World

EU Working 'Non-Stop' to Support Wildfire-Affected Countries
EU Working 'Non-Stop' to Support Wildfire-Affected Countries

The EU said on Thursday it was working "non-stop" to support countries battling wildfires raging across European countries. Extreme summer heat, which scientists say human-driven climate change is exacerbating, has fuelled blazes across the region including Greece, Portugal, Spain and the Balkans. "We continue non-stop to work on the support of ...

Blast Kills Four in Northwest Syria: State Media
Blast Kills Four in Northwest Syria: State Media

A blast rocked Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on Thursday, state media said, reporting four dead and without identifying its cause. Residents told AFP they heard the sound of explosions in the western outskirts of the provincial capital. State news agency SANA reported "an explosion whose cause is unknown in the vicinity of the ...

Putin, Trump to Discuss Settling Ukraine Conflict in Talks: Kremlin
Putin, Trump to Discuss Settling Ukraine Conflict in Talks: Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump are to discuss ways to settle the Ukraine conflict during their landmark summit in Alaska on Friday, the Kremlin said. The meeting will be the first between sitting US and Russian presidents since 2021, and comes as Trump seeks to broker an end to Russia's nearly three-and-a-half ...

Foreign NGOs Say New Israeli Rules Keep Them From Delivering Gaza Aid
Foreign NGOs Say New Israeli Rules Keep Them From Delivering Gaza Aid

New Israeli legislation regulating foreign aid groups has been increasingly used to deny their requests to bring supplies into Gaza, according to a joint letter signed by more than 100 groups published Thursday. Ties between foreign-backed aid groups and the Israeli government have long been beset by tensions, with officials often complaining the ...

UN Commission Finds Violence Against Syria Alawites Likely Included 'War Crimes'
UN Commission Finds Violence Against Syria Alawites Likely Included 'War Crimes'

A UN commission investigating sectarian bloodshed in Syria's Alawite heartland documented systematic violence at the hands of government forces and allied groups, warning Thursday that some of the acts could constitute war crimes. The violence in March unfolded along Syria's predominantly Alawite Mediterranean coast, where security personnel ...

Iran’s Shadow in Beirut: Larijani’s Visit and Lebanon’s Tightrope Walk
Op-edIran’s Shadow in Beirut: Larijani’s Visit and Lebanon’s Tightrope Walk

On August 13, 2025, Beirut became the stage for one of the most charged diplomatic performances in years. Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport to a reception that looked less like a state visit and more like a triumphant homecoming. Thousands of Hezbollah supporters ...

At Least 40 Dead in Sudan's Worst Cholera Outbreak in Years: MSF
At Least 40 Dead in Sudan's Worst Cholera Outbreak in Years: MSF

At least 40 people have died in Sudan's Darfur region in the country's worst cholera outbreak in years, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday. The medical charity said the vast western region, which has been a major battleground over more than two years of fighting between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, had ...

Zelensky in London Meets PM Ahead of US-Russia Summit
Zelensky in London Meets PM Ahead of US-Russia Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with ally UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday ahead of a key US-Russia summit in Alaska. Zelensky arrived at 9:30 am (0830 GMT) at Downing Street, after Starmer on Wednesday maintained there was now a "viable" chance for a Ukraine ceasefire. US President Donald Trump and ...

Trump Warns of Make-or-Break Chance with Putin as Pressure Mounts
Trump Warns of Make-or-Break Chance with Putin as Pressure Mounts

Pressure mounted ahead of a landmark summit in Alaska between the United States and Russia, as Donald Trump warned that Vladimir Putin had only one chance but Moscow pressed ahead with major battlefield gains in Ukraine. Putin and Trump will meet Friday at an air base in the far-northern US state, the first time the Russian leader has been ...

Trump Orders Space Regulations Eased in Win For Musk
Trump Orders Space Regulations Eased in Win For Musk

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday easing regulations for the private space industry, including eliminating some environmental reviews, in a move likely to please his erstwhile advisor Elon Musk. The executive order, which said it aimed to "substantially" increase the number of space launches in the United States, was ...