Security guarantees. It’s the phrase Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky used countless times during an explosive clash with US President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance at the White House last week – and since. How can Ukraine be assured that Russian President Vladimir Putin would abide by any ceasefire deal – and not resume fighting in a year or two, ...
Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin has initiated proceedings to dismiss the country’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, accusing her of abusing her authority to undermine the government’s policies and destabilize Israel’s rule of law. Right-wing Israeli politicians have long called for her dismissal. The controversial move, announced Wednesday, has prompted a fierce backlash from opposition leaders, who ...
Mehdi Yarrahi, an Iranian singer and musician known for his song encouraging women to remove their hijabs, was lashed 74 times as part of his punishment for supporting the protests that swept the country, his lawyer said Wednesday. The punishment was “fully and completely implemented,” his attorney, Zahra Minoui, said in a post on X. Yarrahi, 42, was arrested in ...
A Chinese PhD student was found guilty Wednesday in a London court of drugging and raping 10 women in England and China, as police warned there could be more than 50 other victims. Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the attacks between 2019 and 2023 following a monthlong trial at the Inner London Crown Court. He was convicted of 11 ...
The Vatican appears to have modified its position against gender-affirming surgery and “gender theory” last year, raising the possibility of “exceptional situations.” This week the Vatican published a speech by doctrine chief Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández where he said, “there are cases outside the norm, such as strong dysphorias that can lead to an unbearable existence or even suicide. These ...
The US government will stop sharing air quality data gathered from its embassies and consulates, worrying local scientists and experts who say the effort was vital to monitor global air quality and improve public health. In response to an inquiry from The Associated Press, the State Department said Wednesday that its air quality monitoring program would no longer transmit air ...
European leaders will once again try to grasp control of negotiations over the war in Ukraine on Thursday, in an increasingly frantic tug-of-war against the US and Russia that could be nearing a climax. Heads of the 27 European Union (EU) nations are meeting at a special summit in Brussels to discuss a path forward in the conflict. But some ...
China’s warships are turning up in unexpected places and alarming US allies. Is this the new normal?
Chinese warships have been circumnavigating Australia’s coastline for more than three weeks, passing within 200 miles of Sydney, and staging unprecedented live-fire drills on its doorstep with New Zealand. The exercises, which came without formal notice, has deep caused consternation in both nations. Suddenly, the specter of China’s military power was suddenly no longer confined to the distant waters of ...
South Korean fighter jets accidentally bombed homes during a live-fire drill with US forces, injuring more than a dozen people, Seoul’s military said on Thursday. Eight MK-82 general-purpose bombs were “abnormally dropped” from two KF-16 fighter jets and landed outside the designated firing range at approximately 10:07 a.m. local time, hitting civilian infrastructure in Pocheon city, northeast of the capital ...
Arab leaders on Tuesday endorsed Egypt’s postwar plan for the Gaza Strip that would allow its roughly 2 million Palestinians to remain, in a counterproposal to US President Donald Trump’s plan to depopulate the territory and redevelop it as a beach destination. It was unclear if Israel or the United States would accept the Egyptian plan whose endorsement by Arab ...