A US Navy and Coast Guard operation on Tuesday rescued three mariners stranded on a tiny Pacific Ocean islet for more than a week after the trio spelled out “HELP” using palm fronds laid on a white-sand beach. The mission also unexpectedly turned into a family reunion. The three men had been planning to fish the waters around the Pikelot ...

Ukraine’s parliament has scrapped plans to give soldiers who have spent prolonged periods fighting on the frontlines the chance to return home on rotation, after passing a draft law seeking to boost the number of soldiers in its military. Ukrainian lawmakers have for months debated whether to allow the longest-serving of Ukraine’s soldiers the chance to return home, or whether ...

Three sons of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza Wednesday, with Haniyeh insisting their deaths would not affect ongoing ceasefire and hostage talks. Four of Haniyeh’s grandchildren were also killed in the attack, according to Hamas, which comes amid fresh efforts in Cairo to bring a temporary halt to months of fighting. Haniyeh ...

The death of a toddler from extreme heat highlighted the risk of climate-related illnesses across Malaysia. The same week, Vietnam declared a state of emergency after abnormally high temperatures in the south dried up entire rice fields. And in the Philippines, hundreds of schools suspended classes after daily temperatures soared past 107 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). Sweltering heat is ...

China’s highest-level visit to North Korea in nearly five years is set to get underway Thursday, as Pyongyang seeks to strengthen relations with both Beijing and Moscow amid growing coordination between its neighbors and the United States. Zhao Leji, China’s third-highest ranked official, will lead a delegation for a “goodwill visit” to the country to kickstart a “friendship year” marking ...

Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic and disturbing accounts of sexual violence. It was originally published on November 17, 2023, and updated on April 10, 2024, with additional information concerning the account of an attack on a kibbutz. Israeli police are using forensic evidence, video and witness testimony and interrogations of suspects to document cases of rape amid the October 7 ...

Latin America has seen plenty of diplomatic wrestling in recent weeks, from Argentina’s president calling his Colombian counterpart “a terrorist murderer” to Venezuela’s latest attempt to take back a territory ruled by neighboring Guyana. But none of that has been quite as hands-on as Ecuador’s highly controversial decision to raid Mexico’s embassy – a major violation of diplomatic norms that continues to reverberate across the region. Surveillance ...

“He is in a hole, without light,” the source said. On Monday, Glas was hospitalized after refusing to eat food provided to him in prison, Ecuador’s national prison agency SNAI said. He returned to prison on Tuesday after being discharged from the hospital. Glas was first imprisoned on Saturday, a day after Ecuadorian police arrested him in Mexico’s embassy, where ...

Hamas has indicated it is currently unable to identify and track down 40 Israeli hostages needed for the first phase of a ceasefire deal, according to an Israeli official and a source familiar with the discussions, raising fears that more hostages may be dead than are publicly known. The framework that has been laid out by negotiators says that during ...

The icy plains of Antarctica are a magnet for meteorite hunters such as Maria Valdes, a research scientist at the Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Chicago. Some 1,000 space rocks are found in the region each year. Their dark hue is easy to spot in the white expanse. “Antarctica, a desert of ice, provides an ideal background ...