By Ben Blanchard and Yi-Chin Lee TAIPEI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan's armed forces carried out an anti-blockade drill during annual war games, using the navy and coast guard to simulate escorting a merchant ship, the defence ministry said on Thursday, as China steps up its
Keeping a low profile doesn't come naturally to Donald Trump. Yet that is the strategy the American president says he now favors in the war against Iran, and he is betting on economic pressure over diplomacy or new strikes. "We are low-keying it," Trump told news site Axios
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Closed aircraft window shades. A ballcap pulled low to hide the president's face. Seized cellphones. Strict warnings against leaks. These are all hallmarks of secret, unannounced trips made by American presidents to war zones and
WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - From the beginning, something didn't add up. During the closing hours of the NATO Leaders' Summit in Ankara in July, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he would not be flying home aboard the new presidential plane that had
Trump administration officials have said oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are rising, but maritime traffic remains diminished.
Trump administration officials have said oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are rising, but maritime traffic remains diminished.
Eurovision Song Contest organisers announced Wednesday that they were excluding any country in an armed conflict from hosting the competition and increased the mininum age of competitors. While they did not mention any country by name, Israel, which has been at war in Gaza
By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - A threat that Air Force One could be targeted by a shoulder-fired missile prompted the Secret Service to secretly move President Donald Trump onto a smaller government jet during a trip to Turkey last month, a person briefed on
A drone strike destroyed a power substation in Zawiya as a US-backed peace push appears to be roiling domestic tensions.
The law grants amnesty to Lebanese civilians without military backgrounds who fled to Israel after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. 'Lebanon does not abandon its children,' said a lawmaker who pushed for the provision
By Alexander Cornwell and Maya Gebeily TEL AVIV/BEIRUT, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Israel and Lebanon have agreed on Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia as potential contributors to a proposed mechanism that could see foreign troops deployed to Lebanon to verify Hezbollah's
By Jonathan Saul and Catherine Cartier LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - A vast oil spill from a leaking tanker has started to hit Oman's coastline, its environment agency confirmed on Wednesday, in what threatens to become one of the world’s worst in years after spreading largely
By Jonathan Saul and Catherine Cartier LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - A vast oil spill in the Gulf is quickly becoming one of the world’s worst in years after being allowed to spread almost unchecked for weeks, according to international agencies, satellite imagery and
The Israeli military said Wednesday it would send more troops to try to impose order on defiant settlers after failing to end their blockade of Palestinians' homes in the occupied West Bank. The siege began on Sunday, when a group of settlers set up a makeshift tent near
Conflicting accounts of why Egypt stayed out of the agreement have exposed the competing interests shaping the region’s emerging defense architecture.
The law, initially intended to ease prison overcrowding, could see the release of Islamists accused of killing soldiers and allow Lebanese exiled to Israel return to the country.
Aug 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States in is control of the Strait of Hormuz. "The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, “A WALL OF STEEL,” and
PARIS, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The EU and 26 countries condemned Iran's executions of protesters in a joint statement, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday. The countries called on Iran to listen to its people, take meaningful steps toward ensuring respect for
Bogota’s move marked a foreign policy shift under new right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella, reversing Petro-era policies that strained ties with Israel.
MOSCOW, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russian said on Wednesday that Ukrainian strikes on its grain and agricultural infrastructure were pushing up global food prices and exacerbating grain shortages, something it said served the interests of some Western countries. Russian Foreign
QUSRA, West Bank, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Israeli troops clashed with Jewish settlers on Wednesday while trying to disperse them from a West Bank outpost they set up directly in front of Palestinian homes, and later withdrew from the area after failing to clear the settlers,
By Parisa Hafezi and Elwely Elwelly DUBAI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source, who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim
By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Half of Afghan women now leave their homes only once or twice a month as Taliban-imposed restrictions curtail their freedom of movement and participation in public life, according to data released by U.N. Women on Wednesday. As
The United States and Yemen's Houthi rebels carried out separate attacks on commercial ships on Tuesday in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.
By Nilo Tabrizy LONDON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Acclaimed Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery has spent much of her career documenting moments of dissent and the lives of women in Iran. The work has repeatedly brought her into conflict with the authorities, and on Iran's National
By Timour Azhari RIYADH, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Increasingly dragged into a war it did not choose, Saudi Arabia is building regional defensive alliances that it hopes will keep its enemies at bay and help it respond more robustly to attacks by Iran and its network of regional
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday he hoped more countries would join a defence agreement signed last week between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan aimed at stabilising a region wracked by conflict. The so-called Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on Friday
By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - There have been no talks on extending a ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. under an interim deal, with Iran saying that Washington must return to the pact and define a timeframe to implement its commitments, a senior Iranian source
By Mubasher Bukhari LAHORE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Pakistan's ruling party appeared poised to win a majority in Pakistan-administered Kashmir's local assembly, even as some of the most closely watched constituencies had yet to vote amid deadly unrest. The Pakistan Muslim League (N)
By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI, Aug 12 (Reuters) - There were no discussions between Iran and the United States to extend their ceasefire because, from Tehran's perspective, the deal had no start date and therefore had nothing to extend, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on
(Fixes hyperlinks in paragraph 11) By Ismet Mikailogullari and Mert Ozkan DIYARBAKIR, Turkey/ANKARA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Longing to be reunited with her son, Ayten Elhaman was glued to the television all day as Turkey’s parliament debated and passed a law this week enabling
Noga Kalinsky's haunting photography documents the devastation wrought by settler violence in Palestinian villages, juxtaposing the beauty of Masafer Yatta and Mukhmas with scenes of burned homes and shattered lives
German travel giant TUI said Wednesday that bookings were returning to normal levels despite the ongoing Mideast war, as it presented its latest financial results. Tourism in Europe is experiencing a turbulent summer marked by soaring jet fuel prices because of the US and
SINGAPORE, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The tally of vessels tracked in the Strait of Hormuz fell to a one-week low of eight on Tuesday, shipping data showed, as owners avoided the key waterway amid continued hostilities in the Middle East. The United States and Yemen's Iran-aligned
By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - A group of current and former Palestinian students and staff have sued Columbia University, alleging discriminatory treatment by the school against its Palestinian community since late 2023, according to a court filing in New