AP

TAIJING WU and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te on Wednesday announced a special $40 billion budget for arms purchases, including to build a Taiwan Dome, an air defense system with high-level detection and interception capabilities, as the U.S. pressures the island to increase its defense spending. The budget

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hundreds of women marched through Mexico City’s streets Tuesday to protest violence against women in a country where gender violence remains pervasive. Among the hundreds of marchers clad in purple or with green bandanas, some beat drums and others carried signs. One read: “Today I am the voice of those who

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Hours after police in Indian-controlled Kashmir released shopkeeper Bilal Ahmed Wani but kept his son in custody in this month’s deadly New Delhi blast investigation, Wani set himself on fire, members of his family said. The 55-year-old dry fruit seller was treated at three hospitals but

By COREY WILLIAMS, MIKE CATALINI and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press The Trump administration’s plan to review all refugees admitted to the United States under the Biden administration is weighing heavily on people who could be affected by the evaluation, fueling uncertainty and worry among people who believed their status was secured. The review was laid

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press Belarusian politician Mikola Statkevich has been returned to prison after being freed in a U.S.-brokered deal but refusing to leave his native country, activists said Tuesday. The former presidential candidate has been missing since Sept. 11, when a group of political prisoners were pardoned by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko at

By PAOLA FLORES Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — President Rodrigo Paz of Bolivia said Tuesday he planned to scrap a ream of taxes, in one of his first moves since becoming the nation’s first conservative leader in nearly two decades in a bid to rescue a crisis-stricken economy. Just over two weeks since

By MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday started his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt, to the surprise of many in the South American nation who doubted he would ever end up behind bars. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has overseen the

By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. military officials are meeting leaders of Caribbean nations this week as the Trump administration has escalated its firepower in the region as part of what it calls a campaign against drug trafficking. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and meet

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A U.S. climber was among two people killed in a fall on Aoraki, New Zealand’s tallest peak, authorities said Wednesday. The men were part of a four-person group climbing near the summit of Aoraki, also known as Mount Cook, on Monday. Two members were rescued

By KATIE MARIE DAVIES Associated Press Kirill Dmitriev is not a professional diplomat. But the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund has emerged as a key player in drafting a new proposal to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine. That is perhaps no surprise: A former investment banker, Dmitriev has increasingly served as a back-channel communicator