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The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on Russia-based people and entities working to help procure weapons and commodities — including stolen Ukrainian grain — for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, the Treasury Department said. The operatives, who included Russia-based Afghan businessman Hushang Ghairat and his brother, Russia-based Afghan businessman Sohrab Ghairat, helped
Politics
Who is Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, who is reportedly heading to Washington for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration? What is his job? Dmitriev, 49, the chief of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund since 2011, was appointed in
Live News
Niger’s junta said Tuesday it had freed around 50 people, including ministers from the government it toppled in July 2023, in line with recommendations of a “national conference” in February. Those freed include former ministers, a diplomat, a journalist and soldiers accused of a coup bid in 2010. However
Live News
The Senate confirmed Matt Whitaker late Tuesday as President Donald Trump’s US ambassador to NATO, a crucial emissary to the Western alliance at a time of growing concern about the American commitment abroad. Whitaker, who had served in Trump’s first administration at the Justice Department, brings a law
News
Donald Trump’s second presidency was dealt a spinning blow by voters in Wisconsin Tuesday as they elected a liberal to the state’s Supreme Court, despite his powerful adviser Elon Musk pouring millions into the race to sway the polls. Two months into his barnstorming return to the White
Politics
The United States on Wednesday reassured its allies in the Asia-Pacific region of its “enduring commitment” of support amid what it called “China’s intimidation tactics and destabilizing behavior.” “Once again, China’s aggressive military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan only serve to exacerbate tensions and put the region’s
Politics
US President Donald Trump was poised to impose sweeping new reciprocal tariffs on global trading partners on Wednesday, upending decades of rules-based trade, threatening cost increases and likely drawing retaliation from all sides. Details of Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff plans were still being formulated and closely held ahead of
Economy
Oil prices steadied in thin trading on Wednesday after falling in the previous session on concerns that new US tariffs, set to be unveiled at 11:00 p.m. Saud time, may deepen a global trade war that could limit crude demand. Brent futures were unchanged at $74.49 a
News
Europe will respond to the likely implementation of tariffs by US President Donald Trump in a proportionate manner but will not escalate tensions under any circumstances, French industry minister Marc Ferracci said on Wednesday. “Europe has always been on the side of negotiation and calming things down, because trade wars,
News
Rescue crews in Myanmar pulled a 26-year-old man out alive from the rubble of the capital city hotel where he worked early Wednesday, but most teams were finding only bodies five days after a massive earthquake hit the country. After using an endoscopic camera to pinpoint Naing Lin Tun’s
reports
A new generation of young Turks is at the forefront of mass protests against President Tayyip Erdogan’s government, demanding change in a country they see as increasingly authoritarian. Demonstrations erupted after Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a popular opposition figure, was jailed pending trial on corruption charges. Unlike older generations
News
The United States is increasing the number of aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East to two, keeping one that is already there and sending another from the Indo-Pacific, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The announcement comes as US forces hammer Yemen’s Houthi militia with near-daily air strikes in a
Live News
Algeria said Tuesday it shot down a military drone near the country’s border with Mali in the first incident of its kind during growing tensions between the two countries governing a vast portion of the Sahara. The country’s army said in a statement that the armed reconnaissance drone
Live News
The United States said Tuesday it has approved the possible sale of $5.58 billion in F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, as Washington backs its ally in rising tensions over China. The State Department said it was green-lighting a sale that includes 20 F-16 jets and related equipment to
Live News
A volcano erupted to the south of Iceland’s capital on Tuesday, spewing lava and smoke in a fiery display of orange and red that triggered the evacuation of tourists and residents, although air traffic continued as normal. Referred to as a land of ice and fire for its many
Economy
Gold hit a record high and was set to post its biggest quarterly gain in over 38 years on Monday, as concerns over US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans widening the global trade war and triggering an economic slowdown boosted bullion’s appeal. Spot gold jumped 1.1 percent