US PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump sued the New York Times (NYT), four of its reporters, and publisher Penguin Random House for at least $15 billion on Monday, claiming defamation and libel, and citing reputational damage, a Florida court filing showed.

Mr. Trump’s suit cites a series of New York Times articles, one an editorial prior to the 2024 presidential election, which said he was unfit for office, and a 2024 book published by Penguin titled Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.

“Defendants maliciously published the Book and the Articles knowing that these publications were filled with repugnant distortions and fabrications about President Trump,” according to the filing lodged on Monday in the US District Court, Middle District Florida.

The New York Times and Penguin did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

The publications have harmed Mr. Trump’s business and personal reputation, thereby causing massive economic damage to his brand value and significant damage to his future financial prospects, Mr. Trump’s lawyers said in the filing.

“The harm to the value of TMTG (Trump Media and Technology Group) stock is one example of how the Defendants’ defamation has injured President Trump,” said his lawyers, citing “a precipitous decline in the stock price.”

TMTG stock has been under pressure in recent months fueled by worries about the end of a so-called lock-up period related to its stock market debut in March.

The filing comes after Mr. Trump threatened last week to sue the New York Times for its reporting on an allegedly sexually suggestive note and drawing given to Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr. Epstein, the disgraced financier and sex offender, died by suicide in a New York jail cell in 2019.

Mr. Trump has said he parted ways with Mr. Epstein before the financier’s legal troubles became public in 2006.

“Today, I have the Great Honor of bringing a $15 Billion Dollar Defamation and Libel Lawsuit against The New York Times,” Mr. Trump said earlier on Monday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

In his post, Mr. Trump accused the paper of lying about him, his family and businesses, as well as Republican-led movements and ideologies such as the America First Movement, and Make America Great Again, or MAGA.

In his second term, Mr. Trump has intensified his crackdown against media companies. Earlier this year he sued the Wall Street Journal and its owners, including Rupert Murdoch, for at least $10 billion over the newspaper’s report that his name was on a 2003 birthday greeting for Mr. Epstein.

In July, CBS parent company Paramount agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Mr. Trump alleging that the CBS news program 60 Minutes deceptively edited an interview with former Vice-President Kamala Harris that the network broadcast in October. — Reuters

TOKYO — Japan’s farm minister and the chief government spokesperson entered the race on Tuesday to lead the ruling party, pledging their candidacies in a vote set for early next month to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Mr. Ishiba announced his resignation this month to take responsibility for a series of bruising election losses that have made harder the task of choosing a leader for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Farm Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told a press conference he had informed supporters over the weekend of his intention to run for the role of LDP leader, with Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato set to spearhead his campaign operation.

The son of former Premier Junichiro Koizumi had some success this year in his task of curbing soaring prices of rice.

Mr. Kato, who secured the fewest votes in the LDP’s previous leadership contest in September last year, told a separate press conference he would back Mr. Koizumi this time, in the spirit of “unifying the party.”

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, who has served as the Ishiba government’s top spokesperson, declared his candidacy on X, with a formal press conference set for 12:30 p.m. (0330 GMT).

“I aim to lead a new administration that balances stability and growth,” Mr. Hayashi posted.

Former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was the first to throw his hat in the ring last week, followed by Former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi.

Also expected to announce her candidacy this week is former Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi, a proponent of government stimulus and monetary easing who could become Japan’s first female leader.

The choice of Japan’s next leader is more complicated than before as the LDP, which has ruled for most of the post-war period, and its coalition partner Komeito, lost their majorities in both houses of parliament during Mr. Ishiba’s tenure. — Reuters

KATHMANDU — Nepal’s deadliest protests in decades erupted just as the country entered its peak tourist season, dealing a blow to businesses that had been preparing to welcome trekkers from around the globe to experience its world-famous trails.

Shops, pubs and restaurants lining the neatly organized alleys of places like Thamel — Kathmandu’s bustling tourist hub — remained largely deserted, even after reopening in the aftermath of a violent anti-corruption protest that left 72 dead over 2,000 injured and forced former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign.

Nepal’s tourism authority, hotel owners and trek organizers said arrivals had fallen by 30% from this time last year, leading to bookings being cancelled.

“I am sitting outside idle because there are no tourists… Many groups have cancelled in September,” said 49-year-old Ram Chandra Giri, who arranges trekking expeditions and owns a Japanese restaurant.

He said 35% of his guests had cancelled their bookings.

Renu Baniya, a hotel owner, said all bookings had been completely cancelled for the next month.

COUNTRIES ADVISED AGAINST NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL
Foreign tourists usually start treks from the capital, but Tuesday’s dramatic images of a burning parliament and Hilton Hotel led many countries to issue advisories to avoid non-essential travel to Nepal.

The country receives 1.2 million annual tourist visits, and the sector contributes almost 8% of gross domestic product. September to December is considered the peak tourist season.

Nepal’s trekking trails include the base camp of the world’s highest mountain Mount Everest, drawing adventurers to the heart of the Himalayas.

