United States
US strikes Iran and Tehran fires back. Trump says Iran will ‘pay the price’ for stalled talks
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | The United States launched airstrikes early Wednesday against Iran, and Tehran fired back at countries in the region. The escalating attacks threatened to derail efforts to end the war, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled peace negotiations. Trump’s warning came hours after […]
Putin slams Western sanctions as damaging to the global economy
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia | Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that developing countries have gained an increasingly important role in the global economy, while the share of output by Western countries has shrunk. In a speech to the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin accused the West of undermining the global economy and finances […]
North Korea unveils a new plant to produce fuel for nuclear weapons
SEOUL, South Korea | North Korea on Thursday unveiled a new facility to produce nuclear bomb fuels, with leader Kim Jong Un announcing plans to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” Some experts still question whether North Korea has functioning nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland. But the nuclear plant’s […]
Raúl Castro turns 95 as Cuba celebrates enigmatic figure
Raúl Castro turned 95 on Wednesday, a landmark birthday for a man still helping lead one of the last communist countries in the world. His name and face became synonymous with the 1959 revolution led by his brother, Fidel Castro. Decades after the triumphant revolution, Fidel Castro stepped down, and Raúl Castro served as Cuba’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]