US strikes on Iran spark travel chaos as airlines cancel flights
DUBAI/LONDON – Airlines suspended flights across the Middle East on Saturday, including to and from the world’s busiest travel hub Dubai, after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Flight maps showed airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel and…
Targeted by airstrikes, Ayatollah Khamenei has Iran in iron grip
Among the first targets in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday was the headquarters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, an inveterate foe of the West who has crushed internal opposition while supporting proxy forces across the region….
US Targets Oil Tanker Loaded With Venezuelan Crude in Ownership Bid
WASHINGTON – The U.S. is seeking to take ownership of Motor Tanker Skipper, an oil tanker it seized in December, and 1.8 million barrels of crude oil cargo supplied by Venezuelan state-run company PDVSA, the Justice Department said on Friday….
Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Escalating Iran Crisis
WASHINGTON- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel next week, where he will discuss Iran, the State Department said in a statement on Friday, as the U.S. has assembled a large military force in the region amid…
Death of Near-Blind Refugee in Buffalo Sparks Questions Over Border Patrol Release
A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar, missing since his release from a Buffalo jail into the custody of U.S. Border Patrol, has been found dead on a downtown street, city authorities said on Wednesday. Police officers in the upstate New…
Trump Iran Missile Allegation Lacks Intelligence Backing, Officials Say
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran will soon have a missile that can hit the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports and appears to be exaggerated, according to three sources familiar with intelligence reports,…
US Envoy Barrack Meets Iraq’s Maliki for Political Talks
U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the Shi’ite alliance’s candidate for premier, on Friday, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Maliki has been nominated by a powerful Shi’ite bloc to return to the…
US Charges Former F-35 Pilot for Training Chinese Air Force
WASHINGTON- The U.S. has arrested and charged a former U.S. Air Force fighter jet pilot with allegedly training China’s military, highlighting Beijing’s persistent efforts to modernize its armed forces by siphoning off U.S. secrets. Gerald Eddie Brown, Jr., a former…
US Plans to Admit 4,500 White South Africans Monthly as Refugees
WASHINGTON/JOHANNESBURG – The U.S. aims to process 4,500 refugee applications from white South Africans per month, far above President Donald Trump’s stated refugee program cap, and is installing trailers on embassy property in Pretoria to support the effort, a U.S….
Poland Is Loyal US Ally but Cannot Be a ‘Sucker,’ Foreign Minister Sikorski Says
WARSAW – The U.S. remains Poland’s most important partner in military cooperation, and Warsaw has been and will remain a loyal ally, but it can’t be a “sucker”, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in a speech to parliament on…
US says it will allow resale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday it would authorize companies seeking licenses to resell Venezuelan oil to Cuba, according to guidance posted on the department’s website, a move that could help ease the island’s acute fuel scarcity….
Trump Asks US Supreme Court to End Protections for Syrian Immigrants
President Donald Trump’s administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to intervene in its effort to strip deportation protections from about 6,000 Syrians living in the United States. The Justice Department in an emergency request asked the Supreme Court…
US Judge Blocks Trump Policy Allowing Swift Deportations to Other Countries
BOSTON – A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration had adopted an unlawful policy that allows for the rapid deportation of migrants to countries other than their own without providing them a chance to object and raise…
Democratic State AGs Sue Trump Administration Over US Vaccine Policy
NEW YORK – Two Democratic state attorneys general announced a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday over recent changes to the federal government’s childhood vaccine schedule, as medical organizations warn the changes could lower inoculation rates. U.S. Health…
Mexican President Sheinbaum Talks with Trump Following Cartel Kingpin’s Death
MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday she spoke this week with U.S President Donald Trump after he called to discuss the situation in Mexico. The call followed a raid on Sunday in which Mexican forces killed…
Iran Says ‘Good Outlook’ for US Talks as Negotiators Head to Geneva
DUBAI – Iran sees the chance of a good outcome from a third round of talks with the United States, its President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday, as a delegation left for Geneva for negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. A…
Harvard’s Larry Summers Steps Down Following Epstein Association
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers on Wednesday said he will resign from teaching at Harvard University at the end of the academic year, amid the continuing fallout from his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “I…
Committee to Protect Journalists Reports Record Death Toll for Media Workers in 2025
WASHINGTON – A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed in the course of their work last year, two-thirds of them killed by Israel, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. It was the second straight year that…
Bill Gates Addressed Epstein Relationship and Took Responsibility, Foundation Says
Bill Gates “took responsibility for his actions” over ties to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a town hall meeting with employees of the Gates Foundation, a spokesperson for the philanthropic group told Reuters in a written statement…
OpenAI Warns ChatGPT Is Being Used in Dating Scams and Fake Lawyer Schemes
OpenAI said it banned accounts linked to Chinese law enforcement, romance scammers and influence operations, including a smear campaign against Japan’s first woman prime minister, in a report detailing the misuse of its ChatGPT technology. The company said several accounts…