Russian troops have taken control of the villages of Yantarne in the Donetsk region and Kalynove in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, state-run TASS state news agency reported on Sunday, citing the defence ministry. Reuters could not immediately confirm battlefield reports. Separately, the ministry said that over the past 24 hours Russian forces have carried…
A top level Israeli security delegation arrived in Qatar on Sunday for talks on a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a possible sign of so-far elusive agreements nearing. Qatar and fellow mediators Egypt and the United States are making renewed efforts to reach a deal to…
The toll from a collision of two trams in Strasbourg has risen to 68 injured in a rare accident that sowed panic near the eastern French city’s main train station, authorities said Sunday. On Saturday afternoon, a stationary tram at the underground stop at Strasbourg’s main railway station was violently hit by another tram, which…
An explosion at a gas station triggered a massive fire in central Yemen, killing at least 15 people, health officials said Sunday. The explosion occurred Saturday at the Zaher district in the province of Bayda, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said in a statement. At least 67 others were injured, including 40 in critical condition. The…
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on allies on Sunday to honor all promises to supply Ukraine with weapons, including those to counter Russian air attacks. Zelenskyy said that over the past week Russian forces had launched hundreds of strikes on Ukraine and nearly 700 aerial bombs and over 600 attack drones were used. Ukrainian air…
US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a source familiar with the matter said, as US officials race to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20. Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts under way to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the Palestinian…
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan underscored on Sunday the importance of lifting sanctions that are imposed on Syria, saying that keeping them in place can impede its development aspirations. Prince Faisal said that “unilateral and international sanctions against Syria should be lifted as keeping them in place will obstruct the brotherly Syrian people’s…
Multiple wildfires in the Los Angeles area have left at least 10 people dead and thousands more with damaged or destroyed homes. Putting everything back together could take billions of dollars and a decade of rebuilding, experts say. The wildfires have ripped through an area of about 20,000 acres, or around twice the size of Manhattan, and left…
Denmark sent private messages to US President-elect Donald Trump’s team expressing willingness to discuss boosting security in Greenland or increasing the US military presence there without claiming the island, Axios reported on Saturday, citing two sources. Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has described US control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, as an…
US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, an Israeli official said, amid efforts to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza. A second Israeli official said some progress had been made in the indirect talks between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, mediated…
The German military will establish a new division tasked exclusively with territorial defense, the army said on Saturday, bringing all existing reserve units under direct army command. The reorganization will take effect in April and raise the number of German divisions – units of some 20,000 troops – to four without increasing the total number…
The new Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Saturday his first official overseas trip would be to Saudi Arabia during a call with the Kingdom’s Crown Prince, the president’s office said. Lawmakers elected the 61-year-old army chief on Thursday, bringing to an end two years without a president for the multi-confessional, crisis-wracked country. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed…
Lebanon and Syria will work together to secure their land borders, as well as to delineate both land and sea borders, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday in Damascus. In the first trip by a Lebanese prime minister to neighboring Syria in 15 years, Mikati addressed a joint news conference in Damascus…
Mediator Qatar said it briefed US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday about Gaza ceasefire talks it has been brokering alongside Egypt and the United States. In their meeting in Doha, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani discussed with Witkoff “the latest developments in the region, especially the…
Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party said late on Thursday it will choose a new leader on March 9 ahead of the 2025 elections for which polls show the party in a very weak position. The prime minister announced on Monday that he will step down in the coming months after nine years…
