Ursula von der Leyen has been reelected to a second five-year term as president of the European Commission after a vote by EU lawmakers, as the continent’s mainstream seeks to reassert itself in the face of a resurgent far right. In an earlier pitch to the European parliament in Strasbourg, France, von der Leyen on Thursday pledged to invest in ...

The Biden administration received another rebuff from Israel Wednesday night – this time from the country’s parliament – over the United States’ long-standing support for the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been US policy for decades, but absent negotiations between the two sides, and a lack of sustained effort by the ...

The daughter of Dubai’s ruler has apparently announced her divorce on social media in what would be a rare move for a princess in the United Arab Emirates. The Instagram account of Sheikha Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the daughter of UAE Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced her intention to leave her ...

As Ukraine grows bolder in striking targets deep inside Russia, Moscow has quietly upped the security measures around President Vladmir Putin’s country residence north of Moscow. Satellite images have revealed that several Pantsir-S1 air defense systems have been installed in the vicinity of the presidential residence on Lake Valdai in Novgorod region. The Valdai residence could be a high-profile target, ...

United Nations agencies say that a new round of evacuation orders by the Israeli military in Gaza has prompted the largest displacements since October – making the delivery of emergency rations even more difficult than previously. The World Food Programme said in a post on X Thursday: “Many distribution points have had to shut down. Only a few bakeries remain ...

Just hours before the black SUVs carrying dozens of European leaders crunched across the gravel of Blenheim Palace on Thursday, Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance put the US’s foreign partners on notice. “Together we will make our allies share in the burden of securing world peace,” he said at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “No more free rides for nations ...

French lawmakers reelected Yaël Braun-Pivet as president of the National Assembly Thursday, overcoming a political deadlock after the hung parliament of July’s parliamentary elections. Braun-Pivet, a lawmaker from French President Emmanuel Macron’s own centrist party, also served as the last assembly president. But her reelection was far from assured, after her party lost seats and political dominance earlier this month. ...

Huge protests across Bangladesh escalated into deadly violence this week with clashes between students, pro-government supporters and armed police fueling widespread anger over civil service job quotas opponents say are discriminatory. Dozens of people have reportedly been killed and hundreds injured in the violence, which has seen riot police use tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters and crowds of demonstrators armed with sticks ...

An explosion near the US Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv that killed at least one person early Friday is being investigated as a possible drone attack, according to Israeli authorities. The blast, which occurred in a central district home to a number of diplomatic missions, killed a 50-year-old man and injured at least eight others, Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) ...

America’s two most powerful allies in the Pacific are taking their defense ties to new heights amid increasing concerns over China’s assertiveness in the region and North Korean threats, Japan’s top general said Thursday. Before a trilateral meeting with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. CQ Brown and South Korean Adm. Kim Myung-soo, Japanese Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida said China ...