The fragile trade truce between the United States and China has, for now, been pulled back from the brink. US President Donald Trump finally got his long-anticipated phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the two agreed to resume trade talks that had stalled over accusations from each side that the other had reneged on previous promises. Thursday’s ...
A young Tibetan controversially appointed by China’s atheist Communist Party as the second-highest spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism has pledged to make the religion more Chinese. Gyaltsen Norbu was installed by Beijing as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 in defiance of the religion’s highest authority the Dalai Lama, whose pick for the role — a six-year-old boy — has ...
Israel is arming local militias in Gaza in an effort to counter Hamas in the besieged enclave, officials say, as opposition politicians warned that the move endangers national security. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the covert enterprise on Thursday, calling it “a good thing.” In a video posted on social media, Netanyahu said Israel had “activated clans in Gaza ...
More than one in three men in Australia reported using violence with an intimate partner in a first of its kind study which shows gender-based abuse is rising, despite years of national attention on the issue. The research was part of a longitudinal study called Ten to Men by Australia’s Institute of Family Studies, which began in 2013 and now ...
The bodies of two Israeli-American hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 were recovered from southern Gaza during a military operation, according to a statement from Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency. Judy Weinstein-Haggai, age 70, and Gadi Haggai, age 72, were killed near their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas attack on southern Israel in ...
New Zealand legislators voted Thursday to enact record suspensions from Parliament for three lawmakers who performed a Māori haka to protest a proposed law. Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke received a seven-day ban and the leaders of her political party, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, were barred for 21 days. Three days had been the longest ban for a lawmaker from New Zealand’s ...
The number of newborns in Japan is decreasing faster than projected, with the number of annual births falling to another record low last year, according to government data released Wednesday. The health ministry said 686,061 babies were born in Japan in 2024, a drop of 5.7% on the previous year and the first time the number of newborns fell below ...
A sweeping new travel ban on citizens from a dozen nations was announced by the White House on Wednesday, reviving a defining effort from the first Trump administration to crack down on entries from specific countries. Trump said in a video posted Wednesday that new countries could be added to the travel ban as “threats emerge around the world.” The ...
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has shared rare photos of her daughter, Lilibet, to mark the princess’ fourth birthday. In one black-and-white picture, posted on Instagram on Wednesday, Meghan can be seen cuddling Lilibet, whose face is partially visible behind her mother’s hand and arm. “Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! Four years ago today she came into our lives – ...
The distribution of aid from a controversial new US- and Israel-backed organization into Gaza was paused for 24 hours on Wednesday after Palestinians en route to a distribution site came under fire for three straight days, with fatal consequences. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said that its hubs would be closed due to logistical work to better handle the massive ...