has been in turmoil following the coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was subsequently imprisoned for 27 years on charges her allies say were politically motivated. Last week, the government cut the 80-year-old’s sentence by one-sixth.

The parliament elected Min Aung Hlaing as president earlier this month, following a lopsided election that was derided by critics and Western governments as a sham to perpetuate military rule behind a veneer of democracy.

The new military-backed administration has only been recognised by a few countries. — Reuters

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT — Pope Leo sets off on Tuesday for Equatorial Guinea, led by the world’s longest-serving president, on the final leg of a four-nation Africa tour during which the pontiff has issued sharp denunciations of despotism and inequality.

Leo, who has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump with his more outspoken comments, will arrive from Angola, where on Monday he lamented that many people globally were being “exploited by authoritarians and defrauded by the rich.”

His statements were the latest evidence of a forceful new speaking style he has embraced while in Africa.

The first US pope was due to arrive in Malabo, on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, around 11:45 a.m. (1045 GMT), where he will give a speech to the country’s political leaders.

He will meet first with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1979, three years before the Central African country’s only other papal visit, by Pope John Paul II back in 1982.

Leo’s arrival “presents a profound opportunity to affirm, clearly and convincingly, that human dignity, justice, and accountability are not optional, but essential responsibilities of governance,” Tutu Alicante, a US-based human rights lawyer and activist from Equatorial Guinea, told Reuters.

More than 70% of the country’s population of 1.8 million identify as Catholic.

Mr. Obiang, whose government oversaw a now-declining oil boom that began in the 1990s, has been widely criticized as one of the most repressive leaders in the region.

He denies allegations of human rights abuses and corruption.

Leo, who spent decades as a missionary in Peru before becoming pope, is expected to speak Spanish throughout his two-day visit to the former Portuguese and Spanish colony.

POPE TO VISIT PRISON, BLAST SITE
The pope is undertaking an ambitious 10-day Africa tour, one of the most complicated ever conducted by a Catholic leader, with stops in 11 cities and towns in four countries, traversing nearly 18,000 kilometers (11,185 miles) over 18 flights.

Wednesday will be the most intense day of the tour, with the pope taking three flights to visit three cities across Equatorial Guinea.

In Bata, the pope will visit a high-security detention center that Amnesty International has said is one of three notorious facilities in the country where detainees, including political prisoners, are regularly held for years without access to lawyers or their families.

The government dismisses criticism of its justice system and says it has an open democracy.

Mr. Alicante said that while some facilities had been spruced up ahead of Leo’s arrival, there remained a need for comprehensive, lasting reforms.

“The real test will be whether humane conditions, access to medical care, and basic rights are sustained long after the papal visit concludes,” he said.

Leo will also pray in Bata at the site of a series of explosions in 2021 at a military barracks that killed more than 100 people, which the government blamed on poor storage of ordnance.

Human rights activists have called for an independent investigation into the incident, so far in vain. — Reuters

LONDON — King Charles paid a tender tribute to his late mother Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday on what would have been her 100th birthday, saying his “darling Mama” would “remain forever in our hearts and prayers”.

Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning and longest-lived monarch, was born on April 21, 1926, and spent 70 years on the throne before her death in September 2022 at the age of 96.

In a televised statement, Charles said his mother had shaped the world around her, and touched the lives of countless people.

‘MARVELOUS TWINKLE OF THE EYE’

“Today, as we mark what would have been my beloved mother’s 100th birthday, my family and I pause to reflect on the life and loss of a sovereign who meant so much to us all, and to celebrate anew the many blessings of her memory,” he said.

“Millions will remember her for moments of national significance; many others for a fleeting personal encounter, a smile, a kind word that lifted spirits, or for that marvelous twinkle of the eye when sharing a marmalade sandwich with Paddington Bear in the final months of her life.”

Elizabeth was not expected to become queen when she was born, but after her uncle Edward VIII abdicated to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, her father became King George VI when she was 10. She then became queen herself in 1952, aged just 25.

To mark the centenary of her birth, the royal family are carrying out a number of engagements this week. On Monday, Charles and his wife Queen Camilla visited a new exhibition, dedicated to her fashion.

On Tuesday, the king and other royals will visit the British Museum to view the final designs for a national memorial to Elizabeth in London’s St James’s Park, featuring statues of the queen and her late husband Prince Philip.

“The nation will commemorate her extraordinary reign with a memorial that offers a place of reflection for generations to come,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.

Charles’ sister, Princess Anne, will officially open the Queen Elizabeth II Garden in London’s Regent’s Park and the king will host a reception at Buckingham Palace in the evening.

“Much about the times we now live in, I suspect, may have troubled her deeply, but I take heart from her belief that goodness will always prevail and that a brighter dawn is never far from the horizon,” Charles said. “God bless you, darling mama. You remain forever in our hearts and prayers.” — Reuters

CAIRO — Israeli strikes killed at least five Palestinians in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip on Monday, Palestinian health officials said, and fighters from Hamas clashed with gunmen from an Israeli-backed militia, witnesses said.

Medics said one man was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Bureij camp in the central area of the enclave, while another strike killed one person and wounded others in Gaza City.

Later on Monday, an Israeli airstrike killed at least three people in western Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, health officials at the territory’s Nasser Hospital said.

The five deaths were the latest violence to overshadow the US-brokered ceasefire deal signed in October after two years of full-blown war between Israel and Hamas. Progress has stalled on parts of the deal, which include the disarmament of Hamas and Israeli army pullouts.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on either incident.

The ceasefire that began last October left Israeli troops in control of a depopulated zone that makes up well over half of Gaza, with Hamas controlling the narrow coastal strip that remains.

More than 750 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire deal took effect, according to local medics, while Israel says militants have killed four of its soldiers. Israel and Hamas have traded blame for ceasefire violations.

