AP

By BRIAN INGANGA, NQOBILE NTSHANGASE and GERALD IMRAY Associated Press ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — The leader of Madagascar’s military coup told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he is “taking the position of president” and that the armed forces would be in charge of the African island nation for up to two years before any

MOSCOW (AP) — Syria’s interim leader, who led a swift rebel offensive last year that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad despite years of Moscow’s support, held talks Wednesday in Russia during his first visit to the country that gave asylum to the deposed autocrat. Welcoming interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the Kremlin, Russian President

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations’ food aid agency said Wednesday that severe funding cuts from its top donors are hurting its operations in six countries and warned that nearly 14 million people could be forced into emergency levels of hunger. The World Food Program, traditionally the U.N.’s most-funded agency,

By SAM METZ, SAMY MAGDY and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel received the remains of two more hostages Wednesday, hours after the Israeli military said that one of the bodies previously turned over was not that of a hostage. The confusion added to tensions over the fragile truce that has paused the

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Germany on Wednesday pledged more than $2 billion in military aid for Ukraine, as the government in Kyiv signaled that it would need $120 billion in 2026 to stave off Russia’s nearly four-year all-out war. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany would buy $500 million worth

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday announced a ceasefire following days of the deadliest clashes in years that killed dozens of people on both sides of the border. The pause came after appeals from major regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as the violence threatened to further

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders said Wednesday that he’s returning to the campaign trail, with two weeks to go before a general election after he briefly suspended his election activities following reports that he was a possible target of a suspected plot in Belgium to

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI and RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Raila Odinga, a former prime minister of Kenya and perennial presidential candidate whose populist campaigns challenged one-party rule, rattled authorities and gave him outsized influence on political life in the East African country, died Wednesday of a heart attack while traveling in India.

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — When Russian drones smashed into the Shostka train station in northeastern Ukraine earlier this month, they killed a 71-year-old man, injured at least eight people and left train cars buckled by fire and riddled with shrapnel holes. It was one of the latest examples of what

By SAMY MAGDY and LEE KEATH Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Under Gaza’s ceasefire deal, Israel freed dozens of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other medical personnel seized during raids on hospitals. But more than 100 remain in Israeli prisons, including Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, a hospital director who became the face of the struggle to