DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian government forces have taken control of a base in the east of the country that was run for years by U.S. troops as part of the war against the Islamic State group, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday. The al-Tanf base sits on a strategic location, close to […]
BRUSSELS (AP) — European allies at NATO on Thursday brushed aside concerns that the United States has stepped back from its leadership role of the world’s biggest security organization, leaving them and Canada to do the lion’s share of defending Europe. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not attend Thursday’s gathering of defense ministers at […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog was due to end a contentious four-day visit to Australia on Thursday that brought comfort to Sydney’s Jewish community traumatized by a recent antisemitic mass shooting, but also attracted large-scale demonstrations protesting the civilian toll of the Gaza war. Herzog has been dogged by protesters who label […]
HONG KONG (AP) — Asia shares were mostly higher Thursday and benchmarks in Japan and South Korea reached new records after Wall Street wobbled following a better-than-expected U.S. job report. U.S. futures edged higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 surpassed the 58,000 mark early in the session as trading resumed after a holiday. By midday, it was […]
LIMA, Peru (AP) — The Trump administration on Wednesday expressed concern that China was costing Peru its sovereignty in solidifying control over the South American nation’s critical infrastructure, a blunt warning after a Peruvian court ruling restricted a local regulator’s oversight of a Chinese-built mega port. The $1.3 billion deepwater port in Chancay, north of […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The death toll from a crackdown over Iran’s nationwide protests has reached at least 7,002 people killed with many more still feared dead, activists said Thursday. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which offered the latest figures, has been accurate in previous rounds of unrest in Iran and […]
HAVANA (AP) — The Cuban peso hit an all-time low Wednesday against the U.S. dollar in Cuba’s widely used informal market, reflecting a deepening crisis as the Trump administration’s restrictions on oil imports further choke the island’s economy. The currency hit 500 pesos to the dollar in informal channels, according to the independent news website […]
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The United States is sending troops to Nigeria to help train the West African nation’s military in fighting extremism, Nigerian authorities said Wednesday, as a multifaceted security crisis spreads in the north of the country. The American personnel won’t engage in combat or have a direct operational role, and Nigerian forces […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The United States government on Wednesday further asserted its self-appointed role in turning around Venezuela’s dilapidated oil industry with the arrival of Energy Secretary Chris Wright to the South American country for a firsthand assessment. Wright’s visit comes as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump continues to lift sanctions to […]
VANCOUVER, Canada (AP) — Canadians were in shock Wednesday after one of the country’s deadliest mass shootings as authorities said seven people were killed at a school in remote northern British Columbia and two others were killed at a nearby home. A woman that police believed was the shooter was found dead, apparently from a […]
MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow will observe the limits of the last nuclear arms pact with the United States that expired last week as long as it sees that Washington is doing the same, Russia’s top diplomat said Wednesday. The New START treaty expired Feb. 5, leaving no restrictions on the two largest atomic arsenals for […]
BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were moderately higher in Asia on Wednesday after U.S. stocks drifted to a mixed finish following a discouraging report on how much money U.S. retailers made during the holidays. U.S. futures edged higher and prices of gold, silver and oil also advanced. Markets were closed in Japan for a holiday. Chinese […]
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Make that seven straight races without a medal for Mikaela Shiffrin at the Winter Olympics. The American skiing standout was given the ideal platform to win the new team combined event after partner Breezy Johnson led the opening downhill leg on Tuesday. Shiffrin was the last racer out in the […]
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Manila’s top envoy to Washington expressed confidence Tuesday that the United States will not abandon the Philippines as it fights Beijing’s assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea — even as Donald Trump and Xi Jinping seek more direct talks to resolve differences. Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Manuel Romualdez welcomed […]
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading to Washington on Tuesday to encourage President Donald Trump to expand the scope of high-stakes nuclear talks with Iran. The negotiations resumed last week against the backdrop of an American military buildup. Israel has long called for Iran to cease all uranium enrichment, dial […]
HONG KONG (AP) — In China, consumerism appears to outweigh nationalism regardless of how testy relations have become in recent diplomatic spats with countries like Japan and the United States. It has been common practice for the ruling Communist Party to whip up nationalist sentiment and deploy propaganda condemning countries deemed to be violating China’s […]
TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday as Japan’s benchmark topped new highs after a historic election win for the nation’s first female prime minister. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.6% to 57,821.58. The index recorded a 3.9% jump to a record Monday, a day after the landslide victory for Sanae Takaichi’s political […]
LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — As the Winter Olympics opened in Milan, Vice President JD Vance hailed the competition as “one of the few things that unites the entire country.” That unity didn’t last long. The early days of the Milan Cortina Games have been roiled by the tumultuous political debate in the U.S. American athletes […]
LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu, two Olympic standouts who have faced their share of hate over the years, each weighed in Monday on Donald Trump’s bashing of their friend, American freeskier Hunter Hess, for having said he didn’t back the U.S. president’s heightened crackdown on immigrants. “I think in moments like […]
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership is on the rocks amid an expanding scandal over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. despite the veteran politician’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Some believe the recent release of the Epstein files, which suggest damaging and embarrassing new details about the close […]
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Vice President JD Vance landed in Armenia on Monday — a country that no sitting U.S. vice president or president has visited before — as the Trump administration looks to advance a U.S.-brokered deal aimed at ending a decades-long conflict with Azerbaijan. The vice president and his wife, Usha, were greeted […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian security forces have launched a campaign to arrest figures within the country’s reformist movement, reports said Monday. That widens a crackdown on dissent after authorities earlier put down nationwide protests in violence that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands more detained. Detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges […]
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Monday said one of her closest allies was kidnapped hours after being released from prison. The government had released several prominent opposition members from prison Sunday after lengthy politically motivated detentions. Machado said on social media that Juan Pablo Guanipa was taken around midnight […]
BANGKOK (AP) — Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 share index jumped 4.5% on Monday after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s governing party secured a two-thirds supermajority in a parliamentary election. Takaichi is expected to pursue market-friendly policies. She told public broadcaster NHK later that she is ready to pursue policies to make Japan strong and prosperous. Markets […]