Israel says it aims to thwart attacks by Hamas and other militant factions.

MILITIA INCURSION

Also on Monday, residents and sources close to Hamas said members of an Israeli-backed militia operating in an area under Israeli control clashed with Palestinian fighters after crossing into a Hamas-run area east of Khan Younis.

As the militiamen tried to retreat, a Hamas fighter fired an anti-tank grenade towards their vehicle, some residents and a Hamas source said. An explosion was heard, but there was no word about casualties.

A video, verified by Reuters, showed gunmen apparently from the militia dressed in black uniforms and clutching AK assault rifles arriving at a Hamas-run area in eastern Khan Younis before shooting is heard.

In a video, which Reuters couldn’t immediately authenticate, Hussam Alastal, the leader of the armed men who crossed into the Hamas-held territory, said his gunmen were on a mission to distribute food and cigarettes to Khan Younis residents before Hamas fighters opened fire against them.

Mr. Alastal said one of his men was killed and he threatened Hamas, which brands groups such as his as Israeli collaborators, with more incursions that would seize territory.

A Hamas security official said fighters confronted Alastal’s gunmen after they stormed civilian territory east of Khan Younis, endangering the lives of displaced families.

The emergence of the groups, though they remain small and localized, has added to pressures on Islamist Hamas and could complicate efforts to stabilize and unify a divided and shattered Gaza. The groups remain unpopular as they operate under Israeli control. — Reuters

DUBAI/WASHINGTON — Iran is considering attending peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, following moves by Islamabad to end a US blockade of Iran’s ports, a significant obstacle to Tehran rejoining peace efforts as the end of a two-week ceasefire approaches.

However, the official stressed that no decision had been made and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “continued violations of the ceasefire” by the US are a major obstacle to continuing the diplomatic process.

Mr. Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in a telephone call that Iran, while taking all aspects of the matter into account, had yet to decide how to proceed further.

On Monday night, Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf accused US President Donald Trump on X of increasing pressure on Tehran through the blockade and ceasefire violations, saying Iran rejects negotiations under threat.

The two-week ceasefire in a conflict that has killed thousands and roiled the global economy, particularly energy markets, is set to expire this week.

It had appeared to be in jeopardy after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Tehran vowed to retaliate.

In the Islamabad talks, Mr. Trump is eager for a deal that would help avoid another surge in oil prices and plunge in stock markets. Iran hopes to leverage its control of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping channel for global energy supplies, to get an agreement that prevents a resumption of the war, and allows financial relief from long-running sanctions and some breathing room for its nuclear program.

Adding to the uncertainty, Vice President JD Vance remained in the United States on Monday, a separate source told Reuters, denying reports he was already on his way to Pakistan for talks.

The unnamed senior Iranian official said Tehran was “positively reviewing” its participation, a shift from earlier statements ruling out attendance and pledging to retaliate for US aggression.

The official said mediator Pakistan was making positive efforts to end the US blockade and ensure Iran’s participation.

Mr. Trump announced the two-week ceasefire with Iran on April 7, and has not specified when precisely it ends.

A Pakistani source involved in the talks said it would expire at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, which would be midnight GMT or 3:30 a.m. Thursday in Iran.

Mr. Trump said on social media that he believed his administration’s nuclear deal with Iran would be better than a 2015 international agreement reached after years of negotiations under then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat.

Mr. Trump withdrew from that agreement – which had been vehemently opposed by congressional Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – in 2018, during his first term as president.

It was unclear what kind of agreement could be reached in just a few days of talks, but the Republican US president predicted a quick result.

“I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!” Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post.

BLOCKADE POSES A PROBLEM

A Pakistani security source said Pakistani mediator Field Marshal Asim Munir had told Mr. Trump the blockade was an obstacle to talks, and that Mr. Trump had promised to consider ending it.

The US was hoping to start negotiations in Pakistan shortly before the ceasefire expires.

However, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that “unconstructive & contradictory signals from American officials carry a bitter message; they seek Iran’s surrender.”

“Iranians do not submit to force,” he added on X.

The US has maintained its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply.

Oil prices rose around 5% as traders remained fearful that the ceasefire would collapse. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a virtual standstill with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data.

US MARINES BOARD IRANIAN VESSEL

The US military said it had fired on an Iranian-flagged cargo ship headed towards Iran’s Bandar Abbas port on Sunday after a standoff. US Central Command released video showing Marines descending ropes from helicopters onto the vessel.

The vessel is likely to have been carrying what Washington deems dual-use items that could be used by the military, maritime security sources said on Monday.

Iran’s military said the ship had been traveling from China and accused the US of “armed piracy”, according to state media. They said they were ready to confront US forces over the “blatant aggression”, but were constrained by the presence of crew members’ families on board.

China, the main buyer of Iranian crude, expressed concern over the “forced interception”, and Chinese President Xi Jinping called for ships to resume passage through the strait as normal and for the conflict to be resolved through political and diplomatic channels, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Mr. Trump warned on Sunday that the US would destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if it rejected his terms, continuing a recent pattern of such threats.

Iran has said that if the United States were to attack its civilian infrastructure, it would strike power stations and desalination plants in its Gulf Arab neighbors.

PREPARING FOR TALKS THAT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN

Pakistan geared up to host the talks despite uncertainty over whether they would go ahead. Nearly 20,000 security personnel have been deployed across Islamabad, a government official and a security official said.

Thousands of people have been killed by US-Israeli strikes on Iran and in an Israeli invasion of Lebanon conducted in parallel since the war began on February 28. A truce in Lebanon is also currently in place and Washington is to host a second round of ambassador-level talks between Lebanon and Israel on Thursday as part of efforts to protect a fragile ceasefire. — Reuters