Taliban bought blue check marks on Twitter, report says
The Taliban and supporters of the Afghanistan rulers have been buying up blue-check verifications on Twitter, according to a report.
World News
Russia to boost troops in west, expanding army to 1.5 million people
Russia will create new commands near Europe as it expands its military to 1.5 million people amid deepening tensions with the U.S. and its allies over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Nighttime Israeli arrests haunt Palestinians
The Israeli military arrested and interrogated hundreds of Palestinian teenagers in 2022 in the occupied West Bank without ever issuing a summons or notifying their families. That's according to an upcoming report by the Israeli rights group HaMoked.
This lunar year will be the Year of the Rabbit or the Year of the Cat, depending on where you live
On Jan. 22, 2023, more than a billion people globally will welcome the Year of the Rabbit – or the Year of Cat, depending on which cultural traditions they follow – as the start of the Lunar New Year.
China announces first population decline in recent years
China announced its first overall population decline in recent years on Tuesday amid an aging society and plunging birthrate.
Passenger captured Nepal plane crash on live video; co-pilot died 17 years after husband faced same fate
Airplane passenger Sonu Jaiswal's 90-second smartphone video began with the aircraft approaching the runway. It then captured the moment the plane crashed.
A loving dad and his injured son pay war's costs in Ukraine
In a Ukrainian hospital ward for wounded soldiers, where daylight barely penetrates, a father talks to his injured son for hours. Serhii Shumei, 64, never scolded Vitalii for choosing to go to war.
Ukraine strike deaths hit 40; Russia seen preparing long war
The death toll from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 40. That makes Saturday's strike one of the war's deadliest single attacks in months.
John Kerry tells AP he backs UAE oil chief overseeing COP28
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry backs the United Arab Emirates' decision to appoint the CEO of a state-run oil company to preside over the upcoming U.N. climate negotiations in Dubai, citing his work on renewable energy projects.
Ukraine’s battlefields are freezing. Here’s what that means for the war
While the shift from muddy to frozen terrain better enables the use of combat and support vehicles, that's just one factor commanders would consider.
As leaders arrive in Davos, conspiracy theories thrive online
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting — which will draw some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential figures to the Swiss mountain town of Davos this week — has increasingly become a target for bizarre claims from a growing chorus of commentators who believe the forum involves a group of elites manipulating global events for their own benefit.
'They are on the run': Somalia leads fight against al-Shabab
Somalia has launched what is being called the most significant military offensive against the al-Shabab extremist group in more than a decade. And this time, Somali fighters are in the lead.
Netanyahu moving ahead on legal overhaul despite outcry
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his government plans to charge ahead with an overhaul of the country’s judicial system, despite fierce criticism from top legal officials and protests against the changes that drew tens of thousands of people.
Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida dies at age 95
Italian film star Gina Lollobrigida has died in Rome at age 95. Her agent, Paola Comin, said the actress died on Monday. Lollobrigida achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed "the most beautiful woman in the world" after the title of one her movies.
68 dead, 4 missing after plane crashes in Nepal resort town
A plane making a 27-minute flight to a Nepal tourist town crashed into a gorge Sunday while attempting to land at a newly opened airport, killing at least 68 of the 72 people aboard.
Death toll rises from Russian missile strike
The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 30 Sunday, the national emergencies service reported as rescue workers scrambled to reach survivors in the rubble.
Brazil reckons with artistic treasures ruined in riot
The horde of rioters who invaded government buildings on Jan. 8 in an attack on Brazil’s democracy left behind a trail of destruction whose full scope is only now coming into full view.
Despite record cocaine seizures, drug cartels roil Europe
Cocaine is spreading at an alarming rate through Europe, much of it through the world ports of Antwerp in Belgium and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. And Tuesday’s announcement of record seizures is also obscuring a bigger truth — that South American cartels are throwing ever more cocaine at the European market.
Rights group: Litany of crises in 2022 but also good signs
Widespread opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine demonstrates the strength of a unified response against human rights abuses, and there are signs that power is shifting as people take to the streets to demonstrate their dissatisfaction in Iran, China and elsewhere, according to a leading rights group.
Taliban ban on female workers hits vital aid for Afghans
Aid workers say the Taliban's ban on women working for non-governmental organizations is already starting to hurt the massive humanitarian campaign that is keeping Afghanistan alive. The ban forced a widespread shutdown of many aid operations by organizations that said they cannot and would not work without their female staff.
