Politics
North Korea said Friday it had test-fired strategic cruise missiles to demonstrate its nuclear counter-attack capability, days after it vowed to respond to what it called escalating US-led hostilities since the start of the Trump administration. The official Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the missile
Politics
A week ago Donald Trump branded Volodymyr Zelensky a dictator. On Friday he will host the Ukrainian president at the White House and sign a deal granting Washington access to Ukraine’s rare minerals. The extraordinary turnaround caps a week of frantic international diplomacy centered on Washington, as Kyiv seeks
Politics
Russian and US diplomats met in Turkiye on Thursday for talks to resolve disputes over the work of their respective embassies in Washington and Moscow, a first test of their ability to reset wider relations and work toward ending the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin last year described relations as
Politics
Egypt rejected on Wednesday an Israeli opposition leader’s proposal that it take over the administration of Gaza, calling the idea “unacceptable” and contrary to longstanding Egyptian and Arab policy. “Any notions or proposals that circumvent the constants of the Egyptian and Arab stance (on Gaza)... are rejected and unacceptable,
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Israel will not withdraw from a strategic corridor in the Gaza Strip as called for by the ceasefire, an official said Thursday. Israel’s refusal could spark a crisis with Hamas and key mediator Egypt at a sensitive moment for the fragile truce. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity
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Ukraine has agreed on the terms of a minerals deal with the United States and could sign it as early as Friday on a trip to Washington by President Volodymyr Zelensky, a senior Ukrainian official said. US President Donald Trump had demanded that Ukraine give access to its rare earth
Politics
The White House said Tuesday that its officials “will determine” which news outlets can regularly cover President Donald Trump up close — a sharp break from a century of tradition in which a pool of independently chosen news organizations go where the chief executive does and hold him accountable on behalf
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Hamas will return the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages on Thursday in exchange for Israel's release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the group said, just days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties was to expire. Israel has delayed the release of some
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Ukraine and the US have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, three senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday. The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized
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Gaza’s fragile five-week truce faces a major hurdle with Israel’s refusal to release Palestinian prisoners, but analysts say the ceasefire is likely to hold as Washington pushes for its extension. “It’s actually the most complicated crisis since the beginning of the ceasefire,” Palestinian affairs expert Michael Milshtein
Politics
President Donald Trump has launched a sweeping shakeup of the Pentagon, firing top officers and moving to lay off thousands of civilian workers as he seeks to align the US military with his priorities. The removal of the officers has pushed the Pentagon into the political spotlight, with Democrats accusing
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Iraq is waiting for Turkiye’s approval to restart the oil flows from the Iraqi Kurdistan region, the Iraqi oil minister said on Monday, adding that Kurdish oil exports will hopefully be ready in two days. Asked if resuming Kurdish oil exports will affect Iraq’s OPEC compliance, Hayan Abdel-Ghani
Politics
Israeli tanks moved into the occupied West Bank on Sunday for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities called a “dangerous escalation,” after the defense minister said troops will remain in parts of the territory for a year and tens of thousands of Palestinians who have fled cannot
Politics
Germany’s conservatives won the national election on Sunday but a fractured vote handed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) its best ever result in second place and left conservative leader Friedrich Merz facing messy coalition talks. Merz, who has no previous experience in office, is set to become chancellor
Politics
Germans were voting in a national election on Sunday that is expected to see Friedrich Merz’s conservatives regain power and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) score its best ever result as Europe’s ailing economic powerhouse lurches rightwards. Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc has consistently led polls but
Politics
London will unveil a significant package of sanctions against Russia on Monday, which marks three years since the start of its war with Ukraine, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Sunday. “This is also the time to turn the screws on (Vladimir) Putin’s Russia,” Lammy said in a statement.