7 mins read

Worsening El Nino threatens Asia with drought, potentially raising food prices globally

BANTEN, Indonesia | All signs are pointing toward a record-breaking El Nino this year, which experts say may cause severe drought in Asia and other extreme weather across the world, threatening food security for millions of people. El Nino is part of a natural climate cycle of warming ocean temperatures, but this year’s is expected […]

4 mins read

China’s Alibaba unveils new powerful chip and ambitious AI model plans

HONG KONG | China’s Alibaba unveiled new artificial intelligence chip technologies and plans for more powerful models on Tuesday, including what it said was China’s most powerful AI chip, days ahead of a meeting between Chinese and U.S. leaders at which competition to lead on AI technology is expected to be a major theme. Alibaba’s […]

6 mins read

Russia and Ukraine trade deadly strikes as Zelenskyy prepares to meet Trump

KYIV, Ukraine | Russia bombarded at least four Ukrainian regions overnight with missiles and drones, killing five people, officials said Tuesday, and Ukraine’s forces damaged another Russian oil refinery in their latest long-range strike. The ongoing exchange of daily aerial attacks, while positions on the battlefield’s front line barely change, provided a backdrop to the […]

7 mins read

Trump returns to UN at a moment of anxiety about Iran, AI and the future of the world body itself

UNITED NATIONS | President Donald Trump is set to address the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday at a tumultuous moment for the world — and for his presidency. The global economy has been shaken by his decision to launch a war against Iran. Anxiety about the social impact being wrought by artificial intelligence is surging. […]

7 mins read

UN leaders’ meeting convenes with secretary-general calling for ‘world built on interdependence’

UNITED NATIONS | U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded for “a world built on interdependence” as he made his final address Tuesday to a yearly gathering of world leaders convening to face a formidable menu of challenges — from climate change and war to inequality and artificial intelligence. The U.N. leader has long implored leaders not […]

8 mins read

Trump decries Democrats as ‘communists,’ even as he looks to impress China’s communist leader

WASHINGTON | Communism, President Donald Trump says, is the greatest threat the U.S. has ever faced. This summer, citing similarly grave concerns, he took the rare step of delivering a primetime address to the nation, accusing China of “sinister election meddling” in 2020 and reviving his yearslong push to dispute his loss in that year’s […]

8 mins read

Trump’s ‘grand conspiracy’ probe presses on with subpoenas after the lead prosecutor’s exit

WASHINGTON | Before taking over the sprawling Justice Department investigation into foes of President Donald Trump, Joe diGenova decried the lack of progress in bringing indictments. Five months later, diGenova has left his position without charging a single case, clouding the future of an investigation that has animated right-wing commentators eager to prove an ill-defined […]

8 mins read

War, runaway AI and climate shocks to take center stage as world leaders meet at UN

UNITED NATIONS | Under a global cloud of wars and bitter divisions, world leaders meet at the United Nations this week facing new fears that runaway artificial intelligence could threaten humanity even as climate shocks and escalating prices are already making life much tougher for hundreds of millions of people. The annual high-level gathering at […]

1 min read

Polo, a tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean, is expected to become a major hurricane this week

MIAMI | Tropical Storm Polo will rapidly intensify in the Pacific Ocean and become a major hurricane later this week, forecasters said Monday. Polo could bring heavy rain, rough surf and tropical-storm-force wind to parts of Mexico late Tuesday into early Wednesday, according to an advisory from the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. Meteorologists predicted Monday […]

6 mins read

German leader faces tough time ahead after election defeats, but no sign of leadership challenge

BERLIN | German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stood by his vow to stay in office Monday after his party suffered two more regional election defeats and was voted out of a state legislature in a humiliating first. But he faces a struggle to keep his reform agenda intact. Minutes after polls closed on Sunday, the unpopular […]