Nearly 40 years after she was born with a malformed spine and misshapen limbs — most likely because her father was exposed to Agent Orange, the toxic chemical that the American military used during the Vietnam War — Nguyen Thi Ngoc Diem finally got some help from the United States. A project funded by U.S.A.I.D. … Read more
Russia released another American held on drug charges on Monday, in what the Kremlin acknowledged was a good-will gesture on the eve of talks between senior Russian and U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia. The American, Kalob Byers Wayne, 28, was arrested on Feb. 7 at a Moscow airport on charges of carrying a small amount … Read more
Numerous programs aimed at averting violence, instability and extremism worsened by global warming are ensnared in the effort to dismantle the main American aid agency, U.S.A.I.D. One such project helped communities manage water stations in Niger, a hotbed of Islamist extremist groups where conflicts over scarce water are common. Another helped repair water-treatment plants in … Read more
The leaders of many of Europe’s biggest countries came to Paris on Monday in an effort to forge a strategy for their own security, as President Trump’s envoys prepared for talks with Russia over ending the war in Ukraine without them. The meeting in Paris was pulled together hastily after the first visit to Europe … Read more
Zakia Jafri, who turned her personal loss into an uphill campaign for justice after her husband, Ehsan Jafri, was brutally murdered during sectarian riots in the Indian state of Gujarat in 2002, died on Feb. 2 at her daughter’s home in Ahmedabad, India. She was 86. Her death was confirmed by her son Tanveer Jafri. … Read more
Pope Francis will remain in a Rome hospital after being admitted late last week following a series of tests that indicated a “complex clinical picture,” the Vatican said on Monday, raising fresh concerns about the 88-year-old pontiff’s health. Diagnostic tests carried out after Francis was taken to Policlinico A. Gemelli on Friday presented “a polymicrobial … Read more
The Israeli military said on Monday that it will keep forces in five locations in southern Lebanon after a deadline for its full withdrawal lapses on Tuesday. The announcement raised fears of a resurgence in violence in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. After more than a year of war, the two sides reached a … Read more
Senior U.S. and Russian Officials Meet for Extensive Talks in Riyadh
Pope Francis will not be participating in scheduled events over the weekend, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, citing the pontiff’s ongoing health issues. Francis was admitted to the Policlinico A. Gemelli, a medical facility in Rome, on Friday and a series of tests indicated a “complex clinical picture,” the Vatican said on Monday. Doctors changed … Read more
Gil Won-ok, one of the last survivors of sexual slavery in brothels for Japan’s World War II troops, who campaigned to bring international attention to the suffering of thousands of women like her, died this week at her home. She was 96. Ms. Gil’s death at her home in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Sunday … Read more