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Clashes rage in Druze region amid Syria’s ceasefire struggle
DAMASCUS (Reuters) -- Sectarian clashes escalated in Syria’s predominantly Druze region of Sweida on Saturday, with machinegun fire and mortar shelling ringing out after days of bloodshed as the Islamist-led government struggled to implement a ceasefire. Reuters reporters heard gunfire from inside the city of Sweida and saw shells land in nearby villages. There were no immediate, confirmed reports of casualties. The government had said security forces were deploying in the southern region to try
July 20, 2025 -
Ukraine proposes fresh peace talks with Russia
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) -- Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks this week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, hours after Russian strikes across Ukraine claimed more lives. Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to result in any progress toward a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers. "Security Council Secretary Umerov ... reported that he had proposed the next me
July 20, 2025 -
Shohei Ohtani co-writes children's book starring his dog Decoy
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani is adding author to his list of accomplishments. The Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar has co-written a children's book starring his beloved dog; Decoy. Ohtani posted a photo of Decoy, a Dutch Kooikerhondje, sitting next to the book on his Instagram account on Thursday. The cover of "Decoy Saves Opening Day" features a drawing of the pup with a ball in his mouth and Ohtani in his baseball jersey. It tells the story of how Decoy is supposed to throw the first
July 20, 2025 -
Dong Giao: the Vietnamese village where wood comes to life
HANOI, Vietnam (Viet Nam News/ANN) -- It's a typical day in Dong Giao wood carving village in Hai Phong City's Cam Giang District. Throughout the village, the rhythmic sounds of chiselling, sawing and carving fill the air. At the village entrance, visitors may catch sight of artisan Vu Xuan En hard at work on a massive tree root. He is creating an ambitious sculpture featuring hundreds of prominent figures from Vietnamese history. The root itself is impressive: 6 meters wide, 3.3 meters tall and
July 18, 2025 -
Philippine root crop ‘ube’ can go beyond dessert -- use it as a savory side dish, too
MANILA, Philippines (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) -- Root crops have long been a staple in many cultures across the globe. In Africa, yams and sweet potatoes dominate everyday food as root crops are full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They have also proven to be resilient in the face of climate change, surviving the most drastic of weather shocks. Root crops are a good alternative to grain carbohydrates as their fibrous make-up slows down digestion, releasing the energy more slowly. In the
July 18, 2025 -
US aid workers lobbied for weeks to save food stocks from destruction after Trump cuts
With 1,100 metric tons of emergency food rations nearing expiry in a US government warehouse in Dubai after President Donald Trump's aid freeze, it took a warning of "wasted tax dollars" for a top US official to eventually agree to a deal for the supplies to be used, sources told Reuters. The deal saved 622 metric tons of the energy-dense biscuits in June, but 496 metric tons, worth $793,000 before they expired this month, will be destroyed, according to two internal US Agency for International
July 17, 2025 -
Heat melts Alps snow, leaving water shortage
June's heat wave has caused French Alps snow and glaciers to melt faster, causing water shortages at mountain shelters just before the summer tourist hiking season gets into full swing. "Everything has dried up," said Noemie Dagan, who looks after the Selle refuge, located at an altitude of 2,673 meters in the Ecrins, a mountain range overtowered by two majestic peaks. The snowfield that usually supplies water to her 60-bed chalet already "looks a bit like what we would expect at the end of July
July 17, 2025 -
US lawsuit seeks to stop arresting migrants
A group of immigrants and legal advocates filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday that seeks to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from arresting migrants who appear at immigration courts for previously scheduled hearings and placing them on a fast-track to deportation. The lawsuit filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia against the Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department and ICE says the arrests of thousands of people at court have stripped them of righ
July 17, 2025 -
Another key ally quits Netanyahu's governing coalition
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suffered a major political blow Wednesday as a key governing partner announced it was quitting his coalition government, leaving him with a minority in parliament as the country faces a litany of challenges. Shas, an ultra-Orthodox party that has long served as kingmaker in Israeli politics, announced that it would bolt the government over disagreements surrounding a proposed law that would enshrine broad military draft exemptions
July 17, 2025 -
Prince Harry walks through minefield
LUANDA, Angola (AFP) -- Britain's Prince Harry visited Angola on Wednesday to back landmine clearance efforts, retracing the steps of his late mother, the charity leading the project said. The southern African nation hosts the continent’s largest minefield, a legacy of the 27-year civil war that began after independence from Portugal in 1975. The Duke of Sussex visited a remote village in the southeast to “deliver life-saving messages to children,” the Halo Trust mine-clearing organisation said.
July 17, 2025 -
Israel launches heavy airstrikes in Damascus
DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -- Israel launched powerful airstrikes in Damascus on Wednesday, blowing up part of the Defense Ministry and hitting near the presidential palace as it vowed to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria and demanded they withdraw. The attacks marked a significant Israeli escalation against the Islamist-led administration of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. They came despite his warming ties with the US and his administration’s evolving security co
July 17, 2025 -
Pentagon ends deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Pentagon said Tuesday it is ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, accounting for nearly half of the soldiers sent to the city to deal with protests over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Roughly 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines have been in the city since early June. It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the 60-day deployment to end suddenly, nor was it immediately clear how long the rest of the troops would s
July 16, 2025 -
Syria announces ceasefire after latest outbreak of deadly sectarian violence
Syria's defense minister announced a ceasefire shortly after government forces entered a key city in southern Sweida province on Tuesday, a day after sectarian clashes killed dozens there. Neighboring Israel again launched strikes on Syrian military forces, saying it was protecting the Druze minority. The latest escalation under Syria’s new leaders began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province, a center of the
July 16, 2025 -
Thousands of Afghans secretly moved to Britain after data leak
LONDON (Reuters) -- Britain set up a secret scheme to bring thousands of Afghans to the UK after their personal details were disclosed in one of the country's worst ever data breaches, putting them at risk of reprisals from the Taliban after their return to power. Concerns that individuals could be targeted by the Taliban led the previous Conservative government to set up the relocation scheme, involving thousands of people and estimated to cost the government about 2 billion pounds ($2.7 billio
July 16, 2025 -
Trump says Ukraine should not target Moscow
WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Ukraine should not target Moscow, after the Kremlin charged that a new US plan to supply weapons to Kyiv along with sanctions threats against Russia would delay peace efforts. Trump on Monday gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal with Ukraine, voicing exasperation with Moscow, and announcing that NATO members would supply Kyiv with new military aid. In what would be an even more extraordinary shift, the Financial Times reported
July 16, 2025