France’s government is fighting for its survival Monday against no-confidence motions filed by lawmakers who are furious that President Emmanuel Macron used special constitutional powers to force through an unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without giving them a vote. National Assembly lawmakers are set to vote in...
Top Israeli Minister: ‘No Such Thing’ as Palestinian People
A firebrand Israeli minister claimed there’s “no such thing” as a Palestinian people as Israel's new coalition government, its most hard-line ever, plowed ahead on Monday with a part of its plan to overhaul the judiciary. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition said it was pushing a key part of the...
Trump’s Call for Protests Gets Muted Reaction by Supporters
Former President Donald Trump’s calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap. The ambivalence raises questions about whether Trump, though a...
China’s Xi Makes 1st Moscow Visit as Putin Wages Ukraine War
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Monday for a three-day visit that shows off Beijing's new swagger in world diplomatic affairs and offers a welcome political lift for Russian President Vladimir Putin just days after an international arrest warrant was issued for him on war crimes charges related to the war...
Russia’s Putin Makes Surprise Trip to Occupied Mariupol
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the occupied port city of Mariupol, his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September and a show of defiance after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges. Putin arrived in Mariupol late Saturday after visiting Crimea, southwest of...
International Court Issues War Crimes Warrant for Putin
The International Criminal Court said on Friday it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine. The court said in a statement that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of (children)...
New COVID Origins Data Suggests Pandemic Linked to Animals
International scientists who examined previously unavailable genetic data from samples collected at a market close to where the first human cases of COVID-19 were detected in China said they found suggestions the pandemic originated from animals, not a lab. Other experts have not yet verified their analysis, which also has...
Russia to Honor Pilots Involved in US Drone Incident
Russian fighter pilots involved in an incident with a U.S. drone that resulted in its crash will be given state awards, the Defense Ministry announced Friday. The move appears to signal Moscow's intention to adopt a more aggressive stance toward future U.S. surveillance flights. The U.S. military said it ditched...
More MiG Fighters Headed for Ukraine as Slovakia Agrees to Send Jets
Slovakia’s government on Friday approved a plan to give Ukraine its fleet of 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, becoming the second NATO member country to heed the Ukrainian government's pleas for warplanes to help defend against Russia's invasion. Prime Minister Eduard Heger said during a news conference announcing the decision that his...
Newsom Says Infamous California Prison Will Shift to Norway Lockup Model
The infamous state prison on San Francisco Bay that has been home to the largest death row population in the United States will be transformed into a lockup where less-dangerous prisoners will receive education, training and rehabilitation, California officials announced Thursday. The inmates serving death sentences at San Quentin State Prison will...