The Venice Biennale, one of the world’s most prominent art exhibitions, is set to host Russia for the first time since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — a move that has sparked widespread criticism across Europe. Latvia’s Culture Minister Agnese Lāce, who had spearheaded a joint position by 25 European countries calling for … Read more
Preliminary investigation does not apportion blame for Boeing 787 crash that killed 260 people in June. Fuel control switches to the engines of an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff last month were moved from the “run” to the “cutoff” position moments before impact, according to a preliminary report. The report, issued by … Read more
President Trump said on Monday that he could cut aid to Jordan and Egypt if they refused his demand to permanently take in most Palestinians from Gaza, substantially increasing the pressure on key allies in the region to back his audacious proposal to relocate the entire population of the territory in order to redevelop it. … Read more
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut financial support for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as a dispute with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies escalates. On 1 January, Kyiv shut off a pipeline that for decades was used to supply Central Europe with Russian natural gas. Slovakia had been the main entry point … Read more
HARPSUND, Sweden (AP) — Sweden has formally asked China to cooperate in explaining the recent rupture of two data cables on the Baltic Sea bed in an area where a China-flagged vessel had been sighted, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Thursday. The two cables, one running from Finland to Germany and the other from Lithuania … Read more
The United States Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the first time since 2020. It was seen as the clearest signal yet that central banks are winning the fight against inflation. The US Federal Reserve – usually seen as a global leader – has joined other banks around the world in lowering the cost … Read more
MUNICH (AP) — China’s foreign minister told a gathering of international security policy officials Saturday that trying to shut China out of trade in the name of avoiding dependency would be a historic mistake. Wang Yi spoke at the Munich Security Conference. Host Germany wants to avoid over-reliance on trade with an increasingly assertive China … Read more
Israel says some of the UN agency’s staff members were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attacks. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – UNRWA – offers a lifeline for nearly 6 million people. Established in 1949, its mission is to provide relief to Palestinians forced from their homes when the state … Read more
Will diplomatic pressure force the US and Israel’s other Western allies to reconsider their support for the war? Israel’s bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip has entered its second month. More than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to authorities in Gaza, and large swathes of the territory have been reduced to rubble. As public … Read more