AP

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — President Vladimir Putin said Friday he has secured Israel’s pledge to safeguard Russian personnel at Iran’s Russia-built nuclear power plant and that he has reached out to both sides to try to end the week-old war. Answering questions on a variety of issues at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum,

By The Associated Press A week into their war, Israel and Iran exchanged more strikes on Friday as new diplomatic efforts led by the Europeans took place in Geneva. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held several hours of talks with the European Union’s top diplomat and counterparts from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Afterwards,

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he plans to strengthen the country’s deterrence capabilities so that no country would dare attack it. Erdogan announced plans this week to step up Turkey’s production of medium- and long-range missiles, as the war between Israel and Iran escalates.

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — Aziza Melech felt her body relax for the first time in days when she settled onto her inflatable mattress in an underground station of Israel’s light rail system on a recent evening. For the next few hours, at least, the 34-year-old event planner wouldn’t need

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The success of a key NATO summit hung in the balance on Friday, after Spain announced that it cannot raise the billions of dollars needed to meet a new defense investment pledge demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump and his NATO counterparts are meeting for two

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones slammed into two Ukrainian cities, killing at least one person in nighttime attacks, authorities said Friday, as a Kremlin official said he expected an announcement next week on dates for a fresh round of direct peace talks. Russia’s overnight drone assault targeted the southern

By SAM MEDNICK, JON GAMBRELL and DAVID RISING Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel and Iran traded strikes a week into their war on Friday as President Donald Trump weighed U.S. military involvement and key European ministers met with Iran’s top diplomat in Geneva in a scramble to de-escalate the conflict. But the

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — U.K. lawmakers on Friday approved a bill to allow terminally ill adults in England and Wales to choose to end their lives, taking it one step nearer to becoming law. The vote backing what is generally termed “ assisted dying ” — sometimes referred to as “assisted

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister plans to meet in Geneva on Friday with leading European counterparts, who hope to open a window for a diplomatic solution to the week-old military conflict that has seen Israeli airstrikes target Iranian nuclear and military sites and Tehran firing back. British Foreign Secretary

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — As Hungary heads toward national elections next spring and the populist government’s popularity slumps, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has zeroed in on a central theme he hopes will sway voters: an alleged threat posed by neighboring Ukraine. While most European Union countries have offered political, financial,

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — The prime minister of New Zealand stressed the mutual benefits of trade with China in a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday, while acknowledging their disagreements on geopolitical issues. Christopher Luxon, on his first visit to China since becoming prime minister in late 2023, flew