News

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel says it is determined to destroy Iran’s nuclear program because its archenemy’s furtive efforts to build an atomic weapon are a threat to its existence. What’s not-so-secret is that for decades Israel has been believed to be the Middle East’s only nation with nuclear

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Okinawa marked the 80th anniversary of the end of one of the harshest battles of World War II fought on the southern island. With global tensions escalating, its governor said on Monday it is the Okinawan “mission” to keep telling the tragic history and its impact today.

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung nominated a five-term liberal lawmaker as defense minister Monday, breaking with a tradition of appointing retired military generals. The announcement came as several prominent former defense officials, including ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun, face high-profile criminal trials over their

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones and missiles killed at least 14 civilians and injured several dozen others in Ukraine in overnight attacks, local officials said Monday, with nine deaths reported in the capital, Kyiv, where an apartment building partially collapsed. The attacks came as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy began

By The Associated Press U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on social media Monday that Israel and Iran have agreed to a “complete and total ceasefire” to be phased in over 24 hours. The U.S. president said on Truth Social that the ceasefire would bring an “Official END” to war, a major change in the hostilities

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — In the days after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed a shellshocked shadow of himself. He looked diminished and downtrodden by the surprise assault that created a national emergency and caused his public support to plummet. Now, as Israel

By LUENA RODRIGUEZ-FEO VILEIRA Associated Press Muslims will soon welcome a new year in the Islamic lunar calendar, known as the Hijri calendar. The Hijri New Year, beginning on the first day of the month of Muharram, signals a chance for spiritual reflection and religious resolutions, set in the month following the annual Hajj in

By RIAZAT BUTT Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan condemned U.S. President Donald Trump for bombing Iran, less than 24 hours after saying he deserved a Nobel Peace Prize for defusing a recent crisis with India. Relations between the two South Asian countries plummeted after a massacre of tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir in April. The

By LORNE COOK Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump and his NATO counterparts will meet formally Wednesday for a summit that could unite the world’s biggest security organization around a new defense spending pledge or widen divisions among the allies. Just a week ago, things had seemed rosy. NATO Secretary-General

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Siarhei Tsikhanouski is almost unrecognizable. Belarus’ key opposition figure, imprisoned in 2020 and unexpectedly released on Saturday, once weighed 135 kilograms (298 pounds) at 1.92 meters (nearly 6’4”) tall, but now is at just 79 kilos (174 pounds). On Saturday, Tsikhanouski was freed alongside 13 other