5 mins read

Iran stops talking to mediators over Israel fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iranian reports say

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Iran stopped communicating with mediators after Israel threatened to bomb Beirut as it fights the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, two semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported Tuesday. Halting communication likely is a means to further pressure U.S. President Donald Trump over negotiations on the ceasefire, which include trying to loosen Iran’s […]

7 mins read

Rubio is optimistic on eventual Iran nuclear talks despite congressional skepticism

WASHINGTON | Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday he is optimistic about the potential for a resumption in nuclear talks with Iran despite a shaky ceasefire in the war that is looking increasingly in doubt. In his first public testimony since the Iran war began at the end of February, Rubio told the Senate […]

2 mins read

The cheesehead hat is a sunny nod to America’s ‘Hold my beer’ exuberance

Americans long have leavened their powerful global image with goofiness, a cheerful confidence that can deflect international wonder over certain strains of ignorance into a smile. Behold, for example, the cheesehead hat. Made of sofa foam and sunny yellow defiance, the hat was created in the late 1980s in response to the taunting faced by […]

6 mins read

US bombs Iranian military sites and Tehran targets American troops in Kuwait

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | The United States said Monday that it bombed radar and drone sites in Iran after Tehran shot down an American drone over the weekend. Iran then said it targeted American soldiers in Kuwait with missiles, which the U.S. says it shot down. The nominal ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. […]

2 mins read

Hundreds of youths protest outside Kenya’s Ebola quarantine center for US citizens

NAIROBI, Kenya | Hundreds of youths in Kenya’s central town of Nanyuki on Monday demonstrated against the establishment at the Laikipia Air Base of an Ebola quarantine center for American citizens exposed to the virus. The protests come two days after Kenya’s High Court suspended the establishment of the facility and the arrival of any […]

6 mins read

Venezuela’s ruling party unity cracks as Delcy Rodríguez shifts Chávez-era policies

It’s a slogan that’s long encapsulated the unique ability of Hugo Chávez’s fiercely nationalistic revolution to stay in power in Venezuela for 27 years: “United, we will win!” The young, the old, ruling party leaders and propagandists alike shout it at official events, street demonstrations and on state television, pumping their fists to show loyalty […]

6 mins read

As the United States turns 250, Americans still can’t get enough of French luxury

NEW YORK | At the pinnacle of the American cultural pyramid, one particular inspiration has echoed across the centuries through friendship and tension alike: France. The American love affair with French luxury goods and their cultural cachet and craftsmanship has spanned the younger country’s history, and a new exhibit explores the story of how these […]

4 mins read

Zelenskyy says he’s pressing US for more Patriot missiles for Ukraine to counter Russian strikes

KYIV, Ukraine | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that he’s being “very persistent” in pressing the United States to provide his country with more Patriot air defense missiles that can counter devastating Russian ballistic missile attacks. Zelenskyy said he hasn’t yet received a reply to a letter he sent earlier this week to U.S. […]

8 mins read

Trump says Iran ‘negotiating on fumes,’ insists that midterm elections won’t impact his war strategy

WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that Iran is “negotiating on fumes” and insisted November’s midterm elections won’t factor in shaping his approach to the nearly three-month-old conflict that’s spurred unease across the global economy. Speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the […]

7 mins read

FOCUS: Few details emerging about reported deal to end the Iran war

CAIRO | The United States and Iran appear to be closing in on a deal to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that negotiations are “proceeding nicely,” while reiterating his warning that fighting would resume if no deal is reached. It is not clear when or […]