Trump’s deadline for the Kremlin looms but Putin shows no sign of making concessions

The coming week could mark a pivotal moment in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as US President Donald Trump’s deadline for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal approaches — or it could quietly pass without consequence. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow midweek, just before Trump’s Friday deadline for the Kremlin to stop the killing or face potentially severe economic penalties from Washington. So far Trump's promises, threats and cajoling have failed to shift the Kremli

Aug. 5, 2025

France and Saudis vow to keep up momentum for 'two-state solution' to Israel-Palestinian conflict

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — After decades of inaction and frozen negotiations, the issue of an independent Palestinian state living in peace with Israel returned to the spotlight at a high-level UN conference — and France and Saudi Arabia, which spearheaded the effort, are determined to keep up the momentum. But hurdles for a two-state solution that would see Israel living side-by-side with an independent Palestine are very high. War in Gaza — a crucial part of a hoped-for Palestinian state — drags on

Aug. 5, 2025

UK-France migrant returns deal comes into effect

LONDON (AFP) -- A deal between London and Paris under which Britain can return some migrants who cross the Channel in small boats back to France will come into force Tuesday, the UK Home Office announced. The agreement, which was struck between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron during the latter's state visit to the UK last month, involves a "one-in, one-out" scheme to curb record levels of irregular Channel crossings. The two governments signed the final text last week,

Aug. 5, 2025

Israel to decide next steps in Gaza

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet this week to decide on Israel's next steps in Gaza following the collapse of indirect ceasefire talks with Hamas, with one senior Israeli source suggesting more force could be an option. Last Saturday, during a visit to the country, US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would effectively end the war in Gaza. But Israeli officials have also floated ideas incl

Aug. 5, 2025

Brazil's Bolsonaro arrested, adding to tensions with Trump

Brazil's Supreme Court put former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest on Monday ahead of his trial for an alleged coup plot, underscoring the court's resolve despite escalating tariffs and sanctions from US President Donald Trump. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the target of US Treasury sanctions last week, issued the arrest order against Bolsonaro. His decision cited a failure to comply with restraining orders he had imposed on Bolsonaro for allegedly courting Trump's interf

Aug. 5, 2025

Judge says Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs must stay in jail until he is sentenced

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean "Diddy" Combs can't go home from jail to await sentencing on his prostitution-related conviction, a judge said Monday, denying the rap and style mogul's latest bid for bail. Combs has been behind bars since his September arrest. He faced federal charges of coercing girlfriends into having drug-fueled sex marathons with male sex workers while he watched and filmed them. He was acquitted last month of the top charges — racketeering and sex trafficking — while being convicted o

Aug. 5, 2025

Stella Rimington, Britain's first female MI5 spy chief, dies at 90

LONDON (AP) — Stella Rimington, the first female chief of Britain's MI5 intelligence agency and later a successful thriller writer, has died, her family said Monday. She was 90. The first woman to head a UK intelligence agency, Rimington was the inspiration for Judi Dench's portrayal of MI6 chief "M" in seven James Bond films. Her family said in a statement that Rimington died on Sunday "surrounded by her beloved family and dogs and determinedly held on to the life she loved until her last breat

Aug. 5, 2025

US to require up to $15,000 bonds for some tourists

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The US could require bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourist and business visas under a pilot program launching in two weeks, a government notice said on Monday, an effort that aims to crack down on visitors who overstay their visas. The program gives US consular officers the discretion to impose bonds on visitors from countries with high rates of visa overstays, according to a Federal Register notice. Bonds could also be applied to people coming from countries where scre

Aug. 5, 2025

White House defends firing of labor official

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- White House economic advisers on Sunday defended President Donald Trump's firing of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, pushing back against criticism that Trump's action could undermine confidence in official US economic data. Later on Sunday, Trump again criticized BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, without providing evidence of wrongdoing, and said he would name a new BLS commissioner in the next three or four days. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told C

Aug. 4, 2025

Ukrainian drone attack sets Russian oil depot on fire

An overnight Ukrainian drone attack on an oil depot near Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi sparked a major fire, Russian officials said Sunday, as the two countries traded strikes and the Ukrainian president announced a prisoner exchange. More than 120 firefighters attempted to extinguish the blaze, which was caused by debris from a downed drone striking a fuel tank, Krasnodar regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said on Telegram. Videos on social media appeared to show huge pillars of smoke billo

Aug. 4, 2025

Bolsonaro backers rally to praise Trump for Brazil pressure

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) -- Thousands of fervent supporters of Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro took to the streets Sunday, showing support for US President Donald Trump's pressure campaign against the trial of his right-wing ally. Bolsonaro is currently being tried in the capital Brasilia for plotting a coup after failing to win re-election in 2022 against leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "I am here to defend our people against censorship and judges who act arbitrarily," Valdeciria Galvao, a

Aug. 4, 2025

Haitian police arrest former senator

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Police in Haiti have arrested a former senator charged with conspiring against the state and financing criminal organizations for allegedly supporting gang members. Nenel Cassy was arrested Saturday at a restaurant in Petionville, a wealthy district of the capital, Port-au Prince, Haiti’s National Police said in a post on Facebook. The police shared photos of the former senator in handcuffs next to heavily armed officers wearing ski masks. Arrests of high level officials

Aug. 4, 2025

China pushes back at US demands to stop buying Russian and Iranian oil

WASHINGTON (AP) — US and Chinese officials may be able to settle many of their differences to reach a trade deal and avert punishing tariffs, but they remain far apart on one issue: the US demand that China stop purchasing oil from Iran and Russia. “China will always ensure its energy supply in ways that serve our national interests,” China's Foreign Ministry posted on X on Wednesday following two days of trade negotiations in Stockholm, responding to the US threat of a 100 percent tariff. “Coer

Aug. 4, 2025

Former US soldier suspected of killing 4 in Montana remains at large

The former US soldier suspected of killing four people at a Montana bar was still at large early Sunday and may be armed after escaping in a stolen vehicle containing clothes and camping gear, officials said. Authorities believe 45-year-old Michael Paul Brown killed four people on Friday morning at The Owl Bar in Anaconda, Montana, about 120 kilometers southeast of Missoula in a valley hemmed in by mountains. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said at a news conference Sunday that Brown com

Aug. 4, 2025

Pope Leo XIV says 2027 World Youth Day in Seoul to take place Aug. 3-8

Pope Leo XIV announced on Sunday that the next World Youth Day will be held in Seoul, Korea, from Aug. 3 to 8, 2027. The announcement came just before he led the Angelus — a brief prayer traditionally said at noon in the Catholic Church — at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome. “With this jubilee concluded, the ‘pilgrimage of hope’ for young people continues and will take us to Asia,” he said in front of 1 million Jubilee of Youth participants from 146 countries, including Korean pilgrims.

Aug. 4, 2025