About 400 French schools closed as some student protests turn violent
PARIS — About 400 schools in France are expected to remain closed on Friday after student protests over education-related grievances turned violent in some places. The protests against teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings erupted in the Paris region last month but have turned increasingly violent as they spread nationwide, with dozens injured and police […]
G20 trade chiefs to denounce food trade coercion but not excess factory capacity
MILWAUKEE — G20 trade ministers agreed on Thursday to denounce the weaponization of food through coercive trade actions, but failed to reach consensus on statements denouncing forced labor in supply chains and on addressing structural excess industrial capacity, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said. Mr. Greer told a news conference that many of the G20 […]
Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survives execution attempt
CHRISTA Pike, convicted of murdering a schoolmate three decades ago, survived Tennessee’s effort to execute her by means of lethal injection late on Wednesday, prison officials said, foiling the state’s first attempt to put a woman to death in two centuries. Ms. Pike’s condition following the ordeal was not immediately known, and it was not […]
US forces exit Iraq, emboldening Iran’s proxies and Islamic State
BAGHDAD — US forces ended their mission in Iraq on Wednesday, raising fears they will leave behind a security vacuum, further embolden Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias and give the resurgent Islamic State group an opening to regroup. The withdrawal, mainly from an airbase in Erbil in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, was celebrated as a victory by […]
North Korea and Russia open their first road bridge, a symbol of expanding ties
MOSCOW — North Korea and Russia opened their first road bridge on Monday in a carefully choreographed display of friendship, a structure which spans the Tumen river and which both sides cast as an important milestone in their deepening strategic partnership. The first flag-adorned trucks trundled across the 1 km (0.6 mile) long two-lane bridge […]
US pressure on Iran starting to tell, as sanctions and blockade bite
DUBAI — A US campaign to throttle Iran’s economy by blockading its oil exports and stopping sanctions evasion is growing increasingly difficult to withstand, three senior Iranian sources said. Washington has in recent weeks sought to ratchet up the economic pressure on Tehran, in an effort to extract concessions in any future negotiation that six […]
Japan’s record rains strand thousands at Narita airport; kill eight
OAMISHIROSATO, Japan — Record rainfall in Japan stranded thousands of travelers at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Friday, bringing floods to the surrounding area that disrupted transport, knocked out power to 20,000 homes and killed eight. During one of Japan’s busiest holiday weeks, more than 360 mm (14 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours in […]
Hopes for Hormuz deal fade as Trump demands Iranian reparations
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Monday responded to Iran’s conditions for a peace deal with his own demands that Iran pay compensation for people killed in wars, attacks and protests, in a rhetorical escalation likely to complicate efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Mr. Trump’s proposal, which had not been raised before, […]
Trump says he’d be ‘disappointed’ if China sends weapons to Iran
PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump said he would be “disappointed” in China if they provided weapons to Iran, repeating assurances he said Xi Jinping had made to him that Beijing would not sell arms to Tehran. Mr. Trump was asked on Wednesday about a report from Reuters that Iran is expected to receive a shipment of […]
Rubio says US committed to helping end Ukraine war after meeting Lavrov
MANILA — US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the United States remains prepared to play a “constructive role” in helping bring an end to the war in Ukraine, following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Manila. Speaking after the meeting, Mr. Rubio […]