World

President Donald Trump stepped back from a proposal to charge a 20% transit fee to guard the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway as part of the conflict with Iran, saying on Tuesday he would instead seek investment deals with Gulf states.

The group behind the statues of President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein is back with a new installation aimed at the war in Iran. The Secret Handshake is an anonymous art protest group that creates public art along the National Mall for political commentary. A 10-foot-tall "Iran ​War Participation Trophy" appeared July 13 just south of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bookstore. The golden trophy has a "#1" on the cup and "participant" on the base.

A survivor of the fire at a Bangkok bar that killed at least 27 people on Sunday night described escaping the blaze by seconds after she stepped out for a smoke.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s surprise move to overhaul his government and potentially install an energy executive as prime minister is the latest sign of the Ukrainian president’s determination to spare his war-weary nation a repeat of last winter’s hardships. Zelenskyy said Sunday on social media that he planned to replace Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko as part of a broader change in “political ...

CARACAS, Venezuela – death ​toll from the two earthquakes that ⁠struck ‌Venezuela on June ​24 has risen to 4,490, National ⁠Assembly President ‌Jorge ‌Rodriguez said on Sunday ⁠on his Telegram ‌account. The ‌official count of injured ⁠remained unchanged ​at ⁠16,740, ​while 6,462 people have been ⁠rescued.

The U.S. struck Iran for a third time in a week, prompting retaliatory attacks on at least five Arab nations as Washington and Tehran issued conflicting declarations over whether the Strait of Hormuz remains open to shipping. The Islamic Republic responded early Sunday with drone and missile assaults on American allies across the Middle East, including Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar. So far, only ...

JERUSALEM – Israel is set to hold a national election on Oct. 27, according to Prime Minister ​Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, its first since Hamas' 2023 attack and the wars that ensued ⁠in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

South Africa said more than 53,000 foreign nationals had been processed for deportation or voluntary repatriation as authorities acted on pledges to speed up removals while warning vigilante groups to stop conducting illegal searches for undocumented foreigners. The figure is more than double the roughly 25,000 migrants police said had returned home or been deported ahead of nationwide ...

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syria's new parliament convened for the first time on Sunday, 19 months after rebels led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad, a milestone in the country's political transition despite the chamber's current limited powers. Sharaa, in a speech at parliament in Damascus, told lawmakers ​to "make this council a model of responsibility and competence" and described it as "a platform for truth and justice."

BAGHDAD – Iraq's prime minister will visit Washington on Monday to deepen strategic ties with the United States, with oil and gas ​deals expected to be signed as part of a broader push for economic, trade and investment cooperation. Iraq has ⁠been seeking to balance its ties with neighboring Iran and ‌the U.S. as military escalation ​between the two rivals continues.

Myanmar’s ancient temples, luxury hotels and Buddhist pilgrimage sites are stirring back to life as the country’s military-backed government bets tourism will become one of the first visible signs of an economic recovery after this year’s election. Authorities want to almost double foreign visitor arrivals to 1.8 million this year by easing visa rules and targeting travelers from neighboring ...

LAGOS – At least 39 schoolchildren and six teachers kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria’s southwestern Oyo state nearly two months ago have been rescued by security forces, a presidential spokesperson said on Friday.

KYIV, Ukraine – Ukraine is setting up a "long-range impact" command within its armed forces, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as Kyiv's campaign against Russian energy and logistics has forced Moscow to ban diesel exports and restrict shipping near the Sea of Azov, which abuts the Black Sea.

Marine Le Pen extended her lead in a voter preference poll ahead of next April’s French presidential election after appeal judges cleared her to enter the race for a fourth time by shortening a previous ban on her standing. The far-right National Rally candidate would get between 34% and 35.5% of the vote in the first round if it were to take place this Sunday, according to the poll of 1,503 ...

A U.S. humanitarian worker in the Democratic Republic of Congo has tested positive for Ebola and will be sent to Europe for treatment, the religious humanitarian aid group Samaritan’s Purse said Saturday. The person has worked with the group’s disaster response team for 15 years and has been in Congo for the past month, the group said in a statement. The organization said it won’t release more ...

CARACAS, Venezuela – The death toll from the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen ​to 4,333, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez told reporters on Saturday, announcing that ⁠the distribution of housing to those affected ‌will begin next week.

KYIV, Ukraine – Russia launched missile and drone attacks on Ukraine on Saturday, killing seven people and wounding dozens more, officials said, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for diplomatic efforts to ensure Kyiv secured weapons more quickly.

China has again told Russia not to even consider using a nuclear weapon against Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Russian nuclear saber rattling has accelerated in 2026, with officials and major Russian outlets making the case for tactical nukes more forcefully and unambiguously than any time since Vladimir Putin ordered the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In response, ...