World

The head of Russia’s top mercenary group Wagner on Wednesday brought renewed attention to increasing divisions between Russia’s troops and its for-hire soldiers after he accused Moscow’s defense heads of “treason.” Yevgeny Prigozhin has increasingly drawn attention to the fissures in Russia’s war strategy in Ukraine and in his most …

Pope Francis spoke on Ash Wednesday to a gathering of faithful in his general audience at the Vatican. As Christians of various denominations around the world enter the Lenten season of fasting leading up to Easter, the pope told the crowd that politicization of the Gospel must be avoided. “Every …

Belgium says it is investigating the presence of a Russian “spy ship” in the North Sea amid concerns that it could come “suspiciously close to our wind farms, undersea gas and data cables and other critical infrastructure.”  Vincent Van Quickenborne, Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice and the …

China’s top diplomat is traveling in Russia on a diplomatic mission that will touch on the countries’ roles in propagating “world peace.” Wang Yi, the director of China’s Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, landed in Moscow on Tuesday for the first diplomatic meeting between the two allied countries …

On Wednesday, the Chinese Foreign Office sharply criticized the United States after a senior Defense Department official visited Taiwan. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian accused the U.S. and Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party of attempting to push the island’s independence from China and discouraged the alleged efforts. China …

After last week’s damaging cyclone, New Zealand needs to rebuild with more resilient infrastructure to cope with more frequent and intense weather events, the prime minister said Tuesday. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has described Cyclone Gabrielle, which caused widespread damage on New Zealand’s North Island and claimed 11 lives, as …

Authorities in Chad on Tuesday started the mass trial of hundreds of alleged rebels accused of killing longtime President Idriss Deby Itno, who died under murky circumstances in 2021 two days after winning a sixth term in office. Apart from the assassination charges, the 454 alleged members of the Front …

A U.K. counterterrorism program aimed at combating extremism has reportedly flagged some of the nation’s most prized literature, including Shakespeare, “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien and “The Canterbury Tales,” as works that could lead to right-wing extremism. British tabloids found this month that a report by the …

Russia called a Security Council meeting Tuesday on last September’s explosions at the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Western Europe after circulating a resolution calling for a U.N. investigation of the sabotage. Ahead of the meeting, the ambassadors of Denmark, Sweden and Germany sent a …

In a dingy medical outpost near eastern Ukraine’s front lines, army medic Viktor battles to save lives on a daily basis. Nearly a year into Russia’s invasion, fighting now amounts to attritional duels of artillery and infantry assaults, with neither side making significant gains. The costs of that deadly grind …