World

Maternal deaths have doubled in the epicenter of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak, as pregnant women avoid hospitals and medical staff and supplies are diverted to fight the virus.

KYIV – Ukraine has sent Russia an offer suggesting they both halt attacks on civilian targets in the Black Sea, a source said, after mounting strikes on vessels and ports there raised fears over ​global food supplies.

CALI/PEREIRA, Colombia – Hopes of finding more survivors of the powerful earthquake that rocked Colombia early this week were fading on Thursday as rescue workers narrowed their searches, while families in the worst-hit areas waited for news of missing relatives.

QUSRA, West Bank – Israeli troops took up positions inside Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra on Thursday, the mayor said, after settlers trapped Palestinian families this week in a siege Palestinians say is aimed at forcing them from their land.

The death toll from the powerful magnitude 7.4 earthquake that devastated western Colombia has risen to at least 254, according to the latest local and aggregated reports, as rescuers raced against time Wednesday to find people still alive beneath collapsed buildings.

 A threat that Air Force One could be targeted by a shoulder-fired missile prompted the Secret Service to secretly move President Donald Trump onto an unmarked government jet during a trip to Turkey last month, a person briefed on the matter said on Wednesday.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia will respond in kind if European countries start to seize Russian merchant vessels and the commander of Russia's Pacific Fleet said his forces were ready to "inspect and detain" foreign vessels from what ​he called hostile states.

BEIJING – Typhoon Dolphin's remnants channelled vast amounts of moisture into Beijing and the central province of Henan on Wednesday, as the ​capital braced to receive more than one-third of its average annual rainfall in 24 hours.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan's government has condemned "dangerous" planned Chinese navy drills with an Indonesian warship off the island's east coast, saying Beijing was trying to create a false impression to the international community that it controls those waters. China ​views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, and in June began coast guard patrols off the island's east coast, causing anger in Taipei and concern in ⁠Washington and some other Western capitals.

 Pakistan’s defense minister said the United States and Iran are “close to some sort of arrangement” over the Strait of Hormuz, even after both sides appeared to harden their positions in the long-deadlocked negotiations.

DUBAI – The U.S. and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping on Tuesday as prospects for ending the Iran war appeared to dim, with Tehran saying the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions.

At least 77 people were killed after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia early on Monday, knocking down buildings across several cities and leaving others trapped in the rubble.

BANGKOK – A gunman killed a Thai official inside a local government office on the capital Bangkok’s outskirts on Monday, authorities said, days after a teenager’s shooting spree at a school in the same province reignited debate over gun control.

The Yemeni military said seven people including military personnel and civilians ​were killed and 30 others wounded in a Houthi attack ⁠on the Red Sea port ‌city of Mocha, civilian ​infrastructure and armed forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a proposal by U.S.-backed mediators for disarming Hamas, hardening his position after voicing misgivings at the suggestion that Israel reciprocate with phased pullouts from Gaza. “Israel does not accept the 15-point document,” Netanyahu told his weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, according to an official translation. In his original remarks, he ...

Iran and Oman remained short of a final deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although President Donald Trump signaled patience, saying the U.S. could wait for Tehran’s economic suffering to soften its stance. For its part, Iran ruled out direct talks with the U.S. for now, citing what Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described as repeated violations of a short-lived interim peace agreement ...

A group of Italian divers discovered a Roman shipwreck stocked with hundreds of ancient clay jars in the warm waters off the coast of Sicily, authorities said. The ship is believed ​to date back to the second or first century B.C., according to the Italian Ministry of Culture. Divers located it about ⁠3 miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, a city on the ‌western coast of Sicily.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers will be deployed in Russia to fight for Pyongyang's ally, while calling on South Korea to provide support for its air defence.

Ukraine and Russia accused each other of lethal attacks on Sunday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow was targeting global food security by striking Odesa's seaport. Three ​people were killed and 37 wounded in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where a multi-story apartment block was hit, while authorities in Russia's Belgorod ⁠said five were killed and 25 wounded by a Ukrainian drone attack.