World

China’s Rare Earth Dominance Takes Center Stage in Trade Negotiations
China’s Rare Earth Dominance Takes Center Stage in Trade Negotiations

China is counting on one crucial advantage as it seeks to grind out a deal to ease its high-stakes trade war with the United States – dominance in rare earths. Used in electric vehicles, hard drives, wind turbines, and missiles, rare earth elements are essential to the modern economy and national defense. AFP takes a look at how rare earths ...

Wayne Wall Appointed as White House Senior Director for the Middle East
Wayne Wall Appointed as White House Senior Director for the Middle East

The White House appointed Wayne Wall as senior director for the Middle East at the National Security Council (NSC), according to an official source and an official close to the matter cited by Axios. His appointment comes on the heels of a major reorganization initiated by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Marco Rubio. A Discreet but ...

Bloody Night in Kharkiv, Prisoner Exchanges Between Russia and Ukraine Resume
Bloody Night in Kharkiv, Prisoner Exchanges Between Russia and Ukraine Resume

Fresh Russian strikes on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv killed two people and wounded 60, including children, early Wednesday, authorities said, as Moscow pushed ahead with its relentless attacks after rejecting an unconditional ceasefire. "Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs (drones) were carried out in two districts of the city tonight," ...

Iran Says New Round of US Talks Planned for Sunday
Iran Says New Round of US Talks Planned for Sunday

The sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks is planned for Sunday, Tehran said, as the two sides appear locked in a standoff over uranium enrichment nearly two months into the high-stakes negotiations. It came as European powers and the United States submitted a censure motion to the UN's nuclear watchdog in an effort to ramp up pressure on ...

Western Countries Submit New Iran Resolution at UN Nuclear Agency
Western Countries Submit New Iran Resolution at UN Nuclear Agency

European powers and the United States submitted a resolution to the UN's nuclear watchdog on Tuesday condemning Iran's "non-compliance" with its nuclear obligations in a bid to up pressure on Tehran, diplomats told AFP. The text, which diplomatic sources told AFP had been submitted Tuesday night, is the latest diplomatic move by Western powers in ...

Israel Deports Greta Thunberg after Intercepting Gaza-Bound Aid Boat
Israel Deports Greta Thunberg after Intercepting Gaza-Bound Aid Boat

Israel deported campaigner Greta Thunberg on a flight to Sweden via France on Tuesday after detaining her along with other activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid boat. Of the 12 activists on board the Madleen, which was carrying food and supplies for Gaza, four, including Thunberg, agreed to be deported, the rights group that legally represents some ...

Sirens in Central Israel as Army Says Projectile Launched from Yemen
Sirens in Central Israel as Army Says Projectile Launched from Yemen

Air raid sirens sounded across central Israel and Jerusalem on Tuesday as the military said it had detected a projectile launched from Yemen. "The [Israeli military] has identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory," the military said in a statement, adding that sirens were sounded in several areas. AFP reporters heard ...

Russia and Ukraine Complete Second Round of Prisoner Exchange
Russia and Ukraine Complete Second Round of Prisoner Exchange

Russia and Ukraine said Tuesday they had exchanged captured soldiers, the second stage of an agreement struck at peace talks last week for each side to free more than 1,000 prisoners. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday's exchange saw "the return of our injured and severely wounded warriors from Russian ...

Syria Decrees Full Body Swimwear for Women on Public Beaches
Syria Decrees Full Body Swimwear for Women on Public Beaches

Syria's new Islamist authorities said on Tuesday that women going to public beaches must wear burkinis or other "decent" clothes that cover the body, giving some private venues an exemption. In the largely conservative country, few women wear swimsuits that reveal their bodies. Six months after Islamist-led forces toppled longtime Syrian ruler ...

UK and Four Others Sanction Two Israeli Ministers for Inciting Violence
UK and Four Others Sanction Two Israeli Ministers for Inciting Violence

The UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway on Tuesday announced sanctions against two Israeli ministers for "repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities," the British government said. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir will be subject to a travel ban and an asset freeze, ...

ChatGPT Suffers Major Outage, Service Disrupted for Hours
ChatGPT Suffers Major Outage, Service Disrupted for Hours

Thousands of ChatGPT users nationwide faced difficulties accessing the app on Tuesday morning and turned to social media for answers. OpenAI confirmed the platform was experiencing issues and, after six hours of investigation, stated, “We have identified the root cause of the elevated errors and latency.” OpenAI acknowledged the issue, citing ...