Damage to government buildings and a few hotels “might give a negative message not only to visitors but to investors as well,” Deepak Raj Joshi, the chief executive officer of Nepal’s Tourism Board told Reuters.

He said tourist arrivals are down 30% from usual and in the last few days, the cancellation rate stood at 8%-10%.

HOPES FOR RETURN OF TOURISTS
As calm returned in Nepal under the newly appointed interim government led by Sushila Karki, parts of Kathmandu still carry the lingering smell of smoke, with authorities continuing to clear debris from charred buildings and torched vehicles.

Nepalese authorities and business owners remain hopeful of tourists returning, even as the stability of the government remains in question with elections set for March 5, 2026.

“We have to be very honest while communicating… if the situation is not good, the industry will never say visit us,” Tourism Board’s Joshi said.

Some foreign tourists, who continued to stay in Nepal, said they felt safe.

“Our family and friends asked us to come back. But we never had any insecurity,” 55-year-old Franz from Germany, who was in Nepal during the protest, told Reuters. — Reuters

China’s coast guard said it had taken “control measures” in intercepting Philippine vessels at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, site of years of standoffs between the two countries.

WHAT’S THE SHOAL’S SIGNIFICANCE?
Named after a British ship grounded on the atoll nearly three centuries ago, the Scarborough Shoal is one of Asia’s most contested maritime features and a flashpoint for diplomatic flare-ups over sovereignty and fishing rights.

Located 200 kilometers (124 miles) off the Philippines and inside its exclusive economic zone, the shoal is coveted for its bountiful fish stocks and a stunning turquoise lagoon that provides safe haven for vessels during storms. It is named Huangyan Island by Beijing, while Manila calls it the Panatag Shoal, or Bajo de Masinloc.

Its position is strategic for Beijing, sitting in the middle of the South China Sea and near shipping lanes carrying more than $3 trillion of annual commerce. Activities there are closely watched by the United States and other major powers.

WHAT IS CHINA PLANNING?
China has approved creation of a nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal that it says is to preserve a 3,524-hectare (8,708-acre) coral reef ecosystem. It would cover the entire northeastern side of the triangle-shaped atoll, with close proximity to the sole entrance for larger vessels.

The announcement drew a strong reaction from the Philippines, which for years has accused China of activities that damage coral and marine life, including clam harvesting. The Philippines is exploring the possibility of further international arbitration over environmental issues. Beijing has made similar accusations against Manila.

China may face scepticism and international concern about its underlying motives. There have long been expectations China might one day build a manmade island on Scarborough Shoal, as it has on seven submerged reefs in the Spratly Islands, some equipped with radar, runways and missile systems.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the plan “destabilising” and “coercive” and said the United States stood with the Philippines.

WHO DOES IT BELONG TO?
The Philippines and China lay claim to the Scarborough Shoal but sovereignty has never been established and it is effectively under Beijing’s control. Filipino boats operate there but, are dwarfed by China’s presence.

China seized the shoal in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippines and has since maintained a deployment there of coast guard and fishing trawlers. Manila has said some of the trawlers at the shoal and other disputed areas of the South China Sea are operated by Chinese maritime militia, which Beijing has never acknowledged.

A landmark ruling on various South China Sea issues by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 favoured Manila but establishing sovereignty over Scarborough Shoal was not within its scope. The ruling said Beijing’s blockade there violated international law as it was a traditional fishing ground for several countries, including China, the Philippines and Vietnam.

WHAT’S THE RISK OF CONFLICT?
Tensions have simmered for a while at the shoal and multiple incidents in recent years have caused diplomatic rows, but none escalated into armed conflict.

The incidents have included the use of water cannon, boat-ramming and what the Philippines considers dangerously-close manoeuvres by China’s coast guard, and jets shadowing Philippine aircraft over the shoal. Both sides accuse each other of provocations and trespassing.

Standing up to Beijing might score points for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at home and abroad, but his coast guard is under-equipped and no match for China’s armada. Deployment of combat vessels could be a red line neither side wants to cross.

A deterrent might be the United States, which has taken its defence alliance with the Philippines to a new level under Marcos. Any kind of military response by China would increase the stakes considerably.

The Philippines and United States have a 1951 Mutual Defence Treaty under which Washington would defend its ally in the event of attack, a commitment U.S. defence chiefs reinforce often. Marcos successfully lobbied for more specificity in the treaty, which now covers attacks “anywhere in the South China Sea”.

WHAT HAVE EXPERTS SAID OF THE NATURE RESERVE?
Yang Xiao, a maritime expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said in a video on a social media account linked to China’s state broadcaster that the nature reserve plan and demarcation was sound and the shoal worthy of ecological protection.

There are clear regulations that would enable protection and allow the coast guard to enforce those, Yang said, which “reflects the gradual improvement of our jurisdiction and governance over this sea area”. He also accused Filipino fishermen of catching endangered species and polluting waters.

Maritime analyst Jay Batongbacal of the University of the Philippines said China’s move was a ploy to justify what he called aggressive and coercive actions, which could result in fishermen arrested and used as bargaining chips. — Reuters